Eastern Conference Finals: Bruins vs. Penguins
Offense (Penguins): Probably the most anticipated match-up of the Final Four. Pittsburgh can light the lamp at anytime. If you were like me and played hockey video games, you would go into the roster management section and trade Crosby for Chris Kelly. This whole lineup consists of All-Stars everywhere or legitimate players.
Sidney Crosby. Hands down the best player in the NHL right now. Quick, smart, lethal. He is the player that you build around. He is the Steve Nash of the NHL. He gives people contracts that they do not deserve because he makes them better. Most likely, Chara is going to be defending Crosby but Crosby is too deceptive and good. And if Chara is not on the ice at any given time, expect Crosby and his linemates to make noise.
Playing second fiddle is Malkin. Who anybody would take with their first selection. Malkin is fast and has some sweet hands. Playing with two big bodies like Iginla and Neal benefits Malkin like Krejci does with Horton and Lucic. He can take chances because he knows that they will stick up for him or they will just plant their butts right in front of the blue paint. Neal had a career year when he came to Pittsburgh and was on a line with Malkin.
Offense (Boston): My hometown team. We can play up to our offensive standards or we can crap the bed and not score anything. Somebody poked Milan Lucic because he is playing like how he is supposed to play. Skating, hitting and punishing defensemen when he is around the net. Lucic has not been producing as much but we need Lucic to be feared when he is on the ice. Krejci needs to act like Crosby 2.0 and keep leading the league in points and Horton needs to be that third important piece to that line by chipping in timely goals or dirty goals.
Patrice Bergeron. Selke nominee and what a ******g class act. This guy bails out everybody when they're in a bind. He is the most underrated player in the league because he doesn't the play the game flashy, he just plays it right. This lines first goal is stop Crosby/Dupuis/Kunitz and then score second. Defense wins championship and Bergeron must be the anchor to stopping their top line. The Bergeron line is my X-Factor. If Seguin starts to pick things up, expect him back up there with them. Marchand needs to keep being The Rat that he is.
The Merlot Line is going to be an important factor. They do not deserve to be called fourth liners as I consider them the third line now because our third line is something that does not need to be talked about. Paille needs to use his speed, Campbell needs to use his heart and get into the dirty areas and Thornton needs to provide his toughness when it is needed. If secondary scoring is to be had, I am looking at the Merlot Line to contribute.
Defense (Pittsburgh): One of my favorite defensemen in the league is Kris Letang. He looks like Doughty with his long hair and right handed shot and is offensively gifted. The East Coast Doughty. He can produce all by himself. It's no wonder he's a Norris candidate. The quarterback to the PP, Letang is a main component to what Pitt does to win this series. The forwards can easily pick the scoring slack but if Letang can use his heavy shot and skating to keep the Bruins on their heels, watch out. Letang will exploit you. I always liked it when Letang was paired with Orpik. If the coach can pair them back up, Letang will jump it in the rush each and every time. Orpik will be there waiting to hit somebody. That is when Kris is at his best.
Defense (Bruins): "Z" as we call him here. Tall, strong, a mountain. I have always felt Z has another gear to him. I know that he is afraid of hurting people because he is so strong but we need Chara to press that NOS button and blast off. I've seen him countless times basically give somebody a nudge but a person goes flying. I want Chara to hit somebody and they go flying across the ice. Zdeno can do this but sometimes he is too scared for his own good. He plays with a passion but he needs to play with intensity now. In Game 7 against the Leafs when they were down, you saw Chara jumping into the play, letting off his shot and also using his body by going down low and staying there! That led to a goal and I felt that was really important. Chara gives up his offensive stats because he has too much responsibility on defense but if he can be Incredible Hulk Chara rather than Winnie the Pooh Chara, expect the Penguin forwards to think twice of cutting into the slot.
Seidenberg, Boychuk and Krug are going to be very important as they will be tested against a very good Pittsburgh third line. I expect Seidenberg to be that defensively sound rearguard that I know him as and to play well since he is fully healed.
I expect Boychuk to play his defensive game and just block shots.
I do not expect Krug to be scoring goals in 4 out of 5 games but I can see him being the defensive scoring leader of the Bruins 6-pack. He is going to cool off a little bit but I expect some timely contributions on the PP from him if the Bruins play to their abilities.
Goaltending (Pittsburgh): Vokoun has stepped up nicely. The best thing to do is ride a hot goalie and that is what the Bruins did in 2011. Vokoun has been around the block and knows that he has an amazing team in front of him. If the 5 man unit breaks down defensively and he is getting overwhelmed, a quick switch to MAF can be called upon. Vokoun is an above-average goalie playing for an excellent team.
Goaltending (Boston): Two U's. Two K's and a whole lot of TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK at the Gahden. After seeing Tim "The Flop Man" Thomas play, he is very comforting to watch. He is never out-of-position and he is so damn flexible. Rask is on to greener pastures and green Benjamin's come next year. If anything, Rask can outplay Vokoun and MAF combined and he needs to be the MVP of the ECF for the Bruins to advance.
Winner: Bruins in 7
so good.
