Boston Bruins, winner of the second Stanley Cup in a row

Thomas (left) and Seidenberg (right) - clydeorama - Flickr

Without a doubt, the Boston Bruins will win the 2012 Stanley Cup, becoming the first team after the Detroit Red Wings in 1998 to win two Stanley Cups in a row. With the veteran goalie Tim Thomas and defenseman Zdeno Chara, opposing teams will have difficulty scoring. While their defense is exceptional, their offense will have to improve on finishing their chances, if the Bruins are to win.

The Bruins goalie Thomas was a big factor in the Bruins win of the Stanley Cup last year, and likewise he will be this year. Paired with Chara, it will be tough for opposing teams to score. But we shouldn’t forgot other defenseman Dennis Seidenberg who will also be a big factor. "Zdeno is as good as you'll get as a defenseman, but when it comes to playoff time, Seids isn't that far behind him, if at all," Bruins coach Claude Julien said to ESPN.com.

The offense had great difficulty scoring in the fourth game against the Washington Capitals. With an impressive 45-21 shot advantage over the Capitals, only one of the 45 shots went in, while the Capitals scored two goals out of their 21 shots. "We had so many chances, we just didn't bury them, I think that's the story of today's game. Like I said, we could've had five goals on our line, but we didn't. That's how it is," said David Krejci to Chicagotribune.com.

Center Tyler Seguin had some good opportunities to score in game five against the Capitals, but had difficulty finishing them. But then he turned that around in game six. The game was tied after the third period, but just 3:17 in OT he burst forward, received a pass from Milan Lucic and won the game. He and the others in offense have to keep on doing that. "We need to see a young player like that gain some confidence if we're going to become a better team down the stretch," Julien said to ESPN.com.

This year the Bruins will have a tough time, on account that all teams are after them, considering they won last year. The difference is, this year they have the experience of winning the Cup. "The confidence you get from having won will be important. You can never underestimate the value of the experience. ... Having said all that, it's real tough to repeat so it's going to be a challenge," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said to Huffingtonpost.com.

The Flyers are on their way to the Stanley Cup

Photo of the Flyers celebrating taken from Flickr.com by ambellephoto

The Philadelphia Flyers are on the road to the Stanley Cup, and seem to have a huge possibility of winning it. Although the postseason has just begun, from their outstanding performance, it is likely for the Flyers to make it to the finals. In their series, the Flyers won four to two against the Pittsburgh Penguins allowing them to qualify into the semi-finals.

On April 18, the Flyers encountered the Penguins again, and this time the Penguins brought their A-game. The Penguins delivered great shame to the Flyers after destroying them by scoring ten and allowing the Flyers to score only three. The Flyers had terrible goal tending during this game. Ilya Bryzgalov, allowed four goals out of the 15 shots the Penguins took and the other goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky, allowed five goals on 18 shots. It was obvious that the Flyers were not having the best defensive day.  

The Flyers, who have advanced to the semi-finals, played a marvelous game against the Penguins on Sunday, April 22. The Flyers won this game giving them the opportunity to advance to the semi-finals.They won the game against the Penguins gracefully with a score of five to one. The Flyers dominated the Penguins throughout all periods and left them embarrassed in Philadelphia. The match ended with Brayden Schenn, number ten, scoring for the Flyers. The Flyers showed the fans that they were not going to give up without a fight.  

The Flyers have an amazing lineup. Every line consists of someone who scored 19 or more goals this season. By having a great offensive team they were able to win three consecutive games in their series. The Flyers ability to draw penalties has also assisted them because the Flyers are known for scoring the most power plays in the season. Even though the Flyers have strengths, they also have weaknesses such as their amount of injuries and issues with goal-tending. The injuries of the Flyers have contributed to their losses. Star players such as Chris Pronger and Andrej Meszaros have been injured, but still the Flyers were able to manage. Their issue with goaltending has also contributed to their losses. Bryzgalov, the goalie of the Flyers, had one of the craziest seasons amongst the other players because of his errors. At times it seemed that Bryzgalov was going to lose his position, but he still was able to become one of the top players.

The Flyers are bound to go to the finals and they are definitely going to put up a great fight against their soon to be known competitor. Philadelphia along with many others will be cheering for the Flyers at the Stanley Cup. 

Philly's Flyers soaring to the top

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Danny Briere #48- flickr.com- Rhys Asplundh

With a fantastic win over their cross town rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers are moving quickly to the Stanley Cup finals. The Flyers won the series 4-2. After winning three straight, they lost two and won their last game to move on to the Conference Semi-finals. Their key players have been playing well and their postseason success looks bright.

The Penguins led the season in most points scored and are widely known for their fantastic goal scoring and offensive prowess; they entered the playoffs at a record of 51-25-6. Sidney Crosby, a Penguin center, led the league in assists and is fifth in goals scored. The Flyers are known to have goal tending difficulties which was their downfall after three games. They finished the season at 47-26-9.

The Penguins got out to a great start in game one with a score of 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Flyers came out blazing on the ice and scored three goals to tie it up and send the game to overtime. During overtime, the Flyers scored a goal and won the game 4-3. In game two, the Penguins once again came out the locker rooms to gain an early advantage. At the end of the first period, the Penguins were up 3-1, but by the end of the second, the Flyers tied up the game at four. The third period is where the Flyers rallied and dominated the game. They scored four goals in the third period while the Penguins only scored one. The final score was 8-5 and the Flyers won their second game where the Penguins scored the first goals. At the end of the first two games, the Flyers scored 20 goals, more than enough to cancel out the 12 goals that goalie Ilya Bryzgalov gave up.

