2015 - NHL-2015 Conference Finals - Preview!

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Category: NHL

Created: Wednesday, 20 May 2015 08:20

With the 2014-15 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs underway we have the Eastern Conference Finals and the Western Conference Finals both taking place simultaneously.

The Eastern Conference brings together the Lightning of Tampa playing the Rangers of New York with the first 2 games of  the Series in New York, the 3^rd & 4^th games in Tampa Bay, 5^th game in New York, 6^th game in Tampa and the Final 7^th game back in New York if needed at all games are scheduled for 8 PM ET.  

First we look at players that can make a difference in this final series, starting with the Rangers goalie and MVP Candidate G. Lundqvist who has a .944 % save and has given up some 1.6 goals in the 1^st 2 rounds or the playoffs on average. Facing old team mates should elevate of game of M. St. Louis. Then for the Tampa Bay they have S. Stamkos with 7 goals in his past 5 games, then there’s the Tampa trio of N. Kucherov, O. Palat and T. Johnson who have scored some 17 of the teams 34 goals to date. Also, don’t overlook the Lightning’s who has played very well at both ends of the ice for Tampa Bay.

Looking at the Special teams, we start with the New York squad who has become the efficient team for penalty killing in these NFL Playoffs, with an 89.4% rate of success. Their power play has been lacking, and as they face the also strong penalty killers in Tampa Bay, that will not help. In round 2 the Lightning held the Canadians to 1 goal in 16 attempts. Then the Lightning had 50 power plays in the playoffs which are a league high, and were 7 goals on 20 attempts against Montreal.  

For the fans who Bet on NFL at Offshore sportbook or similar online betting sites, we will now look at some noteworthy facts;

During the season the Lightning won the series against the Rangers 3-0.

The Rangers have the stinginess defense team in these payoffs, as they have allowed their opponents just 1.68 goals per game.   

The Tampa Bay Goalie B. Bishop has an 8-0 all time record when playing the Rangers, including 2 shutouts and against average 1.48 goals.

The New York Rangers have the talent to surpass eliminations, as they have successfully won 10 straight games when they were up against eliminations at the Garden, and they have 7 wins and 0 losses on the ice on home rink.   

The Rangers have three player on their roster that were Tampa Bay players in B. Boyle, A. Stralman and R. Callahan,  who will be interesting to watch in this series against their former teammates.  

The media experts are predicting that the Lightning of Tampa Bay will win this Eastern Conference series in 6 games, eliminating the Rangers from their NFL 2015 Title hopes.

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 Meanwhile the Western Conference Final matches the Ducks of Anaheim with the Blackhawks of Chicago. With the 1^st 2 games played in California, the 3^rd &4^th games in Chicago, the 5^th game (if needed moves to California, while the 6^th game (if needed) is played in Chicago, and the Final 7^th game if needed will be played in California on the 30^th of May 2015, with all games scheduled for 8 PM ET.   

Here again we look at those that can make a difference in this Western Conference Final Series. For the Ducks their Right Wing C. Perry is leading the playoffs with goals, as he has 15 goals to date in the playoffs and 11 goal s on home rink, and he teams with center R. Getzlaf for a strong 1-2 punch offensively. Their teammate left winger M. Belesky is no stranger to goals, as in the last 5 games he has scored 5 goals, one in each game. For the Blackhawks their D. Keith is averaging 1 goal for each 30:35 minutes of play, and they have the NHL’s most talented and deep force of right wings in P. Kane and M. Hossa.

For the Special Teams the Ducks are with the best power play in these playoffs as they made 31% of their attempts, while their penalty stopper have only given up 4 goals in 31 times when shorthanded.  On the other side the Blackhawks have the worst penalty stoppers of all the teams remaining in the playoffs, with only a success rate of 71%.  However, their Power play had great sign of success in the 2nd round as they scored 2 goals on each 5 chances.  

Now let’s look at some of the noteworthy facts;

In the season series between the Ducks and the Blackhawk’s, Chicago won the series 2-1, while only allowing 3 goals in the three game series.

Anaheim has been trailing some four times after the 2^nd period in the playoffs this season, but rallied and was able to win all 4 of those games, and managed to outscore their opponents in the 3^rd period 16-3.

Chicago in round 2 never trailed in any game, as they upset the Wild in that round.

The Ducks have been averaging 3.88 goals per game which leads the league.  Both the Ducks and the Blackhawks are 5-0 in the playoffs when on their home ice.

Here the media experts are predicting the Blackhawks to win the series in 6 games, eliminating the Ducks and moving on to the NHL Finals.

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