The Goods: Eastern Conference Final Preview

05/15/2010 1:32 PM -  Ian Gooding

Well, that does it. I went 1-for-4 in predicting the winners from the last round. And, the “one” I got right was the Blackhawks defeating my beloved Canucks (sorry Dad, I was right on that one). Oh well, at least I’m ahead of TSN hockey expert Bob McKenzie, who went “ofer” in the second round. Maybe TSN should go back to Maggie the Monkey to make playoff picks, and I’ll let my dog and cat do the same for me.

Anyway, here are my best educated guesses. Hope you find them at least somewhat useful.

Montreal

Players to add/start: Mike Cammalleri (12 goals leads all playoff scorers), Brian Gionta (eight points in seven Round 2 games), Scott Gomez, Tomas Plekanec, Jaroslav Halak

Possible sleepers: Andrei Kostitsyn, Marc-Andre Bergeron (could play forward), Jaroslav Spacek (five points in four games), P.K. Subban

Players to avoid/drop: Glen Metropolit, Benoit Pouliot (no goals and two assists in 13 playoff games), Dominic Moore, Maxim Lapierre, Travis Moen, Tom Pyatt, Mathieu Darche, Sergei Kostitsyn (on exile from the team), Andrei Markov (injury), Roman Hamrlik, Hal Gill, Josh Gorges, Ryan O’Byrne, Carey Price

Philadelphia

Players to add/start: Mike Richards, Daniel Briere, Claude Giroux (11 points in 12 playoff games), Simon Gagne (points in all four games since return from injury), Chris Pronger

Possible sleepers: Ville Leino (seven points in seven Round 2 games), Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle (six assists in Round 2), Michael Leighton

Players to avoid/drop: Jeff Carter (foot injury), James van Riemsdyk (two points in 12 playoff games), Daniel Carcillo, Blair Betts, Arron Asham, Darroll Powe, Ian Laperriere (eye injury), Braydon Coburn, Ryan Parent, Lukas Krajicek, Brian Boucher (injury)

Storyline: What can you say when a 7-seed meets an 8-seed for the conference championship, other than, “This sure messed up my hockey pool!” The Habs have ridden the sizzling goaltending of Jaroslav Halak and the timely scoring of Mike Cammalleri on a miracle run past Eastern Conference favorites Washington and Pittsburgh. The Flyers, who appear to be held together by duct tape thanks to injuries, completed the mountain of all comebacks against the Bruins in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The story within the story for the Flyers is the goaltending situation, where the once-healthy now-injured Brian Boucher has been replaced by the once-injured now-healthy Michael Leighton. Both Boucher and Leighton have been critical to the Flyers’ success, which makes me wonder if a career backup can be just as viable a playoff option as a marquee franchise goalie.

Prediction: Canadiens in 7. I agree with the hockey commentator who mentioned recently that picking a team to win in seven games means that you’re not sure who will win. Many people here in Canada believe that the Habs defeating the Flyers is a foregone conclusion if the Habs have already knocked out Washington and Pittsburgh. I might be making this pick based on the fact that I have seen the Canadiens more than the Flyers during these playoffs. After seeing the Boston/Philadelphia Game 7, I strongly believe that the coaching of Peter Laviolette is the main reason that the Flyers are where they are. Not only was he able to guide his team after an 0-3 deficit, but the timeout he called after the Flyers were down 3-0 in the first period on the road in Game 7 was the turning point in the game. Still, there is something to this Montreal magic, as the Habs appear to have that critical mental edge over their opponents thus far in the playoffs. I am at a loss to describe the technical side of the game in this series, as these are two teams with very similar stories that have defied the odds to get this far. But hey, prove me wrong again, Philly.

See also Western Conference Final Preview

Questions? Comments? Complaints? Compliments? Ideas? Email Ian at ian@fantasyhockey.com. Or follow fantasyhockey.com on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates, general hockey discussion, and any fantasy hockey questions that you have. You can also become a fan on Facebook.