BT's 2011 NHL Eastern Conference Final Preview

What people seem to like watching aren’t necessarily those that are great.

Now don’t misunderstand that. There is a wide-spread appreciation for those that push themselves beyond the boundaries of normalcy and accomplish what many consider to be amazing. These are the people that leave us in wonderment with their perseverance, drive, and the thing that catches our eye in the first place, their talent.

But as amazing as it is to watch someone gifted use that blessing, many people, for whatever reason, enjoy watching them fail.

You can call it jealous or envy, pointing to the fact that the people who watch those few spectacular individuals are the ones who truly appreciate what they’re doing, but just wish for a fraction of the talent. Some may call what they direct towards those few great people a sense of derision, as those that use the talent, may not have a full understanding or appreciation for what they have; what they’ve been blessed with.

Whatever the case, Alexander Ovechkin has become the latest poster boy for those feelings.

Hockey is a team game. There are three players on a line, six players on the ice at any one time, and twenty actively waiting for their chance to skate on the ice. Every team has a focal point though. A player who’s talents push him above the team concept to the fans and the media, no matter how team-oriented he actually is. When that player’s team succeeds, it’s rarely in spite of his contributions or lack thereof. Team A succeeded because Player A played to his potential. Somehow, someway, that’s the storyline that always seems to find the papers.

But if Team A loses, it’s the same thing: The team lost, and the player choked. No matter how well that one player played, he will always get singled out and ridiculed by someone.

Alexander Ovechkin didn’t have this problem from the mainstream media this year—he had it with fans of the other teams. While the Washington Capitals bowed out in four games to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the media recognized the reason to be the efforts of the key pieces surrounding Ovechkin, rather than a lack of commitment or will to win from the man they call ‘The Great Eight.’

Analysts brought up the two points in nine games and the lighthearted skating from Nicklas Backstrom. Alexander Semin’s own country rejected him from competition in the World Championships, saying his play in the NHL’s post season wasn’t worthy enough of representing his country (He had two points and a minus-2 rating in four games vs. Tampa). These were the players that were supposed to help the Capitals advance.

Like a team though, other players stepped up their production when Backstrom and Semin didn’t create. Jason Arnott and Brooks Laich did as much as they could to keep the Capitals in it, but it was too much to have two of Washington’s top offensive players to go MIA.

Once the final horn sounded on Game Four though, the fans got their chance to chime in. “Another choke job by Ovechkin, he’ll never win” said one. “Looks like Ovechkin will be lucky to get past the second round in his career” said another. “Seems to me the superstar can’t push his team to the next level” was the resounding chorus from another sect.

In a game that we like to laud as a team sport, there’s a certain allure to picking out a single player and pinning it all on him. The players have allowed people to talk about them by playing in the highest league available to anyone, but sometimes the talk becomes a little misguided.

Individuals can give performances to get their team to the pinnacle.

It takes a team to lift the trophy once they get there.

3. Boston Bruins vs 5. Tampa Bay Lightning

What Boston has going for them: The Bruins have been getting classic playoff performances from up and down their lineup. All that means is that when one line gets shut down, the next one steps up. The line of David Krejci/Nathan Horton/Milan Lucic accounted for three game-winning goals, eight goals and 19 points after being shut down in the opening round against Montreal, while the combination of Brad Marchand/Mark Recchi/Patrice Bergeron has been just as difficult to deal with. The absence of Bergeron will probably throw chemistry a bit and Boston will need to fill that production, but they’ve had the time to figure that out thanks to the sweep. Tim Thomas has also been…well…Tim Thomas these playoffs.

What Tampa Bay has going for them: Despite making the 1-3-1 defensive trap famous in these playoffs and shutting down quick-strike offenses, the Bolts have a quick-strike offense of their own that’s hitting it’s peak after missing key pieces during the season. Four players are scoring at a point-per-game pace and that doesn’t even account for leading goal scorer Sean Bergenheim, who has combined to form one of the best lines in the playoffs with Steve Downie and Dominic Moore. As outstanding as Tim Thomas has been these playoffs, Dwayne Roloson has been better: Thomas is second to Roloson in playoffs goals-against average and save percentage, but both have put up mind-boggling numbers.

Who wins: This series is hard to predict, only because both teams have suffered through long layoffs. The first game may do more than just give one team a series lead, as it could provide a fairly substantial mental hurdle if one team wins it fairly handily or not. Break or not, this will be the better of the two conference finals, and Tampa’s team mentality takes it.

Tampa Bay wins 4-2.

What Boston needs to prove me wrong: If the Bruins can physically punish the Lightning and irritate a couple of Tampa’s key players, it could easily sway the series. Boston will have to dump the puck past the 1-3-1 and use their bigger forwards to wear down the Tampa D.

What’s great about the playoffs: The storylines. Sure we reach for them sometimes, but when a matchup such as the hard-luck Bruins finally making it within scratching distance of the Stanley Cup finals go up against the reborn Tampa Bay Lightning, featuring a rookie Head Coach taking the league by storm ends up on your plate, you don’t turn it down.