The Stanley Cup playoffs are coming very fast and the playoff picture is becoming a little clearer. With the split arrangement already in place, we’ll likely see more old opponents sprout up in the playoffs.
We’ll also see a number of series in which well-established opponents will write one more hockey chapter. We will see some new competitors formulated. Hockey teams like the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets seem to return in the absence of hockey.
Colorado Avalanche, despite the fantastic 2013 season, was the team that won Chiacgo’s 24-game streak. This year, Avs has continued to give the right defending champions. They have entered four of the five meetings with the Hawks this year and will certainly be a challenge for them in the playoff series.
Louis Blues appear to have locked the Central division, which will leave Colorado and Chicago as second and third seeds are set to clash in the first round. Would be a statement for Avalanche to knock out the champions in the first round. There was also a strong message for the Blackhawks to eliminate the emerging Avalanche. A great recipe for a playoff series.
It could really do hockey magic in Southern California. The two teams have met 116 times since Duck entered the 1993 tournament, but they have never squared in the debate. Teams were practically dead even in head-to-head history, with Kings taking the lead with a 53-52-11 record.
From a hockey point of view, it was also a great encounter. Duck is second in the league in terms of goals scored, while Kings has allowed the least number of goals. Who will win in a series of seven games?
They have met a staggering 33 times in the debate with Montreal taking 24 of them. Habs also recently halted Bruins’ 12-win streak. Blues fans are sure to still have nightmares Owen Nolan blasting a shot past Roman Turek from the ice center. That was of course the winning goal in 2000, when the offending sharks the Blues won over the President in seven matches.