|
NEW JERSEY |
VS. |
CAROLINA |
|
|
|
|
|
43-30-7 |
|
36-32-12 |
|
93 Pts |
|
84
Pts |
|
3rd in East |
|
6th
in East |
|
REGULAR SEASON STATS |
||
|
12.4% (25th) |
PP% |
18.8% (1st) |
|
90.6% (1st) |
PK% |
85.3% (16th) |
|
17.3 (17th) |
PIM/G |
18.0 (12th) |
|
3.21 (6th) |
GF/G |
3.31 (4th) |
|
2.62 (6th) |
GA/G |
3.15 (22nd) |
|
27.9 (10th) |
SF/G |
28.2 (7th) |
|
25.2 (7th) |
SA/G |
27.1 (15th) |
|
TOP 3 POINT SCORERS |
||
|
C Sundin (37-48-85) |
1 |
C Morrison (23-50-73) |
|
LW Kariya (29-55-84) |
2 |
RW Williams (29-39-68) |
|
C Peca (28-40-68) |
3 |
C Legwand (29-32-61) |
|
TOP 3 GOAL SCORERS |
||
|
C Sundin (37) |
1 |
RW Williams (29) |
|
LW Kariya (29) |
2 |
C Legwand (29) |
|
C Peca (28) |
3 |
LW Sturm (27) |
|
TOP 3 PLUS/MINUS |
||
|
D Hatcher +34 |
1 |
LW Sturm +11 |
|
C Peca +33 |
2 |
LW Ott +11 |
|
D Chelios +27 |
3 |
RW Novoseltsev +4 |
|
TOP GOALTENDER |
||
|
Turco |
|
Biron |
|
2.57 |
GAA |
2.91 |
|
.898 |
SV% |
.891 |
|
32-25-6 |
W-L-T |
28-24-6 |
|
1 |
SO |
4 |
|
SEASON
SERIES STATS |
||
|
New Jersey Wins Series 2-0-0 |
||
|
NJD, 4 |
CAR, 1 |
|
|
NJD, 3 |
CAR, 1 |
|
|
TEAM STATS |
||
|
0% |
PP% |
0% |
|
100% |
PK% |
100% |
|
8 |
PIM/G |
16 |
|
3.5 |
GF/G |
1 |
|
1 |
GA/G |
3.5 |
|
31 |
SF/G |
21.5 |
|
21.5 |
SA/G |
31 |
|
TOP 3 POINT SCORERS |
||
|
LW Kariya (2-1-3) |
1 |
LW Cleary (1-1-2) |
|
D Kalinin (2-0-2) |
2 |
C Morrison (0-1-1) |
|
RW McCarthy (1-1-2) |
3 |
D Van Ryn (1-0-1) |
|
BREAKDOWN |
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|
New Jersey has the very
clear advantage in this aspect of the series, as they do in most. Mats
Sundin, Peter Bondra, Mike Peca, and Andrew Cassels are all top-notch players
and will likely score their points no matter what. The key for Carolina is to
prevent the second wave of attacks from this New Jersey squad from killing
them. Jan Hlavac, Brian Gionta, and Sergei Berezin all need to be held in
check if Carolina is to have any hope. However, I think it is very likely
that at least one of those players will break out and score a decent amount
of points. Mats Sundin is really the pivotal player in this series and he
needs to be productive. Peter Bondra needs to score in bunches like he can as
well. Paul Kariya must maintain a sense of urgency and play to the best of
his abilities. |
|
Carolina
has a great mix of forwards, but they lack the big name forward that can take
a playoff series on his shoulders and deliver clutch goals and big plays.
Justin Williams, Marco Sturm, and Brendan Morrison are all great second line
players. However, the problem lies in the fact that Carolina doesn’t have any
legitimate first line caliber forwards. While this may not present a huge
concern, it’s still something to watch out for as the series moves along.
Carolina is going to have to get fantastic play out of the three forwards
that I mentioned if they’re going to be able to score on a consistent basis. |
|
DEFENSE |
||
|
The defense is the only cause
of concern for the New Jersey Devils as far as I’m concerned. As great as
they are and as many big names are on the blueline, they are quite old big
names. Derian Hatcher, Al MacInnis, and Chris Chelios are all proven playoff
warriors but that was a decade ago. Will they still have enough left in the
tank for this series or are they all tapped out? I’m not really sure and it’s
impossible to tell before the games start. This aspect of the series is going
to be one of the most important because if they don’t get strong play from
their defense, New Jersey is going to have trouble preventing Carolina from
getting the early jump with all those energy forwards they have. |
|
This
team appears to have concentrated more on mobility and offense than they have
on defense, and that approach could prove to be costly to them unless these
players step up their game a considerable amount. Jordan Leopold, Nick
Boynton, and Andrei Zyuzin are all going to have to play a tight defensive
game if they have any hopes of competing with this New Jersey Devils attack.
