The Jersey City Desk 2016 NHL Playoffs Preview

Johnny didn't talk much about hockey this past regular season. He doesn't like the Rangers or most of their fans, and the Devils never did anything to get excited about. Johnny was mad at his Red Wings at several points this year as he noticed issues popping up that weren't addressed in a way Johnny liked and he watched young players not take the next step under a coach they were familiar with and should have flourished under. But, as they always do for a Wings fan, the playoffs have come around agains for the 25th straight year. Let's take a look at the conference quarterfinals shall we?

Detroit vs Tampa Bay - The Bolts should have all the advantages here but they don't do they? A lot of top flight prognosticators are taking the underdog Wings. Tampa Bay is without several key players up front and on the back end. Tyler Johnson who torched the Wings in the playoffs last year is a game time decision. There's an old adage in hockey this time of year, beware the veteran team that underachieved in the regular season. While the Wings are rather young they do have key vets in Zetterberg, Kronwall, Richards, Green and Pavel Datsyuk. A lesser Wings team took a better Lightning team to 7 games last spring before losing. This year it's Wings in 7.

Washington vs Philadelphia - Yeah, but it's Washington everyone keeps saying. Yes, yes it is but even Washington can get through one series as President's Trophy winners. The Flyers are hot coming in and playing with confidence. If they take one of the first this could be a long series with Washington winning. If the Caps win both at home it's over in 5 at worst.

New York Islanders vs Florida - The first-place Panthers on paper should have no trouble with the plucky Isles who are close to being a very good team but need to figure out how that last jump happens. It hasn't yet. The Panthers in 6 but perhaps the Isles can take a pound of flesh from Florida for their troubles like that famed Toronto series years back.

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh - The most evenly matched of the first eastern series' to be sure. The Penguins keep telling everyone they're done with all the choking and Sidney Crosby is ready to roll. The Rangers have become a pretty reliable playoff team (Of course everyone tore up their brackets the day Michigan State lost too) with a roster built for this time of year and a coach who doesn't panic. Johnny likes the Rags in 7 here.

Still here? OK, the West, where lots of teams get opportunities to hoist the cup now that Detroit is in the East (Yes Wings fans are insufferable this time of year but also awesome).

Chicago vs St Louis - We've seen this set-up time and time again with St. Louis. They're in a home ice advantage, they have what looks like a great team and then they face a Chicago or Detroit and it all goes sideways quickly. The Hawks are battle tested and even with just one great line this time around Johnny thinks knows that until St. Louis actually wins a big series he's picking Chicago. The Blues have to be the biggest disappointment in the Western Conference come playoff time since...

San Jose vs Los Angeles - ...The Sharks. Year after year after decade we hear about how THIS without a doubt is the year Team Teal breaks through with their awesome talent, their great coaching and wild fan support and every year it's the same goddamned thing, pfffffffft. The Kings are trying to build a dynasty at the same time the Hawks are. To watch a Hawks vs Kings series later would be divine. Good thing the Kings only have to dispatch the Sharks in 6 here.

Dallas vs Minnesota - The old North Stars vs the new North Stars with he Wild name. What a wonderful reunion of Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Nobody cares

Nashville vs Anaheim - A lot of people are simply checking off the Ducks box in their brackets without giving too much thought to the series to be played. Here's Johnny's possible red light upset special. The Predators score a LOT of goals from their defensemen. A lot. They shoot hard, often and well. How many times is the deciding shot late in a tie game or overtime a tipped point shot or a screen? If the Nashville forwards can somewhat limit the Ducks one big line and they do get a couple BB's into the back of the net, this series gets real interesting real fast. Preds in 7.

NBC Channel 4 in NYC really needs to learn how the Stanley Cup playoffs work

Considering they are the network the playoffs are on.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy...

The Rangers and Islanders are all set for the playoffs

The matchups are finally set for the first round of the NHL playoffs next week. The #1 Rangers will play #8 Pittsburgh and Crybaby Cindy Crosby whom the MSG fans will no doubt make feel right at home. The Islanders will face Washington with the old barn, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, hosting one last playoff series. More on the matchups later this week.

So come on down to the War Memorial, we've got fun for the whole family

The NHL trade deadline has come and gone and while no really big game changers was traded it's all about the subtle improvements to steel a team for a long run in the hardest tournament in the world to win.

