NHL Playoffs...Great Eight

As I sort of expected, there were a few series that gave us a little more than we expected. Most notably was the best team in the East and possibly the whole NHL, the Washington Capitals, were dropped by the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. The East playoffs in general were very much the parody as 3 lower seeds advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals while most of the top seeds out West advanced. Overall, my predictions stranded me at 6-2. Not too bad considering some of the surprising results as all series went at least six games.

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals
4 Pittsburgh Penguins v 8 Montreal Canadiens: Jaroslav Halek shut down one of the best players and possibly the best team in the league this year. They stole the first game before falling into a 3-1 hole, but Halek carried them as they scored enough and shut down the Caps offense to force a Game 7, which they won. The Penguins jumped out to a 3-1 lead and the Senators pushed them to the edge and it took overtime in Game 6 for them to put away Ottawa. With all in mind, the Canadiens are capable of doing the same thing they did to Ovechekin to Crosby. The Penguins are playoff tested and won the Cup last year and was runner up two years ago. That might be enough for them to outlast a stubborn Montreal team. PICK: PENGUINS (in 6)

6 Boston Bruins v 7 Philadelphia Flyers: As I expected, the Bruins and Sabres played a close series despite the fact that the Bruins jumped out to a 3-1 series lead before finishing off the Sabres in six. The Flyers not only beat a healthier and arguably better team in the Devils, but they blanked them in the close out game and beat them in five. Philadelphia had question at goalie especially going against Brodeur for the Devils. They also were never fully manned throughout the series, but used power plays and grit to win and move on. Both teams display similar tenacity and if Philadelphia can manage their banged up players enough and continue to get good goal play, they might have a shot. I just think that Boston will have too much as the Flyers were lucky to get this far. PICK: BRUINS (in 5 or 6)


Western Conference Semi-Finals
1 San Jose Sharks v 5 Detroit Red Wings: The Sharks were tested the Avalanche as they fell down 2-1 before taking three in a row including two impressive wins to close the series. That early test will certainly get them ready for a team that will definitely test in the Red Wings. The Sharks have had trouble getting to the Conference Finals and Detroit will not be an easy hurdle to get over. The Red Wings might not have been the better team in their first series, but they had enough experience and closed out the series after letting go seven with a dominant performance. I expect both teams to push each other to the brink and we can see the Red Wings push a better Sharks team. But this year the Sharks finally get to the Conference Finals. PICK: SHARKS (in 6 or 7)

2 Chicago Blackhawks v 3 Vancouver Canucks: These two met last year with the Blackhawks besting the Canucks. The Predators made the Blackhawks work as they had to fight to stay even in the series and needed overtime in Game 5 before using Game 6 to show their dominance and put away a lesser team. The Canucks also come into this series having had a battle with the Kings as they forced Vancouver's all. The Canucks destroyed the Kings in Game 5 before a clutch last period in Game 6 sealed the deal. This one has the makings of possibly a long series between a gritty Canucks team, but Chicago has a special group that is similar to Detroit teams during the championship runs. PICK: BLACKHAWKS (in 6)

The first round provided overtime thrillers and underdogs winning and pushing other teams to their brink. I expect these games to be even better as I don't see any sweeps and a couple that could go 7. Let the Conference Semis begin!