“3 Rounds” is a three-part series. Writers select what they feel is the most important individual match-up in the upcoming playoff series and give it an in-depth preview. The second piece is a mid-series assessment of that match-up. In the final installment, we analyze how the match-up contributed to the outcome of the series. If our match-up isn’t the difference-maker, we’ll explore the match-up that DID make the difference.
In the 2013-2014 season, the Detroit Red Wings have persevered all season long, battling injuries that have sidelined star players, thus resulting in younger individuals taking the reins of the historic club. They now are presented with a larger challenge in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, matching up against the President’s Trophy winning Boston Bruins for the first time in 57 years. While the Wings hold the second wildcard seed in the Eastern Conference and are without dynamic captain Henrik Zetterberg, it will be far from a cake walk for the Bruins. Detroit has won three out of four regular season contests against the B’s this season, and their play down the stretch shows no signs of them slowing down.
Key Matchup: Red Wings versus Bruins–The Goaltenders
If either team hopes to take the upper hand in this series early, they will need to turn to their last defender in order to get the job done. Jimmy Howard has had an up-and-down year for the Wings, while also being sidelined for part of the year with a hip injury. He is 21-19-11 this season with a goals-against average of 2.66 and a save percentage of .910. Tending the net for Boston will be Vezina Trophy candidate Tuukka Rask. The 27-year-old hasn’t missed a beat since bringing his club within two wins of a Stanley Cup title in 2013, and has only improved. Rask is 36-15-6 with a GAA of 2.06 and a .930 save percentage. As the regular season numbers favor Rask, Howard has the edge head-to-head against the Bruins this year.
Head to Head in 2013-2014:
Howard- (2-1-1, .917 Save %, 3.00 GAA)
Rask- (1-3-0, .871 Save %, 3.29 GAA)
Keys to a Red Wings Series Win
It’s been 23-straight seasons that the Red Wings have qualified for the postseason, and they seem to seal their ticket to the dance in any way possible. While losing various leaders up and down the lineup such as Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, and Zetterberg throughout the year, head coach Mike Babcock has instilled a system in which any individual suiting up for the Wings can succeed in. Particularly, Gustav Nyquist has emerged as a brilliant youngster this season, as he has amassed 28 goals and 20 assists in a mere 57 regular season games. Others who excelled for Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins, were added to the lineup when the injury bug struck.
The Red Wings will advance to the next round if they continue to utilize a balanced attack offensively–that is simply a combination of speed and tenacity in all three zones. As veterans such as Daniel Alfredsson and David Legwand (acquired at the trade deadline) have the ability to battle in the corners for loose pucks, versatile forwards such as Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan allow their quickness to control the possession game. The Wings will also need to focus on Boston’s top line consisting of Jarome Iginla, Milan Lucic, and David Krejci. In order to shut down these three dominant scoring threats, Detroit will rely heavily on Niklas Kronwall. Kronwall, who has 49 points on the year, employs a physical style of defense while leading his team in ice time for the second straight season (24:18 TOI/game).
Howard will need to dominate the top of his crease while not playing overly aggressive against the Bruins highly-touted offense. He loves to use his skates to shift post-to-post and when he is on his game, is able to be in position for every shot fired at him. The Red Wings defense will have to clear the lane in front of Howard in order for him to play up to his potential. Allow the big bodies of Boston to park themselves right above the blue paint, and goals are bound to happen, either from deflections or screens in general.
In the end, the Red Wings success will come down to how the young guns react to pressure situations in the playoffs. The postseason is a new game within itself, and the Wings cannot afford to allow inexperience to catch up with them if they hope to get past Boston. The veterans of this team must guide their respective teammates, easing the tension within the locker room and helping others elevate their play to the level needed in order to succeed in the first round and beyond.
Keys to a Bruins Series Win
Coming off one of their best seasons in franchise history, the Boston Bruins hope to avenge their loss in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins acquired Jarome Iginla (for real this time) in the offseason and he has been cemented into a top line role along with Lucic and Krejci. While hitting the 30-goal-mark for the 12th time in his career, Iginla is still searching for his first Cup that has eluded him for so long. The first forward unit for the Bruins has been one of the best in the National Hockey League all year due to the aspects of the game in which the three excel in. While Lucic uses his body to protect the puck and screen the goaltender in front of the net, Iginla uses his veteran presence to create chances both off the rush and in the cycle. David Krejci is just the explosive playmaker who leads the Bruins in points with 69 while tallying a whopping 50 assists this year. If they continue their commanding ways, it is certainly bad news for Hockeytown. Not bad for a first line, right?
On defense, the Bruins must not let the absence of Dennis Seidenberg bring them down, as it has not been the case all season long. Seidenberg’s usual d-partner and captain Zdeno Chara has enhanced his play and is back in the Norris Trophy race. Younger blueliners such as Torey Krug (who shined in his first ever playoff appearance last year) and Dougie Hamilton must be able to shut down the quickness of Detroit’s forwards due to injuries riddling the Boston back-end. Matt Bartkowski and rookie Kevan Miller have been thrown into the fire as a result and will hope to make an impact against the Wings similar to Krug. The one Achilles heel for the Bruins playing against the Red Wings throughout the regular season has been their inability to adapt to the Wings speedy transition game. Nyquist will be keyed on due to his strong play throughout the year, and shouldn’t catch the Bruins by surprise if covered correctly.
Rask must be able to keep his composure throughout the year as he tends to get frustrated when he is off his game. Look for the Red Wings to notice that and do anything they can to rattle the Finnish goaltender early in Game 1. Like Howard, Rask is also confrontational with his lateral movement and uses his push-offs to minimize all angles.
If the Bruins hope to advance past the Red Wings, their superstars must be the ones who lead the way. Patrice Bergeron, who is one of the best all-around players in the game (Selke-worthy, perhaps?), can take over a game similar to Datsyuk and needs to out-play him in hopes of producing offense. Chara and the younger defensive core of the Bruins will do everything they can to match the mobility of the Wings and limit odd-man rushes against Rask.
Prediction:
The Detroit Red Wings will leave it all on the line like they normally do in the playoffs, but unfortunately, they will come up short to Boston as I believe the Bruins will defeat them in seven hard-fought games. The amount of depth within the Bruins lineup is overwhelming for any opposition, which is why they are my favorite to win the East.
Predictions From Our Hockey Department:
Max Vasilyev (93% correct last year): Wings in six games.
Mitchell Tierney (64% correct last year): Bruins in five games.
Ben Kerr (57% correct last year): Bruins in five games.
Russell McKenzie (57% correct last year): Wings in six games.
Aaron Wrotkowski: Bruins in five games.
Jacob Cohen: Bruins in four games.
Ken Hill: Bruins in six games.
Charlie Clark: Bruins in five games.
Shawn Wilken: Wings in seven games.
Daniel Rocchi: Bruins in seven games.
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