1-0 last round on series play(hit the Sens in 5)
5-2-1 +9.93 Units for the playoffs
Injuries -
Philly - Desjardins(2 weeks)
Ott. - Ray, Hull and Hnidy are all healthy scratches, if Schaefer can't go then Hull will take his place. Expect Ray to play at some point in this series.
Sens lines are as follows:
Arvedson-White- Alfredsson
Varada-Bonk-Hossa
Fisher-Smolinski-Havlat
Schaefer-Van Allen-Neil
Defensive pairings:
Redden-Rachunek
Chara-Phillips
Volchenkov-Leschychyn
Goaltending - HUGE edge to the Sens, plain and simple, Lalime is a much better goaltender than Cechmanek. This will most likely win or lose this series. As kickserv has mentioned many times before, shoot the puck and create alot of traffic in front of Roman. Expect to see Chara back in front of the net on the PP this series, which will pose big problems for Philly as they have nobody on the PK to match up with him.
Coaching - Slight edge to Philly. Hitchcock gets the edge with a Stanley Cup Ring. Jacques will use the last line change to his advantage and having home ice will make this one aspect even more important.
Forwards - EVEN. Both teams possess big playmakers. For Ott. you got Hossa, Havlat, Bonk, Alfredsson, Smolinski, Fisher and the underrated Todd White. For Philly, you got Primeau, Roenick, Gagne, Recchi, Amonte, Kapanen and the underrated Justin Williams.
Defence - EGDE Ott. - The Sens have two defenseman not playing that would start for Philly in Hnidy and Pothier. Desjardins being out hurts the depth of the Philly defense. Sens have 3 pairings on D that can match up with any Philly line and with home ice in the Sens favour this will be the difference maker for last line change. Sens have the skating and physical side for all 6 D.
Nine different players for Philly this year from last season's 5 game loss. Sens have 7 new faces so revenge is not a factor here. Not one player with Philly has mentioned it as motivation with such turnover from last year.
Philly has played the equivalent of 9 games already, whereas the Sens have had 8 days off. Any player will tell you that to have that kind of rest in the middle of the playoffs over playing 7(really 9 games) any day would be a welcome relief. Sens feel they can use their speed and exploit the Philly D. Most of all the goaltending will be the determining factor. This will be a long series. It would not surprise me to see it go 7 games but with the Sens fresh legs it could shorten the series. If the Sens happen to win the first 2 games at home then it will go 5. If they split in Ott. it will be a hard fought series. Special teams will also go a long way in deciding this series, if the Sens can get their PP going the way in went in the reg. season it could be the difference as well.
Sens win the series in 6 games.(1Unit)
GLTA!
HORNS
Other series picks:
NJ in 5 - exp. wins out in this one!
Dallas in 6 - Depth and exp. win this one!
Minny in 6 - Sorry to all my Canadian friends!
5-2-1 +9.93 Units for the playoffs
Injuries -
Philly - Desjardins(2 weeks)
Ott. - Ray, Hull and Hnidy are all healthy scratches, if Schaefer can't go then Hull will take his place. Expect Ray to play at some point in this series.
Sens lines are as follows:
Arvedson-White- Alfredsson
Varada-Bonk-Hossa
Fisher-Smolinski-Havlat
Schaefer-Van Allen-Neil
Defensive pairings:
Redden-Rachunek
Chara-Phillips
Volchenkov-Leschychyn
Goaltending - HUGE edge to the Sens, plain and simple, Lalime is a much better goaltender than Cechmanek. This will most likely win or lose this series. As kickserv has mentioned many times before, shoot the puck and create alot of traffic in front of Roman. Expect to see Chara back in front of the net on the PP this series, which will pose big problems for Philly as they have nobody on the PK to match up with him.
Coaching - Slight edge to Philly. Hitchcock gets the edge with a Stanley Cup Ring. Jacques will use the last line change to his advantage and having home ice will make this one aspect even more important.
Forwards - EVEN. Both teams possess big playmakers. For Ott. you got Hossa, Havlat, Bonk, Alfredsson, Smolinski, Fisher and the underrated Todd White. For Philly, you got Primeau, Roenick, Gagne, Recchi, Amonte, Kapanen and the underrated Justin Williams.
Defence - EGDE Ott. - The Sens have two defenseman not playing that would start for Philly in Hnidy and Pothier. Desjardins being out hurts the depth of the Philly defense. Sens have 3 pairings on D that can match up with any Philly line and with home ice in the Sens favour this will be the difference maker for last line change. Sens have the skating and physical side for all 6 D.
Nine different players for Philly this year from last season's 5 game loss. Sens have 7 new faces so revenge is not a factor here. Not one player with Philly has mentioned it as motivation with such turnover from last year.
Philly has played the equivalent of 9 games already, whereas the Sens have had 8 days off. Any player will tell you that to have that kind of rest in the middle of the playoffs over playing 7(really 9 games) any day would be a welcome relief. Sens feel they can use their speed and exploit the Philly D. Most of all the goaltending will be the determining factor. This will be a long series. It would not surprise me to see it go 7 games but with the Sens fresh legs it could shorten the series. If the Sens happen to win the first 2 games at home then it will go 5. If they split in Ott. it will be a hard fought series. Special teams will also go a long way in deciding this series, if the Sens can get their PP going the way in went in the reg. season it could be the difference as well.
Sens win the series in 6 games.(1Unit)
GLTA!
HORNS
Other series picks:
NJ in 5 - exp. wins out in this one!
Dallas in 6 - Depth and exp. win this one!
Minny in 6 - Sorry to all my Canadian friends!
