Predictions ahead of the 2011 National Hockey League Play-offs - Part 7
Alex Kovalev of the Pittsburgh Penguins will underperform and not play the part for which he was brought in:
Alex Kovalev has a long history of playing in the play-offs and he has come up with a decent performance. Though he is one of those players who is more dependent on skill rather than productivity. His statistics are not outstanding, as he has been pretty
consistent so far while playing in the postseason which has seen him scoring 98 points out of the 114 games that he has taken part in.
During the regular season he had been putting in some impressive performances that led to the Penguins brining him in for the purpose of scoring goals. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to pull off what was expected out of him. He has been pretty much disappointing
and scored only two goals and a total of seven points in the 20 games that he has played.
Alex was brought into the Penguins line-up to fill up the vacuum that developed after the injuries to Malkin and Crosby. Both the players were goal scoring important assets of the team and as a replacement for them, a lot of responsibility was put on his
shoulders.
Despite spending quite some time with the Penguins, he hasn’t been able to get into the flow and according to some experts he is under performing. The role that Alex was designated to play was of a goal scorer, which hasn’t been met as yet.
If we talk about history then we can say that Alex will surely be all ready to tighten the screws and bag some decent performances that may prove to be game changing on numerous occasions. If we talk about Kovalev’s time in the Penguins so far then we have
to say the opposite, as he looks to be almost stagnant as he is not scoring goals.
This is the reason that leads to the prediction that Kovalev being relatively new in the team, will still take time to get going. The time to settle will also include the play-offs, which means that his performances in the postseason won’t be that sensational.
The Philadelphia Flyers will be able to emerge as winners of their first round series even without Chris Pronger:
Now, the Flyers are one team that can be said to be like the Penguins if we talk about the importance of a player to the team. Sidney Crosby is undoubtedly the backbone of the Penguins and same is the case with Chris Pronger in the Flyers team.
The Flyers seem to be a totally different team when Pronger is there and change in the absence. He has the excellent ability to lead the team and serves as a role model for the others both in the department of defence and offence. During the power-play this
player unleashes his offensive skills and is capable of demolishing anything that comes in his path. However, coming to the first round of play-offs, Pronger will not be playing and his future in the play-offs stills hangs due to the injury he sustained.
The Flyers are expected to go past the Buffalo Sabres in the first round as they have the depth and skill in the squad. However, if the Flyers are bidding for a long run and looking to win the Stanley Cup they need Pronger back as soon as possible.
Continued in part 8
Tags: