We're only eight games into the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs and already the lower seeds are showing an awful lot of fight. On Wednesday, the seventh seeded New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitals and late last night (or early this morning depending on your locale) the Anaheim Ducks shutout the Presidents' Trophy winning San Jose Sharks. The top seeded Boston Bruins won but got all they could handle from the Montreal Canadiens. That comes to three of the four lowest seeded teams in the playoffs winning or putting up a good fight. Are these teams for real or is this simply a bunch of Game One mirages?
Buy: Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks had an up and down regular season and eventually settled in the middle, at the eighth spot in the Western Conference. That alone would make them a huge underdog to the Presidents' Trophy winning Sharks except for the fact that the Ducks entered the playoffs as one of the league's hottest teams.
In the playoffs, the great equalizer is a team on a hot streak. They're always dangerous, even if they're up against a top seed. The Ducks fit the mold as they rattled off nine wins and 19 points in their final 12 games. Combine that with the Sharks' ability to choke out in the playoffs and we've got an upset.
Sell: Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens, on the other hand, were not hot down the stretch. They lost their last four games of the year after stumbling through a brutal second half where they finished 16-19-5 after starting the year on fire at 25-11-6. Give a lot of credit to the Habs who had the Bruins on the ropes for a while on Thursday, but they just don't have the goaltending or defense to hang with the Bruins in this series.
Hold: New York Rangers. The Rangers took it to the Capitals in their own building on Wednesday and came out with a Game One win and a steal of home ice advantage. However, they were out shot by a good amount (35-21) and got destroyed in the faceoff circle (46-20). Add to all that they're up against the best player in the NHL today who is going to win a game or two for his team and nothing is a given in this series.
The Rangers are also up against a shaky goaltender and defense, so they can still take this series if they can continue to put the puck in the net. That's what they're going to have to against on of the best offensive teams in the NHL. Personally, I'd like to wait and see another game before deciding how much trouble either team is in.
