Two weeks into the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, all but one quarterfinal series round has been completed out west, and the stage is largely set for yet another dose of chaos in round two. Naturally we’d wait until the quarterfinals are over to do a complete recap, but the NHL has thrown a curveball by beginning a second round series before the completion of a first round series, so here is what we learned (or are still learning in one case) from the Western Conference Quarterfinals.
Anaheim Ducks (P1) vs Nashville Predators (WC1) – Series tied 3-3
Shall we get the odd-ball out of the way first? After six games of heavy momentum swings, the Ducks and Predators will play a decisive game seven in Anaheim AFTER the first game of round two between Tampa and New York takes place on Wednesday night. It will be first game 7 in franchise history for Nashville, and the fourth for Anaheim in the last four seasons.
Ducks fans however know that having home ice for a do-or-die situation is nothing to cheer about. Each of the last three seasons, the Ducks have been eliminated in a game seven – all on home ice, and all after blowing a 3-2 series lead. What’s more, Bruce Boudreau’s 1-6 record in game sevens as a coach is the worst in NHL history. Though Boudreau’s contract is set through the end of the next season, patience is quickly running out among the Ducks’ faithful.
If the Predators want to add another chapter of Anaheim’s tortured history of game sevens, Pekka Rinne will have to shine like he did in game 6, stopping all but 1 shot en route to a 3-1 victory. Defenceman Shea Weber will need to continue his strong performance in this series that has featured two goals, and left winger Filip Forsberg will have to find his groove after failing to record a single point in the last five games.
If Anaheim is to exorcise their game seven demons and avoid humiliation for the fourth year in a row, captain Ryan Getzlaf is going to have to step up to the plate when it matters most, having recorded an abominable combined point total of -9 in game sixes and sevens since 2013. Winger Corey Perry will have also to finally break through, still having yet to find the back of the net in this series coming off a nightmarish -3 performance in game six. If they can’t get it done and the former prevails, it will be open season once again in the OC.
Los Angeles Kings (P2) vs San Jose Sharks (P3) – SJ wins 3-1
Two years after blowing a 3-0 lead to Los Angeles in round one, the Sharks got their revenge against their arch-rivals by knocking out the two-time champs in a mere five games, a series which many predicted to go all the way to game seven.
Why San Jose won:
A. Joe Pavelski couldn’t be stopped – The veteran center scored a series high five goals, powering a Sharks offense that 16 goals in five games. Pavelski’s performance included a two goal outing in game one, and that proved to be the difference maker in that contest as San Jose prevailed 4-3.
B. Brent Burns lived up to the Norris Trophy hype – Alongside Pavelski, Burns stole the show in the upset win over Los Angeles. The defenceman took off with an impressive eight points in the series, recording two goals and six assists. If he keeps up the pace, Burns and company could create nightmares on defense for future playoff opponents.
C. Martin Jones made the big stops when it mattered – While Jones did allow 12 goals in the series, he was able to stop shots when it counted most, preserving one goal leads in three of the squad’s four victories. It wasn’t an all-star performance, but the ability to rise to the occasion in critical situations is all that’s required for a team to go far in the playoffs.
Why Los Angeles is out:
A. Home ice woes – Home ice advantage was no advantage for the Kings in this series. Los Angeles lost all three contests at Staples Center, including a lopsided game 5 by a score of 6-3. What else is there to say when you can’t win in front of your hometown crowd of 18,000 plus?
B. Jonathan Quick crumbled – The all-star version of Quick that we have come to know it recent years was nowhere to be found in this series, allowing 15 goals over five games. That included a disastrous game five performance in which he surrendered five goals, some on shots that one would expect to be routine stops for Quick based on previous performances.. San Jose exploited Quick’s funk in this series, and it doomed Los Angeles in the end.
C. Demoralization from the start – Even though Los Angeles could have taken confidence from doing the improbable against San Jose the last time the two met in the playoffs, the Kings were in a bad place to begin with entering the playoffs. Los Angeles still faced the question of how they squandered what was seemingly an insurmountable lead in the Pacific Division to the Anaheim Ducks, and a 5-6-1 finish to the season did nothing to light a spark for the Kings in April. In a sport that is so heavily defined by momentum at the right time, Los Angeles had none of it.
What’s next: San Jose awaits the winner of the Anaheim vs. Nashville series to determine their round two opponent. San Jose and Anaheim met once in the postseason in 2009, with the eight-seeded Ducks upsetting the Presidents Trophy-winning Sharks in six games. San Jose and Nashville have never met in the postseason.
Dallas Stars (C1) vs Minnesota Wild (WC2) – DAL wins 4-2
After a game six scare that nearly saw them blow a 4-0 third period lead against Minnesota, the Dallas Stars have won a postseason series for the first time since beating the San Jose Sharks in the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals.
Why Dallas won:
A. Off-season trades paid off – The playoff experience that Dallas received from recent acquisitions paid off in round one. Patrick Sharp scored both goals for the Stars in their 2-1 game two victory, and tallied a third in game five, good enough to make the difference in the narrow 5-4 win. Johnny Oduya also got on the board with a goal in game five. Take away the chemistry that these two brought from Chicago, and this series may have not panned out in the Stars’ favor.
