| Quebec Nordiques vs. New York Islanders Overview: Quebec heads into their third postseason with their same goal as the previous two seasons, the Stanley Cup. This year’s Quebec squad, however, seems to be more prepared to reach their goal than ever before. In the first round, GM Ankur Malhotra and the Nords face a struggling Islander team that finished the regular season with five consecutive losses. Despite their struggles this season, the Islanders know how to play in the playoffs as they were the Stanley Cup runner-up last season. While the #1 seed Quebec is a heavy favorite, the team must keep its composure to get the job done in the early rounds. Quebec Nordiques Strengths: This season, the Nords routinely overwhelmed their opponents by lighting the lamp consistently while maintaining an excellent team defense. While finishing only behind Detroit and Calgary in team defense, Quebec had the league’s most proficient power play and also finished third in scoring. Norris Trophy candidate Niklas Lidstrom led the defense throughout the year and finished first in the CFHL in defensemen scoring. Lidstrom is aided on defense by the corps of Jay Bouwmeester, Joni Pitkanen, Derek Morris, Ed Jovanovski, and Jeff Jillson. All are solid two-way players who have extremely promising futures. On offense, the team doesn’t have one dominant scorer, but many options to provide scoring. The top line of Jason Spezza, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Jeff O’Neill is one of the most feared lines in the league while Riku Hahl, Petr Schastlivy, and Jonathan Cheechoo have to be watched closely by opposing defenses. Captain Steve Yzerman brings desperately needed playoff experience to this young energetic squad. Goaltending is also a strength with either Theodore and Blackburn capable of winning a game by himself. Weaknesses: While Quebec feeds off its youthful energy, this may hurt them as well. Young players tend to struggle under the immense playoff pressure, and this could doom the Nordiques. With only one playoff veteran in Yzerman, the youngsters must provide leadership and consistency is the team wants to go deep into the playoffs. Also, speed on defense is a question mark. Bouwmeester and Morris are the only defensemen with above average speed, so opponents may look to capitalize on the skating liabilities of Jovocop, Jillson, and Pitkanen. Other than experience and the skating abilities of the defensemen, it’s hard to find any more weaknesses of these Stanley Cup contenders. New York Islanders Strengths: Experience plays a large role in a playoff series, and the Isles have an abundance of it. Mario Lemieux, Brendan Shanahan, Petr Bondra, Theo Fleury, Brian Leetch, and Darryl Sydor have been here many times prior and know what to expect in the intense postseason. Quebec must contend with Super Mario, one of the CFHL’s all-time great players. Bondra and Shanahan are savvy veteran snipers who step up their play in the playoffs. Leetch is the team’s power play QB and makes up for his defensive struggles by joining the offensive rush and finding the open man. Steve Moore has a penchant for huge postseasons and will need to continue this is the Isles hope to advance. Other players to watch on GM Paul Lauer’s team are Anson Carter, last year’s Calder winner Raffi Torres, and elite prospect Joffrey Lupul. The team’s penalty kill, led by gritty forechecking forwards Greg Classen and Theo Fleury, is a special team strength as it finished third in the CFHL this past regular season. Weaknesses: Team defense has been a problem for the Isles all season. Dmitri Kalinin is the only solid stay-at-home defender while Leetch, Sydor, and Willie Mitchell are primarily offensive defensemen. Goalies Steve Shields and Kevin Weekes don’t instill fear in opponents and are often victims of odd man rushes. Age is a concern for New York as well. Lemieux, Shanahan, Bondra, Leetch, and Fleury, the team’s group of stars, are all in the tail end of their careers and may break down physically in the grueling playoffs. Can the Isles stars still perform well enough in the twilight of their careers to beat a youthful Nordique team? Prediction: Quebec in 5. Nordiques take advantage of New York’s lack of defense. New Jersey Devils vs. Hartford Whalers Overview: The New Jersey Devils, the second seed in the Wales Conference, finished the regular season with three consecutive wins and face the seventh seed Hartford Whalers in the first round of the CFHL Playoffs. GM Jamie Alves, who’s been busy with league duties recently, leads his overachieving team into the playoffs to revenge last season’s first round defeat. Hartford and GM Sylvain Dallaire are looking for their second CFHL Stanley Cup as they already won in the CFHL’s inaugural season. New Jersey Devils Strengths: The Devils