Post by TSN on May 22, 2006 14:19:49 GMT -5
I'm Dave Hodge reporting with TSN, it's that time again, the long adventure through the regular season has come to an end, and the playoffs are once again ready to begin. I'm going to fill you in on some of my predictions, here's what I think about these upcomming playoff matchups;
Jets vs. Bandits
3 out of the 4 games between these two teams went into overtime, with the Jets winning 2 of those games. The story throughout the entire regular season for the Jets this year has been inconsistancy, after a brilliant start taking the SHL by storm, the Jets struggled to hover at around 500. Thanks to a power surge at the end of the season, the Jets find themselves in the playoffs.
The Bandits have been the complete opposite. After a rough start and a new GM 2 weeks into the season, the Bandits turned it around, dominating the rest of the season. The Bandits would eventually go on to win the coveted Presidents' Trophy, as they now prepare for their big first round playoff series against the Jets.
It's hard to say any team has momentum right now as both teams finished off the season in winning fashion, but if I had to pick I would say the Jets have the most momentum; the Bandits havn't played in a meaningful game in the last week and a half and it'll be interesting to see if they can adjust to the tempo that the Jets are at.
When we look at the goaltenders, they appear to be virtually even, no this series will not come down to goaltending. The forwards also appear to be virtually even as we will see 2 of the league's premier players go against each other in Boyer and Newman. The Jets will need Lyzohirkaa to step up, and the Bandits will need Williams to step up. All of this aside, the difference in this series will be defense. The Bandits have the most dominating defense in the entire league, and the Jets defense has struggled to say the least. In a series that features two high powered offenses, look for the defense to be the difference, I'll take the Bandits in 6.
Jets vs. Bandits
3 out of the 4 games between these two teams went into overtime, with the Jets winning 2 of those games. The story throughout the entire regular season for the Jets this year has been inconsistancy, after a brilliant start taking the SHL by storm, the Jets struggled to hover at around 500. Thanks to a power surge at the end of the season, the Jets find themselves in the playoffs.
The Bandits have been the complete opposite. After a rough start and a new GM 2 weeks into the season, the Bandits turned it around, dominating the rest of the season. The Bandits would eventually go on to win the coveted Presidents' Trophy, as they now prepare for their big first round playoff series against the Jets.
It's hard to say any team has momentum right now as both teams finished off the season in winning fashion, but if I had to pick I would say the Jets have the most momentum; the Bandits havn't played in a meaningful game in the last week and a half and it'll be interesting to see if they can adjust to the tempo that the Jets are at.
When we look at the goaltenders, they appear to be virtually even, no this series will not come down to goaltending. The forwards also appear to be virtually even as we will see 2 of the league's premier players go against each other in Boyer and Newman. The Jets will need Lyzohirkaa to step up, and the Bandits will need Williams to step up. All of this aside, the difference in this series will be defense. The Bandits have the most dominating defense in the entire league, and the Jets defense has struggled to say the least. In a series that features two high powered offenses, look for the defense to be the difference, I'll take the Bandits in 6.
