It does... but usually there's at least a legitimate 1st and 2nd line up front... without Johansen I really question that. Defending is great and all... but you still need to manage to score at least 1 more goal then the team you're playing - whether that's 1-0 or 4-2. I'm not sure Nashville can do that for 4 games.
How Competitive Will the Finals Be?
- Thread starter ChiefWiggum
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It does... but usually there's at least a legitimate 1st and 2nd line up front... without Johansen I really question that. Defending is great and all... but you still need to manage to score at least 1 more goal then the team you're playing - whether that's 1-0 or 4-2. I'm not sure Nashville can do that for 4 games.
I remember Lacy having success a lot against the Pens when he was with Philly. I think he had won 10 straight against them before he left the Flyers.
Unlike the Sharks the Prefs shouldn't have a problem keeping up with the Pens but missing Johansson will be a big hole to fill.
Coach Travis
Back2Back!!!
The centre depth divide is gargantuan.
As for D, this will be the 8th straight playoff series where Pittsburgh's D is "badly outmatched". Well, which is it? Either Pittsburgh's D is underrated or having high priced D is overrated.
That said, both coaches are good enough to adjust as use their strengths to their advantage. So it'll be close but in the end I think losing Ryan Johansen is just too big of a loss.
Agreed. Our D is a bunch of no names who've been decent, but don't have the same name recognition that Nashvilles do. We're not as good as them, but neither are we nearly as bad as some suggest - especially when we have a significant advantage on the 3rd pairing.
It would be interesting if someone plotted the same sort of chart for the forwards.
JimmyTwoTimes
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- Apr 13, 2010
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The pens no name D has experience, winning the cup last year and getting their again now.
Preds top 4D are big name guys who have zero experience in the finals.
That could be a factor in the start of this series and in the end(if it goes 6-7) where there is the most pressure.
Preds top 4D are big name guys who have zero experience in the finals.
That could be a factor in the start of this series and in the end(if it goes 6-7) where there is the most pressure.
It's going to be very competitive. The Predators have a bunch of studs on D who are all relatively healthy I think in Subban, Josi and Ekholm (?) not to mention they are a physical, hard team to play against. Pittsburgh is in tough in this series. I see them ultimately winning, but it might go the distance
Beau Knows
Registered User
It will be extremely competitive., great coaches behind both benches and huge stars on each side. I don't see either team running away with this.
412 Others
5Cups beats 2Cups
this series will go 7. the real winner in this series will be the color yellow. the loser will be my liver.
carter333167
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Nashville's "defensive strength" is a bit of a misnomer...their defense is very productive in the O-Zone due both to the fact that there are 4 guys with a knack for getting the puck through to the net and the system game plans for very fast rotation of the puck to give them shooting lanes and aggressive pinching.
In the D-Zone however, I wouldn't say any of them, other than Josi, are super-elite defenders.
Just comes down to how often they can trap the Pens in the O-zone and how much puck luck they get with shots from the point (always a factor on point shots). Murray will probably be the toughest goalie they face in terms of hitting top corner on point shots simply b/c he still is tall , even in the butterfly.
Conversely, the Pens will definitely have their chances when they have the O-Zone....Nashville does not have shut-down D in their own zone.
Should add up to some exciting 2-way action.
In the D-Zone however, I wouldn't say any of them, other than Josi, are super-elite defenders.
Just comes down to how often they can trap the Pens in the O-zone and how much puck luck they get with shots from the point (always a factor on point shots). Murray will probably be the toughest goalie they face in terms of hitting top corner on point shots simply b/c he still is tall , even in the butterfly.
Conversely, the Pens will definitely have their chances when they have the O-Zone....Nashville does not have shut-down D in their own zone.
Should add up to some exciting 2-way action.
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Last year, the Sharks were touted to be the first team that could handle the Pens speed. It turned out to be a rout. The series went 6 games, but the sharks never had a chance. I think the pens are not quite as fast this year, but they are still a handful. They can get trapped in their own zone at times. Hainsey can be a bonehead too frequently. But, in the end, I think they have too many weapons. Pens in 6.
