New York Rangers (1) vs Washington Capitals (7): I said the Rangers would have weaknesses exposed by the Ottawa Senators, and sure enough, this Big Apple squad can’t score, leans too heavily on goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and gets into some trouble against speedy teams with good puck movement. I haven’t watched enough of the Capitals this year to say they’ve abandoned/lost the speed they built their dubious reputation on in recent years, but they certainly don’t seem like those run-n-gun units, especially with a sour Alex Ovechkin sitting on the bench. That favors New York, and in a series that looks like it could be a first round sequel in terms of match-ups, I gotta give the Rags the edge here. They’ve had seven games of practice at this style of play…
…but so have the Caps after narrowly escaping Boston in a gritty seven-gamer of their own. If Ovechkin and offensive spark plug Niklas Backstrom get in a groove, the Blueshirts are in a rude awakening. And for what its worth, a lot of goalies have a great playoff round here and there. Journeymen Brian Boucher and Ray Emery immediately come to mind. I’m not ready to christen Whatshisname Holtby the Second Coming just yet. Prove me wrong, Capitals. Rangers in 6.
Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs New Jersey Devils (6): The Flyers steamrolled Cup favorite Pittsburgh Penguins while the Devils did their best to blow a series against the lowly Florida Panthers. Working for the Flyers are their deep forward core, lethal power play and the deserved swagger of upending one of their biggest rivals going into another bad blood series (though this feud has simmered considerably since the days of Scott Stevens breaking Eric Lindros like a Lincoln Logs playset). Working against the Flyers is… SURPRISE… goaltending. If Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury wasn’t so terrible, Ilya Bryzgalov would have been the worst netminder in the first round. Sergei Bobrovsky’s lone relief appearance was anything but, posting an identical .722 save percentage as his counterpart as they shared a 10-3 loss equally in Game 4 against Pitt.
On New Jersey’s end, this team might already be gassed. Ilya Kovalchuk seemed hampered by a groin or leg injury throughout the Florida series, and the Devils failed to capitalize on a number of chances to slit the Panthers’ collective necks. They need a better, more consistent effort if they expect to keep pace with Philly. This schizophrenic team alternates its net with the dazzling play of the Marty Brodeur of old and the dizzying mistakes of old Marty. Zach Parise, the heart and soul of the club, doesn’t lack for effort, but his nose for the net seems less potent this time of year. It’s great to know that Jersey can rely on 4th liners like Steve Bernier and Stephen Gionta (the Sequel) to pick up the slack, but to get beyond Philly, the best players need to be the best. I don’t see that happening, and the Flyers pick Jersey apart in 5 games.