My Article For Journalism Class On Round 1

[-DLC-]

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 begun. 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 overall 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 hungrier than ever before. With the addition of Zack Kassian, Sammy Pahlsson 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 landing 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 Phoenix Coyotes in a game where they could have taken a 2 point lead on the second place Canucks. (The) most notable piece on this St. Louis team is in goal. Brian Elliott has been stellar 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 has made the team a viable playoff contender. They go up against the Sharks of San Jose who barely got into the playoffs, fighting in the final weeks to stay alive. Yet they are still And still they are yet to prove that they are a threat in the playoffs. The absence of Joe Thornton 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 than the Sharks are. 6 games max.

3 VS 6

Phoenix Coyotes vs Chicago Blackhawks

Dont let your eyes deceive you. Yes, the Phoenix Coyotes finished 3rd in the West with victories over the Blues and Wild in the final two games of the season, giving 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 Rinne, the Preds are a strong team. Shae Webber, Hal Gill, and of couse Rinne lead this honky tonk team into the playoffs, but they may have bitten off more than 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, with Pavel Datsyuk pretty much summing 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 don't let that be the highlight of their year as they are a major threat in the NHL. With great offense, strong defense, and arguably the greatest goalie in the league in Henrik Lundqvist, they are the favorites to make it out of the East. Up first for the team, the Ottawa Senators. Inconsistent 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, without 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 exactly the 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 success. Yet, they enter the post season 7th, barely slipping 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 you're 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 (this one's cute/made me laugh) Martin Brodeur and the Devils may be too much. This is a talented Meadowlands 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 Philadelphia Flyers

Guess who's back, back again, Sid is back, tell a friend. Yes, Sidney Crosby returns to the playoffs amd he has brought a friend in 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 Philadelphia Flyers. The orange and black have also been strong all year, minus the goaltending situation of course. They are going to have to battle fight 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.

It was fairly well written - light hearted and enjoyable to read. Well done.

You have to be careful not to get TOO casual/informal when writing essays. And the number one rule is to know the teams/players and the spelling of their names.

I've offered some edit suggestions you may/may not want to consider.

Then/than - then speaks of a period of time when something happened. Than is a comparison.

Too, two, to - a few of these errors and this needs work

Overall, pretty great!

[bd71]

The Devils haven't played in the Meadowlands for years but that's a pretty small fact that most won't notice.

[Geoff Peterson]

/user/44742-debluvscanucks/">debluvscanucks...Great editing job...My mom 'elementary teacher' always corrected my spelling when I sent a letter...I stopped writing home...'CBS CARES'

[elvis15]

I felt it was more of a statement of current facts than providing any real insight into each series. It wouldn't really compel me to read your blog or website over any other since you don't provide much in the way of analysis or new information, although if you do that separately you can follow up with basic statement articles meant to be about a prediction at the end.

I also hope you spell checked and proofread that version before you handed it in, there were a few errors for each match up and some that can't even be considered typos (just in case you haven't handed it in yet). For instance, I'd hope even as a hockey blogger you'd at least spell city and player names right (Phoenix, Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne to name a few).

EDIT: I do see now it's your first draft. Deb covers most of the obvious changes, but even copy/pasting that into Word I can see more spelling errors that shouldn't be left to correct during the editing process. While you can write free form and go back and tighten it up later, obvious errors that are pointed out by your text editor program should be picked up on quickly. Then you can worry more about feel and flow of your article as you do your later revisions.