The second round of the NHL playoffs started late Sunday evening Finnish time with the match between the New York Rangers and Carolina. The home team Rangers defeated Carolina 4-3 in the opening part. Later in the night in the final game of the first round, Dallas secured their spot in the second round by knocking off reigning champion Vegas 2-1.
‘s hockey expert Ismo Lehkonen find out the starting points of the second round match series.
Dallas-Colorado
A true treat of the West between the two top teams in the conference. Colorado went through its own via dolorosa at the end of the regular season, but took off in the opening round of the playoffs against Winnipeg. Colorado, which entered the series as a challenger, finally crushed Winnipeg with a 4-1 victory.
Dallas had to play precise and disciplined hockey with Vegas, but now the spirit of the game is changing. Colorado doesn’t hesitate to go to the goal-scoring contest, so there will be more joyful and goal-rich hockey than in the exact series of Dallas and Vegas.
Opposite is the best own goal defender of the playoffs (Dallas) and the most dangerous offensive team of the spring (Colorado), which creates a really interesting setup for the series. In the regular season, Colorado won three of the teams’ four meetings and shot Dallas full of holes in the otherwise tight bottom-tier matches.
– It’s hard to say how we’re going to play here, but I really hope that fast-paced direct attack hockey, Lehkonen starts with a laugh.
– It’s a big deal who keeps the tempo better and who has to make more adjustments to defensive play. Of course, special situations with overpowering and underpowering are always an important part, as well as the goalkeeping game. If the other has a weaker goalkeeper, then they are in a lot of trouble.
From a Finnish point of view, the series is interesting, because Colorado Artturi Lehkonen and Mikko Rantanen recorded impressive results in the first round. Dallas aft management figures Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell are invaluable in stopping Colorado’s puck. Roope Hintz instead, he couldn’t get his machines going against Vegas at all.
– Rantanen always warms up the further the match series progresses. Dallas plays the hockey that suits him. Lehkonen’s second chain must be able to produce the same result as against Winnipeg. If the pace slows down even a little, Dallas burns that chain with aplomb. Lindell was one of the crucial cornerstones why Dallas went on. Heiskanen is enjoying the Colorado series, because now they are playing a completely different game.
Lehkonen’s guess: Colorado to continue.
Vancouver-Edmonton
Vancouver advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the finals spring of 2011, when they knocked off Nashville in six games. However, it goes into the series between the Canadians as a clear underdog already because it does not have a star goalkeeper Thatcher Demko able to play at least at the beginning of the series due to injury.
Edmonton had some difficult moments against Los Angeles, but turned the match around with a whopping 45 percent possession game. Underpowered, the team never gave up. The battle of playing in special situations is interesting, because Vancover played a 90% underpowered game against Nashville.
– If Vancouver can’t adapt its underpowered playing to Edmonton’s superior power, then the Oilers will wreak havoc. The question is also what is the brake chain that is put into play Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl answer, Lehkonen asks.
Vancouver puts probably Elias Lindholm led by the chain (on the edges Joshua and Garland) to play against McDavid. by JT Miller will be tasked with playing against Draisaitl’s chain and to Elias Pettersson remains the Oilers’ third.
All in all, Edmonton has to be considered the clear favorite for the series, even though Vancouver won every regular season meeting between the teams.
Lehkonen reminds of the teams’ first meeting in Vancouver in the opening match of the season. Vancouver beat Edmonton 8-1 and a couple of days later in Edmonton again 3-4. This was the start of Edmonton’s streak, which ended with the head coach by Jay Woodcroft for separation.
– It is quite clear that Edmonton has not forgotten the total humiliations at the beginning of the season and therefore we will see a particularly determined, disciplined and well-prepared Edmonton. It is terribly difficult to see that Vancouver would have any chance of surprise here.
There are no Finns playing in the series.
Lehkonen’s guess: Edmonton to continue.
New York Rangers-Carolina (situation in the series 1-0)
The teams already had time to open the series early on Monday. Rangers won the first part 4-3 thanks to a good possession game. It made Lehkonen modify his preconceptions about the series.
– The first game surprised me, because I had thought of Carolina as the favorite. A little bit, the coin started to turn in the direction of Rangers, Lehkonen begins.
As justification, Lehkonen cites, among other things, playing in special situations.
– I thought in advance that Carolina’s pressing underpowered game would destroy the Rangers’ good superiority, but so what. The Rangers had done their homework really well, scored two power play goals and completely burned Carolina’s lead, Lehkonen explains.
According to Lehkonen, in order to win the series, Carolina must find the remedies for the Rangers’ tight package in both the central and defensive areas.
– This will be decided by whether Carolina finds little new things in their familiar way of playing to break the Rangers’ 1-3-1 control game in the middle area and the defensive game in their own area. In the starting circle, Carolina has usually been good, but now that won’t be an advantage either, because the Rangers are excellent in the starting spot.
– I believe that the goalkeeper’s play is ultimately the decisive factor here. Rangers Igor Shesterkin makes a difference.
There are enough Finns in the series. Carolina is represented by two assists in the opening half Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teräväinen mixed Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Rangers’ triple chain is brutal Kaapo Kako.
– Aho must find ways to stand out, because he has been carefully marked. Carolina needs sharp, sly breaking moves or shots coming directly from the pass. From Kotkaniemi, I expect him to bring more physicality and jump to a new level compared to the regular season. Now that was a bit of skiing. The second is still passing too much. Again, there were launch points from which you looked for passes. Cool boy!
Lehkonen’s guess: Rangers to continue.
Florida-Boston
From the Eastern series, the layout is clearer in this series. Boston struggled at times in the long seven-game series against Toronto, while Florida handled Tampa fairly easily in the opening round. Florida is the biggest champion favorite in the East and goes into the match series against Boston, which has weakened significantly from last year, as the big favorite.
– There is a huge stress difference here. Boston used gas from the tank because of that way of playing already in the regular season a lot. On top of that came the hellish Toronto series. The new series also starts a couple of days after the previous one, and it is certain that Florida will not give a drop of mercy with the physical game, Lehkonen opens.
There is also a huge material difference between Florida and Boston. While Boston has weakened tremendously in terms of player material, Florida is probably the deepest of the remaining teams.
– Florida has a really large, physical, fit and strong skating team, which has a disciplined way of playing and which includes a lot of fighting and tackling. On top of that, there is also the gambling advantage of being able to gamble there via the home court Alexander Barkov consistently their number one star David Pastrnak against, Lehkonen continues.
In the playoffs, Boston has been one point ahead of Florida in both the power play and the power play, but it doesn’t get an advantage in the goaltending department. Jeremy Swayman Boston’s goal has been in excellent hitting, but it is Sergei Bobrovsky too On the edge of Florida.
– I don’t really see Boston having a chance in this series. A maximum of five games, Lehkonen’s line.
Four Finns can be seen in Florida’s ranks: Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen mixed Niko Mikkola.
– Mikkola will get emotional for many Boston players, because he is such a rough player. Barkov is a grandmaster and a chess player, an unfathomable genius in every area. Lundell was the second center by Sam Bennett absence in the Tampa series brilliantly. A player with skating power and fighting power who really enjoys the playoff world.
– Luostarinen is a band-aid, which defensively corrects every mistake. I greatly appreciate. It doesn’t often appear in the headlines, but when there are games here, a few goals might click in the right place, concludes Lehkonen.
Lehkonen’s guess: Florida to continue.