First Round

Well, folks, the playoffs have arrived. The first round opens tonight with 5 games. I'm not going to make any big predictions from here on who is going to win each Conference and who is going to win the Cup, but round-by-round, I will evaluate each matchup and give who has the edge in the current matchups.

In the East:
(1) Washington Capitals versus (8) New York Rangers.
After the acquisition of veteran centerman Jason Arnott at the trade deadline, the Caps went on a serious tear that shot them from the middle of the playoff pack all the way up to the top of the Eastern Conference. Alex Ovechkin is looking like himself again and although recent pickup Dennis Wideman is sidelined with a hematoma in his leg, Mike Green should be returning to the lineup, which will make an already hot team even better. They have some veterans to go along with a lot of young talent and now their biggest concern should be their rotation of three unproven young goaltenders. Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov, and Braden Holtby were all outstanding during the season, but who knows how they will fare in this new pressure-laden environment, where only Varlamov has seen some action before. The Caps disappointed massively when they were upset in the first round as the top seed last year, but they have learned from their experience and should have the tools and experience to win this time around. While the Capitals have been hot, the Rangers have been seriously offensively challenged of late, winning most of their recent games solely thanks to the outstanding play of Henrik Lundqvist. The return of Chris Drury should spark the offense a bit. He is an incredibly valuable postseason asset and has the nickname "Captain Clutch" for good reason. However, the loss of forward Ryan Callahan does hurt. The Rangers have the talent to score a ton of goals, but they never seem to do so; facing a questionable goaltending team could work to their advantadge here. However, they will have to up their defense to take the load off of Lundqvist in the face of the explosive Caps offense if they want to have any shot at pulling off the upset. Edge: Washington.

(2) Philadelphia Flyers versus (7) Buffalo Sabres
The Flyers shocked the hockey world last year in many ways. They made the playoffs thanks to a shootout victory on the last day of the season. Next they performeed the impossible by overcoming a 3-0 series and 3-0 third period deficit against the Bruins. And they came without two wins of winning the Stanley Cup. At the start of the season, I believed that the Flyers, with their incredibly stacked lineup should be the favorite to win the Cup, and for most of the season, my prediction didn't seem too far off. However, recently, they have been playing poorly and at season's end had relinquished the lead in the Eastern Conference. Their goaltending is, as it always is, umproven. Brian Boucher has had some playoff success, and Michael Leighton was the hero last year. But neither of these goalies are consistent, and the nod is likely to be given to rookie Sergei Bobrovsky. Despite still having a defense that boasts Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Matt Carle, Andresz Meszaros, Sean O'Donnell, and Nick Boynton, the absence of their most prized defensive asset, Chris Pronger, has been a great hindrance to the Flyers of late. Pronger has played in three of the last five Stanley Cup Finals. He lost with the Flyers last year and the Oilers in 06, and he won with the Ducks in 07. His return for the first round remains questionable. Meanwhile, the Sabres have been incredibly hot over the last stretch, propelling themselves into a playoff spot. Ryan Miller is returning from injury, and if he is not a proven big game goaltender, I don't know who is. Brad Boyes has fit in nicely so far, provided a valuable scoring touch, and Drew Stafford is apt to go on a tear if he gets hot. Thomas Vanek is always a danger, especially in front of the net, where he scores a lot of tip-in goals. Look to him to add his name to the score sheet in that fashion, with Pronger not there to push him out of the crease. If Buffalo can ride their hot streak, they have a very good chance to pull off the upset on the defending Eastern Conference champs. Edge: Buffalo.

(3) Boston Bruins versus (6) Montreal Canadiens
This series is shaping up to be the typical energetic, high-drama showdown it always is between the two most bitter rivals in the league, now only escalated since the Chara/Pacioretty incident. The Canadiens ave maangeed to stay consistent over most of the season despite a lamentable myriad of injuries to some of their biggest players. At this point, the Canadiens are the team that needs to prove something, since the last faceoff in Boston, a game which they were expected to win handily, resulted in an embarrassing 7-0 defeat. They have loads of skill and veteran leadership, but those veterans, like Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez, need to step up their game in a year where they have been largely unproductive. While maybe not as skilled as Montreal, the Bruins have a big advantadge, size. The Canadiens are very small, and the Bruins will send their grinders out to pester the fast scorers. The Bruins should keep their physical play disciplined though, for the Canandiens had one of the best power plays in the league during the season, and area where the Bruins have been lately anemic. With Tim Thomas and Carey Price between the pipes, the offenses are going to have to give their best efforts on both ends. Look for this to be a very emotional and hard-hitting drama on the ice and in the stands. Edge: Boston.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins versus (5) Tampa Bay Lightning
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been the biggest surprise of the second half. Despite missing both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the better part of 4 months, the Penguins have found a way to win and have home-ice for the first round. This could be a huge factor, because with such recent playoff success, the white-shirt covered arena in Pittsburgh will have an electric atmosphere. The Penguins have a solid defense and an all-star goaltender in Marc-Andre Fleury. Despite all of their success, I have to wodner how long they can keep this up without their two biggest stars. After a hot start, the lightning faltered a bit recently, but picked it up again at the end of the season. Their goaltending is questionable with the age of Dwayne Roloson, but he can be clutch, and had he not been injured nin Game 1 of the 2006 Final, the Oilers likely would have hoisted the Cup. They have a very deep blue line and an incredibly talented offense. With Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Simon Gagne, the Lightning can chip away at the sturdy Penguins D and find a way to score. Edge: Tampa Bay.

