NHL First Round Playoff Matchups- Jojo Maass!

NHL First Round Playoff Matchups

With the regular season over and the playoffs set to start Tuesday let’s look at the first round matchups.

Eastern Conference

New York Rangers (1) vs Ottawa Senators (8)

Now since the Tampa Bay Lightning failed to qualify for the playoffs my next favorite team is the Rangers, so take this with a grain of salt. Ottawa is electric on offense, scoring plenty of goals but they also allow their fair share. The Rangers coached by a real mans man John Tortorella have one of the top two goalies in the league, Henrik Lundqvist. As well as proven winner and previous Conn Smyth winner Brad Richards. A great blend of scoring and gritt the Rangers should move on to the next round with relative ease.

Rangers in 6

Boston Bruins (2) vs Washington Capitals (7)

It’s true, I’m no fan of the Boston Bruins after they won razor thin heart breaker in the Eastern Conference Finals game seven last year but this series shouldn’t even be close. Washington unfortunately is missing the top two goalies on its roster. Unless one of the two make a recovery soon this series is over before it starts. Boston scores at will and physically abused opposing teams. Suck it, Ovechkin.

Bruins in 5

Florida Panther (3) vs New Jersey Devils (6)

The Panthers are having a bit of a goaltending controversy heading into the playoffs. Trying to decide whether to start Scott Clemmensen or Jose Theodore. On the other side New Jersey has Martin Brodeur on the back end of a HOF career. Considering the regular season series was split two-two it remains an interesting series. The Devils riding a hot streak and the Panthers limping in it should be fun to watch.

Devils in 6

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Philadelphia Flyers (5)

This series should prove to be the most interesting if not the most anticipated. These teams hate each other no doubt about it. Pittsburgh’s offense is near unstoppable. Led by two of the top players in the league, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Flyers have their top tier players as well Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell both have been great all season long. The Penguins have an amazing offense that as far as I can tell can’t be contained but if any team is going to hope to do it it will be the edgy play of the Flyers who also have balanced scoring.

Pittsburgh in 7

Western Conference

Vancouver Canucks(1) vs Los Angeles Kings (8)

Vancouver is the better team on paper. This series comes down to if Jonathan Quick can steal enough games. I don’t think that will happen.

Canucks in 6

St Louis Blues (2) vs San Jose Sharks (7)

My love for Dan Boyle is well documented and also I need a sweep so here it goes. The Blues aren’t flashy on offense but boast a great defense and goaltending. The Sharks have plenty of playoff experience but haven’t made it to the big dance.

Sharks in 4

Phoenix Coyotes (3) vs Chicago Blackhawks (6)

I’m pulling for Mike Smith in this series. The guy was hot and cold in Tampa Bay but has played near lights out for Phoenix. Although Pheonix does have that SON OF A BITCH Radim Vrbata… The Blackhawks would like to have Jonathan Toews back for the playoffs but it won’t matter

Coyotes in 7

Nashville Predators (4) vs Detroit Red Wings (5)

This should be a fun series. Both have solid defense and goaltending. The Red Wings are obviously as playoff tested as any team in the league. It’s hard to bet against the Wings.

Detroit in 6

LeGarrette Blount by JoJo Maass

All it takes is a quick internet search or picking up a news paper to read Bucs fans and reporters in the Tampa Bay area hating on running back LeGarrette Blount for a number of reasons. Complaints such as he isn’t smart enough to learn the playbook or how to pass block, he can’t catch, he dances in the hole, fumbles too much and the list goes on. Now, I have no intention of defending these issues because I’ve made the same complaints. With that being said the guy can be a very productive back and has been.

People saying he can’t catch or be productive in the passing game are basing that on how he was used and not on what he can do. In 2011 Blount was able to catch 15 passes for 148 yards which isn’t going to turn any heads but of those 15 passes 6 were converted for first downs. That’s a better first down average than the Bucs main pass catching running back Kregg Lumpkin who converted 13 of his 41 receptions into first downs.

Another complaint about Blount is how bad he is in short yardage situations. He dances looking to bounce outside rather than blasting through the hole. It’s true and I’ve seen and complained about it as well. However, last season Blount averaged 2.9 yards per carry after contact, so he has the ability to break tackles and make people miss. It’s pretty clear that the previous coaching staff didn’t run a tight ship with the numerous reports of players arriving to meetings late (and some even sleeping) it’s possible with solid coaching Blount can become a better short yardage running back.

Blount obviously has a fumbling issue. As a professional running back you can’t fumble the ball every 45 touches and expect to be trusted. Some of Blount’s fumbles come on the second effort where he has the ball stripped away. No fumble is acceptable and as Bucs Coach Greg Schiano has already said anyone who can’t protect the ball won’t get touches. Other running backs in the past have had fumbling issue and have found ways to correct the issue. For example Adrian Peterson over the first three years of his career fumbled every 49th time he touched the ball but since has fumbled only twice. That’s a fumble for every 272 touches. It’s conceivable if the proper attention he placed on ball security he could improve this area of his game. If Blount doesn’t cut down on the fumbles the Bucs could lose one of their best offensive weapons.

With Greg Schiano repeatedly saying he wants to run the ball and go over the top with play action passes it would be hard to imagine not having Blount get the majority of the carries for a Bucs team that lacks depth at the running back position. Maybe Blount will never be an every down back or the fantasy leader in running back receptions but he doesn’t need to be. If Blount can run full steam ahead and limit his fumbles he is clearly in for a big year running behind a good offensive line.