14 April 2010

2010 West Playoff Matchups, Round 1

(1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche
San Jose: (51-20-11, 113 pts)
Colorado: (43-30-9, 95 pts)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
San Jose History: San Jose has four division titles, and has only made it to the conference finals once in its seventeen year history. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs all four seasons. The Sharks have only failed to qualify for the playoffs five times. Last year they finished first in the West and the league with 117 points, but lost in six games in the first round to the Ducks. The three seasons before that, the Sharks lost each time in the second round in six games.
Colorado History: Colorado has eight division titles and two Stanley Cup wins, the last of which is from the ’00-01 season. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs twice. Last season, the Avalanche finished last in the West and 28th in the league with 69 points. They have qualified for the playoffs eleven times in their thirteen year history.

Chelsea’s Prediction: Sharks in five.
Adam’s Prediction: Avalanche in six.

(2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators
Chicago: (52-22-8, 112 pts)
Nashville: (47-29-6, 100 pts)
Season Series: 4-2 Blackhawks
Chicago History: Chicago has fourteen division titles and three Stanley Cup wins, though the last one is from the ’60-61 season. In the last four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs once. Last year the Blackhawks finished fourth in the West with 104 points. They fought their way to the conference finals, but lost to the Red Wings in five games. They have failed to qualify for the playoffs nine times in the past eleven seasons.
Nashville History: Nashville has no titles. In the last four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs three times. The Predators have qualified for the playoffs four times in their ten season history, but they have failed to advance past the first round. In their last appearance in the ’07-08 season, they lost in six games to the Red Wings. Last year the Predators finished tenth in the West with 88 points.

Chelsea’s Prediction: Blackhawks in six.
Adam’s Prediction: Blackhawks in five.

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings
Vancouver: (49-28-5, 103 pts)
Los Angeles: (46-27-9, 101 pts)
Season Series: 3-1 Vancouver
Vancouver History: Vancouver has six division titles and two conference titles. In the last four years, they have qualified for the playoffs twice. Last year they finished third in the West with 100 points, but lost in six games in the second round to the Blackhawks. The Canucks have failed to qualify for the playoffs six times in the past twelve seasons.
Los Angeles History: Los Angeles has 1 division title and 1 conference title. In the last four years, they have failed qualified for the playoffs. The Kings have failed to qualify for the playoffs eleven times in fifteen seasons. Their last appearance was during the ’01-02 season, and they lost in the first round in seven games to the Avalanche. Last year the Kings finished fourteenth in the West with 79 points.

Chelsea’s Prediction: Kings in seven.
Adam’s Prediction: Canucks in five.

(4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings
Phoenix: (50-25-7, 107 pts)
Detroit: (44-24-14, 102 pts)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Phoenix History: Phoenix has no titles. In the last four years, they have failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Coyotes have failed to qualify for the playoffs seven times in their twelve year history. Their last appearance was during the ’01-02 season, and they lost in the first round in five games to the Sharks. Last year the Coyotes finished thirteenth in the West with 79 points.
Detroit History: Detroit has 28 division titles and eleven Stanley Cup wins, their last being from the ’07-08 season. In the last four years, they have qualified for the playoffs all four seasons. In these four seasons, the Red Wings have also won their division each season, and have appeared in the Stanley Cup finals twice. Last year they finished second in the West with 112 points, but lost in seven games in the finals to the Penguins.

Chelsea’s Prediction: Red Wings in five.
Adam’s Prediction: Phoenix in seven.

