savagespeaks Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The 2012 playoffs are finally here, and after a wild last stretch of the regular season, the Vancouver Canucks ended up repeating as Presidents Trophy winners. For some teams, the season ends in dissapointment and heartbreak, as for others, the real season has just began. Therefore, lets look at the playoff matches, and try to predict who will make it out of round 1 alive. WEST 1 VS 8 Vancouver Canucks vs Los Angeles Kings As previously mentioned, the Vancouver Canucks have won the Presidents Trophy for top over all team in the league for the second year in a row. After a heart breaking game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in last years Stanley Cup Finals, the Canucks have come back to this years playoffs looking deeper and more hungry then ever before. With the addition of Zack Kassian, Sami Phalson and Marc-Andre Gragnani, Vancouver is poised to make a long run into the post season. Standing in their way are the 8th seeded Los Angeles Kings. Led by a Vezna Trophy candidete in Johnathan Quick, LA was one of the teams vying for a playoff spot in the final weeks of regualr season play. On the last night of the season, LA lost to San Jose, making them the final spot in the West. This will be the first year that LA plays in the playoffs under coach Darryl Sutter. Who Wins? Vancouver should be quite dominant in this series, I say they win in 5 games. 2 VS 7 St. Louis Blues vs San Jose Sharks St. Louis had the lead in the Western Conference for a number of weeks, and all signs were pointing towards a Presidents Trophy for the Blues. However in the final week of play, St. Louis lost to the Pheonix Cyotes in a game where they could have taken a 2 point lead on the second place Canucks. Most notable piece on this St. Louis team is in goal. Brian Elliott has been steller ever since Ken Hitchcock took over the team earlier in the season. There is no doubt that the play of Elliott and the coaching of Hitchcock is what made the team a vyable playoff contender. They go up against the Sharks of San Jose. The Sharks barly got into the playoffs, fighting in the final weeks to stay alive. And still they are yet to prove that they are a threat in the playoffs. The absince of Joe Thorton is what makes this apparent. Joe is unable to get the job done in post season play, and this may be his last chance. Who Wins? I see St. Louis winning this series. Both have great goaltending, but i think St. Louis is in a better place right now then the Sharks are. 6 games max. 3 VS 6 Pheonix Cyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks Dont let your eyes decive you. Yes, the Pheonix Cyotes finished 3rd in the West. Victorys over the Blues and Wild in the final two games of the season gave them the Pacific Conference title. This means the white out is back in the Jobing.com arena. However, the desert dogs have their 'paws' full, as they go up against the always dangeorus, 2010 Cup Champion Blackhawks. No matter who you are, you have to be nervous when being matched up against the talented Chicago team. And after a round 1 exit to the hands of the Canucks last year, look for the Hawks to come out strong from the first puck drop. Who wins? Chicago, they will be partying in the Madhouse after 4 or 5 games max. 4 VS 5 Nashville Predators vs Detroit Red Wings The Nashville Predators are a force to be noticed in the NHL. One of, if not, the best defensive team in the league, matched with offensive threat and grade A goaltending in Pekka Renee, the Preds are a strong team. Shae Webber, Hal Gill, and of couse Rennee lead this honky tonk team into the playoffs, but they may have bitten off more then they can chew as they take on the Detroit Red Wings. Arguably the leagues top playoff team, Detroit can never be counted out. No one needs to be reminded of the talent in Detroit. Pavel Datsyuk pretty much sums it up. Who wins? Tough to say, but i see a hard fought series with NASHVILLE, yes Nashville coming out on top in 7 games. EAST 1 VS 8 New York Rangers vs Ottawa Senators New York was in the top 3 battling for the top spot in the league. They came up short, but dont let that be the highlight of their year. They are a major threat in the NHL. Great offense, strong defense, and arguanly the greatest goalie in the league, Henrik Lundqvist, they are the favorites to make it out of the East. Up first for the team, the Ottawa Senators. Inconsistint all year, the Senators slipped into the playoffs. The odds are set against them, and that may be all the motivation they need. Who wins? New York, with out a doubt. In 5 games, if that. 2 VS 7 Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals The 2011 Stanley Cup Champion, Boston Bruins. They return to the post season with a almost exact same roster as last year, minus Tomas Kabrle and Mark Recchi. However, the same core of players are back to look for a second straight stanley cup. Up first for the Bruins is the Washington Capitals. There is no denying the talent in Washington, all you have to say is Alex Ovechkin, and you would think sucsess. Yet, they enter the post season 7th, barly sliping in. do the Caps have what it takes to make it past the defending cup champs? Who wins? Boston, in 7 games, simple as that. 3 VS 6 Florida Panthers vs New Jersey Devils Once again your not dreaming, the Florida Panthers are in the playoffs. This may be the deepest Panther team we have ever seen, but the challenge of Martian Broduer and the Devils may be to much. This is a talented Medowlands team. Led by Zac Parise and Illya Kolvalchuk, the Devils are heavy set favorites in this series. Who wins? New Jersey, in 5 games. 4 VS 5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philidelphia Flyers Guess whos back, back again, Sid is back, tell a friend. Yes, Sidney Crosby returns to the playoffs amd he has brought a friend, the 50 goal scoring Evgeni Malkin. This team is strong. They made it through most of the season without their Captain, Yet here they are, stronger then ever. This is bad news for their opponents, the Philidelphia Flyers. The orange and black have been strong all year, minus the goaltending situation of course. They are going to have to battle hard against the black and gold from Pittsburgh in this battle of Pennsilvania. Who wins? Pittsburgh, thanks to a collapse of Ilya Bryzgolov. They take it in 6 games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_winch Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 anyone else pushing for Florida to make a decent run? