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#132735 - 04/09/08 02:28 PM

NHL Playoff Breakdown

ramins
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Playoff breakdown

By Alex Smart

The second season of pucks starts this week and it wasn't until the final weekend of the regular season that the final places and pecking order were resolved.

The ability to go deep into the postseason depends on not just having a dominant home ice advantage, but teams must have the ability to win a high proportion of games on their travels.

Surprisingly the Sharks had a better road record than home record and not so surprising was the fact that the boys from the motor city posted the best home record overall.

Some key situations are worth bearing in mind when it comes to wagering on playoff hockey.

NHL teams are 41-18 in game 5 when leading a series 3-1.

Only one team (in 30 tries) has ever erased a 3-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals -- and that was the Leafs back in 1942.

In the history of best-of-7 NHL Finals from 1939 through 2007, teams that lead 3-games-1 with Games 1-2 at home and Games 3-4 on the road have a 20-0 series record.

Only twice in 145 occurrences has a NHL team come back from a 0-3 playoff deficit to win the series 4-3. Teams with a 3-0 advantage have swept their opponents in 96 of those 145 series (66% of the time).

Home teams have won 83percent of game 7's in NHL playoff history.

The home team is 10-1 last 11 Game 7 games in the Stanley Cup finals.

Eastern Conference:
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins Regular Season Series: Montreal wins 8 - 0 with six of the eight games playing 'over' the total.

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators Regular Season Series: Ottawa wins 3-1 with 31 goals scored over the four games.

(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers Regular Season Series: Washington wins 6 - 2 with at least five goals scored in every game.

(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers ... Regular Season Series: New York wins 7 - 1 with five games producing four or less goals.

Western Conference:
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators
Regular Season Series: Detroit wins 5 - 3 with five of the eight games producing five or more goals.

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames
Regular Season Series: Calgary wins 3 - 1 with all four games providing five or more goals.

(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche
Regular Season Series: Minnesota wins 5 - 3 with the Wild winning four at home.

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars Regular Season Series: Dallas wins 5 - 3 managing to grab two wins two on the road.

So who has what it takes to win the Lord Stanley Cup. Hockey might be a team game, but every squad has at least one go-to-guy. At this point of the season, that player must perform up to expectations for good things to happen as teams look to go deep in the playoffs.

The Detroit Red Wings chances hinge on goaltending. Will the 'Dominator' step up or will it be Osgood. Dominik Hasek has been in and out with injury and illness.

The San Jose Sharks need Joe Thornton to step up on previous postseason performances; one goal, 11 points in 11 games last year and two goals, seven points in nine games in 2006. If Thornton fails then San Jose won't win the Stanley Cup.

The Minnesota Wild have continued to play 'close to the vest' hockey winning and losing games by the odd goal. Defenseman Brent Burns has been outstanding this season shutting down the opposition's top lines and contributing to the offense. With Kurtis Foster out and nagging injuries to a number of others, and against the likes the Ducks, the Wild will find goals hard to come by.

The Anaheim Ducks have for some time now had a strong defensive unit, so how deep the Ducks can go depends on top-line center Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry who could possibly miss the first round. Goals will be a premium for Anaheim and if they don't find the net often enough an early exit becons.

The Dallas Stars will rely on Marty Turco to reproduce his postseason heriocs of last season once again (three shutouts, 1.30 GAA, .952 save percentage), but will look for a more positive outcome.

The Calgary Flames most influential component this time of year falls to the master motivator Mike Keenan. No doubt the coach will come up with something in his attempt to get into the heads of the opposition.

Colorado's chances hinge on Peter Forsberg. He's a playoff-style player, but just how effective can he be given his health issues?

Nashville Predators will do well to avoid a first round drubbing. Chris Mason has failed miserably having inherited the No. 1 goaltending job from the departed Tomas Vokoun.

Montreal Canadiens will hope that captain Saku Koivu's broken foot doesn't hinder him too much, while 20-year-old rookie goalie Carey Price will look for his regular season solid performances between the pipes to carry over into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby will have good days and bad days due to his high ankle sprain. Will it matter? Not as much to the Pens as it might some teams losing a stud as young dynamic forward Evgeni Malkin, who has been spectacular during Crosby's absence in the regular season.

Washington Capitals Alexander Ovechkin is certainly going to score goals, but the Caps chances hinge on prevention. Step forward ex-Canadien goalie Cristobal Huet who as seen off the challenge from Olaf Kolzig.

The New Jersey Devils need another outstanding postseason from Martin Brodeur if they have any chance of progressing. Leading scorer Zach Parise needs a repeat of last year when he scored seven goals and 10 points in 11 playoff games.

How successful the New York Rangers will be this spring depends on Henrik Lundqvist who has seen a drop off in his performances since the midpoint of the season. The Blueshirts hope a repeat of his 2.07 goals-against average last postseason may prove enough this time around.

Philadelphia Flyers Daniel Briere has played well down the stretch and he'll have to continue to make an impact if the Flyers are to be a serious challenger. The Flyers might have to return to the Broadstreet Bullies during this year's playoffs, to have some success.

Once again it's a goaltender that the spotlight falls on. The Ottawa Senators Martin Gerber will have to be special if the Sens are to rekindle the sparkle they displayed during the early months of the season.

Unfortunatley the Boston Bruins have little in the way of offense, so it's up to defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara to lead a defense-first effort.

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#132851 - 04/10/08 02:10 PM

Re: NHL Playoff Breakdown [Re: ramins]

ramins
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The underdog(road team)went 3-1 in day one of the playoffs. This has become the norm in the NHL playoffs.

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#132892 - 04/11/08 04:04 PM

Re: NHL Playoff Breakdown [Re: ramins]

ramins
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The underdogs didn't do so well in day 2, going 1-3.

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