If you love goals, you might want to put the Penguins-Flyers series on “save until delete” status on your DVR. The Western Conference’s semifinals bracket is chock-full of tight-checking teams, with these two intriguing matchups coming down the pike:
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 4. Nashville Predators
It’s strange that three of the top four seeds advanced to the second round yet that foursome seems to defy conventional wisdom. Balmy weather could very well be a factor for three “non-traditional” ice surfaces. The Blues haven’t smelled the first round since 2002. The Coyotes haven’t been to the semifinals since 1987 (when they were the Winnipeg Jets) while the Predators are on their second-ever trip to round two.
In other words, expect a lot of new faces but probably not a ton of goals.
Actually, that brings me to a fun question to get things started: if you could roll with any of the goalies on those four teams, which one would you choose? It’s almost as tough to make that call as it is to score on these squads.