The two tantalizing, franchise-altering prospects at the top of the 2015 food chain – Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Buffalo’s Jack Eichel – ratcheted up the interest for this year’s NHL entry draft and the flurry of trades that surrounded it.
With the thrilling 2015 Stanley Cup in the books it is already time to start talking about which teams could make a run at Hockey’s Holy Grail next season. There will be some huge free agent signings this summer, some major salary cap casualties and of course some team-changing draft choices as well. All of those things could tip the balance of power just a bit as we head into the 2015-2016 season.
They are still cleaning up the confetti from the Stanley Cup Parade in Chicago – what a party indeed! But it is never too early to start thinking about next year and which team will be trying to one-up the festivities in the Windy City.
With the much-anticipated Stanley Cup Final upon us, it’s time to speculate on what we should expect on the professional ice rinks over the next couple of weeks.
It will be a clash of youth versus experience when the Stanley Cup Final kicks off on Wednesday night. The Chicago Blackhawks represent the experience – this team won the Cup in 2010 and 2014.
The New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to throw down for the right to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup.
The stage has been set for the 2015 NHL Western Conference Final. Two of the Conference Heavyweights have navigated their way to this point with relative ease – the Ducks needed nine games to get by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round and the Calgary Flames in the second.
The Montreal Canadiens are clawing for their playoff lives Thursday night, on the second leg of back-to-back games in Florida vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
Round two of the Stanley Cup playoffs gets underway on Thursday evening when the Washington Capitals take on the New York Rangers. Cappers Picks will provide free NHL picks throughout the playoffs so check back often.
For the third straight year the Minnesota Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks will meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs – Chicago beat Minnesota in five games in the first round of the 2013 playoffs before a six-game series victory in the second round last year.
The Cinderella Calgary Flames and the juggernaut Anaheim Ducks meet in the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Flames overcame a 3-0 score in Game 6 to knock out the Canucks while the Ducks were in tough against the Jets but swept Winnipeg out of the playoffs.
Game seven of the Eastern Conference first round playoffs see the New York Islanders taking on the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center in Washington, District of Columbia. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
Game Two of the Eastern Conference first round playoffs see the New York Islanders taking on the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center in Washington, District of Columbia. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
New York Islanders (1-0) vs. Washington Capitals (0-1)
Stadium: Verizon Center (District of Columbia)
Time/Date: 7:00 PM ET; Friday April 17th
NHL Odds: New York Islanders +130/ Washington Capitals -140
Over/Under: 5.5 (+120 Over)
The Islanders showed no signs of stumbling or fear as they came out and dominated in all aspects of the game en route to a 4-1 Game 1 win over the Capitals. The Islanders will look to do something they haven’t done in over 32 years on Friday as they search for a 2-0 lead in the series. Washington will look to captain, Alexander Ovechkin, in hopes of bringing the Caps back to even in this series. Ovechkin was held scoreless throughout Game 1 and the Islanders always seem to have eyes him, not allowing him to move freely and quickly.
The Islanders stumbled into the post season with multiple key losses down the stretch that forced them to give up home ice in the first round of the playoffs. They showed none of those signs in Game 1 as they took care of business and stole home ice right back from the Capitals, who stole it on the last day of the regular season.
The Islanders got contributions from just about everyone in Game 1, but the main guy was Brock Nelson. Nelson scored 2 goals and solidified the win for New York.
New York also got a goal from Josh Bailey, along with an assist.
F and leading point getting John Tavares didn’t even record a shot in Game 1. Expect him to come out firing in Game 2 on Friday as he tallied 86 points throughout the entire regular season.
G Jaroslav Halak recorded 24 saves and allowed just one to squeak by him in the first period. If he continues to play like he did in Game 1, the Islanders fortunes could be bright.
The Capitals must find a way to get more shots and continue to put pressure on Islanders’ goalie Jaroslav Halak on Friday. Putting just 25 shots on goal in Game 1, Washington will look to get Alexander Ovechkin going as they hope to head to New York with the series tied 1 game a piece.
The lone goal scorer for Washington was F Marcus Johansson. Johansson scored in the first period to even things up at 1, but the Capitals failed to put anything else on the board after. Johansson continues his impressive campaign as he has racked up 47 points on the season.
Caps goalie Braden Holtby faced 29 shots in Game 1, and allowed 3 of them to get past him. While he didn’t play bad by any means, he’ll need some help from his defense as they failed to put any traffic in front of the goal throughout the entire game.
Dating back to last season, the Capitals have scored just that one goal over their last 3 playoff games. In 2014, they had similar scoring problems as they were shutout by the other New York team, the Rangers, in the final 2 games before they were eliminated.
Expect Washington to be even more physical than in Game 1 as they cannot afford to head on the road with a 2-0 deficit.
Lay the juice here as Washington should be incredibly prepared and focused for this one. A win and they’re right back in the series, a loss could spell a whole world of trouble for them. Expect Ovechkin to come up big in a home win for Washington.
Stanley Cup Betting fans sure are getting their money’s worth from the free nhl picks we give out here at Capperspicks.com. There are now eight teams competing for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Stick with us for the entire 2015 NHL Stanley Cup playoff run.
Stanley Cup Betting fans sure are getting their money’s worth from the free nhl picks we give out here at Capperspicks.com. There are now sixteen teams competing for Lord Stanley’s Cup. Stick with us for the entire 2015 NHL Stanley Cup playoff run.
The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is not short on tantalizing match ups, but perhaps the biggest one (for fans hockey fans in Canada at least) is the series between the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Cappers Picks will provide NHL picks throughout the playoffs so check back before every round.
