The Colorado Avalanche and the Philadelphia Flyers entered the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as favorites to make the conference final as they handled their first round opponents with little difficulty. The Flyers lost their first game on Monday night to the New York Islanders 4-0 and looked non-competitive for most of the game. The Avalanche lost 5-2 and allowed five unanswered goals to fall to 0-2 in the series. Many fans of both teams have to be nervous, the question is which team looks to be in greater trouble? Moreover, which of the two teams is more likely to respond to the slow start in their series and win their series?
To start, it’s easier to say that the Flyers are in better condition for the merit that they are only down 0-1 in the series. However, it’s easy to hit the panic button if you are the Flyers (more accurately, a Flyers fan). The Flyers looked abysmal in their first game, and if the first game is any indicator this series is going to be a one-sided one. The Flyers need to look no further than the previous round to see how this series can turn on them. In the first round, the Islanders made a cup-worthy Capitals team look average and non-competitive in a four-game sweep. The Islanders have been rolling right now and look ready to continue their hot streak into this series.
The Islanders are a team that is built on good goaltending and good defense, the way head coach Barry Trotz intended for them to be. While many times in the season, the Islanders didn’t look like a cup contender, they are hot now, and the Stanley Cup playoffs are built for teams that can get hot. The Flyers are uncannily built the same way, with good defense and a great young goalie in Carter Hart, this similarity actually favors the Flyers since the Islanders are built to stop aggressive, offensive teams like the Capitals.
Colorado is down 0-2 in their but in the last round looked like the better team and even looked like the best team in the field (the sportsbooks agreed, marking the Avalanche as one of the favorites to win the cup). Colorado has proven throughout the season that they have one of the most complete teams in the NHL and don’t seem to have any flaws (many point to their goalies but both have proven to be good enough to carry the team in a playoff run). It would seem that the Avalanche would be the least worried if they are the best team, even if they are down 0-2 in the series.
This is where the Dallas Stars come into play. The Dallas Stars looked bad but not awful in the round robin series as they earned the #3 seed, the Stars then lost two of the first three games to the Calgary Flames in the first round, that was when everything changed. The Dallas Stars made a few roster adjustments, including replacing Ben Bishop in net for Anton Khudobin after game two. The Stars rattled off three wins to take the series against the Flames including scoring 14 goals in the three games. The Stars have brought that same momentum into the series against Colorado and look like the hottest team in hockey because of it.
Aside from being down 0-2 in the seven game series, the Avalanche are in more trouble as they are playing the hotter team right now. While many would think that the Islanders winning streak is longer and thus the team is playing better, they don’t consider that the Islanders have remained the same dominant team while the Stars look like a completely different team since their adjustments. The Stars might have made the changes that can win them a cup, and Avalanche fans should be real concerned at the moment.