always seem to get a timely goal from an unlikely source. Wingers Alexei Kovalev (4th in the CFHL in scoring), Jere Lehtinen, and Brian Gionta (Calder Trophy candidate) are the team’s best players, but underrated players such as Jason Krog and Josef Vasicek make this team click. Defenseman Bubba Berenzweig has been a pleasant surprise on the blueline and tallied 23 goals, tied for tops in the league with Sergei Gonchar. G Jocelyn Thibault is familiar with the playoff atmosphere and had a solid season. Behind him is mega-prospect Kari Lehtonen, who could likely have his name on a CFHL Vezina Trophy in the future. Steve Eminger and Oleg Tverdovsky are two productive puck-moving defensemen who fire shots from the point on the power play. Maxim Afinogenov has lightning speed and prolific scoring ability, but if he can play with more toughness in the postseason, he’ll add another dimension to the already potent Devil offense. Weaknesses: Just the like the Islanders, the Devils lack a plethora of stay-at-home defensemen. While Berenzweig is defensively responsible, he has more of an attacking mentality, and the other defensemen aren’t nearly as strong in their own end. Pressure will be on Tverdovsky, Eminger, Alexander Khavanov, and Daryl Andrews to stop the Whalers’ high-powered offense. Also, New Jersey lacks an experienced veteran who could set the tone in the locker room and on the ice. The big question for the Devils in the postseason is this: Can their overachievers continue to produce in the intense pressure of the playoffs? Hartford Whalers Strengths: The Whalers have way too much talent to be the seventh seed in the Wales Conference. Two years after winning it all, basically the same core players lead an inconsistent Hartford team against the Devils. Patrik Elias, Daniel Alfredsson, Pavel Bure, and Sergei Fedorov lead their potent offense while slick Eric Brewer and rugged Zdeno Chara anchor the defense. Brian Rafalski leads an excellent power play (3rd in the league) and is basically a fourth forward on the ice. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov is unbeatable some nights, yet on others looks completely lost. Hartford has the talent to go all the way again, they just need to put it all together, something they haven’t done yet this year. Weaknesses: Inconsistency. The Whalers have some of the best forwards in the game, a relatively stable defense, and a young capable goalie. However, they just seem to be missing the gritty-like player who energizes and motivates championship caliber teams as well as the ability to come to play every night. Durability is also a concern because Bure, Saku Koivu, Alfredsson, and Brewer are prone to injuries. Speedy Brendan Morrison must contribute more in the playoffs than he did in the regular season (60 pts in 77 games as a top line player). If the start of the playoffs is enough to motivate the Whalers to come to play, all they need is the defense to keep the puck out of the net because the scoring will be there. Prediction: Devils in 6. Injuries are a concern for Hartford, and Kovalev, Gionta and Lehtinen continue their strong play. Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Rangers Overview: The Montreal Canadiens and GM Rick Jaynes look to overcome last season’s first round exit as they face a Rangers team on the decline. Although three seeds separate these teams, Montreal only finished a meager four points over the Rangers in the regular season. Rangers GM Josh Rose, hired earlier in the regular season, has changed his team’s look by adding scoring forwards Alexei Yashin and Adam Deadmarsh to make his offense more powerful. Look for a tight series between the young, inconsistent Canadiens and the enigmatic Rangers. Montreal Canadiens Strengths: Star winger Jaromir Jagr leads a balanced attack while stellar defenseman Chris Pronger directs a physical defensive corps that ranked in the top third of the league during the regular season. Wingers Matt Pettinger and Steve Sullivan have also been offensive stalwarts this season, notching 36 and 29 goals respectively. Goalie Brian Boucher had a brilliant campaign once again as he won 35 games and his goals against was below 3.50. He’ll have to be sharp in the playoffs if the Habs hope to advance. Pronger, Brad Ference, Kyle Rossiter, and Wade Brookbank are a nasty group of defensemen who aren’t afraid to mix it up. What the Canadien defensemen lack in speed, they make up for in toughness. Also, the Habs boast a group of defensively responsible forwards who are solid in either end of the rink. Weaknesses: This season was probably a disappointment by Jagr’s standards. With only 80 points in 79 games compared to 105 (and over 50 goals) in a full slate last year, Jagr will be looking to release his frustration on the Rangers in the first