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Post by onicenews on Jul 8, 2015 22:38:38 GMT
Surely several have noticed, but the LA Kings have been the hottest team in hockey as of late. The Kings
are riding a 10 game win streak and haven't dropped a game in regulation in 13. Along that stretch, they
have beaten several of the top teams around the league, including the first place teams in each conference.
They have climbed from last in the conference to 3rd, holding a comfortable lead over the 4th place wings.
Still several points back from the top 2, the Kings still have some work to do. But, rest assured, if their play
continues on the path it has taken, the Kings may be looking at home-ice advantage come playoff time.
For TSN, I'm Stu Pidpaki.
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Post by onicenews on Jul 27, 2015 22:48:55 GMT
As we pull down the home stretch of the Regular Season playoff races in both conferences are the hottest they've been all year. Both teams sitting outside
of their respective conference's playoff picture have a shot at making them. The Montreal Canadiens are 1 point back of the Buffalo Sabres and have one more
game to play. In the other conference the Los Angeles Kings are 2 points back and also have one more game to play. One could not have written a better
scenario.
Montreal and Buffalo face off twice down the stretch. Easily their 2 most important games of the season so far.
Los Angeles needs to bounce back from their funk we saw them in a few games ago. They broke out of it with a 4 game win-streak, but have fallen around .500
since then.
The race will only intensify as days go by.
For TSN, I'm Stu Pidpaki.
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Post by onicenews on Jul 28, 2015 0:52:39 GMT
Playoff Predictions - Preliminary
As the standings have yet to be finalized, they must first be predicted.
Conference A
TORONTO
CHICAGO
ANAHEIM
MONTREAL
Buffalo
Montreal currently sits 1 point behind Buffalo with one more game to play. Montreal and Buffalo square off two more times before the season ends, of which Montreal should
win both, as they lead the season series against them, 5-1-2.
Conference B
BOSTON
NEW YORK
DETROIT
LOS ANGELES
Quebec
Like Montreal, Los Angeles currently sits out of the playoffs. But, with an extra game to play, an easier schedule, and a star goaltender between the pipes rather than riding
pine, Los Angeles should be able to pull ahead of Quebec and secure the 4th and final playoff spot.
Round One
Conference A Semi Finals
TOR vs MTL - TOR in 5. Toronto simply overpowers Montreal in every aspect of the game. The Canadiens are simply no match for the Maple Leafs this year.
CHI vs ANA - CHI in 6. Chicago is currently 5-3-1 against Anaheim, with one game left to be played. However, Chicago battled injuries and still managed to outscore them by
10 during those 9 games. A Healthy Chicago should be able to win against Anaheim.
Conference B Semi Finals
BOS vs LA - BOS in 7. Los Angeles, although not officially in the playoffs currently, has goaltender Rickie Burgs who, with his experience and leadership, could steal a series
and upset the out-of-the-gate cup favorite Bruins. With that being said, the Bruins' latest additions should prove too much for any upset too occur.
NYR vs DET - NYR in 5. New York dominated Detroit all year, currently holding a 7-1 record against their potential first round combatants. Pavlov has not been consistent
enough to show that Detroit may stand a chance.
Round Two
Conference A Final
TOR vs CHI - TOR in 6. Bobrov and Kozlovsky are just too much for Riordan and Glanton too handle. If Holland and Lindholm were still Blackhawks, this could end up different.
But with the absence of stars on Chicago and the acquisitions Toronto brought in on the deadline, Toronto should walk away with this one.
Conference B Final
BOS vs NYR - BOS in 5. Diddy and his Bruins dominated the Rangers in the regular season, leading to an 8-2 finish. With GM Pumo bringing in Holland to play with Diddy and
Blaze, the Rangers defense will be run into the ground.
Virtual Cup Final
BOS vs TOR - BOS in 5. With one game left in the season series, Boston holds a 6-0-1 advantage over the Maple Leafs. The trend will continue and the TD Garden will have a
Virtual Cup banner to lift to the rafters at next year's opener.
Boston's key this year will be to survive the first round. If they can manage to beat Burgs and Hardy, nobody else will be able to slow them down more than a speed bump.
- Stu Pidpaki
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Post by onicenews on Aug 9, 2015 14:23:14 GMT
Round One at a Glance
The first round of this years Virtual Cup playoffs saw both upsets and predictions unfold.
Conference A Semi Finals
TOR vs MTL - Montreal pulled an upset over the predicted conference champions in only 5 games. GM Pare's unique strategy proved effective, as it shut down
Toronto's top lines. Stone Wall also performed better than he had all year, posting a playoff save % of .924 as opposed to his season's efforts of .875.
CHI vs ANA - Chicago came away victorious as predicted. Even with Konstantiniovich back-stopping them to 2 of the 4 victories.
Conference B Semi Finals
BOS vs LA - Boston lived up to expectations and walked away with a 4-2 victory. Burgs was able to steal 2 games against the best team in the league, but his
efforts fell short as he could not steal the series.
NYR vs DET - This series went exactly as predicted. New York advances to the 2nd round after finishing Detroit off in 5 games. Detroit, just like in the season,
was unable to solve Lundqvist and was victim of sub-par goaltending of their own, having to sit their starting goalie, who went winless in his 3 games.
The next round sees Montreal in Chicago and New York in Boston. Both promise to be exciting series, leading to a even more exciting cup final.
- Stu Pidpaki
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