Ah the NHL playoffs are finally upon us after a long and difficult regular season we are ready to anoint a “true” champion. Although the regular season clearly showed that Vancouver was the best team by a wide margin, now they have to prove it the most random, impossible to predict playoff system that the NHL has. Don’t get me wrong I love it to death but if Vancouver doesn’t even get out of the first round I think it is unfair to say that they choked/suck/ whatever you want to say. Chicago won the Cup last year and once again is a very talented team (that almost wasn’t here). Sadly we measure the best team in one of the most inefficient ways possible but hey it’s damn exciting. Sometimes I think the EPL has it right (*gasp). Last year when the Sharks got to the Conference Finals and lost, people crowed how the choked once again but in reality they were at worst the 4 best team in the league and had an outstanding season. But anything less than a Cup winning season spells failure for every team.

There are four teams of the 16 in the playoffs that don’t have a realistic shot at winning the cup: Nashville, Phoenix, Montreal, and New York Rangers. If any of those teams win I would be surprised, anyone else can easily be explained why they won it. I have had Philadelphia and San Jose going to the Cup finals since 2006 and I see little reason to change that now given that anything can happen. Let’s break every series down to the nitty-gritty and I’ll give you some keys for teams to win. It goes without saying that goaltending is important and can swing any series. The physiological advantage of having a solid goalie behind you is immeasurable but has been proven again and again to be very important. Continue reading →