Game three was a game of penalties because there was 38 penalties that added up to 158 penalty minutes. Jordan Staal scored almost four minutes into the first period but the Flyers responded and had a 4-2 lead after the first period and a 6-4 advantage after the second. it took Claude Giroux all of 27 seconds to score and give the Flyers a 7-4 lead. Giroux's goal gave him a Gordie Howe hat trick in Game 3 after he had six points in Game 2. Maxime Talbot scored the final goal in the game and the Flyers went on to lead the series 3-0.

Games four and five were both similar in the fact that the Flyers defense did not show up. The defense wasn't there and the high scoring Penguins took advantage of the goalies. In game four, the Penguins outscored the Flyers 10-3, and game five they did it 3-2. The series was tied up 3-2 and the Penguins had a chance to make an upset victory, but the Flyers held out and won the game 5-1 and the series 4-2.

The Flyers are one of three teams to make it to the semifinals so far. They took down the giant Penguins and are on a roll going into the next round. The Flyers were doubted because of their bipolar goal tending abilities. Although they lack defense, they have a lot of offensive weapons that could step up, especially Giroux. "When the best player in the world comes up to you and says, 'I don't know who you plan on starting tonight, but I want that first shift,'" Peter Laviolette, head coach of the Flyers, said, "that says everything you need to know about Claude Giroux." As long as the Flyers can stay away from a lot of penalties, they can make it to the Stanley Cup finals and win the coveted trophy.

In do or die Game six, Rangers show fight, send series to Game seven

The New York Rangers logo - Vipeldo / Flcik

The Rangers had an impressive 51-24 record this season with a lot of help from right wing Marian Gaborik and center Brad Richards. Gaborik and Richards have had a combined 142 points this year with Gaborik being the team’s top goal scorer and Richards having the most team assists. The two have been a huge threat to other teams. The Rangers overall however, are priding themselves on defense. They are 3rd in the league in goals against. 

The New York Rangers over the past few years have been a disappointment in the playoffs. Last year, they were eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals and in 2009 they were eliminated by the Capitals in round one as well, where they blew a three games to one lead. However this year may very well be different. With the Rangers claiming the top seed in the Eastern Conference, they are a favorite to go deep into the playoffs.

However, the Rangers are not blowing away their first round
opponent, the Ottawa Senators. With the series tied at three, the Rangers look to stay alive in the tournament and win the series on Thursday night in Madison Square Garden. This series could have been an entirely different story for the Rangers. They blew a 2-0 lead in Game 4 and have lost both times they faced the Senators in overtime.

The Rangers should be able to win this final game and advance to the second round. They have been the better team throughout the year and although Ottawa has made things interesting, they won't get past the Rangers.

How far will the Boston Bruins go?

As the teams are competing to win the Stanley Cup, NHL fans are in anticipation for who will win the trophy. Based on how they are currently playing, the Boston Bruins will be crowned the champion. Their biggest obstacle right now is Brandon Holtby, the goalie of the Washington Capitals.

Holtby is playing well against the Bruins and on Thursday in the Bruins' loss he made 44 saves and only gave up one shot. However, on Saturday they overcame their difficulties and Tyler Seguin scored the game winner in overtime. They won in overtime with a shot that has low odds of happening again, so they need to have a more aggressive offense. They shouldn't be tripping or hooking their opponents but, keeping the game intensity will put a lot of pressure on Holtby.

With the series tied at 3-3 their next game will have a lot of pressure but, the Bruins have home field advantage they will be playing at TD Garden. If they can encourage themselves and play strong defensively like they did last Saturday, they can surpass the Capitals and move farther into the Stanley Cup.

Final Four 2012 predictions

Kentucky logo - Flickr - Tach_RedGold&Green

With the final week of March is approaching, many NCAA fans are in anticipation for who will be crowned the champion of the NCAA tournament. The Kentucky Wildcats will win the competition by beating Ohio State Buckeyes. They have a great shooting average of 49.2%, the highest of the Final Four. Another reason is because earned their spot in the tournament with a record of 32-2.

Their forward Anthony Davis will be the key player in these games, with an average of 14.3 points per game with a 63.3% shooting percentage so far. Of all the competing teams, Davis has the highest shooting percentage and it will definitely be a big factor in Kentucky’s road to being the champion.

The Kentucky Wildcats are going to win!

The Kentucky Wildcats from Flickr.com by

Tach_RedGold&Green

The Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Kansas State have advanced to the Final Four. According to their present performance, it seems that the Wildcats are on their way to winning the National College Athletics Association. The Wildcats are now in first place with a record of 32 wins and two losses.

The arch-rival of the Wildcats is Louisville, which is now in fourth place. The Wildcats played against Louisville on December 31st, with Kentucky coming out on top 69-62. In this game Anthony Davis was a key player. Davis is number 23 and is a freshman in the NCAA. Against Louisville he scored 18 points and 11 rebounds. Davis averaged 14.3 points per game and ten rebounds per game. Now since the Wildcats have advanced even farther they have to face Louisville once again. Ray Glier noted Coach John Calipari saying, “I’m not worried about who we’re playing.” Kentucky is definitely on their way into earning another championship.