Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens: First Round playoff predictions - 2011 Stanley Cup Part 4
This is one of those ties in the National Hockey League that is expected to go right down to the wire. Both teams have an equal probability of winning the series. The Canadiens will be high on confidence, considering the fact that last year this time around they knocked out the Washington Capitals, who were the top seed after rallying back from a 3-1 deficit.
Both teams are among the six Original clubs in the NHL, which makes this game all the more exciting. The series between them during the course of the regular season was won by the Canadiens. Still there is a chance that this might not happen in the playoffs, since the Bruins were assured a spot in the cut during the regular season.
However, the situation has now taken a frantic turn for the Canadiens, with the Bruins looking better and stronger of the two teams. Carey Price made some decent performances to prove his critics wrong, playing splendidly on numerous occasions throughout the season. He played a major role in putting the Canadiens into the cut.
The Bruins goalie, Tim Thomas, also performed well and is expected to win the Verizon Trophy, clearly telling what the Canadiens are up against. The Bruins, are heavier off the two teams in terms of their physical play, and have a greater chance of winning. They will presumably be looking to move on this time after making an early exit in the last time out during the playoffs.
The series is planned to go to the seven games but the Bruins are expected win the series and move on. Although, not a very strong team, they are still one of the reckoning forces in the league who have an outside chance of winning the Stanley Cup.
Pittsburgh Penguins v Tampa Bay Lightning
If the Penguins’ squad had been fuller than what they have at present, this would have been one easy prediction. However, there seems to be no relief from the plethora of injury problems they face, with Evgeni Malkin out for the rest of the season.
Sidney Crosby who is also on the injured list was expected to make a comeback, which at the moment seems relatively unlikely. It looks that he will appear sometime later in the playoffs (that is, if the Penguins move on).
On the other hand, the Lightning, too are facing some serious problems. Once they were a strong offensive force in the opening part of the season that saw Steven Stamkos bagging goals at every given opportunity.
Recently, the Lightning has suffered quite a great deal due to Stamkos’ inability to match his early performances. The Lightning has been able to solidify their position with a lot of help from its defence, led by Fluery – Lightning’s goalie.
Fluery so fast has been superb during the course of the season, and is expected to continue performing in similar fashion. Until Penguins bring back Malkin and Crosby, they are in no shape to emerge as winners of this series. The Lightning are expected to win the series in six games.
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