May 14, 2015

Michael Clifford

2015-05-14

Rangers move on to Eastern Conference Final, Henrik Lundqvist shines, Anaheim-Chicago starts Sunday, and more.

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As I do every Thursday, I'll have an open forum thread for readers to post any fantasy hockey questions they might have (click here). Anything from keeper decisions, outlooks, either/or, and anything else that comes to mind, just look for the thread under one year leagues. I’ll be opening it around lunch time in the East. 

Well, it was always going to overtime, wasn't it. The New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals not only managed another low-scoring game, but predictably it went to overtime as an evenly-matched series ended the only way it could. Derek Stepan put a rebound in the Washington cage in the middle of the first overtime, past a down-and-out Braden Holtby to seal the game and the series for the Rangers, sending them back to the Eastern Conference Final for the second year in a row. It also marked a comeback in the series from a 3-1 deficit. Winning three elimination games in a row is nothing short of very impressive.

Henrik Lundqvist was big in net for the Rangers again, saving 35 of the 36 shots he faced for the win. He's been all-world these playoffs for the Rangers. In this series alone, he managed a .951 save percentage in New York's four wins, and even more impressively, a .938 in the three losses. The Rangers are in the third round, and for them, it starts in net.

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New York moves on but it's odd to see Martin St. Louis such a non-factor so far these playoffs. With no goals and four assists, if St Louis has had an impact, it hasn't really been on the score sheet.

The series will have started by my next Ramblings, so I will say I do like how the teams match up in the East Final. Having stars like Rick Nash, Steven Stamkos, Henrik Lundqvist, and Tyler Johnson certainly makes for eminently watchable hockey.

I originally had the Islanders in the East Final against the Lightning. In that sense, I'll take the Lightning over the Rangers in seven. I do think this is going to be a lot of fun though. There is a ton of speed in both forward groups and that should make for fast-paced games.  

There's always that "revenge factor" that gets talked about when two teams meet, and St. Louis and Anton Stralman come to mind immediately. Stralman has been very good these playoffs, and I've already gone over St. Louis. Maybe there'll be a little extra motivation for both.

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I'm a Montreal fan so it's always sad to see the team get bounced from the playoffs. Tampa Bay is a good, deep team, and they deserved that series. They have been good all year, and seem to be on a roll heading into the East Final.

Let's face it: Carey Price wasn't his normal self in that series. The numbers aren't great, and he needed to be great for that Montreal team to win. That is the problem. In the first round, the Habs had a game where they scored four goals. They had a game in the second round where they scored six. In the other 10 games the team played, they scored an average of 1.5 goals per game. Relying on your goalie to limit the other team to one goal in over three-quarters of your games is a problem. Montreal wasn't able to score consistently all year, and a bad power play turned abysmal once the postseason hit. With guys like P.K. Subban, Andrei Markov, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Jeff Petry, and P.A. Parenteau, the Habs shouldn't be that bad on the power play. Bad luck or not, they just looked awful in their movement most of the time as well (they did look better in Game 5, but reverted back to old habits in Game 6).

Montreal has a core of Price, Subban, and Pacioretty all in their primes. There is enough to build around here. I don't think the problem is with the personnel, necessarily.

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The Anaheim Ducks start their series with the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. It's an interesting contrast in styles as the 'Hawks like to play more of the possession/forecheck game, while the create more high-probability shots at the peril of some underlying numbers at times. Both teams are very good at what they do, which makes me excited for this series to finally get going.

As good as the skaters are, I think this series comes down to goaltending. Not necessarily who can be great between Corey Crawford and Frederik Andersen, but who can keep their team in more games. Both are potent offences, and it would seem that no lead is safe for either side with the way both teams can score.

The first matchup I want to watch is Jonathan Toews and Ryan Getzlaf. Both players are among the elite centres in the NHL, and that's always a draw. I'll also be watching Corey Perry intently after taking that hit from Matt Stajan in the second round where it looked like he hyper-extended his knee. He may be just fine, but he has to show it come Sunday.

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UPCOMING GAMES

Jan 22 - 19:01 N.J vs BOS
Jan 22 - 19:01 TOR vs CBJ
Jan 22 - 21:01 COL vs WPG
Jan 22 - 22:01 L.A vs FLA

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
DARREN RADDYSH T.B
LANE HUTSON MTL
MIKE LUNDIN
KAAPO KAKKO SEA
PAVEL DOROFEYEV VGK

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
JAKE OETTINGER DAL
LOGAN THOMPSON WSH
LEEVI MERILAINEN OTT
IGOR SHESTERKIN NYR
SAM MONTEMBEAULT MTL

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency TOR Players
26.5 AUSTON MATTHEWS MITCH MARNER MATTHEW KNIES
20.1 WILLIAM NYLANDER BOBBY MCMANN PONTUS HOLMBERG
15.4 NICHOLAS ROBERTSON FRASER MINTEN MAX DOMI

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