The Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers are the last two teams standing in the Eastern Conference. It’s not a coincidence that both have stellar goaltenders leading the way. After both teams extended themselves to seven-game second round series, who is ready to take the next step and get to the Stanley Cup finals?
Series Preview: New York Rangers vs. Montreal Canadiens
Odds: Canadiens -115
This is not the series most people were predicting. The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins – or at least one of those two teams – were supposed to be here. The Bruins had the best record in the NHL and were the defending Eastern Conference champion. The Penguins led the New York Rangers, 3-1, in the second round, and had home-ice advantage in both Games 5 and 7. Boston led Montreal, 3-2, after five games, and had home-ice advantage in Game 7. It is clear that both New York and Montreal have overcome long odds and some tall challenges to get to this point. The series should involve two very confident teams who will be loose and relaxed at the beginning. There’s a possibility that the team which takes charge at the beginning of the series will get on a roll. Its goaltender could feel really confident and take over. However, both teams believe so much in themselves that you’re more likely to see a punch-counterpunch series in which one team’s win is met with a win from its opponent. Control of this series is probably going to be elusive; you’ll see it ping-pong back and forth over the next two weeks.
What makes this series especially hard to predict is that the goaltenders are both elite, and are both playing at the top of their games. Henrik Lundqvist is called “The King” for a very good reason. He kept Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins other than Evgeni Malkin in check for two weeks. He is likely the better goalie in this series. Yet, it’s not as though he’s better by a wide margin.
Carey Price has been exceptionally good for Montreal. He outplayed Tuukka Rask of Boston in the last round, and stood strong on the road in a Game 7 for his team. He might take a back seat to Lundqvist in terms of publicity, but he’s not going to be at a deficit in terms of quality. He can steal a game as much as Lundqvist can; it’s just that Lundqvist is a little more likely to steal two games, not just one.
When the goalies are finished being discussed, though, there is the matter of which team will be superior. Right now, it’s hard to deny the notion that P.K. Subban of the Canadiens is the best non-goalie player on the ice. Subban has given the Habs a fearlessness which served them well against Boston. Being in a good position might take away some fear from the Canadiens, but they seem too focused right now to lose hold of this series.
Pick: Canadiens In 7 Games