First off the Preds do not have the edge in goal. Murray has won a Cup and has had better stats than Rinne during Murray's time in the NHL both in the regular season and playoffs. Pens have owned Rinne his entire career.
Second mistake in this post is that the Preds have more team speed. I will just try not to laugh, Rust and Hagelin are two of the fastest guys in the NHL and Sheary, Guentzel, Crosby, Malkin, and Wilson all can fly. The team speed is what has separated the Pens from all teams during both this and last years Cup runs. All I will say is we shall see.
For all the talk about how great the Preds D is and how it is going to counter the Pens forwards advantage I just don't see it. They will join the attack and the Pens will get odd man breaks the other way. I watched game 5 and 6 and the Preds team D gave up plenty of great scoring chances. Pens have faced much better team defense like when they beat the Wings back in 09. For all the talk of how bad the the Pens defense is they play a great team D. All the forwards backcheck and block a ton of shots and give up very few odd man breaks. We have dealt with plenty of great defenseman over the past two Cup runs. Preds have 4 good defenseman but not a great defensive team.
socko
Registered User
I think it could range anywhere from any easy Penguins win (like Columbus) to a close series (like Ottawa).
NHL.com shows 4 stats for goalies in the playoffs for this season. Rinne is #1 in All of them. The important ones to me are at the top. Rinne 1.70 GAA, .941 saves. Murray is not shown in either list. MAF has 2.56 and .924, which is 0.86 more GAA. I think that nearly a goal a game is an edge!
JimmyTwoTimes
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- Apr 13, 2010
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Pred303
Registered User
Well maybe look a little harder... because Murray has a 1.35 GAA and a .946%.
I had to click on his name to see those stats. I guess he does not have enough GP to be on the other lists. Three wins, one loss. That is the same ratio as Rinne with 12-4. .946 vs .941. Did MAF get benched for the 6 losses, or was he injured?
NHL.com typically sorts the goalie stats via wins, which would put him down the list a ways.
Murray got hurt in the warmups in game 1 at the start of the playoffs, so MAF got the start. MAF was the guy all playoffs until getting pulled in game 3 vs Ottawa after having a brutal night. MAF got pulled and Murray finished the game and got the start in game 4. This is the same thing that happened last year where Murray got pulled vs TB in game 4, and MAF got the start in game 5. However unlike MAF last year, Murray won his game, played great and hasn't given up the net since.
If Murray hadn't had the playoffs he had last year or the season he had this year, I could see people being hesitant vs trusting these numbers... but he's played great these playoffs, and isn't playing any different then he did last year or during the regular season.
Butch 19
Go cart Mozart
Pick87your71Poison
Registered User
Haha hey just being able to admit that is half the battle on these boards. Wayyy too many people on here are way too confident in predicting what is going to happen despite the NHL showing on a regular basis how hard it is to predict. And both of these teams are very good so this should be no different.
I think this will be a short final. Either defense win or offense win, but I think its over in 5 or 6 with us knowing who will win after game 1. This might be a dream for us who like to bet on sports.
I wouldn't be so sure. I think it will really be a feeling out process in game 1 for both teams. Pittsburgh will have to see how to take advantage of Nashville's poor center depth, while also dealing with the challenge of Nashville's blueline. They'll have to watch tape on where Anaheim had success and see if they can replicate it. The same goes for Nashville. They'll need to plan on how to deal with the loss of Johansen and how they can take advantage of Pittsburgh.
Ottawa won game 1 in a game that was really a feeling out process. Pittsburgh won a very tight game 2 and was blown out in game 3. But they basically controlled things for the rest of the series with Ottawa's only win being one where Anderson stood on his head.
I think it'll be game 2-3 where we'll have a better idea as to how this will play out. By then we will have seen how each team will have handled things and the adjustments each team will have made (or attempted to make). That said, I agree that this could be a short series. Not saying it will be, but given the vast differences in how these teams are structured, it's either going to be a really tight series that goes the distance... or a really lopsided one that's over quickly for someone.
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