Stanley Cup Second Round Preview

Round one has gone in the books of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and what an opening round it was. Out of the 42 games that were played in the opening round, 18 of them went into overtime, the most in the opening round in league history. It was also the first time since 2001 that no first round series went the full seven games. There were some upsets coming out of the first round as well. Chicago and San Jose were bounced in the opening round, Minnesota was bounced in five, and the Flames got extinguished in a sweep. As far as the East goes, Toronto, Boston, Montreal and Columbus all got sent packing. The Jackets went out in five, while the other three bowed out in six.

So now here we sit with eight teams left standing. Lets get into the 2nd round preview.

First up, its the President's Trophy winners the Washington Capitals taking on the 2nd seed in the Metrooolitan Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington got here by knocking off the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games. For the 3rd straight year and 5th time in the last six playoff appearances, the Capitals are playing in the 2nd round. The Caps are looking to get to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 1998. With the win in the opening round, the Capitals have now won 113 playoff games in franchise history. As for the Penguins, they took care of business in the opening round by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games. For the forth time in the last five years, and 2nd year in a row, the Pens are back in the 2nd round. Pittsburgh is looking to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2nd year in a row. The Pens have now won 188 playoff games in franchise history. This is the tenth playoff meeting between these teams and the second consecutive in the second round. Pittsburgh has won eight of the nine previous series including last year's confrontation which ended in six games. These teams split their four-game regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 27 Pittsburgh Penguins 7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
April 29 Pittsburgh Penguins 8:00 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
May 1 Washington Capitals 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
May 3 Washington Capitals 7:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
May 6 Pittsburgh Penguins TBD Washington Capitals Verizon Center
May 8 Washington Capitals TBD Pittsburgh Penguins PPG Paints Arena
May 10 Pittsburgh Penguins TBD Washington Capitals Verizon Center

Seems like these two teams always face each other in the playoffs. Look at last year, the Pens took out Washington in the 2nd round on the way to the title anyway. What's amazing is that the Penguins are standing here now without Matt Murray in net or without Kris Letang on the blue line, who's done for the year with a neck injury. As far as the goaltending goes, Marc-Andre Fleury took the starting job right back when Murray went down and showed people flashes of his old self in the opening round against the Jackets. It was almost a reversal of what happened last year, when Murray replaced Fleury and never looked back. Fleury did well in the opening round, finishing the series with a 2.52 goals-against average and .933 save percentage. With no indication that Murray is close to returning, the Penguins net still belongs to Fleury. The Penguins are trying to fill in for Letang by committee with the ice time spread fairly evenly among Justin Schultz (21:16 per game), Olli Maatta (20:57), Trevor Daley (20:22), Ian Cole (19:56), Ron Hainsey (19:44) and Brian Dumoulin (19:44). That could possibly be a difference maker in this series with Washington. Malkin and Crosby were average in the opening round, but the HBK line, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust all stepped up in this series, showing why the Pens are the defending champs, because of their depth. Speed will also be key for the Pens again in this series.

Washington had a little trouble with that against the Leafs in the opening round as well, something that they are going to have to be aware of bigtime in this series. But the difference between the jackets and Caps is, the Caps have a little more firepower in their lineup then the Jackets do. Not only that but the Caps need to try and keep the pressure up on the Penguins. If they can sustain pressure, then they have a chance in the series. That's the best way to take advantage of the Penguins' deficiencies on defense without Letang. The Capitals need to work the Penguins physically in their end and pressure them into turnovers that lead to scoring chances, which eventually paid off against the Maple Leafs. The Blue Jackets did a decent job of this against the Penguins in the first round, but had trouble finishing. The Capitals have more skill to take advantage of those chances. Washington also had 11 forwards score at least 10 goals in the regular season, but were top-heavy again against the Maple Leafs, other than a surprising three goals from Tom Wilson. And they're going to need Braden Holtby to come up big again and even possibly outplay Fleury in this series if the Caps want to break the streak of second round exits.