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lestwest49 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Sorry for being a critical on grammar, but you spelt "candidate" wrong when describing Quick. I bring this up only because you said this piece was for a journalism class. Overall, interesting takes, but personally, I would like to see the Bruins going down in the first round , and I thinkt he Caps can do it. Also, SJ seems more hungry for some reason imo. Edit: There's actually quite a bit of errors. You would probably want to edit it more before submitting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyzer Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 anyone else pushing for Florida to make a decent run? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie.the.Unicorn Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 The bad news is your English is horrible and its a pretty poorly written article. The good news is it could probably pass for the Province Sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savagespeaks Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 this was a first draft, just wanted to share it now before i sleep, editing and such is going to be done tomorrow haha, thanks for the inputs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tocinetaloco Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Oh nvm, you said it was a first draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacdeesSnipinGs Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Dont listen to Charlie.The.Unicorn, it was decent, but dislike how you just picked all the favorites...Rarely do all the Favs move on so this year my upsets are Ottawa on rangers and sharks with the 'mini' upset on the Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savagespeaks Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 keep in mind im also only 17, and i do love a good under dog story, but the higher seeded teams, in my mind, got there for a reason, with the exception of pheonix and florida, who got off easy, if they hadent won their respective divisiions, they would have it worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bar_Down16 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Don't forget the addition of Booth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mau5trap Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Also doing a journalism essay right now as we speak. I secretly liked this part lol: "Guess whos back, back again, Sid is back, tell a friend." And yes, be thorough with your editing tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacdeesSnipinGs Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Man for 17 its good! I am in my 4th year at SFU, procrastinating on the two papers due in the morning, totaling 25 pages btw the two of them... Your doing good for your age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savagespeaks Posted April 10, 2012 Author Share Posted April 10, 2012 Man for 17 its good! I am in my 4th year at SFU, procrastinating on the two papers due in the morning, totaling 25 pages btw the two of them... Your doing good for your age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Awesome Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 lost me when you said the sharks have great goal tending. Antti Niemi is one of the most over rated guys in the league, if it isnt his mental fragility its his tendency to give up softies and with the banging and crashing St. Louis forwards going up against the relatively small sharks D i dont see him having a very good time of it. St. Louis is my choice to sweep in the west. You also seem to be majorly low balling the coyotes, they have a stingy forward group and a very solid defence backed up by Smith who should be in the talk for a vezina nomination (not that he should be nominated but his name should be in the mix). Crawford is not a solid either and i wouldnt be surprised if Emery finishes off the series in a losing effort. Chicago star power wont over come the Phoenix Defence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dura_mater Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Man for 17 its good! I am in my 4th year at SFU, procrastinating on the two papers due in the morning, totaling 25 pages btw the two of them... Your doing good for your age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiAd Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Feel free to use your spell check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glove Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Might as well not waste your time writing those papers with grammar like that. "You're doing well for your age!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheJoker19 Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Or maybe, he doesn't give a crap because this is cdc. Not everyone takes it as seriously as you two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babych Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 keep in mind im also only 17, and i do love a good under dog story, but the higher seeded teams, in my mind, got there for a reason, with the exception of pheonix and florida, who got off easy, if they hadent won their respective divisiions, they would have it worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigbond Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Very nice read...if you want to be a hockey writer stay with it, you've got some talent... I'm a writer working for a marketing firm...my one suggestion - work on improving your spelling. Anytime I'm unsure about a word I just type it into the Google box next to the address bar in my browser window and I have the correct spelling in about three seconds... ...and always get your its/it's, your/you're, there/their/they're right... Otherwise, great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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