The Remaining EAST Contenders

After two pivotal game sevens last night, both one goal games, the East is shaping up to be a battle. Three Atlantic Division foes remain while a sleeper in the Capitals has also gained some attention. The real question is who has the depth and goaltending to make it all the way to the Cup Finals? After picking the Preds from the West, here is my take on the future of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The #1 seed remains in the East. After the Kings tormented the #1 Canucks in the West, it seemed the Rangers would be joining them. However, after two well played team games, the Rangers outlasted the Senators in seven and take on the sleeper Capitals this upcoming round. The Rangers boast one of the best goalies in the league. Vezina nominee (AGAIN) and newly named Hart Trophy Finalist Henrik Lundqvist backs the Rangers with some of the best numbers in the league. The defense is carried by now veteran shutdown men Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. Michael Del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh have been huge this year as well. The Rangers also have a potent offense with names like Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. Depth forwards like Brandon Prust and Brian Boyle have also done an excellent job of contributing and rookie Chris Kreider looks to be fitting in well after a tremendous game seven. Captain Ryan Callahan has the heart and grit to lead the Rangers as far as they want to go. The question for the Rangers is scoring. If the powerplay can click when given the opportunity and the Rangers can score more than two or three goals a game, they have a good shot of going far.

Besides the Rangers, none of the other top four seeds remain. However, unknown how they would look coming into this season after drastic offseason moves, the Atlantic Division's Flyers remain after knocking our a Stanley Cup favorite in the Pittsburgh Penguins. Holding onto the #5 seed, the Flyers will host the Devils in the next round. Up front, the Flyers have premier player Claude Giroux. The supporting cast is also very dangerous with names like Danny Briere, who has been a point per game playoff player his entire career, Jaromir Jagr, and Max Talbot. Rookies Matt Read, Sean Coutourier, and Braydon Schenn have also been a huge help for the Flyers this year. The defense, even without Captain Chris Pronger, has been strong in the playoffs. Braydon Coburn has improved year after year and Nick Grossman has been a great pickup. Matt Carle has also been very good. The big question for the Flyers, and for the past few years, has been their goaltending. Can 51 million dollar Ilya Bryzgalov prove his worth? Against the Penguins he played well enough to win, however, I can't seem to think Philly will put up 8-10 goals a game on the Devils. If Bryzgalov plays well, the Flyers could be the most dangerous team in the East.

The game seven OT winning New Jersey Devils will play the Flyers in the next round. The Devils offense looked very good in the first round. Some of their depth players had very good series' like Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta. They also have the big names like Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise to add to that scoring. David Clarkson has also had a very nice year totaling 30 goals in the regular season. The Devils have had a mix of defense in and out of the lineup all season and it is their biggest weakness. The main names include veteran Marek Zidlicky and Anton Volchenkov. Surrounding them include names like Mark Fayne and Andy Greene. Rookie blueliner Adam Larsson had a nice first year, however, has not been seen so far in the playoffs due to his recent struggles. Hall of Fame goaltender Marty Brodeur tends the pipes and did he ever look good in overtime last night during game seven. The Devils were out-chanced in the first OT but Brodeur was up to the challenge and leads them into the second round. The biggest question for the Devils is can there defense hold off the aggressive, physical style the Flyers bring? The other question is whether or not the Devils can stop giving up early leads?

Finally, comes the sleeping #7 seeded Washington Capitals. On the brink of elimination the last day of the season, the Capitals went into New York and beat the Rangers to not only make the playoffs but grab the #7 seed. Nobody expected them to beat the Bruins, however, with replacement head coach Dale Hunter, the Capitals did a nice job shutting down the top lines of the Bruins and keeping games close. Joel Ward found a loose puck in front in game seven OT and look where they are now. Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby overall was very stellar keeping the Capitals in games. Their defense is deep and trustworthy on the back end. Offensive defensemen John Carlson and Mike Green make them dangerous in the offensive zone and Dennis Wideman has had a great year in his first in D.C. Up front, you can never count out Alex Ovechkin who has been ridiculed at some points this year for his play. Niklas Backstrom seems back to normal after a concussion kept him out of the lineup for over 25 games late in the season. Matt Hendricks brings some grit and scoring as well as some others like Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich, and Mike Knuble. Alexander Semin has been the only powerplay threat so far for the Capitals but that can change at any time. The question for the Capitals is can they produce enough offense while hoping Holtby can do enough to keep the games close? If they stay in every game, they have a shot to win.

My thoughts on the East go like this. First off, this is the tougher of the two conferences to pick. The Rangers seem to have been awoken after going down three games to two originally to the Senators. Therefore, I think they will eventually rattle Holtby and take the series in six games. The Devils and Flyers have a ton of question marks surrounding the series. Who will be the more aggressive team? How will the goalies fare against potent offenses? Etc etc etc. Philadelphia is built for the playoffs, however, in my mind, and I will take them in seven games. That will leave the conference between the Rangers and Flyers. Six wins in six attempts means nothing for the Rangers at this point. However, with Henrik Lundqvist playing as good as he is I can't see the Rangers losing to them after having their number all year. Rangers will meet the Predators in the Stanley Cup. 

I'm very excited for the upcoming rounds. Can't wait to see who takes the series' and moves on.