New Jersey has quite a few offensive weapons that are going to have to be
negated, and this defense doesn’t appear to be physical enough to endure that
type of attack. Barret Jackman is a great start, but he can’t play the entire
game and it’s going to present match up problems for this Hurricanes squad. |
|
NJD PP vs. CAR PK |
||
|
Carolina has a fabulous
penalty kill just as New Jersey has a fantastic power play. However, I think
the slight edge goes to the Carolina power play due to the fact that they
seem to have more energy forwards and penalty kill specialists where New
Jersey tends to not have that many power play specialists on their second
unit. With Derian Hatcher and Andrew Ferrence on the back end of that second
unit, it’s going to be hard for them to be productive. It all starts and ends
on the blueline with your power play and it’s going to be hard for New Jersey
to adjust once the in your face style of Carolina gets set on the idea of
preventing them from scoring. |
|
Carolina
has a very intense penalty killing scheme that should work wonders in the
playoffs no matter how skilled the New Jersey attack is. Brendan Morrison and
Jason Blake are both world-class penalty killers and will provide match up
problems for the New Jersey forwards as well. Look for this match to be one
that heavily favors Carolina, as they have quite a few penalty killing
specialists that know how to get the job done and can be very productive in
the playoffs. However, any power play with Sundin, Kariya, and Bondra is a
force to be reckoned with. Don’t be surprised if this match up can flop just
as easy in the other direction. |
|
CAR PP vs. NJD PK |
||
|
New Jersey shouldn’t have
a big time problem with taking this power play out of the game if they get
their mind set on doing that. Carolina doesn’t have a top tier forward that
can raise his game to a new level and New Jersey has plenty of defenseman
that are capable of negating a power play. Derian Hatcher is going to have to
come up large for this New Jersey penalty kill and I’m sure he has what it
takes to do it. He’s a defensive defenseman first and foremost, and that is
going to be his job in this series. The edge goes to the New Jersey penalty
kill in this scenario. It’s hard to discount the fact that New Jersey has the
intensity on defense to stop this attack. |
|
As
was said earlier, Carolina doesn’t really have a first line caliber forward
that can lead a power play. They also don’t have a legitimate attack on the
power play in terms of being a constant threat in this situation. New Jersey
has a tight group of penalty killing defenseman that are going to present
problems for Carolina and allowing them to enter the zone. New Jersey plays
an intense trapping style game and Carolina is going to have problems getting
their forwards in deep enough in this type of play to be productive. On
Carolina’s first unit are players like Marco Sturm and Brendan Morrison, who
are fantastic two way players, but don’t have what it takes to be on a first
unit in my opinion. New Jersey should have a pretty decent handle on this
Carolina attack. |
|
GOALTENDING |
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|
Marty Turco is one of the
best goaltenders in the entire CTCHL. That much isn’t up for debate. However,
I have this feeling that he is going to be vulnerable to a very strong attack
if the Carolina Hurricanes can put one together. With young backup Dan
Blackburn, it’s pretty much Turco or nothing and I think that pressure on
Turco is going to cause him to overplay his hand. Turco is a fantastic
goaltender and will likely have a great career in this league, but I’m
predicting a choke from him in this playoff year. However, New Jersey still
has the edge pretty much by default. |
|
Martin
Biron has had a very up and down year this season, posting an almost even
record. With the playoffs coming up, it’s going to be a thing to watch for.
Going against Marty Turco, it should be interesting to see how Biron
does. If there is one area that the
Carolina Hurricanes can exploit, it’s the play in the nets for New Jersey.
Hurme is the backup in Carolina and I wouldn’t put it outside the realm of
possibility that Hurme could see some action in this playoff year before it
is all said and done. Carolina has a question mark in this area, and it’s
likely that New Jersey knows that. |
|
COACHING |
||
|
Tony Granato is young and
inexperienced at the coaching position for New Jersey. This is perhaps their
biggest weakness. Granato isn’t far enough removed from being a player to
command the type of respect that he needs to command and I think it’s going
to cause New Jersey to have some match up problems against Paul Maurice and a
more experience attack. The advantage is clearly defined here for Carolina
but it probably won’t be enough to make a huge difference in the series. |
|
Paul
Maurice knows what it’s like to take a team all the way to the Stanley Cup
Finals. He also knows what it’s like to take a Cinderella team this far. Will
he be able to do it again? I’m thinking there isn’t a very good chance of
that. However, whenever you’re dealing with a coach that has been there and
done that, it’s interesting to watch how he handles himself and what new
schemes he can make up. New Jersey has historically had trouble dealing with
Carolina, so it should be interesting to watch. |
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PREDICTION |
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