I was wondering what all of you guys thought about ?the best potential match-ups for the Pens, come playoff time. ?I have always believed it did not matter who you played, you had to beat them. ?With that said, the only team I would really fear right now would be New Jersey. ?Especially, now that Brodeur is back. ?I think they just play a really strong game from top to bottom. ?I like our chances better with all the other teams. ?
I think there would be a much higher emotional involvement with Philly and Washington. ?That would make the first round much more interesting. ?I like to believe over the span of a series, the Pens could more easily take care of the remaining teams. ?I think Florida is overachieving to even be in contention, Buffalo seems to have some inconsistencies that would become more apparent throughout the course of a 7 game series, Montreal seems to be sliding down hill and though they are playing well right now, I like our chances against Carolina.
Boston is a ?scary, but I think if Fluery regains his form from last year, he can out-duel Thomas. ?The Ranger are also an emotional series and our recent history in the Garden is not great, but I feel like our level of talent would prevail.
I would love to hear what others are thinking.
I would say Boston is going to be our problem, they have goaltending and scoring. Philly & Washington are going to fall because of their poor defence and even worse goaltending. we are probably going to have to play one of them first round. I like our chances – I hope someone knock off Detroit early not because I’m worried about them, I just like when that happens.
I personally don’t care what team we play – just that we get there. Boudeur and Lundqvist are goalies that can get hot. Theodore is waste and Biron and Niittymaki aren’t any great shakes either. It’s the on any given day theory that applies to any matchup.
I think now that the team is clicking on all cylanders, we should be able to beat anyone. I can’t wait to see how Bylsmas high flying offense does against these teams. We will get to see the Flyers, Devils and Rangers before the playoffs to get an Idea.
Two teams I would rather not see is the Flyers and Capitals. I worry that if Fleury starts playing bad we could lose, or we could have some important guys get injured.