UKNHL’s 2012 Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions

Prepare to look back and laugh as the entire UKNHL team make their Stanley Cup Playoff predictions.

With the Stanley Cup playoffs now upon us, it seems only right that the UKNHL team take this opportunity to embarrass themselves by predicting the full winners of each series.

So here are our predictions, from the Conference Quarter Finals through to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let us know whether you agree or disagree and who your picks are instead.

James Willis

This season there are so many teams who, on their day, could reach the Stanley Cup finals. Each of the strong contenders have had their pitfalls too, making it a far more open chase for the title.

In the Eastern conference I can see Pittsburgh being a surprise first round casualty. They have a particularly tough series against Philadelphia and I just have a feeling that their defensive shortcomings will show. With the Flyers putting all they have into reaching the next round, they could well capitalise on their opponents problems.

That tie could take it out of the Flyers though and the Bruins will make the most of that in the Conference Semi Finals series.

I fancy the Rangers and New Jersey to make it through their first series easily enough, with the Rangers edging the two sides match up afterwards. I know the Rangers have their inadequacies, but so do all teams and John Tortorella has enough experience of the playoffs to keep them performing as well as they need to.

I have a feeling that Boston will beat the Rangers though, just because they seem to have something still left in the tank which will come  through for them when it matters most.

In the Western Conference I’ve been impressed with the recent form of both Vancouver and Phoenix, which I believe should get them through their Conference Quarter Finals easily enough. It could be tougher for the Blues and Predators, but I still think they’ll make it through albeit in the seventh game.

In the Semi Finals I think that Nashville could get the better of St Louis. The Blues weren’t expected to have such a big season when we started and there was good reason for that. They’ve done well to get this far so strongly, but the Predators will end their season.

The Canucks, like all sides, still have their problems, but they’ll have learned their lessons from last season and push through their tie against the Coyotes. They’ll have an even tougher time against the Predators, but I still think they’ll take it in a particularly close tie. I’m expecting at least one or two shootouts along the way of that one.

That would lead to a repeat of last years final, the Bruins against the Canucks, and I’d stick by my previous bet that the Canucks will have learned their lesson. They will tighten up defensively and play to counter the Bruins, which will lead to an exciting finale that the Canucks should just about edge.

Thomas McIntosh

For me this is perhaps the most open Stanley Cup playoffs in recent memory, there is no overwhelming favorite. In a close hard-fought regular season no runaway leader emerged and the 111 points posted by the Vancouver Canucks is the lowest points tally for a President’s Trophy winner in the post lockout era.

This has been a difficult job deciding but here are my Stanley Cup playoff predictions. The New York Rangers have home advantage, but Sunday’s 4-1 loss to Washington shows that they are still vulnerable.

For me the Rangers strength lies in their defense. Blue liners Dan Giradi and Ryan McDonagh have been excellent all season, whilst Henrik Lundqvist has been faultless in net.

The only concern for the Rangers is they lack the offensive potency and depth of their rivals. Many expect them to sign Boston College prospect Chris Kreider to add some firepower during the playoffs. Kreider helped lead B.C to the NCAA Championship with 24 goals and 44 points. At 6-3, 225 pounds there should be no concerns whether he is NHL-ready. For me his addition is necessary if New York want to succeed in the playoffs.

Their first round matchup versus the Senators is favorable, despite losing the season series. In the second round I expect them to face New Jersey, a team they know very well and have dealt effectively with this season.

The Rangers will likely meet, Boston, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh in the Finals and the good news for them is they have dominated two of those series this season, the bad news for them they have lost four consecutively against the Penguins.

For me the Vancouver Canucks have won the President’s trophy but in a rather underwhelming fashion. Therefore I am predicting a fruitless post-season.

The team I really like in the Western Conference right now is the Nashville Predators; and they are entering the Playoffs in good form.

The Predators are a very hard working team for starters their goal tender Pekka Rinne has posted the most wins this season. In front of him blue liners Shea Weber and Ryan Suter have been playing a lung-busting 26 minutes on ice per game, both have been helping keep the Predators’ goals against average low and contributing offensively.

The Predators have also been building towards the playoffs for some time now by being one of the most active teams at the trade deadline this year and by reacquiring Alexander Radulov from the KHL.

One final reason why I am backing Nashville is their record against Central Division opponents. With half the field in the Western Conference playoffs coming out of this division it is likely they will have to best their closest rivals if they are to succeed. Their, division best, 16-5-3 intra-divisional record, shows they have the ability to do so.

Daruish Gorgirzadeh

In my opinion, there are a number of teams that could win the Stanley Cup this year. If I had to choose three however, I would go with the Rangers, Penguins and Canucks. However for me, I have to go with my gut instinct and say the Penguins are going to win their fourth Stanley Cup and second in 4 years.

I have chosen the Penguins for the simple fact that in my opinion, they have the deepest team in the NHL. Between the pipes they have a former #1 overall pick in Marc-Andre Fleury, who has experience in leading the Pens to the Cup, back in 2009. Now, he has matured, he has become one of the league’s best goalies and has the necessary experience to do whatever it takes to win. As for the Pens’ defence, guys like Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang provide the perfect compliment of offence and defence from the blue line. Their supporting cast has been pretty good too, with guys like Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek providing ample support to the team.

I think however, they win the cup due to their forwards, who I think are the best group in the NHL. Being led by their superstar captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin’s MVP season have really propelled them back to being one of the league’s elite teams. Combine that with the contributions of James Neal, Jordan Staal, Pascal Dupuis and Chris Kunitz and you have in my eyes, the team to beat in the NHL.

If you had said to me at the start of the season, Daruish, your Rangers will be top of the East and be fighting for the President’s Trophy at the end of the regular season, I’d have laughed my head off and called you an idiot. However, this is exactly the position they found themselves in (not that I was complaining mind you). The team has exceeded all expectations this year, surviving a 7 game road trip to start the season, recording a win from a 2-0 deficit on the road in the Winter Classic and finally seeing off the Pens’ charge for the #1 spot in the East towards the end. Now this is where the hard work really begins.

One reason the Rangers have the right to be confident going into the playoffs is their goaltending and defence. Behind the play of Henrik Lundqvist, who should win the Vezina Trophy this year, and guys in front of him like Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Ryan McDonagh and Michael Del Zotto, there will be plenty of low scoring games involving New York this year.

The reason they won’t win the cup is the fact that the forwards don’t score enough goals, at even strength or on the powerplay as well. Even though Marian Gaborik finished third in goal scoring this year with 41, there hasn’t been enough contribution from the rest of the team, which I think will be their undoing in the Conference finals.

Realistically, I think that the Canucks are the team to beat out West as they won the President’s Trophy for the second year running, and will have the burning desire to go one further than last year. They have an incredible goaltending duo in Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider who are both more than capable at starting games and providing the W for the team.

In front of them, I’d say the defence is nothing too special, with no standout players on their blue line. I suppose that Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa could be classed as their best D-men but like I said there is nothing to suggest that they will affect the playoffs much for the Canucks.

The impact will come from their forwards, with the twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Alex Burrows, Ryan Kesler, Chris Higgins, David Booth and Mason Raymond provide the team with one of the stronger forward cores in the NHL, though not as strong as the Penguins.

I think these guys will have a big effect in the West, providing the Canucks with the impetus to go on and win the West again and go on to the Stanley Cup Finals where they will be desperate to make up for last year but ultimately fall to the Pens.