Boston was all set to play against 1st place Buffalo but a collapse by Montreal and strong play in their last few games, they moved into 7th place. Philly was able to hold off the challenge of Atlanta to secure 2nd place in the conference after a poor finish by the Thrashers.
The Offense - Winners - Honors Even
These two offenses are so close but I can't pick a winner there. Though Peter Forsberg and Ray Whitney outscored the two top forwards on Boston, newly acquired Derek Roy has been on fire since he's been part of Boston. This series could come down to how the top two lines play against one another though Boston's defensive ability on the top two lines could give Boston the advantage there.
The Defense - Winners - Boston
Boston have young stars Dion Phaneuf and Brent Burns leading their blueline which includes defensive defensemen Steve Staios who went to the finals last year with Atlanta. His influence will have to lead an inexperience Boston blueline if they want success.
Philly's blueline doesn't have a lot of experience, only Regher and Kuba have 70+ ratings in leadership and experience. But their ability to move the puck will pose a problem to Boston's forwards if they can't trap them inside the Philly zone.
The goaltending - Winners - Philly
Luongo should outplay Miller, he's got the experience and leadership over Miller and Ward won't get much icetime unless Miller chokes big time. Hillier will provide solid backup for the Flyers so unless Boston can injure Luongo, they'll always be on the losing end in the net.
Who Wins?
This will be a close series, although Philly won both meetings against Boston in the regular season, that was against a different roster. I can see this series going the distance and I'm going to take a bit of a gamble and say Boston in 7.
well that, plus having to finish off a 10,000 word dissertation, 2,500 word essay and another 4,500 word essay within a month.... so i'll be a little pressed for time, determined to complete my dissertation (40% done) by Monday evening... then I'll allow myself to slack off a bit....
CENTER LEFT WING RIGHT WING DEFENCE DEFENCE 1 Peter Forsberg Ray Whitney Marian Hossa Paul Martin Robyn Regehr 2 Henrik Sedin Daniel Sedin Alex Kovalev Joni Pitkanen Daniel Girardi 3 Mikko Koivu Dustin Penner Drew Stafford Filip Kuba Andreas Lilja 4 Jarret Stoll Ethan Moreau Matthias Tjarnqvist Daniel Girardi Andreas Lilja Extra Skaters: 1 Koivu 2 Hossa
POWER PLAY
CENTER LEFT WING RIGHT WING DEFENCE DEFENCE 1 Peter Forsberg Ray Whitney Marian Hossa Paul Martin Joni Pitkanen 2 Henrik Sedin Daniel Sedin Alex Kovalev Filip Kuba Joni Pitkanen
PENALTY KILL
CENTER WINGER DEFENCE DEFENCE 1 Mikko Koivu Ethan Moreau Paul Martin Robyn Regehr 2 Jarret Stoll Matthias Tjarnqvist Daniel Girardi Andreas Lilja
STARTING GOALIE Roberto Luongo
SCRATCHES Tom Gilbert (Healthy) Robert Nilsson (Healthy) Chris Neil (Healthy)
__________________
Get ahold of me soon, or my players will already be dealt!
Tied at one game a piece, the series heads back to Boston after two different type of games. While Game 1 was Boston taking its chances, Game 2 became a battle of special teams with two shorthanded goals and one powerplay goals gave Philly the victory.
Surprises of the Series thus far
Ryan Getzlaf - 3 goals including the game winner in game 1
Roberto Luongo - Needs to be better, 49 saves off 56 shots
Marian Hossa - Providing Philly with offense, 4 points tied for the point lead
The Flyers have dominated the last three games despite going 2-1 against the Bruins. The Flyers have outscored the Bruins 14-6 in the last three games, but 8 of those came in 1 game. Though believed to have the best chance against Buffalo, Boston have to get by Luongo and the Flyers first. Tough to do as they have to win the next two in a row.
Surprises of the Series thus far:
Ryan Getzlaf - 3 goals in first two games but only 1 in the last three, but still 2 game winning goals
Marian Hossa - 8 points puts him amongst the leaders in points for the BRHL2 playoffs
Henrik Sedin - His goals (4) are more than his assists (3)!!!
