411's NHL Conference Finals Roundtable Preview

Posted by Ken Schmidt on 05.08.2008

The 411 writers (and my brother) give their take on the Penguins vs. Flyers and the Red Wings vs. Stars

The 411 roundtable is back as the NHL has broken down to the Final 4 and my favorite team is surprisingly still alive. Round 2 consisted of a few surprises, not many long series, and the most entertaining game of the playoffs as I stayed up until 3 in the morning watching the Sharks and Stars leave everything on the ice. When I saw Evgeni Nabokov make one of the greatest saves in history, that's right I said it, it was absolutely incredible and it saved the Sharks season, even if only for a few more hours, I knew it was going to be a great night. With that being said I am still rallying Evgeni Nabokov for Vezina. Let's get down to meeting the cast of characters, tallying up the scores, and breaking down the conference finals. It looks like the Flyers sent Chamby and his Canadians to the golf courses as Chamberlain has gone MIA.



Joining us for the first time this postseason is a usual roundtable regular, returning from his MIA stint and most recently asking whether to take the High Low or the Low Road on the HBK/Batista feud, it is Sat.

My brother has entered in this summer's Sports Zone Fact or Fiction tournament and is already planning which bars we are going to take over to watch the Flyers/Penguins games when we both get home from our respective colleges. He is going great so far in his picks with a 9-3 (1) record including going 3-1 in Round 2 it's Dan Schmidt

I could call this guy a homer but it would be the pot calling the kettle black. This homer, yeah I went there anyway, will see his team going head to head with my team. BRING IT ON. If you want to see this rookie's work you'll have to head over to the wrestling zone and catch From The Bowery with a breakdown of an old school Wrestlemania 2. He's tied with Dan going 9-3 (3) and also a 3-1 score in Round 2 it's Robert S. Leighty Jr.

You know him, the odds are you don't love him. I run the NHL Roundtable, participate in the NBA roundtable and am the one and only judge scoring the Sports Zone Fact or Fiction. After a terrible 1-3 Round 2, I stand at 7-5 (3), the Sports Kid, Ken Schmidt

Eastern Conference

vs.

Sat: Penguins In Six: This should be a fun series to watch. I really look at the Pittsburgh Penguins has the best team in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers won the season series, but I don't see that being that much of an indicator. The Penguins are loaded on the offensive side with Evgeni Malin and Sidney Crosby and I would also rank Marc-Andre Fleury has a better goaltender than Martin Biron. There are just too many things favoring the Penguins, so I'll take them to win this series in 6.

Dan Schmidt Penguins in Seven: First and foremost, what an amazing season for the Flyers. Last place a year ago, and now in the Conference Finals. That's been done exactly 1 time before. So to everyone who claimed the Flyers to be a shit squad full of dirty and talentless goon, kiss my orange and black ass. With that out of the way, this series is going to be bloody. These teams HATE each other. The Pens are the obvious favorite, they've got ice home, the two superstars, and a goalie on a hot streak. However, the Flyers are far and away the most resilient team in the playoffs, coming back from crushing Game 1 losses in both their previous series to pull upsets. There is no quit in this team, and the heart that was missing during the 10 game losing streak is now beating stronger than ever. The Pens should be afraid of the Flyers because they have nothing to lose at this point, but everything to prove. Flyers should be afraid of the Pens because Evgeni Malkin can take over games and Fleury is playing out of his mind. The Flyers faced a hard-hitting Caps team (yes, the Caps outhit the Flyers in that series) and the high-flying Canadiens before this. The Pens faced a team already thinking golf before partaking in the "Jagr/Crosby Flop Fest Invitational", a series which was not nearly as close as I thought it would be. This will be the Penguins toughest test. To win, they've have to take advantage of their PP opportunities, something they have been having no problem with lately. The Flyers need to stay out of the box with dumb penalties, yet at the same time punish the Pens forwards with strong checking. Expect Scott Hartnell and Scottie Upshall to do everything they can to get under Marc-Andre Fleury's skin. This is heartbreaker territory for the Flyers though, as I see the team exchanging games until a deciding Game 7 in the Igloo, probably a 2-1 Pens win. Still a great season for the Flyers though.
(Note: As a Flyers fan predicting a Pens win, I'm required to remind people of the Flyers 130-76-30 all-time record vs. the Pens, the 3-0 edge in postseason victories, and of course, this: The Goal


Robert S. Leighty Jr.: Penguins In Six: No matter how many games this goes, this will be one of the most hate filled and passionate series ever seen. For the 1st time ever the Battle of Pennsylvania will decide the Eastern Conference Champions. The Flyers won the regular season series 5-3. The Flyers won the first four, and then the Pens ripped off the next three. The last game to me is a wash because even the Flyer fans and coaches claimed the Pens tanked that game on purpose so they could draw Ottawa in the opening round. This is a series featuring the team with the worst record in the NHL last season (Philly) and the worst record in the NHL 2 years ago (The Pens). Everyone should know where my heart resides, and I'm not backing off the Pens now. Biron will have to play the series of his life, and I'm not even sure if that will be enough. Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, and Fleury lead the Pens to their 1st Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1992.