In the West:
(1) Vancouver Canucks versus (8) Chicago Blackhawks
The Canucks have been the most dominant team in the league all season long. Even when injuries claimed five of their top six defenseman in February, they continued to find a way to win. Their healty defense is outstanding, helping to reduce the goals scored against the Canucks, a job whcih is almost unnecessary when Roberto Luongo is in net.With an elite goalie and an elite defense, the Blackhwaks need to work incredibly hard to score goals. And score goals they will have to. Up front the Canucks are deadline. With this season's Art Ross winner Daniel Sedin, and his twin, LAST season's Art Ross winner Henrik Sedin, plus defensive sepcialist Ryan Kesler who is exploding offensively, their offense is about as deadly as it could be. The defending Champs have plenty of offense too, but after a desperate late-season run, they are tired, and their defense is looking ragged. For the second straight year, they have an unproven backstop. With the elite Cnaucks, the odds are clearly stacked in Vancouver's favor. Edge: Vancouver

(2) San Jose Sharks versus (7) Los Angeles Kings
The Sharks have never had much playoff success. But this could be the year where that all changes. After a mediocre midseason record, the Sharks got hot and have stayed that way. They have one of the most potent offenses in the league, but those players are notorious for underperforming when it counts. These players, i.e. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany heatley, will need to find their big game mentality if the Sharks are to have success. Other forwards Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi, and standout rookie Logan Couture will need to play bog roles as well. After Dan Boyle, the Sharks blue line is not star-packed, but is definitely a very solid group of defenders. Perhaps the biggest reason why the Sharks run could be different this year is between the pipes. After a decade of regular season domination and playoff failure from Evgeni Nabakov, the Sharks now have Antti Niemi, who was a major factor in the Blackhawks championship team last year. He is on a trememdous streak and could carry the Sharks deep into the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Kings have a tremendous young goalie of their own in Jonathan Quick. They have a solid core of young defenders led by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson, as well as Cup winner Rob Scuderi. They still have a potent offense with Dustin Penner, Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll, and Dustin Brown, but the absence of Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar will hurt them severely. Williams may return to help make this a close series between these two Californian rivals, but ultimately, the Sharks have the deeper, hotter team. Edge: San Jose

(3) Detroit Red Wings versus (6) Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are always an inspiring story. A team that performs despite a lack of respect, a lack of ownership, and a lack of certainty as to what country their home rink will be in next season. Despite the feel-good nature of a Coyotes win, the odds aren't good. They have an outstanding coach in Dave Tippett, an outstanding goaltender in Ilya Bryzgalov, and a solid blue line with lots of veterans plus an explosive young offensive-minded D-man in Keith Yandle.The problem? Their offense. Captain Shane Doan led the team this season with just 20 goals. The scoring by committee approach can work for a while, but when you're facing what's been one of the league's most dominant franchises for well over a decade, this type of offense becomes an issue. Even with the questionable status of Henrik Zetterberg and their recent cold strecth, the Red Wings are one of the most dominant, talented, and experienced teams in the league. They have a very skilled offense, a tremendous defense, and a great coach in Mike Babcock. The only question remains streaky young goalie Jimmy Howard, but his inconsistent play shouldn't become a factor until a later round. Edge: Detroit

(4) Anaheim Ducks versus (5) Nashville Predators
This should be a hard fought series from both sides. Anaheim definitely has the stronger offense with Richard winner Corey Perry and ageless veteran Teemu Selanne leading the charge. Nashville has more of a scoring by committee approach, but their hard-working lineup should keep the big scorers in check and gradually wear down the opposition. Each team has a solid defensive corps, but the edge in this series goes to the team with the better goaltender. Anaheim's goaltending is a serious question, as All-Star Jonas Hiller has played one game since late February. Ray Emery and Dan Ellis are inconsistent solutions. For Nashville, Pekka Rinne has been one of the league's best goaltenders all season long, and he will be the difference in this series. If Anaheim does manage to hold off a Predators upset, they will be severely worn out for Round Two. Edge: Nashville

Second Round Matchups if my predictions are correct:

EAST:
(7) Buffalo @ (1) Washington
(5) Tampa Bay @ (3) Boston

WEST:
(5) Nashville @ (1) Vancouver
(3) Detroit @ (2) San Jose