With the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals complete and round two beginning tonight, it’s time to take a look at what we learned over the past two weeks and what to expect next before we begin the second chapter of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Washington Capitals (M1) vs Philadelphia Flyers (WC2) – WSH wins 4-2
The Presidents Trophy Wining Capitals jumped out to a 3-0 series lead before dropping two in a row, but were able to shutout Philadelphia in game 6 to win the series and advance.
Why Washington won
A. Braden Holtby was all that – The 26 year old goaltender only allowed five goals in the entire series, recording two shutouts in the process. In the games that Washington lost, the Caps’ offense was to blame, losing those contests 2-1 and 2-0. If Holtby keeps it up, Washington could ride his performance alone to its first Stanley Cup in franchise history
B. Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom found the net at crucial times – Ovechkin shined in games two and three, recording 2 goals, including the game winner, in game three. Backstrom, after only tallying one goal in the first five games, scored the only goal in game six, and it would ultimately prove to be the series winner for the Caps.
C. Power play success – The Caps converted on 8 of 25 power play opportunities in the series. What else needs to be said?
Why Philadelphia is out
A. Unforced errors – The Flyers had their chance to come back in this series after gaining momentum through wins in games five and six, but Philadelphia ultimately shot themselves in the foot. Philadelphia took 25 penalties in the series, and as aforementioned, Washington found the back of net in eight of those instances. In game two, goaltender Steve Mason allowed goal from the opposite end of the rink. Discipline is critical to playoff success, and the Flyers simply didn’t have it.
B. The power play was powerless – Almost an antithesis of Washington in this series, the Flyers power play went 1-24 on the extra-man advantage. Talk about a squandered opportunity against the top team in the league.
C. A early hole that was too deep to be dug out of – Going down 3-0 in a series is never a good thing, even if the Flyers were able to comeback in the same situation against Boston in 2010. Philadelphia was outscored 12-2 in that span, including a 6-1 debacle in front of a home crowd in game three. The Flyers were able to regroup in game five and six, but even then they only recorded 11 shots in game five, the lowest shot total by a winning team in NHL Playoff history. It was simply too much to overcome for a squad that was a serious mismatch for its opponent.
What’s next: The Capitals will face an old playoff rival as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, with game one set to take place in the nation’s capital on Sunday. The two last met in 2009, with the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Penguins winning the series in 7 games. The teams split the season series 2-2.
Pittsburgh Penguins (M2) vs New York Rangers (M3) – PIT wins 4-1
After being eliminated by the Rangers each of the last two postseasons, Pittsburgh was finally able to overcome their previous playoff hurdle with relative ease.
Why Pittsburgh won
A. The Power Play prevailed – Similarly to Washington, Pittsburgh converted on eight out of 21 power play opportunities in the series, scoring at least one power play goal in every game. An effective extra-man advantage is usually enough to overcome an opponent in the postseason.
B. End of the season momentum – The Penguins entered the playoffs as the leagues hottest team, winning 14 of their final 16 regular season games. That momentum carried right over to the playoffs, leading them to their first series win in 5 games or less since sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2009 Eastern Conference Final. Pittsburgh has now won 18 of their last 21 contests.
C. The star players played like star players – Nine goals were scored between Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Phil Kessel. In total, 21 goals were scored by the Penguins in a mere five games. Look out everyone, this offense is on a tear.
Why New York is out
A. Henrik Lundquist floundered – King Lundquist played like anything but a king in this series. Not only was he roughed up in game one, leaving the contest due to an injury, but he allowed 12 goals on the last 71 shots he faced in the series. To put things even more in perspective, Lundquist allowed six goals on 23 shots in the deciding game five, which he didn’t even finish. At the end of the day, royalty did not reign.
B. MSG was no home sweet home – After winning game two to tie the series heading back to New York, the Rangers dropped both contests in the Big Apple, blowing a 1-0 2nd period lead to lose game three 3-1 before getting blown out in game five by a score of 5-1.
C. Lack of speed – Even with quality skaters in the form of Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh, the Rangers’s line-up was no match for Pittsburgh’s star-studded line up led by Malkin and Crosby. It proved nightmares for New York’s defensive effort, and that didn’t help an already struggling Lundquist in net.
What’s next – Pittsburgh travels to Washington D.C. on Sunday to begin a best of seven series with the President’s Trophy winning Capitals, and we expect this to be a high scoring, hard hitting affair between two teams with intertwining playoff history. Pittsburgh won the series 4-3 when the two last met in 2009.
