the stick, the stone and the puddle

EASTERN CONFERENCE

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #8 Montreal Canadiens

fresh off the shock of the first round the road gets even harder for montreal; they get the defending champions. pittsburgh has been waiting, given they finished their round in 6 games. montreal showed lots of heart while they shocked the russian rocket. halak continued his form from the olympics and he needs to elevate his game yet again for the next round. but i have a very hard time seeing them go through this time around. it would be nice, as it would continue a cinderella story…but crosby will be on a tear.
pittsburgh in 6 games

#6 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Philadelphia Flyers

while i’d be the first to state that i would have liked to see a pittsburgh-boston match-up; this has the making of a very, very physical series. both teams have ended the season inconsistent, and arguably both have somewhat dominated their first round match-up. savard is set to re-join the bruins, and they do have the advantage in goal. pronger will probably have something to say in this series, but i doubt philadelphia will be able to win 4 games without some key attacking players. so, boston will probably do their part to ensure a repeat of some of the greatest match-ups in nhl history (re-match with montreal).
boston in 7 games

WESTERN CONFERENCE

#1 San Jose Sharks vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

so san jose managed to beat colorado, barely. if colorado would have had any trace of an attack, san jose would be playing golf at this point. their first line is horrible. they are probably so used to dreaming of golf that they forgot ice hockey is based on putting the puck in the net. detroit on the other hand just got stronger as the round got going. unless san jose’s top line gets going (and yes i am aware that heatley is hurt), this series will be short.
detroit in 6 games

#2 Chicago Blackhawks vs. #3 Vancouver Canucks

a re-match of last year’s second round match-up. this is bound to be a great series, with vancouver looking for revenge. luongo seems to have finally found his game. however, chicago wants the cup. two unproven goalies, one with a bit more experience than the other. it will be a battle of the secondary scoring. the teams that wins it, might just win the west .
canucks in 7 games