The Rangers perhaps made the biggest splash landing Arizona's great offensive defenseman Keith Yandle. Yandle had long been rumored to be on the block with the ownership issues for the Coyotes and a need to cut salary. The Rangers were the team to finally step up and pay the steep price it was going to take; forward Anthony Duclair, defenceman John Moore, a conditional first-round pick in 2016 and a second-round pick in 2015. Yandle immediate improves the Rags powerplay and will help in breaking them out of their own end with his sharp passing. Johnny is quite interested in whom they pair Yandle with.

Yandle should be available to play for the Rangers tomorrow night in Detroit which brings us to the Devils move yesterday, trading skilled defenseman Marek Zidlicky to the Red Wings for a conditional third-round pick in 2016. In Zidlicky the Wings get someone who can step into their second-pairing and add depth to what is currently the best powerplay in the NHL. Should the Wings win the East the pick becomes a second-round choice.

The Islanders added a backup netminder in Michal Neuvirth from the Buffalo Sabres for goaltender Chad Johnson and a conditional 2016 third-round pick. Neuvirth has a bad record (Ahem, Buffalo) but some very solid numbers; 6-17-3 in 27 games this season with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. The Isles also added some depth up front by trading for forward Tyler Kennedy from the San Jose Sharks for a 2016 conditional third-round pick. Kennedy has only four goals and has played sparingly.

Johnny thinks of the three the Rangers won the day. Your thoughts?

NHL Trade deadline day

So Johnny will be watching TSN Trade Centre all day monitoring all the Red Wings, Rangers, Islanders and Devils trades on the day. Back later today with analysis.

Are the New York Islanders moving to Brooklyn too? UPDATED!

The New York Islanders have scheduled a presser this afternoon at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. An Islanders press release states: "New York Islanders Owner Charles B. Wang, Barclays Center Majority Owner and Developer Bruce Ratner, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow, and Barclays Center and Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark" will be on hand for the 1 p.m. announcement.

You tell us. Sounds like Wang, who HATES the Nassau County Coliseum, but hasn't been able yet to strong arm the local populace in Uniondale and the surround to buy him something shiny may have just found his shiny new thing. No doubt there will be kicking and screaming over the lease and deals in place on Long Island but at the very LEAST we figure the Isles are planning on playing SOME games at the Barclay's Center with the possibility of playing more, many more, in the future.

UPDATE: Puck Daddy, Yahoo's erstwhile hockey blogger says YES the Isles ARE moving to Brooklyn in 2015.

NHL realignment has come -- The Devils have new playdates

The NHL Board of Governors has voted on realignment and now only the players union stands in the way of approval. With the failure of the Atlanta Thrashers franchise, who moved to Winnipeg this year the NHL was 'west heavy' with more teams located in the western areas than the east. The NHL could just have swapped Detroit for Winnipeg moving the Red Wings east but a new and different plan was approved. There will now be four conferences; The Atlantic, the Northeast, the Midwest and the Pacific and they break down like this:

Northeast Conference: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay and Toronto
Atlantic Conference: Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carolina and Washington
Midwest Conference: Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Columbus, Nashville, Winnipeg, St. Louis and Minnesota
Pacific Conference: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver

The top four teams in each new conference would make the playoffs first two rounds of the playoffs would be within your new conference. Word has it that after one team emerges from each conference they would be re-seeded by record and you'd have a final four situation.

It sounds like decades of pointing out they were the only serious playoff contender in the Eastern Time Zone playing on Pacific time pretty regularly in the playoffs from the Red Wings has paid off. Johnny's solution would simply have been to put Winnipeg in Detroit's old spot and move the Wings to Atlanta/Winnipeg's old spot in the Southeast Division but nobody asked him.

So Devils and Rangers and Isles fans, whadda ya think? Workable? Do you hate it? Spit it in comments...

If you're home today (Like Johnny) the Devils and Islanders just started

It's an MLK Day special game out in Uniondale. Devils and Islanders, a 1 pm weekday matinee? Great idea.

The Devils just scored in fact, you know where to find the game.

Baseball and football and hockey, oh my...

Well sports fans, the baseball playoffs begin today with the defending World Champion Yankees in Minnesota for a matchup with the Twinkies. Can the Yanks ride but one top starting pitcher and once again get some October magic out of Derek Jeter? What are your thoughts?

The Jets and Giants are a month in, the Jets are looking strong while the G-Men are anything BUT strong. Again we'd love to hear your thoughts.

Finally, Friday kicks off yet another NHL regular season. Make your predictions now for the Devils, Rangers and Islanders. Johnny thinks the Devils will have a drop off this season but more on that as we preview things later this week. Where do you see the three NYC area teams finishing?