Florida Panthers (A1) vs New York Islanders (WC1) – NYI wins 4-2
They’re back. For the first time since 1993, the New York Islanders have won a playoff series, doing so in dramatic fashion over the Florida Panthers
Why New York won
A. “Never Say Die” mentality – Three times in this series a game went to overtime, and the Islanders won all of them. In game three, they were down 3-1 before storming back to tie the game before Thomas Hickey found the back of the net in overtime to end it. In game five, they survived five periods of hockey to prevail in double overtime and take a 3-2 series back to Barclays Center. In game six, the Islanders scored the game tying goal in the final minute before once again prevailing in double overtime via a wrap-around beauty by JohnTavares. If we’ve learned anything, never count out the boys from Long Island.
B. John Tavares fulfilled his role as captain – Tavares recorded both the last minute game-tying goal and overtime series-winning goal in game six. He recorded a total of five goals and four assists in the series. Can we start calling him “Captain Clutch” from here on out in the postseason?
C. The power play and penalty kill shined – The Islanders were brilliant on special teams in the series, with a power play success rate of 25 percent and a penalty kill rate of 86.7 percent. In the end, New York did the superior job of taking advantage of opportunities and overcoming adversity in this series.
Why Florida is out
A. Overtime nightmares- Don’t mention the word “overtime” to the Florida Panthers. Three of their four losses in the series came in overtime, twice in the fifth period, and twice after blowing a late lead. Florida has now lost the last eight playoff overtime games they have played in, dating back to game four of the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.
B. Roberto Luongo was underwhelming- The Florida goaltender wasn’t himself in this series, allowing 10 goals through the first three games alone. He would cut that amount in half to only five in the last three games, but he struggled to perform when Florida had the lead, allowing New York to chip away at several late-game deficits en route to Islander overtime wins.
C. Heading to the box at the wrong time – Florida was doomed in several games as the result of untimely penalties. Most notably, an unforced slashing penalty on Derek MacKenzie in double overtime of game five led to Alan Quine’s game-winning power play goal, giving New York the series lead for good. Whether or not Florida would have won game five and the series without that miscue will remain a mystery.
What’s next: The Islanders will go for the sweep of Florida hockey teams, as they face the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning in round two. It is the first time that the two have ever met in the playoffs. New York won the regular season series 2-1.
Tampa Bay Lightning (A2) vs Detroit Red Wings (A3) – TB wins 4-1
For the second consecutive season, the Lighting knocked out the Red Wings in the first round, this time doing so in a mere five games after going the distance to game seven a year ago.
Why Tampa won
A. Home sweet home – The Lightning dominated on home ice, taking all three games in Tampa by scores of 3-2, 5-2, and 1-0. The Red Wings only led at the Amalie Arena for less than a full period during game one, and the electric crowd that accompanied Tampa’s stellar performance in their own backyard was enough for the Gulf Coast’s team to quickly dispose of the 11-time Stanley Cup champions.
B. Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn – After breaking out last postseason, the duo of high-flying young skaters proved once again to be the difference maker in this series. Kucherov and Killorn combined to score eight goals in the series, with Killorn knocking in the lone goal in game five that won the series for the Bolts. Clutch.
C. Ben Bishop ended with a bang – The Tampa goaltender shined in the series finale, stopping all 34 shots in game five. He only allowed seven goals over the course of the series. Time will tell if Bishop will be able to repeat his success in round two against New York.
Why Detroit is out:
A. Empty tank at the end – Just when it looked like Detroit had a chance to take Tampa Bay to overtime in game four and potentially head back to Tampa tied at two games apiece, the Lightning scored the go ahead goal on the power play to win game three and take a commanding 3-1 lead. Detroit’s inability to find the back of the net in game five ultimately did the team in for good, leaving Detroit without a playoff series victory for three straight years.
B. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk were nonexistent – The two most experienced veterans on the Detroit qquad suffered a similar fate to that of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. While usually reliable in the postseason, the two sputtered in the series. Zetterberg was held to only one goal. Datsyuk on the other hand was shutout in the series, bringing a quiet ending to one of the greatest hockey playing careers the Motor City has seen in recent history.
C. Jimmy Howard sprung too many leaks – The Red Wings’ goaltender allowed eight goals in the first two games before being replaced by Petr Mrazek, who would shut out Tampa in his first start in game three – Detroit’s lone win in the series. The letdown from a goaltender with playoff experience every year this decade proved costly, as even Mrazek’s 4 goal performance over three games was not enough to put the Detroit back in the series.
What’s next: Tampa faces the New York Islanders, with game one set for tonight in Tampa. Oddly enough, the round two opener will take place before a round one series finishes, as Anaheim and Nashville face off in a game seven three hours after the puck drops at the Amalie Arena. New York won the regular season regular season series 2-1, and it marks the first time that the two squads meet in the playoffs. To put in perspective, Nikita Kucherov was not yet born the last time the Islanders won a playoff series prior to Sunday night.