2010 East Playoff Matchups, Round 1

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens
Washington: (54-15-13, 121 pts)
Montreal: (39-33-10, 88 pts)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Washington History: Washington has five division titles and one conference title. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs twice. The Caps have failed to qualify for the playoffs five times in ten seasons. Two seasons ago they fell in the first round in seven games to the Flyers. Last year they finished second in the East with 108 points, but lost to the Penguins in the conference semifinals. The Caps have gone to seven games in their last three playoff series.
Montreal History: Montreal has 35 division titles and 24 Stanley Cup wins, though the last one was in the ’92-93 season. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs three times. Last year the Habs finished eighth in the East with 93 points, but were swept in the first round by the Bruins. The season before that, they lost to the Flyers in five games in the second round. Montreal has also failed to qualify for the playoffs five times in the past ten seasons.
Chelsea’s Prediction: Caps in six.
Adam’s Prediction: Caps in four.

(2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey: (48-27-7, 103 pts)
Philadelphia: (41-35-6, 88 pts)
Season Series: 5-1 Flyers
New Jersey History: New Jersey has nine division titles and three Stanley Cup wins, though the last one was in the ’02-03 season. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs all four seasons. The Devils have failed to qualify for the playoffs only once in the past twenty seasons. Despite winning their division three of the past four years, the Devils haven’t been able to advance past the second round in this time period. Last year they finished third in the East with 106 points, but lost in the first round to the Hurricanes in seven games.
Philadelphia History: Philadelphia has fifteen division titles and two Stanley Cup wins, though the last one was in the ’74-75 season. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs three times. The Flyers best run in recent years was in the ’07-08 season where they lost to the Penguins in the conference finals in five games. They have qualified for the playoffs thirteen times in the last fourteen seasons. Last year they finished fifth in the East with 99 points, but lost in the first round to the Penguins in six games.
Chelsea’s Prediction: Flyers in seven.
Adam’s Prediction: Flyers in six.

(3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Boston Bruins
Buffalo: (45-27-10, 100 pts)
Boston: (39-30-13, 91 pts)
Season Series: 4-2 Bruins
Buffalo History: Buffalo has six division titles and two conference titles. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs twice. Though they haven’t qualified in the past two seasons, the Sabres made it to the conference finals both years before that. They lost those series’ to the Hurricanes and the Senators. The Sabres have failed to qualify for the playoffs five times in the past ten seasons. Last year they finished tenth in the East with 91 points.
Boston History: Boston has 25 division titles and five Stanley Cup wins, though the last one was in the ’71-’72 season. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs twice, both coming in the past two years. They have qualified for the playoffs seven times in the past twelve seasons. Two years ago, they lost in seven games to the Canadiens in the first round. Last year the Bruins finished first in the East with 116 points, but lost to the Hurricanes in a seven game series in the second round after sweeping the Canadiens.
Chelsea’s Prediction: Sabres in five.
Adam’s Prediction: Sabres in seven.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Ottawa Senators
Pittsburgh: (47-28-7, 101 pts)
Ottawa: (44-32-6, 94 pts)
Season Series: Tied 2-2
Pittsburgh History: Pittsburgh has six division titles and three Stanley Cup wins, including last season’s title. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs three times. They’ve been in the Stanley Cup finals for the past two years. The Penguins have qualified for the playoffs six times in the past ten seasons. Last year they finished fourth in the East with 99 points.
Ottawa History: Ottawa has four division titles and one conference title. In the past four years, they’ve qualified for the playoffs three times. Though they failed to qualify last season, the Senators were the conference champions in the ’06-07 season. The next season they fell in four games to the Penguins in the first round. The Senators have qualified for the playoffs eleven times in the past twelve years, and eleven times in their sixteen season history. Last year they finished eleventh in the East with 83 points.
Chelsea’s Prediction: Ottawa in seven.
Adam’s Prediction: Penguins in five.

13 April 2010

After Flyers edge Rangers, playoffs set to start

Adam, a Senior Staff Writer for the Tufts Daily, has published another article for the Inside the NHL column about the start of the playoffs.  Please take the time to check it out here, and make sure to leave him a comment.

11 April 2010

07 April 2010

Capitals powering strong through season

Adam, a Senior Staff Writer for the Tufts Daily, has published another article for the Inside the NHL column.  Please take the time to check it out here, and make sure to leave him a comment.