Post by Buffalo Sabres on Mar 19, 2008 3:01:07 GMT -5
Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins went from basement dwellers last season to Stanley Cup favourite's and President's Trophy winners this season. The Penguins have been firing on all cylinders this year scoring lots of goals and never hit any long bumps all season. The Capitals fell basically backwards into the playoffs due more so because of the inept play of other teams fighting to get in. It was almost a case of "No you take the 8th spot and face the Pen's. No you face them. No you face them!" The Caps come in with a 3-7 record in their last ten games as they tried to qualify for the post season.
Goaltending
The Caps will be trying to stop this high powered team with Nicklas Backstrom getting the call. The netminder has a record of 28-30-3 with a 3.03 GAA, 3 shutouts and a .893 SAA. Over 200 feet facing him will be non other than Martin Brodeur. Brodeur is as solid as they come and loves to play. Where others get worn out, Brodeur puts up a 46-19-6 record in 73 games played. He is third in the league in GAA at 2.74 and .900 save %. He also led the league with 7 shutouts. There isnt much else to say than that other than he is a very likely Vezina trophy nominee.
Forwards
Just when you thought is couldn't get worse for the Caps, in comes Sydney Crosby, Vinny Lecavalier and Marian Hossa in Penguins uniforms. Sydney was third in points in the VHL and is complimented up front with Fisher, Stillman, Brunette. The leagues most potent line of Vinny, Syd and Hossa is worth the watch alone. The Caps do have some shine of their own though, Tanguay was a top 30 scorer, and Pomminville has been huge for this young team this year as well. Semin and Afinogenov have been good and can be great,while Drury will have to produce more AND shutdown the big unit as well for this to stay close. Kris Beech and his 61 points is a nice surprise for the Caps.
Defense
An area where the Pens have disapponted to a degree is on defence where the likes of McCabe, Redden and Jovocop were expected to do more than they have. They have played decent defensively they have taken a ton of penalties from the defencecore. Their run and gun style is susceptible to chances but brodeur allows for that style of play to work. Just when you think its an area of equalization for the Caps in walks their defensive group made up of has beens, wannabe's and never will be's. Toni Lydman is the lone brightspot of this group and Mike Green is still a year away from having impact. This group of slower defensive d-men will have trouble keeping up with Pittsburgh's run and gun offence unless they can hurt some Pen's along the way.
Injuries
Pittsburgh - Mike Fisher sidelined day-to-day (Injured)
Bryan McCabe suspended 3 games
Washington - Jeff Halpern sidelined 2-4 weeks (Injured)
The keys to victory!
Pittsburgh is a bit weak on the PK and Washington has a pretty good powerplay so there is a possibility there for the Caps, and McCabe suspended for the first three games will help, but even then the Caps will need a lot of players to step up large to even stay competitive. Perhaps they can steal a game at home before McCabe comes back. The Pens are just too strong in all facets of the game in this particular matchup as the Caps are still too young. They can gain experience and come back next year.
PREDICTION:PITTSBURGH in 4 games.
Pittsburgh Penguins went from basement dwellers last season to Stanley Cup favourite's and President's Trophy winners this season. The Penguins have been firing on all cylinders this year scoring lots of goals and never hit any long bumps all season. The Capitals fell basically backwards into the playoffs due more so because of the inept play of other teams fighting to get in. It was almost a case of "No you take the 8th spot and face the Pen's. No you face them. No you face them!" The Caps come in with a 3-7 record in their last ten games as they tried to qualify for the post season.
Goaltending
The Caps will be trying to stop this high powered team with Nicklas Backstrom getting the call. The netminder has a record of 28-30-3 with a 3.03 GAA, 3 shutouts and a .893 SAA. Over 200 feet facing him will be non other than Martin Brodeur. Brodeur is as solid as they come and loves to play. Where others get worn out, Brodeur puts up a 46-19-6 record in 73 games played. He is third in the league in GAA at 2.74 and .900 save %. He also led the league with 7 shutouts. There isnt much else to say than that other than he is a very likely Vezina trophy nominee.
Forwards
Just when you thought is couldn't get worse for the Caps, in comes Sydney Crosby, Vinny Lecavalier and Marian Hossa in Penguins uniforms. Sydney was third in points in the VHL and is complimented up front with Fisher, Stillman, Brunette. The leagues most potent line of Vinny, Syd and Hossa is worth the watch alone. The Caps do have some shine of their own though, Tanguay was a top 30 scorer, and Pomminville has been huge for this young team this year as well. Semin and Afinogenov have been good and can be great,while Drury will have to produce more AND shutdown the big unit as well for this to stay close. Kris Beech and his 61 points is a nice surprise for the Caps.
Defense
An area where the Pens have disapponted to a degree is on defence where the likes of McCabe, Redden and Jovocop were expected to do more than they have. They have played decent defensively they have taken a ton of penalties from the defencecore. Their run and gun style is susceptible to chances but brodeur allows for that style of play to work. Just when you think its an area of equalization for the Caps in walks their defensive group made up of has beens, wannabe's and never will be's. Toni Lydman is the lone brightspot of this group and Mike Green is still a year away from having impact. This group of slower defensive d-men will have trouble keeping up with Pittsburgh's run and gun offence unless they can hurt some Pen's along the way.
Injuries
Pittsburgh - Mike Fisher sidelined day-to-day (Injured)
Bryan McCabe suspended 3 games
Washington - Jeff Halpern sidelined 2-4 weeks (Injured)
The keys to victory!
Pittsburgh is a bit weak on the PK and Washington has a pretty good powerplay so there is a possibility there for the Caps, and McCabe suspended for the first three games will help, but even then the Caps will need a lot of players to step up large to even stay competitive. Perhaps they can steal a game at home before McCabe comes back. The Pens are just too strong in all facets of the game in this particular matchup as the Caps are still too young. They can gain experience and come back next year.
PREDICTION:PITTSBURGH in 4 games.
