NHL Playoff Preview

Eastern Conference:



vs.

It's an old Original Six match-up between two teams that haven't done anything in years. Montreal has had a great second half of the season and snatched the #1 seed in the East during the last weekend of play. They traded away goalie Christobal Huet at the trade deadline, a move which made many scratch their heads and wonder why, but the move proved a wise one as new starter Carey Price has been spectacular. Boston spent most of March fighting off Buffalo and Toronto for the final playoff spot and had a chance to finish as high as sixth in the East, but couldn't close. Boston showed some guts by making the playoffs with out star forward Patrice Bergeron for most of the season. If he returns (it would be foolish to risk it) it would give the Bruins a boost, but not enough to overcome the balance of the Habs.

Prediction: Montreal in 4


vs.

This is an intriguing rematch of last year's first round match-up, except this time the Penguins are everything the Senators were last year. The Penguins have the home ice advantage (although they squandered a chance at the #1 seed because they were afraid to play the Flyers in the first round), they have the better goal tending, and Ottawa did a nice collapsing job in the past two months. The Penguins could go deep in the playoffs this year, though they need Crosby's ankle to hold up and Marc-Andre Fleury can't revert to the shaky playoff performance that he turned in last year. The Senators lost top forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fischer which doesn't help their cause at all.

Penguins in 4


vs.

This may be the most surprising match up in the East this year. Turn back the clock one calendar year and you have the 15th best team in the East (read: worst) playing the 14th best team in the East. Yet, the Flyers and the Capitals made huge turnarounds this year. The Flyers did it by adding key players such as Daniel Briere, Kimmo Timmonen and Scott Hartnell. The Capitals added a couple of role players at the trade deadline, but have mostly ridden the will of one unstoppable scorer: Alexander Ovechkin. The man is on fire, scoring 65 goals this season, the first 60 goal scorer in 12 years. The Flyers won't be able to stop him, but their balance and veteran leadership should carry them past the Capitals in the hardest fought opening series in either league.

Prediction: Flyers in 7


vs.

The Devils weren't supposed to do anything this year after losing Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. I guess we all forgot that they still have the ultimate trump card: Martin Brodeur. No other goalie carries their team the way Brodeur does, and as long as he holds up in the playoffs, the Devils will score just enough goals (they scored the fewest goals amongst all Eastern Conference playoff teams) to win games. The Rangers have had the Devils number this year however. The Rangers won the first 7 meetings of the year, before falling 3-2 in a shootout in the season finale. The Rangers present several weapons on offense, and one of the best young goalies in the game in Henrik Lundqvist, but in the playoffs, you cannot pick against Brodeur.

Devils in 6

Round 2 matchups:
Flyers at Canadiens
Devils at Penguins
Conference Finals:
Devils at Canadiens
Eastern Conference Winner:
Montreal Canadiens
Western Conference Winner:
San Jose Sharks
Stanley Cup Winner:
San Jose Sharks