NHL Playoff Preview: Los Angeles Kings (2) vs. San Jose Sharks (3)

Daniel Friedman and Robert Howard — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 00:11:25 +0000

Summary: It should be a drama-filled series with some painful history between the teams. The Sharks collapse after being up 3-0 to LA two years ago in the playoffs, is a ghost rattling in the hallway - regardless of what the players say. LA finished out of the playoffs last year, so bring their own motivation to this tournament.

LA boasts as strong a core as there is in the NHL with Kopitar, Doughty and Quick able to dominate at their respective positions. San Jose brings three 70-point players in Burns, Pavelski and Thornton – all finishing in the top 11 in the league - but LA’s supporting cast including Jeff Carter, Milan Lucic, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, matches up favorably against San Jose’s. The top NHL possession team will prove difficult to match throughout the lineup.

Quick is the difference maker over Martin Jones, in his first year as a starter, or James Reimer -barring a Hollywood ending.

PREDICTION: Kings in 7

Key Injuries: LA – Marian Gaborik, Alec Martinez, Matt Greene SJ- Matt Tennyson

Critical Factors: San Jose’s power play could be a difference maker if LA is undisciplined, having spent the fifth most minutes (464 mins) on the penalty kill in the NHL, while SJ had the sixth lowest time (385 mins) – while San Jose spent the sixth most time on the power play (449 mins) and LA spent the fifth least amount of time with the man advantage. In what should be a physical, chippy, series between old rivals it is something to watch. Both teams have strength down the middle and are very close on face-offs (LA 50.5% to SJ 50.7%), a matchup that will be telling, given how much they both rely on having the puck. San Jose has an experienced defense corps, but Drew Doughty anchors the LA defense and can be dominant at both ends– He and Burns are both making a case for a Norris trophy, and present another interesting matchup. Call it even on the back end. Jonathan Quick is the major X factor for LA capable of winning a series by himself, and has largely owned these Sharks in the playoffs in the past. If he gets in their head early, it could be devastating – however, he has lost all three starts against San Jose this season - allowing 13 goals. The Sharks have the best road record in the league (28-10-3) and open the series in Los Angeles. Goaltending looks like a mismatch, but James Reimer has been miraculous since joining the team, going 6-2-0, with a save percentage of 0.938% and a GAA of 1.62 .. many playoff stories begin and end with a hot goalie rising to the occasion – Reimer is straight out of central casting – Jones will start, but a lot rides on one of their performances.

Potential Breakout Players: It is curious to rank the 4^th leading scorer in the league as a breakout, but Joe Thornton is due, given his largely undeserved reputation for poor playoff showings. There is a confidence there that is hard to ignore – including the impressive beard. In his final 44 games he scored at a torrid 1.25 point a game pace (44-12-43-55) and finished second in league scoring behind Sidney Crosby since the all-star break. Which Milan Lucic will show up? Creating havoc, providing fore-checking pressure and playing physical while remaining composed? or come in like a wrecking ball .. he can be effective paired with Anze Kopitar – who can be dominant when rolling – and finished the season very strongly – 67 points in his last 63 games (63-20-47-67) – 28 years old, is this his playoff to make a statement? – he scored 26 points in 26 games in their last cup win in 2014. Vincent Lecavalier has been a good addition with limited minutes, but will be a third or fourth line soldier .. don’t expect offense to suddenly re-ignite. Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli could give the Sharks trouble, if they focus on Kopitar. Logan Couture has been largely hidden this year due to injury, but they are a much better team with him in the line-up. He and Joel Ward, who is a noted playoff performer, could be a surprise story line, if they click.

Season Matchup: San Jose 3-1-1 – all three wins were in regulation. Quick was in goal for all three losses.

Key Stats

CF% 5v5 (war-on-ice.com): LA 56.4% (1^st) SJ 51.7% (8^th)

PDO (war-on-ice.com): LA 99.7 (16^th) SJ 100.0 (13^th)

Power Play (NHL.com): LA 20.0% (8^th) SJ 22.5% (3^rd)

Penalty Kill (NHL.com): LA 81.4% (15^th) SJ 80.5% (21^st)

Goals For per-game (NHL.com): LA 2.72 (14th) SJ 2.89 (4th)

Goals Against per-game (NHL.com): LA 2.34 (3rd) SJ 2,52 (10th)

Notes: LA leads the league in CF% 5v5 by a remarkable 3.8% over the second place team (Dallas – 52.6%) On special teams they are largely well matched with an advantage to San Jose’s power play (see Critical Factors above).

Friedman’s Five — 1/23/16

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 15:02:13 +0000

Things have gotten quite interesting for the NHL over the past several weeks.

Enforcers are in the All-Star Game. Top prospects are revolting. Coaches are getting injured in practice. Cats and dogs living together. Mass Hysteria.

What to make of all this? Here's my view:

1. THE ALL-STAR GAME IS ON ITS DEATH BED, AND WE'RE KILLING IT

The John Scott voting campaign may have started off as a joke, but it wound up humiliating an actual person and serves as yet another reminder that we don't take this game the least bit seriously. The only reason I'm happy Scott's playing is because of the way he was treated over this past week.

2. JONATHAN DROUIN GOT A RAW DEAL, BUT HIS RESPONSE WAS UNACCEPTABLE

Until recently, I sympathized for this kid. He had shown promise when given a chance to play with skill players (which didn't happen often enough) and I felt the Lightning should've given him a longer leash. That said, his refusal to play in the AHL showed a great deal of immaturity, even if it was his agent's advice. He's the client, he calls the shots. He could've told Allan Walsh that he respectfully wants to go a different route, but he went along with the scheme. One day, Drouin will look back at his actions and wish he'd been smarter than this.

3. VINCENT LECAVALIER HAS BEEN A QUALITY ADD FOR THE KINGS

I liked this trade from the get-go. The Kings risked very little for a potentially solid reward and have gotten exactly that. Lecavalier might've just been lacking motivation playing in Philadelphia, and being given the opportunity to compete for a Stanley Cup in L.A. has woken him up.

4. RYAN JOHANSEN AND SETH JONES ARE THRIVING WITH THEIR NEW TEAMS

This deal made a ton of sense for both sides, and the results have shown. Johansen has six points in seven games for Nashville, while Jones has five in seven for Columbus. Johansen has the approval of his coach to play the type of game he likes and Jones has the responsibility and increased role that he could never get with the Predators.

5. WHAT'S NEXT FOR STEVEN STAMKOS, ERIC STAAL AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CLUBS

This is a much easier deal for Carolina than it is for Tampa Bay, not that either team is in an enviable position here. The Hurricanes are in the midst of a rebuild and are starting to accumulate solid depth down the middle with Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm. There's more on the way, too. If Staal doesn't want to come back, they can trade him at the deadline (and probably should). However, if you're the Lightning and you think you're ready to compete for the Cup again, this becomes a tricky situation.

For me, there's just no way you can let someone like Stamkos walk without recouping assets in exchange. It's not like he's a good second line scorer; this is a franchise player. So, I think if you're GM Steve Yzerman, as crazy as it sounds, you have to trade this guy before it's too late, even if it means putting a dent in your championship aspirations for this season. And besides, it's not like the Bolts are lacking in offensive firepower without Stamkos. They still have Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Tyler Johnson, as well as an emerging Vladislav Namestnikov and Alex Killorn.

Follow Daniel Friedman on Twitter @bardownhowitzer

Vincent Lecavalier – McKeen's Hockey

NHL Playoff Preview: Los Angeles Kings (2) vs. San Jose Sharks (3)

Friedman’s Five — 1/23/16