round. As a result of the toughness of the Habs’ defense, they commit a lot of penalties, giving the opposition plenty of man advantage situations. Montreal’s penalty kill needs to step up their play in the postseason because they finished in the middle of the pack during the regular season. The Habs need Jagr to become the player he was in last year’s playoffs to make a run this season. New York Rangers Strengths: The Rangers, statistically speaking, are very similar to Montreal in terms of scoring and defensive production. The addition of players such as Chris Chelios, Brian Savage, Shawn Bates, Gary Roberts, Deadmarsh, and Yashin has given the team more experience, and GM Rose hopes this pays off in the playoffs. Defensive specialist Curtis Brown has been shockingly productive offensively, finishing second in scoring, just behind Yashin. Sean Burke has been solid in net this year and has logged a lot of minutes. The Rangers offense must ignite in the playoffs to make up for their lack of defensive talent. Weaknesses: When GM Rose was hired, he immediately traded away his top four defensemen: Mattias Ohlund, Pavel Kubina, Brent Sopel, and Brad Stuart. From these trades, Rose did not acquire much defensive talent in return. The best remaining defender is Kim Johnsson, who is average at best. Also, the lack of goaltending depth may come back to haunt them. After the trade of mega-prospect Daniel Blackburn, Sean Burke was forced to log an insane amount of minutes without a capable backup to give him rest. If Burke is affected by his heavy workload in the playoffs and comes down with an injury, expect the Rangers to be heading home soon after. Prediction: Montreal in 6. Habs forwards are too much for revamped Ranger defense. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Buffalo Sabres Overview: Pittsburgh started the season hot, but lately the Pens have cooled off, losing their final four games and finishing 2 and 8 in their last 10. For the Sabres, it’s been the opposite. After a horrific start to the season, the Sabres have picked up their play and moved up from the eighth to the fifth seed over the last five games. Like Hartford, the Sabres are blessed with loads of talent, but can’t seem to produce consistently. The Pens have plenty of scoring options and will be a challenge for the Sabres to defend. Pittsburgh Penguins Strengths: Paul Kariya is one of the deadliest scorers in the CFHL and will be expected to contribute on offense throughout the playoffs. Young center Brad Richards and gritty Chris Drury had huge regular seasons tallying over 70 points apiece. One of the most underrated players in the league, winger Milan Bartovic, was a 30 goal scorer this past season. Kyle Calder and Andrew Brunette are also threats in the offensive zone. Pittsburgh boasts a decent number of offensive defensemen, and as a result they are dangerous with a man advantage. Pavel Kubina, Tom Poti, and Ross Lupaschuk are excellent at distributing the puck and add a new dimension to the Penguins attack. Weaknesses: Pittsburgh lacks consistent goaltending and struggles in the defensive zone. The lone stay-at-home defenseman is Alexei Tezikov, who excelled in his own end during the regular season. Most of the other defensemen focus solely on attacking and are defensive liabilities. Also, the Penguins have no true team leader. Someone, possibly Kariya or Tony Amonte, must step forward in the playoffs and guide this team as far as they can go. Buffalo Sabres Strengths: The Sabres probably have one of the best teams in the entire league on paper. However, when it came to game time, the Sabres just couldn’t seem to produce as a team this season. Joe Thornton, Jarome Iginla, Eric Daze, Ryan Smyth, David Legwand, and Keith Tkachuk are all-star caliber players on offense while the Sabres take pride in their strength and speed on defense. Branislav Mezei and Janne Niinimaa are the top pairing, while Ron Hainsey and Rostislav Klesla are an excellent power play duo. Legwand, Iginla, and Scott Hartnell all lit the lamp 30 times or more this season. Backup goalie Marc Denis was a surprise as he finished third in the CFHL in goals against average. Weaknesses: Nikolai Khabibulin doesn’t even deserve to be called inconsistent. Maybe it’s because I’ve used the word inconsistent well over twenty times in this preview, or because he was downright awful this season. The Bulin Hole had a losing record and could not stop the puck at any crucial juncture. If Khabibulin falters early on in the playoffs, look for Denis to become the starter as he did earlier in the season. In terms of offense, Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla have cooled off, and the Sabres are toast if they don’t contribute. Prediction: Penguins in 7. What kind of GM picks against his own team? |