After a tough loss for the Cyclones in roller hockey there is nothing else to do but preview the second round starting tomorrow night in Vancouver, as I sit here and watch the last ever Chuck, unless you people save it!
#3 Vancouver vs. #4 Chicago: This is probably the toughest match up to predict, the Canucks have been off for eight days while the Blackhawks gained some valuable experience in a first round win over the Flames. The best goalie left in the playoffs is in this series, Roberto Luongo only let in 5 goals in a 4 game series vs St. Louis and needs a good series to reach that next level which everyone has expected him to be at. Chicago does have the offense to pepper “Bobby Lou”; the Baby Hawks outscored the Flames 21-14, and not only did Kane and Toews play well but so did Calder finalist Kris Versteeg, who led the team in first round scoring with 7 points. So a typical strength vs. strength series, but I think it will come back to the Big Boy from Montreal, he is the difference in this series and will finally take his place as the elite goalie in this league. Vancouver in 7 games
#2 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim: Who would have thought the Ducks would be here and because of Jonas Hiller, who stopped 220 of 230 shots vs the Sharks, and 2nd in save percentage only to Luongo. This is not the under achieving Sharks offense he is facing in this series, and I would not be surprised to see some J.S. Giguere in this series. The Ducks made an under the rador deadline move by getting Ryan Whitney and with a healthy Francois Beauchemin and of course Pronger and Niedermayer surprisingly they match up defensively against this offensive juggernaut that are the Red Wings. The one thing that might hold back the Red Wings, like it did with the top seeded Sharks, will be overconfidence. They had an easy time with the virgin Blue Jackets and might come out flat against the hot Ducks. This might give the Ducks some early victories, but I just don’t see that being an overall factor. The Red Wings are just too deep, with 11 players with at least one goal and 15 of the 18 dressed players had at least one point. The defending champs will advance but all the games should be close. Detroit in 6 games
#1 Boston vs. #6 Carolina: 19:28 of the third period was when big game Eric Staal scored his series clinching goal, and tying him for the playoff leading in goals in the first round (5). I am still shocked that the Hurricanes won the series down 3 games to 2 vs. the best goalie ever. So how can I not jump on the bandwagon of this hot team? The top seeded Bruins took care of business against a bad goalie and overall dysfunctional team. I am sorry but Britney Spears at her worst was not in as much turmoil as the Canadiens were at the end of the year, just shows you how bad the Florida Panthers are. The best matchup of this series will be Zdeno Chara vs. Eric Staal, which is 157 inches of hockey players clashing shift after shift. The clutch Staal now has 35 points in 37 career playoff games, but does have some help as people forget that Ray Whitney led the team in points during the regular season and tied Staal and energy guy Chad LaRose with 7 points. Needles to say Vezina Trophy candidate Tim Thomas will have to step up his play in this series, his first real test as a pro. Bruins are a very deep team and the top line of Savard, Kessel and Axelsson are all snipers (12 combined 1st round points). Michael Ryder proved to the Canadiens he still had something left, by leading the Bruins with 7 points, but this series will come back to the goalies. Don’t forget that Cam Ward has won a Conn Smyth trophy and has a Stanley Cup ring, and I feel we have not seen his best yet in this postseason. Carolina in 5 games
#2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh: Saving the best series for last, the dream matchup for the NHL with three of the top players in the same series, The Ovechkin vs. Crosby series. I have said it here before that the Penguins against the Flyers showed the moxy needed to win in the playoffs. The Capitals problem is they start out slow, in both of their last two playoff series they have gone down 3-1, and luckily for them the Rangers remembered they could not score goals. The insertion of Simeon Varlamov has made a difference for this team, and the big guns have produced as Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin have combined for 22 points in those 7 games. The other side’s big weapons are 1 and 2 in playoff points as Malkin 9 point’s leads the league, just like Art Ross winner did in the regular season. This series will be amazing to watch and I hope for the benefit of the league it goes 7 games just so we can watch these bright stars shine. I just feel Marc-Andre Fleury and the resilience of the Penguins will be the ultimate swinging point, though people will argue battling back from a 3-1 deficit also shows a great bounce back mentality, I just feel the win in that series was more a Rangers coming back to life than a Capitals dominance. Pittsburgh in 7 games
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