Post by Buffalo Sabres on Mar 19, 2008 3:54:39 GMT -5
Preview
The Thrashers win their first Southeast division championship. This team has surprised some with its strong play but has just built momentum since their first round upset over Buffalo in last season's playoffs. Though they battled along with the two big dogs in the east, Pittsburgh and Buffalo for most of the season, the final standings don't reflect the excellent season that the Thrashers enjoyed. The Florida Panthers come in after holding a playoff spot after an excellent start. A new GM totally changed the look of the franchise moving forward by trading many marketable stars and giving a chance to some new faces. Those new faces responded by not only staying in a playoff spot that wasn't expected, but managing to end up in 6th place. This is a great achievement for this rebuilding franchise going forward.
Goaltending
Goaltending is a strong point for the Panthers as Chris Osgood played his heart out after landing in Florida after Tomas Vokoun was moved out. Osgood's numbers this year are respectable 3.12 GAA, 2 shutouts, and .896 save %. He played in 63 games going 27-29-5. The Thrashers will be sending out none other than Roberto Luongo to face the Panthers. Luongo has been a massive workhorse for the Thrashers and is a big reason why the Thrasher won their division. Luongo played in 78 games and had a record of 43-29-3 and 5 shutouts. He also led the league in save % with a .910 and was 2nd in GAA at 2.64. He is also a likely Vezina trophy candidate. Osgood is a well experienced goalie so don't expect him to be intimidated at all by Luongo.
Forwards
The Panthers have turned the scoring over to Chris Kunitz, Sergei Samsonov and Scott Mellanby and hope that these guys can teach a little of their knowledge to the youth of the team that has yet seen VHL playoff action. This will be a learning experience for the Panthers, but don't let that fool you, this is an excitied young group that wants to prove their place here in the VHL. The Thrashers on the other hand are one of the leagues more experienced teams and are led by St. Louis, Kovalchuk, Ryan Smyth, Sergei Federov and Tomas Holmstrom. The Thrashers kind of fool you because with the likes of St.Louis and Kovalchuk you expect barnburner action but its their defensive play that keeps them winning. Kovalchuk for example tied for 4th in the league in +/-.
Defense
The Thrasher defence along with Luongo were responsible for the leagues 2nd lowest goal total against. Their offence all stems from Andrei Markov from the back end but his defensive game has also been sound. Veteran experienced warriors like Kasparitis, Devries, Skoula, Modry, Spacek are keeping teams away from the Thrasher net minimizing 2nd chance shots. The Panthers have had a strong year from Mike Van Ryn who is third on their team in points. Sean O'Donnell is a veteran pressence that will teach the younger players about playoff hockey.
Injuries
Atlanta - No injuries to report
Florida - No injuries to report
The keys to victory!
For Florida they can just keep puttin pucks on the net. Getting traffic is the key however it is easier said than done, especially if Kaspar or DeVries is on the ice. Getting pucks past Luongo is tough its gonna take ugly hockey to do it. The one flaw in the Thrashers is that they do allow a lot of shots on goal however their team defense is 2nd so they must mostly be long range shots. The Thrashers powerplay is also a little bit weak. For the Thrashers they must stay with their defensive game, do the little things right as they have all year and if they can get their powerplay going it will help them going forward.
PREDICTION:ATLANTA in 4 games.
The Thrashers win their first Southeast division championship. This team has surprised some with its strong play but has just built momentum since their first round upset over Buffalo in last season's playoffs. Though they battled along with the two big dogs in the east, Pittsburgh and Buffalo for most of the season, the final standings don't reflect the excellent season that the Thrashers enjoyed. The Florida Panthers come in after holding a playoff spot after an excellent start. A new GM totally changed the look of the franchise moving forward by trading many marketable stars and giving a chance to some new faces. Those new faces responded by not only staying in a playoff spot that wasn't expected, but managing to end up in 6th place. This is a great achievement for this rebuilding franchise going forward.
Goaltending
Goaltending is a strong point for the Panthers as Chris Osgood played his heart out after landing in Florida after Tomas Vokoun was moved out. Osgood's numbers this year are respectable 3.12 GAA, 2 shutouts, and .896 save %. He played in 63 games going 27-29-5. The Thrashers will be sending out none other than Roberto Luongo to face the Panthers. Luongo has been a massive workhorse for the Thrashers and is a big reason why the Thrasher won their division. Luongo played in 78 games and had a record of 43-29-3 and 5 shutouts. He also led the league in save % with a .910 and was 2nd in GAA at 2.64. He is also a likely Vezina trophy candidate. Osgood is a well experienced goalie so don't expect him to be intimidated at all by Luongo.
Forwards
The Panthers have turned the scoring over to Chris Kunitz, Sergei Samsonov and Scott Mellanby and hope that these guys can teach a little of their knowledge to the youth of the team that has yet seen VHL playoff action. This will be a learning experience for the Panthers, but don't let that fool you, this is an excitied young group that wants to prove their place here in the VHL. The Thrashers on the other hand are one of the leagues more experienced teams and are led by St. Louis, Kovalchuk, Ryan Smyth, Sergei Federov and Tomas Holmstrom. The Thrashers kind of fool you because with the likes of St.Louis and Kovalchuk you expect barnburner action but its their defensive play that keeps them winning. Kovalchuk for example tied for 4th in the league in +/-.
Defense
The Thrasher defence along with Luongo were responsible for the leagues 2nd lowest goal total against. Their offence all stems from Andrei Markov from the back end but his defensive game has also been sound. Veteran experienced warriors like Kasparitis, Devries, Skoula, Modry, Spacek are keeping teams away from the Thrasher net minimizing 2nd chance shots. The Panthers have had a strong year from Mike Van Ryn who is third on their team in points. Sean O'Donnell is a veteran pressence that will teach the younger players about playoff hockey.
Injuries
Atlanta - No injuries to report
Florida - No injuries to report
The keys to victory!
For Florida they can just keep puttin pucks on the net. Getting traffic is the key however it is easier said than done, especially if Kaspar or DeVries is on the ice. Getting pucks past Luongo is tough its gonna take ugly hockey to do it. The one flaw in the Thrashers is that they do allow a lot of shots on goal however their team defense is 2nd so they must mostly be long range shots. The Thrashers powerplay is also a little bit weak. For the Thrashers they must stay with their defensive game, do the little things right as they have all year and if they can get their powerplay going it will help them going forward.
PREDICTION:ATLANTA in 4 games.
