SPNHL S38 Eastern Conference Round 1 Playoff Matchup
Matchup 1:
4th seed Montreal Canadiens (19-24-2) vs 1st seed- New Jersey Devils (36-9-0)
First off, we have our quarter final matchup between ElRookie and the Habs and TrueLegend and the Devils. One team climbed out of the basement to grab the 4th playoff spot in the East while the other was sitting pretty at the top of the standings all season long.
Best Line Predictions:
Montreal Canadiens:
LW- SE7ENTEE GP:17 G:10 A:25 PTS:35 P/GP:2.1 -19
C- LL_CHIEF2STEP_LL GP:26 G:27 A:33 PTS:60 P/GP:2.3 -40
RW- eXecuti0n80 GP:8 G:4 A:11 PTS:15 P/GP:1.8 0
LD- Royalkc85 GP:15 G:0 A:19 PTS:19 P/GP:1.3 -10
RD- DrWally GP:16 G:0 A:6 PTS:6 P/GP:0.4 -8
G- KQ31 GP:6 2-4 65sv% 5.83GAA
New Jersey Devils:
LW- TrueLegend07 GP:41 G:95 A:87 PTS:182 P/GP:4.4 +41
C- cHELIOS-7x GP: 15 G:30 A:27 PTS:57 P/GP:3.8 +16
RW- bstieboydp GP:36 G:44 A:87 PTS:131 P/GP:3.6 +34
LD- Cuban1616 GP:32 G:3 A:19 PTS:22 P/GP:0.7 +35
RD- DetAjax17 GP:23 G:9 A:31 PTS:40 P/GP:1.7 +28
G- thrice01 GP:29 23-6 82sv% 2.31GAA
Advantages:
Offence: New Jersey >>>> Montreal- Big advantage to NJ
Defence: New Jersey > Montreal- Pretty close but slight advantage to NJ
Goaltending: New Jersey >>>>>>>>>> Montreal- not even close
Depth: New Jersey >>>>>>- Big advantage NJ
Keys to Success:
Montreal: In order for this team to take this series the team has to be absolutely perfect. They have a great top pair with Wally and Royal and good two way forwards in Exe, Chief and SE7. They’re going to have to keep pucks out of their net and take advantage of their opportunities.
New Jersey: Honestly, as a 36-9-0 team who has been dominant all season long, they have to just play like they can and will take this series easily.
Key Matchup:
TrueLegend07 LW vs DrWally RD
The winner of this matchup will determine how this series will go. If Wally can keep True in check, this series could be extended till late Tuesday. However, if True wins this head to head, this series could be over early.
Prediction: Devils in 5
Matchup 2:
3rd seed New York Islanders (21-22-2) vs 2nd seed Toronto Maple Leafs (26-17-2)
Next series, includes Icey’s Isles and toslick’s Leafs. These 2 teams stayed consistent in the standings throughout the season in the weaker Eastern Conference.
Best Lines Prediction:
New York Islanders:
LW- Pfarrcyde23 GP:25 G:32 A:52 PTS:84 P/GP: 3.4 -13
C- Lo-Maximus GP:26 G:22 A:40 PTS:62 P/GP: 2.4 -18
RW- RandyMarsh2012 GP: 25 G:44 A:43 PTS:87 P/GP:3.5 +6
LD- PghFANATIC GP:25 G:3 A:16 PTS:19 P/GP:0.8 -20
RD-Mpurch GP: 29 G:6 A:23 PTS:29 P/GP:1 -21
G- IceyAsylum23 GP:20 9-11 71sv% 4.6GAA
Toronto Maple Leafs:
LW- Semple19 GP:7 G:8 A:14 PTS:22 P/GP:3.1 +5
C- GrammyHands GP:21 G:54 A:53 PTS:107 P/GP: 5.1 +35
RW- toslick GP:18 G:49 A:26 PTS:75 P/GP:4.2 +31
LD- MikeeTeeze GP:5 G:5 A:11 PTS:16 P/GP:3.2 +12
RD- shepard-88- GP:16 G:2 A:15 PTS:17 P/GP:1.1 +22
G- chadkillz134 GP:17 14-3 77sv% 3.35GAA
Advantages:
Offence: Toronto >>> New York- Both teams have good forward cores but advantage TOR
Defence: Toronto >>>>>> New York- Big advantage to TOR
Goalie: Toronto >>>>>>>>>> New York- Not even close
Depth: Toronto >>>>>> New York- Both teams have some depth but TOR is the deepest team in the league
Keys to Success:
New York: The offence of this team will have to do all the heavy lifting for them in this series. If the defence and goaltending doesn’t step up, it’ll be a shootout which they do not have a chance to win against this Leafs high power offence.
Toronto: This team at 26-17-2 has more FF L’s than actual L’s. If the team is able to field a roster of 6 guys, this will be an easy series for the Leafs.
Key Matchup:
Toslick RW vs Pfarrcyde LW/C
Which of these forwards will lead their offence better? Toslick has an extremely talented supporting cast with guys like Gram, Semple, Chico, Mike, Shep, Dead and DP where Pfarr has less help but isn’t alone with guys like Lo, Randy and Clark. Both of these players have the ability to dominate but who’s it going to be?
Prediction: Leafs in 5
Good luck to all teams playing!
– Tommy