Prediction:
Solly: Capitals in 7
Steve: Penguins in 6

Next up, its the Wild Card winning New York Rangers taking on the Atlantic Division's 2nd seed the Ottawa Senators. This marks the fifth time in the last seven years the Rangers have made it to the second round. They got here after dispatching the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round in six games Should the Rangers pull this series out, it will mark the 3rd time in the last four seasons that they will reach the conference finals. New York has won 231 playoff games in the history of the franchise. They are taking on the Ottawa Senators, who got here thanks to a six game victory in the opening round over the Boston Bruins. This marks the sixth time ever that the Senators have made it past the first round and just the second time in their last six trips to the playoffs they've gotten out of round one. Should Ottawa win, this will mark the 3rd time ever that they reach the conference finals. Ottawa has won 69 playoff games in franchise history. This is the second playoff meeting between these two teams; their only previous series was in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which New York won in seven games. Ottawa won two of the three games in this year's regular season series. It's also worth noting that this is the second time under the current playoff format and the second year in a row in which a wild-card team has more points than its opponent during the regular season but does not have home ice advantage; the other time was the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders in last year's Eastern Conference Second Round.

Here's the date and times for every game in this series:
April 27 New York Rangers 7:00 p.m. Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
April 29 New York Rangers 3:00 p.m. Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
May 2 Ottawa Senators 7:00 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 4 Ottawa Senators 7:30 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 6 New York Rangers TBD Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre
May 9 Ottawa Senators TBD New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 11 New York Rangers TBD Ottawa Senators Canadian Tire Centre

So now we get the Rangers having to keep their passports in order, having to travel to Ottawa in the 2nd round. Now this offseason trade looks large as Mika Zibanejad and Derick Brassard, who were traded for eachother on July 18, are getting to face their former clubs when its all on the line. Ironically enough, each guy is leading their teams in scoring this year in the opening rounds of the playoffs. And the Rangers seems to have things rolling right now in a couple of regards, One is the powerplay, which had gone 0 for 14 for the first five games in the Montreal series, finally connected on their only chance in game six. Not only that, but the boys from Broadway are starting to really be able to roll all four lines, which is what worked in the first round series. And each of the four lines that the Rangers can roll each feature a 20-goal scorer, that coming in the form of Chris Kreider, Rick Nash, J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner. They have the speed, they have the balance. Oh yeah, they still have Hank in net. Lundqvist is in the midst of his best stretch of the season after an inconsistent regular season. He led Eastern Conference goalies in goals-against average (1.70) and save percentage (.947) in the first round, and his 195 saves were second to Braden Holtby of Washington .

But lets be fair here, Craig Anderson is no pushover. He's not putting up Hank like numbers in the playoffs but Anderson has put up a 1.94 GAA and .921 save percentage, which are solid numbers for the post season. He also is an emotional leader for the Senators. Another big thing for the Senators in this series is going to be the blueline, in particular Erik Karlsson. He's a finalist for the Norris this year and the Senators go where he goes really. What makes the Sens success so far in the playoffs so impressive is that Karlsson has been playing in the playoffs with two hairline fractures in his left heel. Senators coach Guy Boucher relies heavily on his top two defense pairs of Karlsson and Marc Methot, along with Dion Phaneuf and Cody Ceci. With the Rangers rolling four lines, that could prove to be very tough for Ottawa and their top pairs to have to deal with all four lines. At the same time, the Rangers don't have a true top line like some of the other teams in the playoffs still have, they just have four good lines.

Predictions:
Solly: Rangers in 6
Steve: Senators in 5

Moving on to the Western Conference, we have the Central Divisions second seeded St Louis Blues taking on the second Wild Card Nashville Predators. St Louis got here by beating the Minnesota Wild in five games in the opening round of the post season. This marks the 2nd year in a row and third time in the last six post seasons that the Blues are going into the second round. They're looking to get back into the conference finals for the second year in a row. The Blues have now won 162 playoff games in the history of the franchise. As for the Predators, they are coming off a sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks in the opening round. This marks the 2nd straight year and the fourth time in the history of the franchise that the Predators have reached the 2nd round. Nashville has never gotten past this round before. The Predators have won 32 playoff games in their history. This is the first playoff meeting between these teams. Nashville won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the date and times for every game in this series:
April 26 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
April 28 Nashville Predators 8:00 p.m. St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
April 30 St. Louis Blues 3:00 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
May 2 St. Louis Blues 9:30 p.m. Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
May 5 Nashville Predators TBD St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center
May 7 St. Louis Blues TBD Nashville Predators Bridgestone Arena
May 9 Nashville Predators TBD St. Louis Blues Scottrade Center

Nashville has a lot going on its side heading into this series. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, they are the third team in NHL history to sweep a first-round series against the team that had the best record in their conference during the regular season. The 1981 Edmonton Oilers, against the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-5 preliminary round, and the 1993 Blues, against the Blackhawks in the Norris Division Semifinals, are the others. Both the Blues and Preds goalies were good, but Pekka Rinne was the best netminder in the first round. He let in just three goals total in the series, finishing the round with a 0.76 GAA, which is an insane number. Nashville caused the Hawks to turn the puck over a lot in that series, which was a big reason they came away with the series victory. Nashville is balanced, and they can beat you in multiple ways. Nashville loves to roll four lines and has faith in each of them. That ability makes Nashville a tough team to try to match lines against. The top line sees more minutes than any of the other three, but those lines each average 14-17 minutes in most games.

