The Eastern Conference playoff field is locked in, full, "seat taken," or whatever phrase you want to use to describe it.
The only question remaining: Who is going to dance with whom? Or, more importantly, are the Canadiens going to get their dream matchup against the Capitals or will they play the Bruins, who they are 0-5-1 against this season?
If the standings hold, the Capitals will face the New York Rangers, although we won't know for sure until Sunday night because the Rangers play the Flyers Sunday at 5 p.m.
Here are the scenarios:
If the Rangers win and the Canadiens win, the Capitals play the Rangers as the result of a tie-breaker. In order for the Canadiens to leap-frog the Rangers, they need any one of these scenarios to play out: a win and a Rangers loss, an OTL and a Rangers loss, or a win and Rangers OTL.
Alright, let's break down each team and then put it to a vote.
Montreal Canadiens
Last Year's Playoffs: Eliminated the Boston Bruins in ECQF, Eliminated by Philadelphia Flyers in ECSF.
Previous Playoff Meetings with Capitals: None
Key Players: Alex Kovalev, Carey Price, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay
Key Injuries: Andrei Markov (knee, DTD), Robert Lang (torn achilles tendon, IR), Francis Bouillion (groin, IR), Matheui Schnieder (Shoulder, DTD)
Season Series: Caps win 3-1-0
New York Rangers
Last Year's Playoffs: Eliminated New Jersey Devils in ECQF, Eliminated by Pittsburgh Penguins in ECSF.
Previous Playoff Meetings with Capitals: 2-2, (won in 86, lost in 90, lost in 91, won in 94)
Key Players: Henrik Lundqvist, Nik Antropov, Scott Gomez, Sean Avery
Key Injuries: No reported injuries
Season Series: Caps win 3-0-1
Alright, have at it.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'd prefer not to have to watch Sean Avery doing his thing, and I know Ovechkin loves playing in Montreal. I'll take the Habs.
ReplyDeleteHey CK, did you see this.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dccheapseats.com/?p=2241
Same article, same title, same everything. Nice to see original works in the Caps blogosphere...
@Jeff same mindset, common phrase and I'm not the only blogger in the world who's going to be asking that same question, so it's not a big deal.
ReplyDeleteStill it's just a lack of originality.
ReplyDeleteEh, it's not like I was the first person to invent comparing teams ya know. It's not a big deal, plus Caps Chick has always been a friend of the Kremlin.
ReplyDeleteFor that matter, Eklund just used the same headline, sooo just shows you how common it is.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.capitalskremlin.com/2009/04/pick-yer-poison-rangers-or-habs.html?showComment=1239479040000#c347213203452022127