With round 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in the books its time for a preview of what to expect looking forward. I’ll start off with the western conference.
Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
As their round one series with the Nashville Predators went on I was starting to wonder if they would once again fall victim to their inability to close out a series. Turns out they turned things around and managed to take out the Preds with a 4-2 series win. Colorado also won their series with the Minnesota Wild 4-2, and were successful in removing the most boring team from the playoffs. The Wings / Avalanche match up will be a good test for Colorado, though I predict the Wings to take this one 4-1.
San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars
Oh man is this going to be a good series. Both teams are coming from tough first round match ups, and are eager to get things started against fresh teams. Neither team can really be considered fresh though as they both came from the same division, and are both probably licking their wounds from the Sharks’ 7 game series with the Calgary Flames, and the Stars’ 6 game series with the defending champion Anaheim Ducks. I’m going to give the edge to the Sharks in this one as they played far better than their three first round losses would suggest. The Stars do not have the goaltending that the Flames did, but I still think they will be able to keep things interesting. Once again a 7 game series for the Sharks with them taking it 4-3.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers
The Penguins were accused of some trickery at the end of the regular season by “deliberately” loosing their last game so that they would get the Senators in the first round. If it was deliberate it definitely paid off as the Pens destroyed the Sens 4-0 and cruised into the second round. The Rangers faced the New Jersey Devils in the first round and continued their dominance of them by taking the series 4-1. There was speculation that the Rangers weren’t good enough to do anything in the post season, but critics have been silenced as they proved they have both scoring and goaltending that can take things to the next level in the playoffs. Keeping Sid the Kid and his buddies down will be the toughest challenge in round 2, but I see the Rangers taking this one 4-3.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Canadians struggled a little with Boston in their first round match up, taking it all the way to game 7 before moving on, but things will change in the second round. The Flyers just squeked by the Captials in their first round series, but have no chance against the Habs in the second round. The Canadiens were 4-0 against the Flyers in the regular season, and things aren’t about to change. Canadiens take it 4-1.
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