St Louis, too, relied on their goalie in the opening round. Jake Allen played pretty well in the win over the Wild. He had a 1.47 Goals against and a .956 save percentage.So yeah, he was pretty good. The offense in St Louis too, was just as much of a factor. They scored 11 goals in the five-game series, but three were by defensemen, and one of the eight goals from the forwards was into an empty net. Six of the Blues' 14 forwards have scored so far this postseason. Talk about being a balanced team in terms of the scoring department, that's what you got with the Blues. St Louis is going to be better on the man advantage, they only scored once on fifteen tries against Minnesota in round one, and scored just once in fourteen tries against the Preds during their regular season meetings. To win this series, the Blues need to be patient. They have to try and work around the defensive scheme from the Preds in order to try and advance.

Prediction:
Solly: Predators in 5
Steve: Predators in 5

Last, its the battle of the top two teams in the Pacific Division as the Edmonton Oilers travel to California to take on the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim got here by sweeping the Calgary Flames in the opening round. This marks the 3rd time in the last five years that the Ducks have gotten out of the opening round of the post season. Anaheim has made it to the Western Conference finals four times in team history, they're looking for trip number five this year. In the history of the franchise, Anaheim now has 83 career post season victories. As far as the Oilers go, they got here by beating the San Jose Sharks in six games in the opening round. Last time the Oilers made the playoffs, in 2006, they went all the way to the Cup finals, so this is nothing new for Edmonton when they're in the playoffs. Edmonton has now won 156 career playoff games in the history of the franchise. This is the second playoff meeting between these teams; their only previous series was in the 2006 Western Conference Finals, which Edmonton won in five games. Edmonton won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 26 Edmonton Oilers 10:30 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
April 28 Edmonton Oilers 10:30 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
April 30 Anaheim Ducks 7:00 p.m. Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
May 3 Anaheim Ducks 10:00 p.m. Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
May 5 Edmonton Oilers TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
May 7 Anaheim Ducks TBD Edmonton Oilers Rogers Place
May 10 Edmonton Oilers TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center

The young guns in Edmonton lead the way in the opening round against the Sharks, and they are expected to do it again in this round. Conor McDavid lead the way against the Sharks. He had four points in the series and was held in check, to a degree in the series. Talent always finds a way to shine through, and McDavid is one of those generational players who can break a game whenever he wants, he's got that kind of talent. He's not the only game braeker that the Oilers have, there is Cam Talbot. Talbot, who set an Oilers record with 42 victories in the regular season, had a 2.03 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and two shutouts against the Sharks. He has plenty of help in front of him. Defenseman Kris Russell had a series-high 27 blocked shots, including five in Game 6, after leading the League during the regular season (213). Somebody to keep an eye on for the Oilers in this series is going to be Leon Draisaitl, who seems to love playing against the Ducks. He had eight points (six goals, two assists) in five games, including two goals in overtime.

As good as Cam Talbot has been for Edmonton, you have John Gibson doing the exact same thing for the Ducks. Gibson started all four games in the series against the Flames, he did need some help from backup Jonathan Bernier in Game 3, when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 16 shots, but responded with a strong bounce-back performance in Game 4 by making 36 saves. He went 25-16-9 with a 2.22 GAA, .924 save percentage and six shutouts, which ranked sixth in the League, in the regular season. He was good during the year and again against the Flames in the opening round. Anaheim is a little banged up on the blue line still, not having Cam Fowler available during the opening round, but he is expected to return to the lineup against Edmonton, which will make things tougher on the young Oilers team.  Then there's the Ryan Getzlaf factor, as he dominated the Flames in the opener. His five points lead the way and he will be counted on as much as McDavid to lead the Ducks.

Prediction:
Solly: Ducks in 6
Steve: Ducks in 6