Ken Schmidt: Flyers In Six: I picked against the Flyers last series because I didn't like the match-up. I also have kept my picks brief but I am breaking that right now and going off on this because there are a lot of factors that go into my pick. First I have heard the season series does not matter that the Flyers won 5-3. I disagree. I claim that the Flyers have proved that they know how to beat the Penguins and get under Crosby's skin making him well up with tears because Mike Richards is a big bully. Mrs. Crosby called Mrs. Richards after the game to complain. As far as Leighty's comment that the Pens tanked the final game, ask Malkin if he was tanking when Biron robbed him point blank to seal the game for the Flyers.

Now to get to the series. The most important players in this series will be Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Jim Dowd. Sure offense will be supplied by Briere and Umberger (who owns the Penguins might I mention). The most important part of this series will be the Flyers centers back checking and making sure Malkin and Crosby do not get any odd-man rushes because that is where Crosby thrives. I talk a lot of trash on Sid the Kid but I will say he is the best when it comes to turning a 3 on 2 into a goal. If the centers do their jobs back checking than they can equate things and force the Penguins to stay wide when in the offensive zone, just like the Flyers did with the Habs.

I have compared Evgeni Malkin to Alex Kovalev if Kovalev had always competed at his highest level in his prime, which he did not. The players are very similar in that they are blinding shooting ability with plenty of accuracy and can dance with the puck like they are figure skaters, yet the size of a real hockey player. Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timmonen kept the highly skilled Canadians wide the entire time. Braydon and Kimmo are the answer to the Malkin line.

As far as the Crosby line goes, the Flyers know how to keep him silent. Keep the skating 5 on 5, something they have not done all playoffs, if it happens again they will lose the series. Hatcher, Jones and Richards are going to get the assignment on Sid here. Richards and Crosby, the two leaders of the two top teams in the East will be going head to head and expect Hatcher to try and get his shots in on Crosby, both during play and after the whistle. Sidney thinks the world should be handed to him on a golden platter so he will want a call every time Hatcher gives him a little clutch and a nice love tap in a scrum after a Biron freeze.

Finally, Marty Biron has been amazing right now and Fleury, though occasionally brilliant has not been as good as Biron in the playoffs. Marty's confidence is at an all time high and his ability to take angles and keep the puck close to him for the easy cover and freeze will be an X-Factor in this series. Watch all these things happen and the Flyers head to the Cup Finals and me to crap my pants in joy.

How the Flyers might lose? The refs continue to "miss" calls that are obvious on the Penguins part. Did anyone see the New York Ranger that got leveled with a high stick and blood poured from his skull. No call on that but the first clutch by a Ranger defenseman and Marion Hossa is scoring on the power play. Or how about this video evidence:



Look at the official with all six, that's right SIX, Pittsburgh Penguins in plain view and this was NOT a penalty. If I catch more of these ridiculously terrible missteps by the officiating I will be done with the NHL like most Americans are.

Western Conference

vs.

Sat Stars in Six: I am a huge Stars fan and I am surprised that they have made it this far. The more that I watch the Stars, the more that I feel that they are a team of destiny. For the Stars to win they are going to need Marty Turco to play another amazing series because Detroit is a very good team. Detroit was able to eliminate the Colorado Avalance pretty easily and they are rested. Luckily for the Stars this series doesn't start until Thursday because they have to be exhausted after playing three overtime games against the Sharks and the clinching game taking four overtimes.

Dan Schmidt Red Wings in Seven: While I was dead on in predicting the Stars victory over perennial paper tigers San Jose, I was wrong about Detroit. I thought Detroit would win a long, hard fought series, but instead, they decimated Colorado. The Avs were dealing with injuries, but Detroit won that pretty convincingly. Detroit is firing on all cylinders and getting scoring from all over the place, including the ridiculous postseason Johan Franzen is having. Dallas is gritty and Marty Turco is playing the best hockey of his career. Detroit's road to the 3rd round was a lot easier than the Stars'. Stars faced hard hitting Anaheim and then endured multiple OT games vs. San Jose, including the 4 OT classic in Game 6. The question mark for Detroit is Chris Osgood. If he can match Turco, Detroit should have no problem advancing. But if Turco starts stealing games, Dallas could definitely pull the upset. I'm going with Detroit in 7 tough games. They have more weapons and a steadier blue line. This one will be a classic though.

Robert S. Leighty Jr. Red Wings in Six: Don't have a real handle on this series, as the Wings struggled with Nashville, but dominated Colorado. The Stars are probably the 2nd most impressive team in these playoffs (behind my Pens). I have yet to pick against the Wings, and I still have not picked the Stars. So, I will continue that trend. The Wings seem to have settled the situation in net, and unlike the Sharks, they will play to their potential for an entire series.

Ken Schmidt Stars In Five: The Red Wings were playing red hot scoring at will against a very visibly rattled Theodore. The rest for them was a bad thing while the Stars getting a few days rest is a great thing. Did anyone else notice after the Sharks little dinky flip it at the net goal in Game 6 that Marty Turco put on his "No One is Scoring On Me" face and no one did. I am going to take the defensive team to take this one as Johan Franzen was a fluke and Turco seems to have an answer for everything, he is the best goalie in the playoffs right now. If the series goes long it does not bode well for Stars as the Wings will find solutions to solving Turco with enough opportunities. Turco needs to be red hot early and suck the confidence out of the hot scoring Red Wings right away.