2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs Preview: Conf. Semifinals

Gone are Stanley Cup champions of the past four years (Detroit, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston), as well as a two-time Presidents' Trophy winner (Vancouver), a two-time conference finalist (San Jose), and a pair of teams with little playoff history to tell (Florida, Ottawa). Now it's down to the final eight, and only four will advance to conference finals, for the right to earn the Campbell and Prince of Wales trophies. Here are the four second-round matchups, again with a story to tell.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) New York Rangers vs. (7) Washington Capitals

Regular Season: Series tied 2-2

Twice in the past three seasons the Capitals have eliminated the Rangers in the playoffs' first round, winning in seven in '09 and five in '11. They were all set to meet in the first round this year, until the Caps beat the Rangers in the final day to face the Bruins instead. And the Caps shocked the erstwhile champions with a physical, checking defense that is synonymous to the team's coach and franchise legend Dale Hunter. Now they have a chance to dispose another high-caliber opponent in the Rangers, who barely squeaked past the Senators in the first round.

Under Bruce Boudreau, Alex Ovechkin thrived in the free-flowing style of play. However, Hunter has sat him down in crucial stretches, to give way to grittier, physical players. The approach worked as Washington ousted the defending champion Bruins with their defense. Braden Holtby broke out in the Boston series, as he outplayed Tim Thomas. Now he faces another Vezina-worthy vet in Henrik Lundqvist, who will try to erase the Capital curse that eluded him in the past. The line of Carl Hagelin, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards against Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom will be a good first line matchup, while top defensive roles will be played by defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi against Mike Green and Dennis Wideman. Both teams are also deep beyond the first line, which underscores the fact that both teams use 'we' instead of 'I' in their approach. The Rangers are hoping for redemption, while the Capitals are hungry for a breakthrough.

(5) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (6) New Jersey Devils

Regular Season: Series tied 3-3

The last time Martin Brodeur faced the Flyers in the playoffs, he was outplayed by Brian Boucher, in what should have been a winnable series two years ago. Since then the Flyers had a revolving door of goalies, from Boucher to Sergei Bobrovsky to Michael Leighton. Now comes Ilya Bryzgalov, whose playoff futility with the Coyotes has been well-documented. In this year's playoffs, Bryzgalov wasn't himself in a high-scoring series with Pittsburgh, but stepped up in the Game 6 clincher. With the two teams resuming hostilities in the Stanley Cup race, can the 39-year old Brodeur redeem himself against a fired-up Bryzgalov?

Goalie battles aside, this should be a battle between two teams willing to mix it up physically. The new 'Broad Street Bullies' against the trapping and clogging Devils know how to play with blood. Claude Giroux outplayed both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and now will try to do the same against the Devils' trio of Zach Parise, Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk. If Giroux fails, look for Jaromir Jagr, Scott Hartnell and Danny Briere to do the same. The Flyers also received a boost from their rookies Sean Couturier, Brayden Schenn and Matt Read, and along with Wayne Simmonds and James van Riemsdyk, they will again play key roles in the series. On the other hand, New Jersey will counter with Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique, Steve Bernier, Ryan Carter and Stephen Gionta to do the same. The Devils look to give Brodeur a sweeter ending, while the Flyers look to recapture the magic of 2010 and hope to translate that to a third Stanley Cup.

(2) St. Louis Blues vs. (8) Los Angeles Kings

Regular Season: Los Angeles won 3-1

Defense is their calling card, especially of their goalies. Jonathan Quick is, quick, while the two-headed monster in Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak are an opposing coach's nightmare. The Blues finished second because of their two goalies' impressive performances and their trap-door defense. While the Kings' defense was strong as well, they finished eighth because of poor scoring. Still, they were able to shut down Vancouver's free-flowing offense, and Quick was the reason why they sent the Presidents' Trophy winners home. Now what to do for an encore against the Blues?

Dustin Brown led the Kings' scoring attack in the opening round, even scoring two shorties in Game 2. Again he will play a key role, and will be supported by the likes of Dustin Penner, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll. The Blues' first line of David Perron, T.J. Oshie and David Backes struggled against the Sharks, but they compensated that with key offensive contributions from Andy McDonald, Patrik Berglund and Alex Steen. The Kings' defense corps, led by Rob Scuderi, Drew Doughty, Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell, didn't do too well against the Canucks, and again will be a problem against the Blues' defense crew, led by Alex Pietrangelo, Barrett Jackman, Kevin Shattenkirk and Roman Polak. Both are hungry for their first Stanley Cup, and all eyes will be on the goalie matchup to see which team goes farthest.

(3) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (4) Nashville Predators

Regular Season: Series tied 2-2

Shane Doan and the Phoenix Coyotes enter uncharted waters, reaching the second round for the first time in the desert. Doan has been through eight playoff series with the Jets/Coyotes franchise, and has not won any until this year, when they best the Blackhawks in six games. Now they face a team that won just their second playoff series, and both are raring to advance to the conference finals for the first time ever.

Age against youth will be the story of the series: The Coyotes' old crew vs. the Predators' young guns. The Predators' youth will be led by Gabriel Bourque, Alexander Radulov, the Kostitsyn siblings Andrei and Sergei, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. The Predators' veterans in David Legwand, Paul Gaustad, Hal Gill, Mike Fisher and Martin Erat will also lend a helping hand in giving the youngsters experience. Doan, Ray Whitney, Adrian Aucoin, Radim Vrbata, Daymond Langkow, and Taylor Pyatt will lead the aging Desert Dogs to action, and will be supported by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, Keith Yandle, Martin Hanzal and Antoine Vermette. On goal, Mike Smith facing Pekka Rinne will be an interesting matchup. Rinne is a Vezina candidate this year who shut down the Red Wings' prolific offense the first time around, while Smith broke out free after spending time as backup with the Lightning last year. Both have something to prove, as they look to tow their respective teams to the conference finals for the first time. It is going to be a tough series that is too close to call. 

Hockey's Presidential Problem

Every year the NHL presents the Presidents' Trophy for the team with the most points accumulated in the regular season. That was the practice since the 1985-86 season. It doesn't mean, however, that the winner would have a better chance to win the Stanley Cup, as evidenced by six Presidents' Trophy-winning teams that failed to even win a series in the playoffs. 

1990-91 Chicago Blackhawks

49-23-8 (106)

lost 4-2 to the Minnesota North Stars

The Blackhawks had talent all over. The team led by Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Steve Larmer and goalie Ed Belfour, and coached by the legendary Mike Keenan were a defensive menace all year, allowing just 211 goals. However, their success didn't translate to the playoffs, where they fell to the North Stars team that peaked in time for their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. One year later, the Blackhawks made up for their early exit by winning 11 straight en route to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they were swept by the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Both Larmer and Keenan went on to win the Stanley Cup with the 1993-94 New York Rangers, also Presidents' Trophy winners, while Belfour won the Cup with the now-relocated Dallas Stars in 1999.

1999-2000 St. Louis Blues

51-19-11-1 (114)

lost 4-3 to the San Jose Sharks

Over a decade before the Blues returned to prominence, the millennium edition of the Blues tanked at the most opportune time, losing to the San Jose Sharks in the first round. Like this year's Blues, the 1999-2000 team was built as a defensive machine, allowing only 165 goals that year. The team was coached by Joel Quenneville, and was captained by Chris Pronger, with efficient goaltending from Roman Turek and scoring from Pavol Demitra and Pierre Turgeon. The following year, the Blues made up for it by defeating the aforementioned Sharks in six games en route to the conference finals, losing to the eventual Cup winners Colorado Avalanche in five games. Quenneville later won the Cup with the 2010 Blackhawks.

2005-06 Detroit Red Wings

58-16-8 (124)

lost 4-2 to the Edmonton Oilers

Two years before winning the Stanley Cup, the Red Wings were sent home packing earlier than expected by the Edmonton Oilers, who went on to make the Stanley Cup Finals. The Red Wings were strong on both ends, finishing 2nd on both goals scored (305) and goals allowed (209). The core of the team would remain together two years later, as they won the Presidents' Trophy for the sixth time, and then redeemed themselves by winning their 11th Cup. The team, which was coached by Mike Babcock, were led by the aging Steve Yzerman, and the aforementioned core of Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Kris Draper. Manny Legace and Chris Osgood manned the pipes.

2008-09 San Jose Sharks

53-18-11 (117)

lost 4-2 to the Anaheim Ducks

The Sharks of recent years have been Cup contenders, anchored by Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski, whose offensive prowess can't be overlooked. However, the 2008-09 team may be the most disappointing of them all. Despite earning 117 points, the Sharks were unexpectedly ousted by their cross-state rivals Anaheim Ducks, who were two years removed from a Stanley Cup win. And how about this: Jeremy Roenick was a part of another Presidents' Trophy winner that didn't even advance farther than expected. Roenick then retired after the season, without a Cup ring to show for. As for the Sharks, they made up for it by advancing to the conference finals the next two years, losing to Chicago and Vancouver, respectively. But this year's team, led by the aforementioned Thornton line, underachieved and finished only seventh, and were easily ousted by the Blues in the first round.

2009-10 Washington Capitals

54-15-13 (121)

lost 4-3 to the Montreal Canadiens

The Washington Capitals were an offensive juggernaut in the 2009-10 season, anchored by the top line of Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Nicklas Backstrom. But they couldn't pour it on when it mattered the most, losing to the Habs in a heart-breaking Game 7 at Verizon Center. The Capitals led 3-1 in the series, but they went 0 for 3 in closing out the Habs, mostly due to Jaroslav Halak outplaying the inexperienced Semyon Varlamov. Things did improve a bit for the Caps, reaching the second round the next year before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. But after a 7-0 start in the 2011-12 season, they slumped so bad that they fired coach Bruce Boudreau and hired Caps legend Dale Hunter, who somehow led them to the playoffs. Hunter, himself a hard-hitting player back in the day, instilled a more physical, hitting approach to his Capitals and it showed during this year's playoff series with the Boston Bruins.

2011-12 Vancouver Canucks

51-22-9 (111)

lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings

They won the Presidents' Trophy the year before, and came just one game short of their first Stanley Cup. They came back wiser and more motivated, and won the trophy a second time. However, after just five games, their Stanley Cup dream was crashed by the Los Angeles Kings, who lost on the final day of the season to earn a playoff date with the Canucks. Twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin anchored the top line, along with Alexandre Burrows, while Roberto Luongo and a much-improved Cory Schneider manned the pipes. However, a late-season concussion to Daniel Sedin, as well as coach Alain Vigneault's questionable decision to start Luongo instead of Schneider (who was overmatched in last year's Stanley Cup Finals) hastened their downfall. The Canucks now face an offseason of uncertainty, as they attempt to solve 'what went wrong'.

The Presidents' Trophy is indeed a big prize won by the best regular season team. But the Stanley Cup is the real deal, for any hope of winning the Cup hinges on sustained excellence, something which doesn't happen too often.