Eastern Conference Quarterfinal

 

Season Series (New Jersey 1-0-1)

 

Leading Scorers
  • RW Evgeni Malkin (82 GP, 27 G, 48 A, 75 PTS)
  • C Jason Spezza (79 GP, 31 G, 43 A, 74 PTS)
  • C Marc Savard (82 GP, 22 G, 50 A, 72 PTS)
  • LW Justin Williams (82 GP, 27 G, 41 A, 68 PTS)
  • LW Kyle Calder (82 GP, 31 G, 36 A, 67 PTS)
  • RW Jarome Iginla (82 GP, 27 G, 40 A, 67 PTS)
  • C Bryan Smolinski (79 GP, 19 G, 45 A, 64 PTS)
  • LW Tony Amonte (81 GP, 26 G, 35 A, 61 PTS)
  • C Chris Drury (82 GP, 24 G, 36 A, 60 PTS)
  • RW Brian Gionta (82 GP, 25 G, 33 A, 58 PTS)

 

Special Teams
  • Power Play - 13.9 % (t-20th in NsHL)
  • Penalty Kill - 81.0 % (29th in NsHL)
  • Power Play - 13.0 % (t-25th in NsHL)
  • Penalty Kill - 85.2 % (11th in NsHL)

 

Keys to the Series

FLORIDA PANTHERS

  • Big money defensemen. Sergei Zubov and Ed Jovanovski will have to play superb hockey in the playoffs for the upstart Panthers. The Panthers will have one of the two on the ice just about all game long. Florida isn't an overly experienced team, and these two leaders will have to be difference makers for the Cats.
  • Special teams. Florida is in the bottom third of the league in both specialties, and they will need to be better to win this series. They have more than enough talent to ice a dangerous power play, but the penalty kill will be where the Panthers really need to upgrade their play. We mentioned the Panthers lack of experience as a whole, but along with the above mentioned defensemen the Panthers are also experienced in net. They will need to rely heavily on that experience to keep themselves in the series.
  • Evgeni Malkin. The league's top scoring rookie will be under the microscope as he gets his first taste of playoff hockey. The Devils have been here a time or two, and they know all about shuting down premier players. Malkin has been great for the Panthers this year, but the playoffs are a different animal. Young Malkin will have to produce for the Panthers to move on.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

  • Puck control. The Devils are a different than what we saw at this time a year ago. They aren't as explosive offensively, and will have to minimize turnovers, especially in the neutral zone. The Panthers have a dangerous group up front, and they can counter-strike with the best in the NsHL. The Devils would do themselves well to get the puck deep and get the cycle going.
  • Pucks to the net. Not only do the Devils need to keep possesion, but they need to fire a lot of rubber at the Florida cage. The Devils are at their best when they get traffic going to the net. They need to shoot the puck and bang away at rebounds in front. Jarome Iginla and Chris Drury will be looked upon to up their play, and they should be firing away.
  • Avoid complacency. That may seem like an odd thing to say about a seven seed, but the Devils sport a roster full of playoff vets going up against a largely inexperienced team in Florida. It may seem like just another playoff series for New Jersey, but that kind of play against young, energetic teams gets you no where in a hurry. The Devils need to be ready to go out of the gate.

 

And the winner is...

In our opinion, this is the most intriguing series in the East. These teams seem like polar opposites heading in, which makes for some exciting puck. The Panthers will have to play smart and keep their emotions in check. The Devils will need to play with some edge. We think this series will go the distance.

Devils in seven games.