On Monday Night, the Washington Capitals defeated the Atlanta Thrashers 6-4, eliminating the Thrashers and finalizing the 16-teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Though the seeding is not final, there's obvious some hot and cold teams coming into the playoffs. Conversely, there are plenty of cold teams as well. How does it pan out?? Let's look, shall we??
WHO'S HOT??
-New Jersey Devils: The Devils are 10-0-0 in their last ten. Martin Brodeur has found his groove just in time for the playoffs. Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez could be the most underrated tandem in the NHL today. All this, plus they have a chance of winning the Atlantic Division under a cloak of darkness, overshadowed by the other New York Metro area teams. For a team that has won three Stanley Cups in the last decade, they are going to be a threat to be reckoned with.
-San Jose Sharks: Since Joe Thornton has come on the team, the Sharks have been a totally different team. If Thornton does not win the MVP, there's a fix in the NHL Awards voting. He has not only make the team better, but he has single handedly made Jonathan Cheechoo a primer player in the NHL today. Add that to Ron Wilson's hockey mind behind the bench, the Sharks could be a sleeper in the West.
WHO'S NOT??
-Ottawa Senators: Talk about a bad time for the injury bug to make an relapse, this is it. Though they have played well without Dominik Hasek, there is only so much Ray Emery can do without getting the proper support. The top line of Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, and Daniel Alfredsson need to kick their game into gear and hope that the defense is healthy enough to shoulder some of the load that could be heading their way.
-Edmonton Oilers: There were high hopes for the Oilers this year, but they didn't live up to expectation. Their goaltending carousel hurt a lot and the trades for Dwayne Roloson and Sergei Samsonov have has mixed results. The Oilers backdoored their way into the playoffs with the Vancouver Canucks blow-up, but I don't think we'll be seeing much of the Oilers in this post-season, especially since they have to play the Detroit Red Wings.
That's just a brief overview of the playoffs. On Wednesday afternoon, with the seedings all done, there will be a little more in-depth look at the series, but until then. Just hold tight and listen in. If you have any questions or comments, go ahead and email us at the Show and we'll do our best not to bore you.
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