Hockey fans! It’s that time of year again – with the round 3 of the NHL playoffs well underway, the big question that needs to be asked is: who will make it to the finals, and who will win the cup? The 2014 playoffs have been a showcase of phenomenal hockey, full of upsets and surprises, but the most important and exciting part is yet to come.
To get you up to speed, the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers are squaring off in the Eastern Conference final. As it stands, the Rangers lead the series 2-1. Though this original-six matchup did not have the same hype and hatred as either of the Montreal-Boston or as the New York-Pittsburgh series in round 2, big hits and injuries to key players have ensured that these teams will remember each other well regardless of the outcome of this series.
In game one, Rangers winger Chris Kreider collided awkwardly with Habs go-to goaltender Carey Price. Price was pulled from the game in the third period and has not played since. Habs players and coach Michel Therrien were furious; claiming the collision with Price was most probably intentional, given Kreider’s track record (just ask Marc-André Fleury). Of course this is a huge loss for Montreal, who called up newcomer Dustin Tokarski to start game 3.
Despite the fact Tokarski had only 12 NHL games under his belt, his play was absolutely fantastic as the Rangers dominated most of game 3. He robbed Martin St. Louis twice, denied Daniel Carcillo at the back door and made superb saves on Rick Nash and Benoit Pouliot as part of a 35 save effort on the night.
Nevertheless, it will be difficult for Montreal to even this series without their star goaltender and arguably best player, Carey Price. With Lundqvist (the King) in net and depth throughout their forward lines, the Habs will be hard pressed to keep the Rangers at bay. The Montreal defence will need to step up—Subban committing fewer turnovers would be a good start.
The verdict: Rangers in six.
In the Western Conference, the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks face off against the blue-collar L.A. Kings in a very exciting matchup. The series is tied at one game apiece, with game 3 set for Saturday night in L.A.
The Blackhawks took game one 3-1, dominating for most of the game with the exception of the third period. Jonathan Teows put the game away with a gorgeous one-timer on a 3 on 1 breakaway (the Hawks don’t miss very often on those) in the third. The Kings played well in the later stages of the game, but the Hawks held on for the win.
Once again, the Kings were dominated through most of the first two periods of game 2, until forward Justin Williams banked one in to cut Chicago’s lead to 2-1 after 40 minutes of play. The Kings then took advantage on back-to-back power plays at the beginning to the third. Jeff Carter tipped in a Drew Doughty shot from the point on the first man-advantage and defencemen Justin Muzzin converted on the second to give the Kings the lead. The Kings charged on and never looked back: 3 goals later Jeff Carter had himself a hat trick and the Kings evened up the series, taking game 2 by a score of 6-2 and stunning Chicago fans in their home building.
These teams know each other very well and are both experienced in comeback situations. In the first round, the Kings went down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks. In a series they seemed destined to lose, they staged a comeback that will go down in hockey history, winning the next four games to advance to the second round. Though the Blackhawks did not pull off a comeback of that magnitude in these playoffs, let us not forget that they were down 2-0 to division rival St. Louis Blues. They went on to win that series in six games. This one could really go either way, but Kings have a distinct advantage in goaltender Jonathan Quick over Cory Crawford. If the Kings can keep it together and limit the defensive mistakes that plagued them in game one and the first two periods of game 2, their scoring should get them past the Hawks.
The verdict: Kings in seven.
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