The first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs featured both game 7s with Washington beating New York and Tampa Bay beating Detroit. The 4 1st round series in the East went as follows:
New York Rangers defeat Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1
Montreal Canadiens defeat Ottawa Senators 4-2
Washington Capitals defeat New York Islanders 4-3
Tampa Bay Lightning defeat Detroit Red Wings 4-3
I went 3/4 as I picked New York, Ottawa, Washington and Tampa Bay
Here's a look at the 2nd round match ups in the East:
#1 New York Rangers vs. #2 Washington Capitals
Season Series: New York won the season series 3-1-0
December 27, 2014: New York Rangers 4, Washington Capitals 2
March 11, 2015: New York Rangers 3, Washington Capitals 1
March 29, 2015: Washington Capitals 5, New York Rangers 2
April 11, 2015: New York Rangers 4, Washington Capitals 2
Players to Watch:
New York: Henrik Lundqvist, Rick Nash, Keith Yandle, Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Hayes, Martin St. Louis
Washington: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Braden Holtby, Joel Ward
X-Factor:
New York: Henrik Lundqvist
Washington: Alex Ovechkin
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Derick Brassard - 3 (NYR), Evgeny Kuznetsov/Nicklas Backstrom - 3 (WSH)
Assists: Rick Nash/Ryan McDonagh/Dan Girardi - 3 (NYR), Alex Ovechkin/Nicklas Backstrom/John Carlson/Joel Ward/Matt Niskanen/Jay Beagle - 3 (WSH)
Points: Nicklas Backstrom - 6 (WSH), Rick Nash/Ryan McDonagh/Derick Brassard - 4 (NYR)
Wins: Henrik Lundqvist - 4 (NYR), Braden Holtby - 4 (WSH)
Series Notes:
-Then Rangers enter this series after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1.
-The Capitals enter this series having played in 1 of 2 game 7s in the 1st round, beating the Islanders 4-3.
-The Rangers needed just 11 goals to beat the Penguins in 5 games, they will need a lot more offensively in this series.
-Henrik Lundqvist was in MVP-form in round 1, he will need to be the same against the Capitals potent powerplay.
-The Rangers will need more from Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis in round 2.
-Keith Yandle and Ryan McDonagh were both key contributors offensively in round 1, they will need to be strong again in this series.
-With Mats Zuccarello out indefinitely, the Rangers will need Martin St. Louis and Kevin Hayes to step up on right-wing.
-Braden Holtby was also very strong in round 1, he will need to match Lundqvist or play better in this series to send Caps on.
-The Capitals will need their NHL-best PP to step up in this series, in particular Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
-Evgeny Kuznetsov had his coming out party in round 1 with the series-winning goal in game 7. Look for Kuznetsov to continue his offensive surge in round 2.
-The Caps will need more from John Carlson/Matt Niskanen/Mike Green offensively to match the Rangers offensive defenseman.
-Look for role guys like Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer to make an impact in this series.
-The Rangers beat the Capitals 4-3 the last time these teams met in the playoffs in 2013.
Prediction: This series is going to be very close and could go either way, but I like the Rangers chances as the higher seed
(RANGERS IN 7)
#1 Montreal Canadiens vs. #2 Tampa Bay Lightning
Season Series: Tampa Bay won the season series 5-0-0
October 13, 2014: Tampa Bay Lightning 7, Montreal Canadiens 1
January 6, 2015: Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Montreal Canadiens 2
March 10, 2015: Tampa Bay Lightning 1, Montreal Canadiens 0 (OT)
March 16, 2015: Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Montreal Canadiens 2
March 30, 2015: Tampa Bay Lightning 5, Montreal Canadiens 3
Players to Watch:
Montreal: Carey Price, PK Subban, Max Pacioretty, Brendan Gallagher, PA Parenteau, Dale Weise
Tampa Bay: Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Nikita Kucherov, Ben Bishop, Ryan Callahan
X-Factor:
Montreal: Carey Price
Tampa Bay: Steven Stamkos
Playoff Leaders:
Goals: Tyler Johnson - 6 (TBL), Max Pacioretty/Dale Weise - 2 (MTL)
Assists: Nikita Kucherov - 4 (TBL), PK Subban - 3 (MTL)
Points: Tyler Johnson - 7 (TBL), PK Subban - 4 (MTL)
Wins: Carey Price - 4 (MTL), Ben Bishop - 4 (TBL)
Series Notes:
-The Canadiens enter this series after beating the Ottawa Senators 4-2.
-The Lightning enter this series having played the 2nd game 7 in round 1, beating the Detroit Red wings 4-3.
-Hart and Vezina Trophy nominee Carey Price was in top form in the 1st round, he faces a much tougher task with the Lightning's depth at forward and will need to be sharp.
-The Canadiens had only 2 players with more than 1 goal in round 1 (Weise/Pacioretty had 2), they will need more scoring in this series.
-PK Subban/Andrei Markov need to produce for the Canadiens, only 5 points combined in round they need to ignite the Canadiens PP.
-The Canadiens had a key contribution in round 1 from their 4th line of Brandon Prust-Torrey Mitchell-Dale Weise, Weise in particular with a big OT winner. They will need these guys to continue their strong play in round 2.
-The Lightning beat the Red Wings 2-0 in game 7 on the last night of the 1st round.
-Steven Stamkos looked very off in round 1, with 0 goals and only 3 assists in 7 games. Look for him to break his slump in this series, he's a difference-maker when hes scoring.
-The Johnson-Palat-Kucherov "Triplets" line was huge against the Red Wings, with Johnson scoring 6 of the Lightning's 17 goals in the series. They will need to contribute as much as possible in this series.
-The pairing of Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman was strong in round 1, they will need to produce in this series as well.
-Brian Boyle was a force for the Lightning defensively in round 1, he will play a key role in this series.
-Ben Bishop had an up and down series vs. Detroit but was clutch when it mattered with his 1st playoff shutout in game 7.
-The Lightning outscored the Canadiens 21-8 in 5 games this season.
-The Canadiens beat the Lightning 4-0 the last time these teams met in the playoffs in 2014.
Prediction: The Lightning dominated the Canadiens in the regular season and have some momentum after winning a game 7. This has the potential to be a great series and can certainly go either way, will be interesting to see how it plays out
(LIGHTNING IN 7)
That leaves the Eastern Conference Finals as the #1 New York Rangers vs. #2 Tampa Bay Lightning to see who gets a birth in the Stanley Cup Finals
-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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