Post by Buffalo Sabres on Mar 19, 2008 1:07:24 GMT -5
Preview
Quite possibly the best matchup in the western conference this season. Calgary has a young fast team with a lot of firepower but very little playoff experience and has underachieved all season long, while the Preds won the Central division title on the backs of their high powered offence.
Goaltending
We have here a battle of two of the leagues best in Kipprusoff vs. Lundqvist. Kipper has put together a very good campaign with a 39-28-3 record in 72 appearances. He had 2.88 gaa and a save percentage of .896. Kipper also posted 6 shutouts good for 2nd in the league. Lundqvist has been on a very streaky season but still managed a 42-29-4 record playing 77 games but his play was not as stellar as his record as shown by his 3.05 gaa and .888 save %. He only managed 2 shutouts on the season. Appearing in 77 games certainly has taken its toll on King Henrik this season with inconsistant play. This matchup all depends on which Lundqvist shows up in goal.
Forwards
What can you say about forwards when the leagues top two teams in goals for meet in the first round. You can say, don't miss a moment. These two teams combined for 626 goals for. Yikes! Leading the way for Calgary is Spezza who was 2nd in goals and 4th in league points. He had help from Savard, Heatley and Staal who all were in teh top 15 of the league in points. At any given time Calgary can put out three lines that can explode for goals. Nashville has no difficulty scoring either with Jokinen and Karyia both veteran's leading the charge.
Defense
Veteran's Foote, Niedermeyer and Witt are proven playoff guys. There will be a lot of leadership shown to Timonen, Bouwmeester and Weber who make up the defence corp. While Calgary offers a very nice offensive and youthful defence, they are severely lacking in the experience needed for playoff hockey.
Injuries
Nashville - No injuries to report
Calgary - Adam Hall sidelined 2-4 weeks (Injured)
The keys to victory!
Goaltending and defence will be the key's to victory for one team or the other. Calgary can explode for 6 goals and still lose hockey games and have done so on more than a few occasions this season. With high powered offences we know they can score, and both offer high ranking PP units, so this comes down to the guys in goal. Kipper has been the far more consistant player and is more rested. Add to that the Niedermeyer and Foote playoff experience and it clear to me that this is not the year for Calgary. The pieces are there, but it's still too early for this team.
PREDICTION: NASHVILLE in 6 games.
Quite possibly the best matchup in the western conference this season. Calgary has a young fast team with a lot of firepower but very little playoff experience and has underachieved all season long, while the Preds won the Central division title on the backs of their high powered offence.
Goaltending
We have here a battle of two of the leagues best in Kipprusoff vs. Lundqvist. Kipper has put together a very good campaign with a 39-28-3 record in 72 appearances. He had 2.88 gaa and a save percentage of .896. Kipper also posted 6 shutouts good for 2nd in the league. Lundqvist has been on a very streaky season but still managed a 42-29-4 record playing 77 games but his play was not as stellar as his record as shown by his 3.05 gaa and .888 save %. He only managed 2 shutouts on the season. Appearing in 77 games certainly has taken its toll on King Henrik this season with inconsistant play. This matchup all depends on which Lundqvist shows up in goal.
Forwards
What can you say about forwards when the leagues top two teams in goals for meet in the first round. You can say, don't miss a moment. These two teams combined for 626 goals for. Yikes! Leading the way for Calgary is Spezza who was 2nd in goals and 4th in league points. He had help from Savard, Heatley and Staal who all were in teh top 15 of the league in points. At any given time Calgary can put out three lines that can explode for goals. Nashville has no difficulty scoring either with Jokinen and Karyia both veteran's leading the charge.
Defense
Veteran's Foote, Niedermeyer and Witt are proven playoff guys. There will be a lot of leadership shown to Timonen, Bouwmeester and Weber who make up the defence corp. While Calgary offers a very nice offensive and youthful defence, they are severely lacking in the experience needed for playoff hockey.
Injuries
Nashville - No injuries to report
Calgary - Adam Hall sidelined 2-4 weeks (Injured)
The keys to victory!
Goaltending and defence will be the key's to victory for one team or the other. Calgary can explode for 6 goals and still lose hockey games and have done so on more than a few occasions this season. With high powered offences we know they can score, and both offer high ranking PP units, so this comes down to the guys in goal. Kipper has been the far more consistant player and is more rested. Add to that the Niedermeyer and Foote playoff experience and it clear to me that this is not the year for Calgary. The pieces are there, but it's still too early for this team.
PREDICTION: NASHVILLE in 6 games.
