SPNHL, Season 29: Round 2 Review/Conference Finals Preview
By: Jake Dietrich.
“Final Four in Midsummer Madness (not that 88rising crap, I miss Filthy Frank)”
Much like March Madness, playoffs in the SPNHL can be very dramatic. From dominating performances to shocking upsets, the SPNHL has been full of them so far in these playoffs. The first round narrowed down the pack of 12 to a group of 8 contenders, and this past week saw that field cut in half as we now have our conference finals set., and we have two great matchups on hand.
Before we get into that though, let’s take a look back at the second round of the playoffs. An interesting note here is that only one of the division leaders made it out of the second round, showcasing how valuable playoff experience is. We’ll do a quick recap of the four series from round 2, and see how those played their part in setting the stage for this week’s tussles.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators.
Results: Senators in 6.
Coming out of the gate like a team possessed, the Devils took the first two games of the series 2-0 and 6-1. However, after a tight game 3 and 4, Ottawa blew away New Jersey in game 5, and did not look back from there. The reigning Eastern Conference champions disposed of this season’s President’s Trophy champions, and are one step closer to consecutive Finals appearances.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs.
Results: Lightning in 5.
The Leafs had one of the best top lines in the league during the regular season, and looked to be too much to handle for the Bolts in game 1. However, after dropping the first game, Tampa Bay won four straight games to send the Toronto squad out of the playoffs. Tampa avenged their first round exit from last season, and are now 8 wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Arizona Coyotes vs Vegas Golden Knights.
Results: Knights in 6.
The Coyotes were the best regular season team in the Western Conference this past regular season but were up against the Season 28 Stanley Cup Champions Vegas. The Knights made some big moves prior to the deadline that helped their playoff push, and it paid off in spades for them. Vegas defeated a tough Arizona squad in very tight 6 game series to move on to the conference finals.
Calgary Flames vs. Colorado Avalanche.
Results: Avalanche in 4.
The Avalanche were a curious case heading down the regular season stretch yet returned to their normal post-season form once the playoffs hit. Calgary was a solid team at the beginning of the season but made some questionable moves down the stretch which may have been the reason for the short series for them. The reigning cup champions swept the Flames and are ready for more.
Let’s look at the accolades of these final four teams over the course of the past few seasons: Colorado won the cup last season, Vegas won the cup two seasons ago, Ottawa were the runners up last season, and Tampa Bay has won two straight divisional titles. You have as exciting of a final four as you could get, so let’s see what to expect from the conference final matchups.
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
Ottawa Senators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Senators disposed of the President’s Trophy winners in the past round, and are looking to dispose of a team they did last season in the first round. However, Truelegend and Redflag have recruited some dangerous players in this rematch from last season. Kozmo recruited some dangerous players as well to play with Marc and Ransom in the battle of the two strongest Eastern conference teams.
Lightning’s Impact Players: Truelegend, Redflag, and Yeap make up an incredibly effective top line capable of antagonizing any defense. Bergysdeke and Louiedeuce are a very well-balanced duo at the blue line, and with a cup-winning goaltender in Rancher, the Tampa Bay Lightning have all they pieces they need to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Lightning’s Keys to Victory: if the Lightning want to move on to the finals, they need to completely control the pace of the ice. The Senators are an incredibly dangerous team who are capable of overwhelming defenses, so the Bolts need to keep the puck in their possession and keep creation offense if they want a chance to move one step close to a dance with Lord Stanley.
Senators’ Impact Players: toslick won a cup last season, and he brings that championship pedigree to last year’s runner-up unit. Slotting along the wing with Marc and Ransom provides Ottawa’s offense with another lethal weapon to play in front of an offensive-defensive unit of U_1 and Noto. With a Vezina-caliber goaltender like Giroux in net, Ottawa may be returning to the Cup finals.
Western Conference Final
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche.
This is a big one right here. Sure, the squads only have a few players left from the Championship iterations of their teams, but we are watching the past two Stanley Cup winning teams square off in what should be an incredibly fun series. Both teams have dynamic offenses, solid defensive pairs, and elite level goaltending in what should be one of the most exciting battles this offseason.
Knights’ Impact Players: Prodigy is the remaining player from the cup winning Vegas squad, but his forward line is rounded out by two elite players in Sudzy and Seguin. A mid-season trade for Ajax was a game-changer for the Knights, getting a partner for CapCan to play with in front of an emerging elite goaltender in Sliyum. Vegas realistically could be going for 2 cups in 3 seasons.
Knights’ Keys to Victory: with an incredibly creative playmaker in Woy on the Colorado squad, they Knights are going to have to rely heavily on their solid defense and goaltending combination. Their in zone play and transition game are going to have to be on point if they want to beat the Avs, and with how they played against Arizona, they have the ability to pull it off.
Avalanche’s Impact Players: Woy is one of the most decorated players in SP history and is one half of an incredibly talented offesnive duo with former first round pick Stonerboy. Backstopping them are Sedin and Egg, two league veterans who have big trophy cases, and with Kamakaz in net, Colorado is looking to upstage Vegas by getting 2 cups in 2 seasons.
Avalanche’s Keys to Victory: it’s safe to say that the Knights are going to try and double-cover Woy. However, that leaves 3 players to contend with 4 players. The Avalanche are going to have to diversify their offensive strategy and draw players out of position, then take advantage with their lethal puck movement, and move on to their second consecutive Stanley Cup finals.
With two weeks left in the season, the play is going to start to pickup. We’ll all be witness to some elite level hockey complete with breathtaking offense, stagnant defense, and incredible goaltending. The 4 teams remaining all have a great chance at making the Cup finals, it’s just up to them to seize the opportunity and punch their ticket for the chance to become SPNHL Season 29 Champions.
The SPNHL media team will be covering most of the gameplay, so we invite you to tune into the coverage and enjoy the action with us. As well, SPNHL Off the Ice will be live this Saturday at 10 p.m. on www.twitch.tv/thespnhl_media, where we’ll be recapping the Conference finals and looking forward to the Stanley Cup finals matchup. We’ll see you this Saturday!
Good luck to everybody left in the final 4!
* DD