Second Round Preview in the Pool

On Thursday night, the second round of the NHL playoffs kicks off with the Vancouver Canucks playing host to the Nashville Predators.

In the season series, the Canucks and Predators split their four meetings, 2-2-0, winning a game at home and one on the road.

In the pool, the Canucks have a distinct advantage of favour, having 94% of their possible selections to the Predators' 23%.  Daniel Sedin is the most popular player in the pool, taken 54 out of 76 times, while the entire Nashville team has 53 selections in total, Cody Franson leading the way with 10 picks.

The leading point-getter out of the first round between these two teams is Roberto Luongo, who finished with 10 points in the seven game series against the Blackhawks.  The Predators leading point-getter in the pool is Pekka Rinne, who finished with 9 points.

Key injuries: Nashville was still missing Martin Erat to an upper-body injury in Game Seven, which he suffered when he was hit by the the Ducks' Jarkko Ruutu, but it sounds like he'll be good to go for Game One on Thursday night.  Colin Wilson continues to sit for the Predators, as I have him listed as a healthy scratch, likely because of his age.  I don't expect this to change.  The Canucks lost the services of Sami Salo in Game Six against the Blackhawks, a lower-body injury, said to be a leg injury and he is not expected to be in the line-up for Game One.

The other Western Conference series sees the Detroit Red Wings take their veteran act into San Jose to take on the offensive juggernaut Sharks.  This series will be the late game on Friday night.

The Sharks took the season series, going 3-1-0 against the Red Wings, losing one tilt at home.

In the pool, the Sharks hold a slight edge in the selections, having picked up 80% of their possible picks, compared to the Red Wings and their 75%.  Joe Pavelski leads all Sharks in picks going into this series with 42 teams taking his name in Box 5, while the bulk of the Red Wings support comes from Dan Cleary in Box 7, who picked up 34 selections.

The top pool player in the first round between these two teams was Jimmy Howard, who finished with 8 points in the round, which is a low total between two teams, but that's just the way it worked out.  The Sharks were led by Joe Thornton and Ryane Clowe, who each finished with 7 points in the opening round against the Kings.

Key injuries: The Red Wings have not seen Henrik Zetterberg in their line-up yet in these playoffs and they were without Johan Franzen for the last game against the Coyotes, but it sounds like both players will be good to go for when they open the series on Friday night.  For San Jose, all 12 players on the selection sheet are good to open up the series on Friday and should expect to do so.

A Southeast Division series will also get started in the early game on Friday night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning will match their offensive wits against the newly-formed defensive prowess of the Washington Capitals.

The Capitals won four of the six games in the regular season series against the Lightning and they will have home-ice advantage as well, so it could be an uphill climb for Tampa.

The Capitals have a decided advantage in the hockey pool as well, as they have 83% of their possible selections this year, while the Lightning only mustered 54%.  An upset in this series would probably turn the tides in the standings quite significantly.  Alex Ovechkin is not surprisingly the most popular player in this series, taking 48 selections out of 76, while Simon Gagne has 19 selections as the most popular Lightning player.

In terms of points, Michal Neuvirth and Dwayne Roloson each posted 4 wins and a shutout for 10 points in the first round of the playoffs, leading their respective teams in that department.  Neither goaltender was too popular in the pool, but Neuvirth did edge this match-up, 9-2.

Key injuries: The Lightning are going into this series with all 12 players on their side healthy, while the Capitals  finished the series with Dennis Wideman and Mike Knuble on the shelf, while losing Mike Green again in the last game.  Wideman is not expected to return in this series, as he hasn't skated as much as he may have liked, Knuble should come back in this series, but his return is still undetermined offiically, while Green should be good to go for Game One on Friday.

Saturday afternoon will see the start of the roughest series of the four, in my estimation, as the Bruins will head into Philadelphia to take on the Flyers.  Lots of pride on the line in this series, I'm sure.

The Bruins were the better team in the regular season, winning three times against the Flyers, but the Flyers have all the bragging rights, still holding onto the 3-0 comeback in last year's playoffs.

This series looks awfully close on the selection sheet, as the Bruins hold a 88% to 79% advantage in picks in the pool over the Flyers.  Tim Thomas is the most popular player in this series, taken 47 times in Box 24, while Daniel Briere is the most popular player for the Flyers, taken 37 times in Box 16.

The highest scoring player between the two teams through the first round was Claude Giroux, who led Box 15 with 9 points in seven games over the Sabres, while Thomas was the highest scoring Bruin with 8 points in the seven game series with the Canadiens, making him the only popular player on his team, also leading his team in points.  At least the pool got it right once out of these eight teams.

Key injuries: The Flyers are now only missing Jeff Carter from their line-up, who is currently out with a minor knee knock and the word for him is that he's still day-to-day with the injury.  I would imagine that he will be returning at some point in this series.  The Bruins appear to be completely healthy going into this series, so that's good news for them.