Chirps from Center Ice

Welcome to the second day of Calder Cup Previews here at Chirps from Center Ice. Yesterday I looked at the Western Conference. Today, here is the Eastern Conference Playoff Preview:

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Record: 41-26-3-6 // 91 pts., 1^st place Northeast Division (3 seed)

Power Play: 14^th // 17.5%

Penalty Kill: 19^th // 81.8%

Top 3 Scorers: Rhett Rakhshani 20-29-49 // Casey Cizikas 15-30-45 // Matt Donovan 10-35-45

Overview: Light switched on after the first of the year when the Sound Tigers ascended from the basement of the East Division to the top of the Northeast Division and into the playoffs.

First Round Matchup: Connecticut Whale

Record against the Whale: 6-2-1-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 12:1

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Connecticut Whale

Record: 36-26-7-7 // 86 pts., 2^nd place Northeast Division (6 seed)

Power Play: 16^th // 17.4%

Penalty Kill: 5^th // 84.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Kris Newbury 25-39-64 // Jonathan Audy-Marchessault 24-40-64 // Casey Wellman 23-24-47

Overview: Were class of the Northeast Division, sputtered, then got overtaken by a hot Bridgeport team. Opening round series with the Sound Tigers could be one for the ages, as both teams are very good at home.

First Round Matchup: Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Record against the Sound Tigers: 4-2-3-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 24:1

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Hershey Bears

Record: 38-26-4-8 // 88 pts., 3^rd place East Division (5 seed)

Power Play: 1^st // 25.5%

Penalty Kill: 4^th // 84.4%

Top 3 Scorers: Chris Bourque 27-66-93 // Keith Aucoin* 11-59-70 // Ryan Potulny 33-32-65

Overview: Struggled at times and when they did, it cost them. Many chose Hershey as the East Division Champion pre-season and odds favorite to win Calder Cup. Injuries depleted those expectations. Fun fact: Winner of first round WBS-Hershey matchup has made it to the Calder Cup Finals in years past.

First Round Matchup: Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record against the Penguins: 5-5-1-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 11:1

* – Aucoin is currently on recall to the Washington Capitals

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Manchester Monarchs

Record: 39-32-2-3 // 83 pts., 2^nd place Atlantic Division (8 seed)

Power Play: 21^st // 15.5%

Penalty Kill: 8^th // 84%

Top 3 Scorers: Justin Azevedo 28-22-50 // Brandon Kozun 20-26-46 // Linden Vey 19-24-43

Overview: Made it in on the last weekend of the regular season. Have big powerful forwards and a stout tandem of Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff in net.

First Round Matchup: Norfolk Admirals

Record against the Admirals: Did not play.

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 45:1

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Norfolk Admirals

Record: 55-18-1-2 // 113 pts., 1^st place East Division (1 seed)

Power Play: 2^nd // 21.7%

Penalty Kill: 15^th // 82.3%

Top 3 Scorers: Cory Conacher 39-41-80 // Trevor Smith 26-43-69 // Tyler Johnson 31-37-68

Overview: Got hot and stayed hot after Super Bowl Sunday, winning 28 straight games. Is the perfect storm team. Has the top rookie and League MVP in Conacher up front, Defenseman of the Year in Mark Barberio on the blue line and Coach of the Year in Jon Cooper on the bench. Goaltending ain’t shabby either. May tear through playoffs like they did regular season.

First Round Matchup: Manchester Monarchs

Record against the Monarchs: Did not play.

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 2:1

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St. John’s IceCaps

Record: 43-25-5-3 // 94 pts., 1^st place Atlantic Division (2 seed)

Power Play: 3^rd // 20.6%

Penalty Kill: 13^th // 82.8%

Top 3 Scorers: Spencer Machacek 18-32-50 // Paul Postma 13-31-44 // Jason DeSantis 11-32-43

Overview: Was the leagues best road team in the first half of the season. May have won the Eastern Conference if Norfolk didn’t obliterate the schedule in the last half of the season. Will be a tough out.

First Round Matchup: Syracuse Crunch

Record against the Crunch: 1-2-0-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 10:1

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Syracuse Crunch

Record: 37-29-5-5 // 84 pts., 4^th place East Division (7 seed)

Power Play: 9^th // 19%

Penalty Kill: 30^th // 77.5%

Top 3 Scorers: Patrick Maroon 32-42-74 // Peter Holland 23-37-60 // Kyle Palmieri 33-25-58

Overview: Team no one wanted because of the Binghamton model from last year. That team was the crossover team last year and won the Calder Cup. Probably the best first round matchup with St. John’s. Underestimate this team at your own risk.

First Round Matchup: St. John’s IceCaps

Record against the IceCaps: 3-1

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 25:1

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Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Record: 44-25-2-5 // 95 pts., 2^nd place East Division (4 seed)

Power Play: 10^th // 18.8%

Penalty Kill: 22^nd // 81.6%

Top 3 Scorers: Ben Street 27-30-57 // Bryan Lerg 27-26-53 // Colin McDonald 14-35-49

Overview: Unreasonable expectations if you expected a duplicate of the 58-21 season last season. Still, one of the best teams in the league. Struggled at home. No one superstar on this team, it’s a collective effort night after night.

First Round Matchup: Hershey Bears

Record against the Bears: 7-3-0-2

Odds to win the Calder Cup: 7:2

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Tomorrow, we roll with a full look at the Penguins / Bears series and I offer a prediction. That will be out Thursday at noon.