New York Islanders VS. Tampa Bay Lightning

   John Tavares leads a young budding Islanders team into the second round after a dominant game 6 performance.  30 year-old Thomas Griess took over in round one with a .944 save percentage and a 1.79 GAA. John Tavares was dominant in the first round posting 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points which also included the series winner in game six. But now they must turn their focus to an extremely strong Tampa Bay Lightning squad that dominated the first round. The absence of Stralman and Stamkos has not hindered the roster as Drouin and Killorn have stepped up and provided timely scoring in Stamkos absence while Bishop and the defensive core in front of him have stepped up in the absence of first pairing defenceman Stralman. Tampa Bay is looking to inch closer to another appearance in the cup finals, while the young Islanders are looking to finally compete for a championship.

Advantage: Tampa Bay Lightning

Reason: Experience, goaltending and depth at every position will help the Lightning beat the young Islanders in what I predict to be a hard fought 6 games.


    These are only my thoughts! Let me know what you think will happen in this series in the comments below and be sure to stay tuned for my next analysis which will come tomorrow about the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins series.

Sorry for my absence

  I would like to start this post by saying sorry that I have been away for so long. I have had a very stressful work load at school and simply haven't had time to post. Now to follow that up I would like to let everyone know that starting tonight I will be starting a series analysing the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and tonight I am going to start with the East. After I'm done this series I will be posting one to two times a week and getting back into the regular swing of things. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy my analysis of the second round.

Is this finally the Caps year?

   This year has been an interesting one in the NHL to say the least but the biggest surprise in my mind has been the fact that the Washington Capitals finally look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. The Capitals have somethings this year that they haven't had ever. The combination of four lines that can score, three solid defensive pairs and one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. That mixed with youth and veteran influence has  Washington looking like the team to do it this year. For the first time since Alex Ovechkin joined the NHL he isn't leading the Capitals in points and it isn't a problem. This team looks hungry and they look like no one will stand in their way. The addition of veteran forward Mike Richards has brought a winning defensive performance to their forward lines. But to me the biggest difference with this Washington teams to others has been their defence, players like Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, John Carlson and Karl Alzner have brought a sense of stability to Washingtons D core that has not been present in a long time. That combined with the fact that Holtby's incredible in net has Washington's defensive side looking incredible. We all know the Caps can score, but this year they look better than ever up front. This is a Washington Capitals team that I believe has some of the best potential in the NHL and has a fantastic shot at the Stanley Cup.