Coming into the playoffs I had 3 Stanley Cup contenders that I thought were the favourites: Los Angeles, Chicago and Anaheim. Well they all lost in the first round, with the summer of redemption as the Blues beat the Hawks in 7 and the Sharks beating the Kings in 5. Here's a look at the 2nd round match ups in the West:
#1 Dallas Stars vs. #2 St. Louis Blues
Season Series: St. Louis won the season series 4-1-0
December 12th, 2015: St. Louis Blues 3, Dallas Stars 0
December 26th, 2015: St. Louis Blues 3, Dallas Stars 2 (SO)
December 27th, 2015: Dallas Stars 3, St. Louis Blues 0
February 16th, 2016: St. Louis Blues 2, Dallas Stars 1 (OT)
March 12th, 2016: St. Louis Blues 5, Dallas Stars 4 (OT)
Players to Watch:
Dallas: Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, John Klingberg, Patrick Eaves
St. Louis: Vladimir Tarasenko, Alex Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo, David Backes
X-Factor:
Dallas: Jamie Benn
St. Louis: Vladimir Tarasenko
Team Leaders:
Goals: Jamie Benn/Jason Spezza (DAL) - 4, Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) - 4
Assists: Jamie Benn (DAL) - 6, Alex Pietrangelo (STL) - 5
Points: Jamie Benn (DAL) - 10, Jaden Schwartz (STL) - 7
Wins: Brian Elliot (STL) - 4, Kari Lehtonen (DAL) - 3
Series Notes:
-Much like round 1, the biggest storyline of this series is the availability of Tyler Seguin who remains sidelined with his achilles injury. He played in game 2 of the 6-game series win over the Wild, but re-aggravated his injury and remains out to start the series.
-With Seguin out, pressure will be on the trio of Jamie Benn-Jason Spezza-Patrick Sharp to lead the way.
-Brian Elliot was perhaps the best goalie in the 1st round playing remarkable against the Hawks, he will need to be at his best to stop the Stars who scored the most goals in the NHL this year.
-Kari Lehtonen will start in net for the Stars, but look for Niemi to play if he struggles.
-The Blues had a huge impact from rookies Colton Parayko and Robby Fabbri in round 1, they are my players to watch in this series.
-the STL (Schwartz, Tarasenko, Lehtera) line was dominant in round 1 and will need to be at their best against Dallas.
-Look for a big series out of both David Backes and Alex Steen
-Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester will log heavy minutes for the Blues in this series.
-Speaking of defenseman, John Klingberg leads the way offensively for the Stars and will need to contribute in this series.
Prediction: This is going to be a fun series to watch between the division rivals. While I like the Stars offense, having Tyler Seguin out is a huge loss. With that in mind plus the Blues with serious momentum in beating the Hawks, I think St. Louis will advance.
(BLUES IN 7)
#3 San Jose Sharks vs. WC #1 Nashville Predators
Season Series: Nashville won the season series 2-0-1
October 28th, 2015: Nashville Predators 2, San Jose Sharks 1
February 6th, 2016: Nashville Predators 6, San Jose Sharks 2
April 2nd, 2016: San Jose Sharks 3, Nashville Predators 2 (SO)
Players to Watch:
San Jose: Brent Burns, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl
Nashville: Shea Weber, Roman Josi, Pekka Rinne, Ryan Johansen, James Neal, Colin Wilson
X-Factor:
San Jose: Brent Burns
Nashville: Pekka Rinne
Team Leaders:
Goals: Joe Pavelski (SJS) - 6, Shea Weber/Colin Wilson/James Neal/Mattias Ekholm (NSH) - 2
Assists: Brent Burns (SJS) - 6, Shea Weber/Roman Josi/Colin Wison (NSH) - 3
Points: Brent Burns (SJS) - 8, Shea Weber/Colin Wilson (NSH) - 5
Wins: Martin Jones (SJS) - 4, Pekka Rinne (SJS) - 4
Series Notes:
-The Predators beat the Ducks in game 7 on the last game of the 1st round to advance, while the Sharks have been off for almost a week after finally beating the LA Kings in 5 games.
-The Sharks are dynamic on offense lead by the core of Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and Logan Couture. The Predators have a very tough task at slowing them down.
-Speaking of Burns, he was perhaps the best defenseman in the first round with 8 points and will need to keep it up in round 2.
-The Predators have one of the deepest defense groups in the NHL, particularly their top 4 of Shea Weber-Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm-Ryan Ellis. They have a lot of work ahead of them.
-Martin Jones was strong in round 1 against the Kings but was shaky at times, he will need to be better against the Predators.
-The Predators need a big series out of Ryan Johansen and James Neal to win this series.
-Pekka Rinne was fantastic against the Ducks in round 1, he faces a dynamic Sharks offense and needs to be at his best.
-Colin Wilson is my player to watch for the Predators in this series.
Prediction: With the Sharks finally beating the Kings I think they are the team to beat in the West, and they will advance to the Western Conference Finals
(SHARKS IN 6)
This leaves the Western Conference Finals as the following match up:
#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #3 San Jose Sharks
Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff
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