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Despite yesterday afternoon's lethargic effort, the Washington Capitals still managed to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference by virtue of a Devils' 5-1 loss to the Flyers. Now that we know that the Eastern road to the Stanley Cup goes through the Verizon Center, it's time to look ahead at what teams have the misfortune of playing opportunity to slay the Beasts of the East in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
First of all, let's take a look at the standings as of today:
As of today (3/29), it appears that the Flyers, Canadiens, Bruins and Thrashers all have a legitimate chance at snagging the eighth seed in the conference. They're all within four points of one another, and while Philly and Montreal sit in the 6/7 spots, they've played two more games than the Bruins, and one more than the Thrashers. Both Atlanta and Boston play tonight, so these seedings could shuffle quite quickly, but the point is that each of these teams could reasonably find themselves in Verizon Center in mid-April. Let's take a look at each and I'll offer my opinion on who we'd rather see in a few weeks.
Philadelphia Flyers
Summary: The Flyers have been in free-fall mode lately, losing five in a row before whipping the Devils yesterday. This team is no different than any recent group from Philly, with decent defense and terrible goaltending. Unfortunately, the goaltending situation is entirely due to injury. With Michael Leighton and Ray Emery out for the season, the Flyers will call upon Brian Boucher to carry the load, and that's not a good thing.
Why we want to play them: As mentioned, they probably have the shakiest goaltending situation out of all of these teams. Philly will also be missing out on the services of Jeff Carter for the next few weeks due to a broken left foot. Plus it would be sweet to get a little revenge from two seasons ago.
Why we don't want to play them: The Flyers have one of the deepest groups of forwards in the conference, and are certainly capable of piling up goals in a hurry. They currently sit fourth in goals in the East with 221, only two behind Atlanta. Despite sitting toward the bottom of the pack, they're also fifth in goal-differential at +11.
Montreal Canadiens
Summary: Montreal came flying out of the gate after the Olympic Break, winning six in a row and seven of their first eight. Unfortunately for the Habs, they've lost four of their past five. Jaroslav Halak has been outstanding in the month of March, only posting a sub-.900 save percentage in two outings.
Why we want to play them: Montreal's got pretty decent scoring depth, but they don't have one outstanding offensive player that can consistently give a defense fits. Also, Alex Ovechkin has a strong tendency to get up when he plays his buddies from Quebec.
Why we don't want to play them: The aforementioned Halak, as well as his goaltending buddy Carey Price both have the ability to get hot and steal a few games on the road. That's not something you like to see in a lower-seeded opponent. Tomas Plekanec has been a pain in the Caps' sides as well this season, posting four goals and an assist in their four meetings.
Boston Bruins
Summary: The Bruins have been hovering near the bottom of the playoff race for the entire season. They've won just enough games to stay in the eight seed, and have managed to score big victories over the last week over Atlanta (current nine seed) and Calgary. They've won four of their last six and aren't giving up their playoff spot easily.
Why we want to play them: Boston has arguably the worst offense in the NHL. After Phil Kessel was traded to Toronto, they seemed to lose scoring punch, and that's only been compounded with Marc Savard's season-ending concussion. Savard was the B's best playmaker, so they're left to play tight defense and lean on spectacular goaltending. Defense wins championships, but you also have to score to win. The Caps are currently 2-0 on the season, and will look to sweep the series in the last three weeks of the season, so they should be familiar foes.
Why we don't want to play them: Boston has one of the best goaltending tandems in the league, despite Tim Thomas's bloated contract. Tukka Rask has been lights out on the season (.927 save percentage), and could carry a team to victory if the chips are down. Despite the Bruins terrible offense, they've given up the second-fewest goals in the entire on the campaign to date.
Atlanta Thrashers
Summary: The Thrash have somehow managed to stay relevant despite trading away their captain and franchise cornerstone in Ilya Kovalchuk before the Olympic Break. Nicklas Bergfors has been a nice surprise (outscoring Ilya Kovalchuk at one point) and the Thrashers have gotten some more consistent play out of their defense over the last two weeks. They've currently won five of their last seven, but they have a difficult schedule down the stretch, playing Washington twice, Pittsburgh twice, and New Jersey once.
Why we want to play them: The Caps have basically owned Atlanta in the season series, posting at least four goals in each game, and tallying eight in their best performance. It hasn't seemed to matter who steps up, the Caps have dominated basically every game. Furthermore, as a division rival, Atlanta is the team that the Caps are most familiar with, and should be able to exploit in the first round.
Why we don't want to play them: Atlanta has scored pretty consistently on the year, posting the third-most goals in the Eastern Conference. They don't have many true Cap Killers, but they're consistent on offense, and that could be a problem for a Caps defense that needs to step up in the postseason.
So what's the verdict? Who would we like to see come playoff time? As far as my opinion goes, I believe that the Caps could handle Atlanta the best in a first-round series. Their goaltending doesn't scare anyone and neither does their offense. The Caps have also done very well recently against the Flyers, and would be fortunate to face a netminder like Brian Boucher early in the postseason. I believe Montreal and Boston are potentially dangerous because they both have multiple game-changing goalies, and that can easily steal any team a series.
What do you guys think? Give me your picks and preferences in the comments!
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