B. Tyler Seguin’s loss was minimal – The “Star of the Stars'” absence in game one did not stop Dallas from dominating the Wild in a 4-0 victory. After playing game two and reaggravating his Achilles tendon injury, which forced him out the rest of the series, Dallas continued to adapt without Seguin on the ice. Though they slipped in a 5-2 game three loss, the top-scoring team in the league didn’t let up, tallying 12 goals in the final three games, and 19 goals in the games that Seguin did not play in.
C. Goal-tending options – While this was not a series defined by defense, Dallas used their resource of two goalies with heavy starting-experience to their full advantage. When Lethonen looked vulnerable, head coach Lindy Ruff had the option of going with Antti Niemi, and vice-versa in game six. While neither one necessarily dominated, having a quality starting goalie with extra rest at your disposal is never a bad thing.
Why Minnesota is out
A. Out-matched in every statistical category – Scoring, goal-tending, points….not one category favored the Wild in this series other than more recent playoff experience than Dallas. 22 points separated the two squads in the regular season, making it remarkable that Minnesota came to a fraction, literally a fraction, of an inch to potentially forcing a game seven against the best in the west.
B. Zach Parise’s absence – While Seguin’s absence didn’t prove as costly for a Dallas squad that was firing and scoring on all cylinders, Parise’s absence for Minnesota was. With 30 career playoff goals and 25 on the season before his late-season injury, the loss of the Wild’s workhorse was devastating for a squad that was already facing an incredibly difficult challenge against Dallas from the start. Would Minnesota have forced overtime in game two or six had he been on the ice? We will never know.
C. A sputtering start – Minnesota only managed to find the back of the net once in the first 12o minutes of the series, and Parise’s absence cannot be blamed for that. What else is there to say other than that seeing the red lights only go off once in that span of time isn’t going to work to your favor in the the playoffs?
What’s next: Dallas will host the St. Louis Blues in round two, with game one set for Friday night at the AAC. It is the 13th playoff series between the two dating back to the Stars’ days in Minnesota. The two most previously met in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2001 in which the Blues swept the Stars, 4-0.
St. Louis Blues (C2) vs Chicago Blackhawks (C3) – STL wins 4-3
There will be a new Stanley Cup champion in 2016, as the Blues won a thrilling game seven over the Blachawks to eliminate the defending champs and advance past the first round for the first time since 2012.
Why St. Louis won
A. Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko lit up the scoreboard- The two wingers for St. Louis combined for 13 points and seven goals in the series, including a two goal performance by Tarasenko in game four. That proved to be too much even for two of the best defenceman in the league in Duncan Kieth and Brent Seabrook. If the two keep it up, Dallas will have their work cut out for them next round by all means.
B. Brian Elliot handled the pressure of the playoffs – After dismal playoff outings in recent years, one that saw him get benched for game six a year ago, Elliot finally broke through in this series, recording a shutout right out of the gate in game one. His dominance would continue even in a 2-1 game two loss that featured a controversial game winning goal for Chicago, and his solid start to the series was good enough for St. Louis to take both games three and four in Chicago. When Elliot and company found the series tied at 3 after allowing five goals in game six, he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him, stop all but two shots in game seven with the assistance of the red metal on both sides of him.
C. Home ice – It might sound cliche, but after blowing a 3-1 lead and already having a reputation for chocking in the playoffs, playing game seven in St. Louis opposed to Chicago was the x-factor for the Blues in the series finale. After a hot start that saw the Blues go up 2-0 in the first period, the crowd was rocking and the energy of the spectators carried right over to the ice. Even though the Hawks would tie the game in the second period, the go-ahead goal for St. Louis in the third period reinvigorated the crowd of over 18,000 on hand and restored the hostile environment that arguably made life so difficult for the Hawks in the early going. If this game was played in Chicago, I’m not so certain we’d be guaranteed a new Stanley Cup champion at this rate.
Why Chicago is out
A. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were a disaster – Toews recorded a goose-egg in the goal scoring department in a playoff series for the first time this decade. Patrick Kane only scored once, and it was the result of a St. Louis miscue that gave him a wide-open net in overtime in game five. Could things have been any worse for one of the most feared duos in the league?
B. The salary cap – The bubble always has to burst, and for Chicago it did. The past 12 months saw the departure of a solid portion of the player core that led the Hawks to their previous titles, including Brandon Saad, Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp. In the end, the absence of that championship caliber experience and chemistry came back to bite Chicago in the postseason.
C. Inability to attack right out of the gate – Only once in this series did Chicago go sixty minutes without trailing. Even if you have a playoff dynasty going for you, no team will every tell you that they want to play from behind. For Chicago, the lack of urgency displayed at times caught up to them in the form of a first round exit.
What’s Next: The Blues face the Dallas Stars in round two, a team they beat four out of five times this season. As aforementioned, it’s the 13th meeting in the playoffs between the two, with the Blues most recently sweeping the Stars in the second round of the 2001 conference semifinals.