The Eastern Conference Finals features an original six match-up between the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. The Canadiens haven't been to the Stanley Cup since they won it in 1993, and the Rangers haven't been since they won it in 1994, so a lot is on the line for both of these historic franchises. It surely is going to be a great series, here is my preview and prediction:
Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers
Season Series:
Montreal won season series 2-1-0
2-0 (Montreal)
1-0 (New York)
1-0 OT (Montreal)
Players to Watch:
Montreal: Carey Price, PK Subban, Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, Thomas Vanek, Daniel Briere
New York: Henrik Lundqvist, Derick Brassard, Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash, Chris Kreider, Brad Richards
X-Factor:
Carey Price (MTL) Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
Playoff Point Leaders:
Montreal: P.K. Subban (12 points)
New York: Brad Richards (9 points)
Series Notes:
This series has the potential to be a phenomenal series, one between two original six teams looking to return to the Stanley Cup for the 1st time in 20 years. Both teams were the lower seed in the 2nd round, as the Canadiens defeated the Atlantic divsion-winning Bruins in 7 games and the Rangers defeated the Metropolitan division-winning Penguins in 7 games. The biggest story-line entering the series is Henrik Lundqvist vs. Carey Price, 2 goalies who are the backbone of their respective teams and a big reason why they are still playing right now. Expect this goalie battle to be heavily discussed throughout the series, as it is a rematch of the Gold Medal Game from Sochi. Montreal played an amazing series against Boston, they really didn't let the bigger Bruins push them around and played with the lead early and often. Carey Price was at his best in the series, something the Canadiens are going to need every night going forward. The Canadiens are getting a very balanced attack from all 4 lines, something evident in game 7 when their 4th line opened the scoring. P.K. Subban has been the best Canadien in the playoffs by far, this team seems to really feed off the energy Subban brings when he's on his game (which has been often in the playoffs). They also have a big boost in their lineup with the potential return of 2nd-year player Alex Galchenyuk, who missed the 1st and 2nd round with a knee injury. The Rangers enter the series after pulling of a dramatic upset of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games. The Rangers trailed 3-1 in the series and faced elimination, and thats when King Henrik Lundqvist took over. Lundqvist allowed just 3 goals in the final 3 games to lead the Rangers to the 3rd round. The Rangers are very similar to the Canadiens at forward, they have a balanced 4-line attack and seem to get a group effort every night. It seems that Martin St. Louis has become the emotional leader of this team, dealing with the sudden death of his mother he decided to keep playing and willed the Rangers back into the series. During tough times Marty has excelled on the ice and his team has had his full support, case in point check out his game 6 post-game speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ0zWOWrww4. St. Louis will be key in getting his inemates Rick Nash and Derek Stepan going, who have 2 goals combined (0 for Nash). Expect to see a better performance out of both of the teams top lines, as they have both struggled in the playoffs (Vanek-Desharnais-Pacioretty for Montreal and Nash-Stepan-St. Louis for New York). This is going to be a great series.
Predictions: This is going to be a very close series, 2 teams that rely on the play of their goaltender. It is tough to choose, but I'm going with the team with King Henrik in net.
(RANGERS IN 7)
My prediction has the New York Rangers returning to the Stanley Cup for the 1st time since 1994.
-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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