The Bad News Bears

If there is any team in the East that scares me at the moment, it is the Boston Bruins. The Bruins wrapped a very successful road (6-0) trip last night by beating the Ottawa Senators 1-0.  Now you could argue that they faced a pretty weak line-up on this road trip (Islanders, Oilers, and the Senators twice), and you would have a good point, but they also beat the best team in the league and a Flames team that has been on fire lately.

The main reason I think the Bruins are the biggest threat to the Flyers is their goaltender and their style of play. Tim Thomas has shaken the poor campaign from last season that found him riding the bench for the majority of the season, and reverted back to the game changing goalie that we saw two years ago. I think that the Flyers forwards are better than the Bruins, but if Thomas continues his good play he has the ability to steal at least one game in a long playoff series.

The Bruins have also utilized a heavy forecheck game to generate goals, something I wish we would see from the Flyers. The Bruins were able to beat the Canucks 3-1 by hounding their defense all game long. The Canucks defense is pretty beat up at the moment, but a good heavy forecheck will wear down any teams D during a playoff series.

The Bruins were also very proactive in making thier team batter at the trade deadline. The addition of Tomas Kaberle was huge for the Bruins. Their powerplay has the potential to be deadly with Chara and Kaberle at the points. The Bruins management think that this is their year, and there is a lot of confindence in the locker rook as well.

A playoff series between the Bruins and Flyers has the potential to be epic. The Bruins have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. Ultimately I think the Flyers would win a long series against the Bruins, but I wouldn't mind if they didn't have to play them at all.

Which team in the East do you see as the biggest threat to the Flyers in the Playoffs?

The Sabres or the Rangers?

I suggested watching this game a few days ago because I thought this game would have a playoff feel to it. I was only able to catch about 15 minutes of this game, but it looked like it was living up to my expectations. The Rangers were only five points and two positions ahead of the Sabres heading into the game, and I have the feeling that only one of these teams will be able to make the playoffs. So lets see if we can determine which team has the best chance to make it.

The Rangers would appear to have the easier road to the playoffs. 11 of their final 17 opponents are against teams currently holding playoffs spots or fighting for one. The Sabres have 20 games left, but 17 of those games are against teams that are currently holding playoffs spots or fighting for one. I don't think either team will have an easy game the rest of the season, but the Sabres have three extra games to make up the three points.

The Sabres just won the first game of a seven consecutive games they will play on the road, where they will be for 11 of their last 20 games. This isn't bad for the Sabres since they have played better away from home this season. The Rangers have nine home games and eight road games left, but they have also played better on the road.

Brad Boyes

Each team also made an addition to their team at the deadline. The Sabres added Brad Boyes who picked up his first goal for his new club in his debut last nights, and the Rangers added Bryan McCabe who registered his first assist in his second game with his new club. I think that Boyes will have more of an impact for his new club than McCabe. I think McCabe, whose career high in points for a season is 68, was brought in to help the Rangers struggling power play. He is averaging four and half minutes of poweplay time through two games, and has one assist to show for it. Boyes had 11 goals and 40 points on a Blues team that has struggled this season. His line was the best line for the Sabres last night, and I think that will continue. He has shown in the past that he can put points on the board with a 69, 65, and 72 point season, and have a feeling that he will excel with his new team.

There are a lot of other factors that will determine which, if either (or both), of these teams will make the playoffs. When I add it all up, there are two factors that weigh heavy in the equation. The first is the three games in hand that the Sabres have. The Sabres only have make up three points to overtake the eighth position, and four points to overtake the Rangers in seventh, and three games in hand is a lot this time of year. The second factor is the how that the Rangers missed the playoffs last season. They proved last season that they could bear down when it was all on the line, and I am not sure if they have it in them this year. So for those two reason, and others, I would pick the Sabers to make the playoffs over the Rangers.


What do you guys think?  Are there any factors that I left out? Injuries?