It's not exactly the wild, expansive west. Instead of playoff series being waged over thousands of miles between teams who have never won a Stanley Cup, the Eastern Conference semifinals will take part in four mid-Atlantic cities that are short train rides apart from each other. While none of the post-lockout Stanley Cup winners remain, the four eastern teams have won 16 playoff series since the lockout, compared to only four series wins combined between St. Louis, Los Angeles, Nashville and Phoenix.
New York Rangers (1) vs Washington Capitals (7)
Season Series: Tied 2-2-0
New York, March/April (Playoffs): 11-9-1 (4-3)
Washington, March/April (Playoffs): 10-6-3 (4-3)
Outlook: Is it accurate to call Henrik Lundqvist the Vezina favorite? Jonathan Quick has been every bit as good, if not better, but Lundqvist is realistically putting up the best numbers he'll ever put up as a pro in front of a Rangers team having a banner-type year. Regardless of any accolades, he may have been the best player for New York in the first round, especially late in Game 7 when Milan Michalek and Ottawa were throwing everything they could at him. The Rangers benefitted from their ability to implement their own methodical and physical style of hockey with a high work ethic in the Ottawa series, avoiding the up-tempo end-to-end rushes the Senators prefer.
Defensively, Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh hardly left the ice, with Girardi's 28:03 average ice time the most amongst players who made it to the second round. No team blocked more shots than the Rangers in the first round, with Girardi leading all skaters in the playoffs with 30 blocks. Marc Staal rounds out the stay-at-home core of the Rangers' defense and was terrific late in the first round. Up front, more will be needed from Marian Gaborik, who scored once in seven games after a 41-goal regular season but couldn't get going in five-on-five play with Brad Richards, who appeared more comfortable on the power play.
Chris Kreider could be a wild card as a creative and highly skilled young forward able to chip in with offense and thrive in all situations; John Tortorella wasn't afraid to use him in the final minute of Game 7. After St. Louis and Los Angeles, New York allowed the fewest goals during the regular season and will once again be looking to replicate the defensive nature of its effort against Ottawa – a series in which three goals scored meant certain victory.
Washington missed the services of Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green during large swaths of the season, and both players turned in key performances in the Capitals' seven-game upset of the Boston Bruins. Washington was 24-16-2 in Backstrom's 42 regular-season games, and while the three weren't always skating together, his presence took some of the pressure off Alex Ovechkin, who led the team in scoring with five points in the first round, and Alex Semin, who scored three times. Backstrom tallied four points against Boston, including a double-overtime game winner in Game 2, and should be able to prop up a power play that is capable of more than the 3-18 effort against the Bruins.
Green was poised and competent throughout the first round, averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time while recording a plus-five rating. He saw most of his time alongside Roman Hamrlik, while 23-year old Karl Alzner, who averaged just a shade less than 25 minutes of action, should work alongside 22-year old former American World Juniors hero John Carlson. Power-play specialist Dennis Wideman struggled at times against Boston and will face another stiff challenge with the size and physicality of New York's forwards. In net, Braden Holtby provided an unsung performance necessary to win a playoff series and was better than Tim Thomas, stopping 233 of 248 shots to lead the first-round upset. Despite never having advanced past the first round in juniors or in the minor leagues, he displayed a veteran unflappability in net while outplaying Tim Thomas and is responsible for adding a spark to this streaking Capitals squad. Do the intangibles finally favor Washington? After two years of roaring into the playoffs as favorites before spectacular flameouts, could this team be more comfortable in an underdog role?
X-Factor: Alex Ovechkin, Washington. Despite any slights toward his leadership or the Capitals' postseason success, Ovechkin has recorded 55 points in his 44 career playoff games. He has four one-hundred point seasons and a 65-goal season under his belt, but is still waiting for the signature playoff performance to accentuate his immense talent. Sidney Crosby hasn't exactly experienced a renaissance in popularity recently, so what better time than now for Ovi to carry this Washington team on his back to the second round? Is a 10- or 12-point series possible?
Prediction: New York in six.
Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs New Jersey Devils (6)
Season Series: Philadelphia: 3-2-1; New Jersey: 3-2-1
Philadelphia, March/April (Playoffs): 13-5-2 (4-2)
New Jersey, March/April (Playoffs): 13-5-2 (4-3)
Outlook: Philadelphia's first-round series against Pittsburgh was impossible not to watch. The offensively charged rivalry featured 21 power-play goals, 12 of which were scored by the Flyers in only 23 chances In the regular season, Scott Hartnell finished second in the league with 16 power-play goals; his five power-play playoff points are respectable and part of a team-wide breathtaking offensive pace. No other scorer is within five points of Claude Giroux's 14 points thus far, and only Nashville's Francis Boullion can touch his plus-six rating. Danny Briere scored five times against Pittsburgh, while Jaromir Jagr was pulling the strings with five power-play assists. In other words, this is not a team that should be given extra opportunities on the power play, because they will take advantage.
It takes an unsung contributor to win a playoff series, and Philadelphia received a hard-nosed six-point performance from Brayden Schenn. His effort opposite Wayne Simmonds' pesky, forechecking characteristics has provided a good compete level on Philadelphia's second line. Really, after Jagr, Hartnell and Giroux, all three lines are able to provide quality minutes and chip in with scoring, while Jakub Voracek and Matt Read are capable of handling the point on the power play. Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle saw the heaviest minutes on the blueline in the first round, though Kimmo Timonen is a power-play quarterback with a heavy shot and an underrated veteran who was extremely valuable in both ends of the ice during the Flyers' run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Ilya Bryzgalov was good enough to be better than a discombobulated Marc Andre-Fleury in the first round, which says very little. He's a better goalie than his regular-season numbers indicated, though Philadelphia is still apparently a team that wins up-tempo games by outgunning their opposition. That could prove to be a challenge against a New Jersey team that hasn't strayed too far from Lou Lamoriello's methodical and opportunistic, defense-first philosophy.
A previously up-against-the-ropes Devils team gets an opportunity to hit the reset button after a tense seven-game series win against Florida, though there will be little time for relief before they travel a mere 85 miles down the New Jersey Turnpike to face a familiar rival. These teams have met in four playoff series since 1995, with each team winning twice. Most recently, seventh-seeded Philadelphia won a five-game series over second-seeded New Jersey in 2010 en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. Martin Brodeur will turn 40 years old the day of Game 4. He was fine in the Florida series, but may need a 30- to 60-minute respite to refocus against such an explosive Philadelphia lineup, so expect to see Johan Hedberg make a cameo similar to Game 3 against Florida, when he spelled Brodeur for the final 36 minutes.
The Devils' top performers offensively resembled the crew that stealthily produced three 30-goal scorers in the regular season. Ilya Kovalchuk was the most dangerous player in the Florida-New Jersey series, and combined with an effective Travis Zajac who led the team with six points, along with David Clarkson, Zach Parise and Adam Henrique – the latter of whom scored the opening goal and the second overtime game-winner in Game 7 – the Devils once again have a balanced, consistent offense. Stephen Gionta provided some unsung minutes with a two-goal, three-point, plus-five performance. New Jersey had the league's best penalty kill in the regular season but struggled mightily against Florida, allowing nine goals.
Any realistic scenario that has the Devils advancing relies on their ability to shut down Philadelphia's outnumbered and power-play chances. Marek Zidlicky was effective against Florida and provides the team's best puck moving and creative services from the blue line. He'll likely see time alongside Bryce Salvador, who occupies a more rugged defensive role, along with Anton Volchenkov. While Philadelphia may be emerging as an Eastern Conference favorite, both New Jersey and the New York Rangers are teams well equipped to handle their speed, transition and special teams. If the Devils' penalty kill holds the Flyers offense in check, this series likely goes seven games.
X-Factor: Ilya Kovalchuk, New Jersey. Kovalchuk didn't leave the ice much in the regular season, leading all forwards with an average ice time of 24:26. Though he only recently won his first playoff series, he's going to have to be New Jersey's best forward and score opportune goals late in games of a series that won't be nearly as high scoring as Philadelphia-Pittsburgh. He'll need to add to his one even strength playoff goal.
Prediction: Philadelphia in 6.
