Predictions ahead of the 2011 National Hockey League Play-offs - Part 1
The two best months of the National Hockey League are said by many to have finally arrived as the 2011 play-offs get under way from Wednesday. The season saw some brilliant and record breaking performances by teams and now it is about time that they use
that as a foundation to get to the very top and bring home the Stanley Cup.
Some of the predictions in the following articles maybe wrong but there is a high probability of them being right, as they are compiled considering the facts and history in mind. As the famous saying goes that “history might come back to haunt you” so there
is a chance that these predictions based on history might very well come out to be true.
The team with the best defence during the course of the play-offs will clearly win:
The league is flooded with some very dangerous and skillful forwards that have been productive bagging goals in power-plays and regulation time. The offence is one thing that can get better with the passage of time in a game, but if the defence is weak at
the initial stages then the team is bound to go down the road and the destination seems to get steeper and steeper.
The teams that come up with champions are those that have depth in their squad and are very strong at the back. On any given day, if a team lacks offensive strength then there is a chance that they might win, but if the teams lacks behind in terms of defence
then there is no chance of them emerging as winners of the game. The regular season doesn’t demand that much from the defensive line as there are 82 games to play, but the play-offs demand constant hard work as they are the key to success.
The defence is led by a centre and plays a very important role in the transition phase that sees the attacks being developed after an attack is cut down. The pivotal and transition role is played by a player who is responsible for holding the team. Whichever
team is going to be successful in doing so, they will be crowned champions of the 2011 Stanley Cup.
This important position is held by Dave Bolland of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kris Draper in the Detroit Red Wings and John Madden of the New Jersey Devils.
Goal-tending problems for the Philadelphia Flyers and it will be Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky who will both play:
The Philadelphia Flyers have two goal-keepers which consist of experience and on the other side there is young blood. The rookie Sergei Bobrovsky and the veteran Brian Boucher have both done pretty well during the course of the season.
However, at times they have not only been disappointing during games but their performances have been drastic. The Flyers were in very good position to win the Conference as the end of the season was approaching, but the problems at the back saw them slipping
to the second seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Washington Capitals. It is predicted that rookie Bobrovsky will be starting the series against the Buffalo Sabres as he has made career high starts during the regular season.
Now, coming to the prediction relating to the series, is that it will not be a shock for the Flyers to look to Boucher later in the series once Bobrovsky struggles due to his relative inexperience in the play-offs.
Continued in Part 2
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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