Filed under: General NHL, Eastern Jes started off the playoff water cooler talk with a discussion about the Ducks and the Western Conference yesterday and there's a second part that went up today. Like it or not, there's another conference and we have to talk about that one too. It's the cooler conference anyway. At least that's what the kids tell me. So, in traditional NHL FanHouse style, we're going to have a roundtable between the minds that write around here. No King Arthur stuff here. Our roundtable is technological and metaphorical! You cannot destroy it, you can only think about destroying it since it really doesn't exist in the physical sense! MWUHAHAHAHA!!!But I digress. Let's get back to the topic at hand. With Ottawa's recent decline we've got four or five teams in the East with a legitimate shot at the top spot. Who do you see as the top dog in the east when the dust settles? Can Montreal hang on? Will Ottawa or someone else pull it out?Simply put, who ya got??---John Press: In the East, I think it all comes down to goaltending. History says Brodeur. Hollywood says Price. Ratings say Lundqvist or Fleury/Conklin. No one says Gerber, Biron or Thomas.Jes Golbez: There is always one team in the East that seems to surprise people, like Tampa and Carolina, by playing a run-and-gun style. Montreal, to me, is that team. They've now tied Ottawa for the top offense, and don't have the baggage to go along with that. Credit the great coaching of Guy Carbonneau. On paper, the Habs don't look terribly impressive. They've now put their fate into a rookie goalie (Though they have a good history of great rookie goalies), and the defense looks soft. One thing I suppose the Habs have that others don't is the league's best Power Play. During tight playoff games, being able to score with the man advantage will be a huge ... advantage for the Habs. Ottawa is pretty much a one-line team with serious goaltending issues. I felt they were playing above their heads earlier in the season, and I don't think they'll suddenly turn into world beaters with the defense they have.Eric McErlain: Yes, Carbonneau has done a great job, especially when it comes to reviving Alexei Kovalev. Getting him to play hard again has to be seen as a near miracle. But can we have a hand for Bob Gainey too? Outside of Kovalev and Koivu, the Canadiens are a team with few if any stars -- though Price will probably step up next. It was Gainey who constructed this team, even as players like Sheldon Souray left town.And while the Canadiens might play a run and gun style, they've also got the game's next great defenseman in Mike Komisarek. The kid blocks shots without fear and his a hell of a banger.Can you tell I'm picking Montreal?Earl Sleek: I figure it's down to NJD, MTL, and PIT, with maybe my edge going Pittsburgh's way (they also probably stand the best chance in the SCF, considering their west record is way better than anyone else in the east). Ottawa has turned into a big joke, especially from what I saw on their western swing. There is nothing on that team that suggests they are about to get their act together, especially with shenanigans like B. Murray getting ejected from the game in Anaheim. What is this, baseball? If Pittsburgh can really get its offense balanced around the talents up front, I don't know who's going to stop them. It's an uninformed opinion, but I think they take it.Greg Wyshynski: Montreal has impressed the hell out of me, and is in a position to challenge for a Cup for the next several years with the talent they have. But I hate, hate, hate the nostalgic nonsense behind putting this year's team in Carey Price's hands. I don't believe he's ready for this yet. He might be better for it down the line, but not this postseason. Ottawa's goaltending situation is FUBAR'd, and there's been too much adversity in that locker room for them to make another serious run this season. The Devils were one veteran scorer away from being a Stanley Cup contender before the deadline, and they still are. Sorry, but when you're hoping Madden and Pandolfo give you that extra goal on a nightly basis, you don't have the offense to win the East. As much as it pains me as a Devils fan, I think things stack up quite well for both the Penguins and the Rangers. The Blueshirts match up well with Carolina -- I think Avery and Callahan would give Staal and Samsonov fits. And then there's Henrik Lundqvist, who could be the best goalie in the East in the postseason if he's on his game. The Penguins have that great two-goalie thing working for them that a team like Carolina had when it won the Cup. We haven't seen if Hossa is Kurri to Crosby's Gretz; but if he is, then what line, exactly, do you shadow? Sid's? Malkin's? The only two things keeping me from really jumping on this bandwagon is that I think their coach is a fraud and that if they finish in the four/five game, then it's Ottawa again -- and all the Senators have done this season is win three of four against a team they bitch-slapped last postseason. I picked the Rangers before the season; it pains me to do so, but I'll pick'em again now. But Montreal is the pick if Price is ready.John Press: I'd just like to commend GDub for not ending that with "if the Price is right."Kevin Schultz: Glad I waited to chime in. I might of walked right into that lame joke. I can't imagine the Habs going too deep into this, even they can claim the top spot. Why? Youth, youth, youth and youth. They're too young. Too inexperienced. Pittsburgh is sort of in the same boat in terms of youth, but I think last year may have given them enough experience to make a run in a conference with no clear winner. And then there's the Devils. All the times I bet against them in the 1990s and early 2000s are still stinging. They don't look like the team that can go all the way, but you know Marty is going to show up and they'll find some way to get it done. Their track record is just too good. Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
