The hype has been plentiful and the players have given hockey fans all over the world the action they so eagerly anticipated. An intense round one saw the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers all advance to the second round. Who will win it all?
Stanley Cup 2012 Round Two Matchups
With the first round out of the way, the second round matchups are as follows:
Western Conference
Los Angeles Kings vs. St. Louis Blues
The Kings have progressed after knocking out last year’s runner-up, the Vancouver Canucks. Kings forward, Dustin Brown’s 5 points in the series (4 goals, 1 assist) along with Jonathan Quick’s vital saves proved too much for the Canucks. The Kings went on to comfortably win the series 4-1.
The St. Louis Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, but they’re proving that this could finally be their year. After an impressive 4-1 series win against the San Jose Sharks, the blues quickly find themselves behind in this series after losing their first game. The Blues will need an offensive performance from Patrik Berglund (3 goals, 4 assists in the first series) if they want to get their Stanley Cup ambitions back on track.
- Current Series: 2-0 Kings
Nashville Predators vs. Phoenix Coyotes
The Predators also had an impressive series with the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings have won the most Stanley Cups (out of the teams based in the states) in the NHL’s history and have made it to the post-season every year since the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. But the Red Wings’ colorful history proved to mean nothing in their series against Nashville. Led by Gabriel Bourque’s 3 series goals and Alexander Radulov’s 4 assists, the Predators took it to the Red Wings in a 4-1 series win.
The Coyotes advanced after an impressive series by goalie Mike Smith. The battle was tight as the first 5 games of the series went to overtime, but it was a solid defensive display by Smith that gave the Coyotes the chance to win the series. Coupled with a great offensive effort from Mikkel Boedker (2 goals, 2 assists), the Coyotes were able to knock out the Hawks in a 4-2 series victory.
- Current Series: 2-0 Coyotes
Eastern Conference
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
The New York Rangers entered the second round after a rather uncomfortable series win against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators pushed the ‘Blue Shirts’ to a vital game 7, but the fans at Madison Square Garden saw their team go through. The Rangers, coined by Bleacher Report as ‘the most complete team left in the playoffs’, were led by goalie Henrik Lundqvist (a.k.a. King Henry). His defensive effort was enough to see off an in-form Jason Spezza (3 goals, 2 assists) and the Senators from Ottawa in a 4-3 series win.
The Washington Capitals, arguably one of the best offensive teams in the Eastern Conference, also needed a game 7 to advance. The Capitals knocked off last year’s Stanley Cup champions, the Boston Bruins. With key saves from net-minder Braden Holtby and the always dangerous captain Alexander Ovechkin working his magic, the Caps were able to drop the old champions in a 4-3 series win.
- Current Series: 1-1 Tied
New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The New Jersey Devils surprised the #3 seed Florida Panthers to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Veteran goalie Martin Brodeur received a handful of support from an offense led by a red-hot Travis Zajac (3 goals, 3 assists). The Panthers came back from a 2-0 deficit in game 7 to tie the game at 2, but the Devils proved too strong as they booked their trip to the second round with a 4-3 series win.
The Philadelphia Flyers surprised many when they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in round one. The story for the Flyers has undoubtedly been headlined by Claude Giroux’s (6 goals, 8 assists) massive scoring contribution. The Flyers found plenty of goals against a Penguins team led by the 2011-2012 NHL points leader, Evgeni Malkin (109 points in season) and their captain Sidney Crosby (3 goals, 5 assists). After a highly offensive series, the Flyers were able to clip the Penguins in a rather comfortable 4-2 series win.
- Current Series: 1-0 Flyers
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