| | Much of the focus on the Stanley Cup Conference Finals has been on the West matchup between Dallas and Colorado. But ESPN NHL analyst Barry Melrose says he favors the Eastern matchup between New Jersey and Philadelphia.
During his weekly chat with ESPN.com users, Melrose looked ahead to both series and said the Devils-Flyers series should be a good one. He also talked about some of the individual matchups, offered his prediction on Olympic hockey and revealed his choice between analysis or studio work.
Check out this edited transcript from Melrose's May 10 chat.
|  | | Barry Melrose likes New Jersey over Philadelphia. |
Scorpilon7: Do you think the Flyers will win the Cup?
Barry Melrose: The Flyers right now, do not match up well against New Jersey. The Flyers tried to get bigger
with the idea of Keith Primeau and Eric Lindros going out every second time vs. New Jersey. Now, New
Jersey is a bigger team than Philly and probably a little more skilled. I think Jersey will beat
Philadelphia.
Philly Phanatic: Any new news on the Primeau injury?
Barry Melrose:
His wife has said that they took tests. Everything appeared fine. But with the NHL's strict policy
on concussions and especially Philly's history with concussions, I'm not sure if Primeau will be
ready for Game 1.
FlyersFaithful: Do you think that either Philly or Jersey can beat the winner out of the West?
Barry Melrose:
Sure. Anybody can beat anybody. That's why we play the games. Look at San Jose and St.
Louis. New Jersey has been there before ... successfully, so they certainly know what it takes
to win. But I picked Dallas at the start of the year, and I'm sticking with it.
E: Why doesn't Ed Belfour get the credit he deserves? It seems as if his consistent play often goes
unnoticed.
Barry Melrose:
Well, I think a lot of that is because he plays in Dallas. If he played in New York, the Rangers
media would have him as the second coming of Ed Jackomin. But I also think that some
anonymity is a good thing. If you're in New York or Toronto, you can never hide.
Kevin Zrinski: Do you think the Scott Stevens-Brian Rafalski combo can shut down the Mark Recchi-Daymond Langkow-John LeClair line like
they did to Pavel Bure and Mats Sundin in the previous two series?
Barry Melrose:
If they shut them down anywhere near like they did Bure and Sundin, it's bad news for the
Flyers. Recchi and LeClair were in on, I think, the last nine goals the Flyers scored. So, if they
are slowed down at all, it'll be tough for the Flyers to win.
DevsFaninColorado: Word here in Denver is that Ray Bourque may sit out Game 1. Any thoughts?
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Thu, March
23
When Melrose isn't riding shotgun on the network's nightly program, NHL
2Night, he's out on the road serving as a game analyst for games on ESPN
and ESPN2. He also provides reports for SportsCenter and stops by ESPN Radio.
Prior to working for ESPN, Melrose was the head coach of the Los Angeles Kings (1992-95). In
his first season behind the bench, Melrose took the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals and he's won a
Calder Cup (AHL championship) and a Memorial Cup (CHL championship) in his coaching
career.
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Barry Melrose:
I doubt it. He was skating last week. He looked pretty good and gets more rest. I'd be very,
very surprised if he doesn't play in Game 1.
George Clark: Which do you prefer, color commentary or studio host?
Barry Melrose:
I like the mixture. I like getting out on the road a couple times a month. But I've also traveled
enough, and don't like to do that full time. So, I have a great mixture in my job. As long as I get
to talk about hockey, I don't care where I am.
Kylecleon: Is Joe Sakic hurt or just in a slump?
Barry Melrose:
I think you have to give the Detroit team some credit for Sakic's situation. They didn't want him
to beat them, and they did a good job against them. But Joe did score a big goal for the Avs,
and I expect Joe to have a good series against Dallas.
George Clark: Was the Pens losses directly linked to the play and health of Jaromir Jagr?
Barry Melrose:
No. They win the first two in Philly. Their losses were a direct relationship to not winning any
games at home. I really think Game 3 was the game they had to win. Philly was really down.
Everything was going their way. That loss gave Philly life.
Kevin Zrinski: What got you up so early? I figured it's a safe bet you don't get up until 2 p.m. most days. Also, will it be Thorne-Clemente doing the Colorado-Dallas series, and Levy-Panger on the NJ-Philly
series?
Barry Melrose:
First off, that's Levy who sleeps to 2 p.m. I'm a farm boy; I get up early.
Second, the first ABC
game is Philly on Sunday, so Levy and Pang will do the Colorado game on Saturday. Then,
sometime next week, they will switch so Gary and Bill will do the Avs-Stars the following
weekend.
Art: Good to see that the league is going to allow the players to play at the Olympics. Any thoughts
on who is the early favorite?
Barry Melrose:
I think if hockey is going to have a front and center stage, unlike Japan, I'm all for it. Plus, I get
12 days off in the middle of the year. As for favorites, CANADA. Blame Canada. I'll stand
behind that one.
Andy: What happened with the Red Wings this year?
Barry Melrose:
They got old, came up against a very fast, young team that they were not able to control. And
this team is used to Steve Yzerman being the dominant player in the playoffs the last 10 years. They
did not know what to do when he wasn't.
Everybody is talking about the Western series, but I think the one in the East is going to be
great as well.
See you next week.
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ALSO SEE
ESPN.com's NHL playoffs coverage
NHL chat
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