Series Synopsis:
Apr. 29th, 2008
The Rangers and Bulls are a pair of teams that
have gone through most of the first three rounds of the post-season with
a regular lurking in the shadows. For the Bulls it was forward: Shawn
Matthias who earlier in the calendar year teamed up with the Rangers' Matt
Halischuk to score one of the most memorable goals in World Junior Championship
history, Matthias is rumoured to be out with mono. On the Rangers
side, a giant has taken a backseat since mid-way through the second round,
but with the way that Josh Unice has been playing, perhaps most-missed
for their contribution to the team is defender: Dan Kelly.
The Rangers' strength has been that they have
been rolling their forward lines in order to constantly hit the ice with
energy. The same could not always be said about the blueline.
Kelly's re-emergence gives the Rangers and ability to pair 6 blueliners
something that should really come handy while on the big ice in Belleville.
The big ice, in a rare instance this year, should be an advantage for the
road team, a Rangers' team not overly familiar with the Olympic-sized ice,
but a team that's built for blinding speed.
The Bulls, much like the Rangers have been
assembled for this season, forwards Adam Perry and Jan Mursak were brought
in via trade-winds, and one member of the Sudbury Wolves responsible for
the demise of the Bulls during last post-season: Andrew Self was picked
up as a free-agent overager. Nigel Williams was included in the trade
that brought the Bulls Jan Mursak, he's slick veteran defender.
The Bulls may have one of the best all-around
defenders in the league in P.K. Subban, Subban has a deadly shot from the
point, arguably more dangerous than either: Josh Godfrey or Ryan Wilson
whom the Rangers' faced in the last two rounds.
While the team's appear to be a dead-heat between
the posts, the Rangers appear to have an advantage on the blueline, in
a series where speed will be paramount and line changes often, the Rangers
utilize their third defensive unit more and Belleville may get caught overly
dependent on their top four defenders, especially when they do not have
last change.
The Rangers might find scoring against the
Bulls, difficult despite their fortunes against the Greyhounds, Belleville
may experience the same after running into an often irratic Oshawa team
in the previous round. |
