Stanley Cup Playoffs - Final 4

Buffalo vs Philadelphia

 

Season: Buffalo won season 2W (1OT) – 1L

 

Both teams generated a 3 goal per game average during the first 2 rounds (only the Blues did better  with 3.4 gpg average) but the Flyers have been playing better defensively this being said the Sabres are really disciplined, no getting a lot of penalties and when they do, they don’t allow goals,  they are just perfect on the PK since the beginning of the playoffs (same for the Blues).  The Flyers are at 84% in that department.  Both power plays are kind of struggling (Flyers 16% / Sabre 13%).  Both team are healthy, Andrej Sekera is the only one player who won’t be present tonight, he’s expected to  miss the first 3-4 games of the series.

Bujstad is leading the league with 10 goals in 12 games, Foligno, Kopitar and Roman Josi are also having a strong playoffs run offensively. Tyler Johnson also has 10 goals (14 games) and 15 points (3^rd), the Sabres are getting a big chunk of their offensive from him, Steen, Plekanec and Carter.  If the Sabres are doing really good on the PK, five on five seems to be way more difficult, the whole team combine for a +/- differential of -30 (Vrbata -8, Markov -7) while the Flyers are at +19 in that department.

 

Goaltending might be the key in that series, after 2 rounds the Sabres still don’t know from game to game what they’ll get from Luongo, 905 save % and 3.10 GAA is not what you expect from your #1 at this point in the playoffs, but when it counts, it looks like Luongo steps up.  On the other side, Niemi hasn’t been dominating either (GAA 2.67 / Save% 907) to the point where Philadelphia decided to give Chad Johnson a few starts. But Niemi has  a Stanley Cup ring and his current stats are slightly better than what he had last year when the Flyers won the cup.

 

 

 

St. Louis vs Anaheim

 

               Season: Anaheim won season 2W (1OT) – 1L

 

Best offensive, best defensive, best PP and best PK in the league after 2 rounds, business as usual for the Blues.  Not to diminish their achievements but against the Ducks they’ll probably face really good opposition for the first time in this year’s playoffs.  The Ducks have way more depth than the Avs and the Stars especially defensively and Tuukka Rask has been really solid in the net.  They’ll also have to find a way to stop Bergeron (8-8-16pts).

 

 The Ducks will need more offense from Kesler who still  hasn’t score a goal in the playoffs (6 assists). Anaheim got  a respectful 21% on the PP and are doing really good on the PK with  89%, this being said they get way too much penalties in the first 2 rounds (only the Stars got more penalties than them), if they don't stay away from the penalty box, it could be a short series.

Giordani, Tarasenkov, Nyquvist, Nielsen, Gaborik and Taylor Hall all have 10 points or more for the Blues, Varlamov has an amazing save % of 945 and a 1.91 GAA, can the Ducks stop them? it won't be an easy task, the Blues are on a mission!  The Ducks will be ready for this series, they got adversity in the previous rounds, especially against the Sharks, they fought hard to access the final four and they got a taste of the Stanley Cup finals 2 years ago!