After an exciting opening round, the field of 16 has dwindled down to eight as the Stanley Cup playoffs roll on with Round 2.
Blackhawks vs. Wild Predictions and Preview For Central Division Final
In the Pacific Division bracket, the Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames are each still standing and Game 1 of their Round 2 series takes place Thursday at the Honda Center in Anaheim.
Here are our predictions and a preview for that series:
Rangers vs. Capitals Predictions and Preview For Metropolitan Division Final
[Pacific Division 1] Anaheim Ducks vs. [Wild-Card 2] Calgary Flames
Round 1 Reflection: Last time around, Sports World News picked the Ducks to drop the Winnipeg Jets in five games and the Flames to overcome the Vancouver Canucks in seven. Anaheim won its series in a four-game sweep while Calgary took its set in six.
Season Series: The Ducks took three of four in the regular season from the Flames, who notched their lone victory in a shootout at home. Anaheim outscored Calgary 18-12 in the regular season.
Cup Dreams: The Ducks have advanced to the second round for the second straight year and will look to move on to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2007, the last time they won the Cup. In their first postseason since 2009, the Flames are in the second round for the first time since 2004, which was the last time it went to the Conference Final and the Cup Final. Calgary hasn't won the Stanley Cup since 1989.
Series Overview: The Ducks made quick work of the Jets to advance while the Flames came in as the lower seed against the Canucks, but were able to bounce them out with a 4-2 series win.
Corey Perry led the offensive charge for the Ducks in Round 1, notching a team-best seven points and finding the back of the net three times. His seven points rank him tied for second in the NHL through the first round. Ryan Kesler also had a great opening set with his new team, finding the twine three times and adding two helpers for five points.
Jakub Silfverberg (two goals, four assists) was second on the team with six points in Round 1 while captain Ryan Getzlaf was limited to one goal, but put up four points.
Both teams have shown a knack for responding in the third period and it was on display in the first round as well. After leading the NHL with 12 wins in the regular season after trailing through two periods, the Ducks fell behind by one goal in each of the first three games of their series against the Jets and ended up winning each game, becoming the first team in history to do so.
The Flames also showed a flare for the dramatic in their series with the Canucks, rallying from behind in Games 1 and 6.
Calgary has been lifted by its first line thus far in the postseason as Jiri Hudler (team-best three goals), Sean Monahan (two) and Calder Trophy candidate Johnny Gaudreau (two) combined for seven goals in six games against Vancouver. Hudler and Gaudreau had six points apiece in the first round to pace the Flames.
18-year-old Sam Bennett also had a big series in Round 1 after making his NHL debut in the regular season finale on April 11 as he lit the lamp twice and had three points.
On defense, Bruce Boudreau's group is led by a top pairing of Hampus Lindholm and Francois Beauchemin while Sami Vatanen showed his offensive ability, scoring two goals and garnering five points.
Still without captain Mark Giordano (torn biceps), the Flames defense performed just fine in Round 1 with T.J. Brodie (27:10), Kris Russell (27:06) and Dennis Wideman (26:59) leading the team in time on ice. All three defenseman had four points last round and Russell notched the game-winning goal in the waning seconds of Game 1.
In between the pipes, Anaheim is set to turn to Frederik Andersen and he went 4-0 in the opening round against the Jets, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage, yielding nine goals on 118 shots.
Calgary counters with former Duck Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo in the blue paint. Hiller went 3-2 with a 2.20 GAA and a .931 save percentage and allowed 11 goals on 159 shots last round. Ramo relieved Hiller in the Game 6 clincher and made 17 saves on 19 shots.
Special Teams: These clubs were neck-and-neck on the power play in the first round with Calgary ranking second (27.8%) and Anaheim ranking third (27.3%). The Ducks were fifth on the penalty kill in Round 1 (84.6%) while the Flames were 10th (81.2%).
Last Thoughts: This has the potential to be a great series as both teams have great top lines and a knack for scoring with the Ducks finishing tops in the NHL in the first round with an average of four goals per game and the Flames closing out the opening round with an average of three goals per game. This one could go either way, but the Ducks seemed poised for a deep run this year and the Flames' great story may end in Round 2.
The Pick: Ducks in 6.
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