1) NY Rangers vs. 8) Ottawa - Rangers in a sweep 2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - B's in 5 3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - Devils in 6 4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Flyers in 7
1) Vancouver vs. 8) Los Angeles - LA in 7 (hoping for an upset) 2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - St Louis in 6 3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Chicago in 6 4) Nashville vs. 5) Detroit - Nashville in 7
EAST 1) NY Rangers vs. 8) Ottawa - Rangers in 6 2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - Boston in 5 3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - NJ in 6 4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Phila in 7
WEST
1) Vancouver vs. 8) Los Angeles - LA in 7 2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - SJ in 6 3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Chicago in 6 4) Nashville vs. 5) Detroit - Nashville in 6
1) NY Rangers vs. 8) Ottawa - Rangers in 6. Ottawa matches up well with New York and won the season series 3-1. Still, the Rangers have the better goaltending and have enough firepower to capitalize on mistakes. It will be closer than many think, though.
2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - Bruins in 6. Washington has been playing like the team many thought they would be when the season began, but the Bruins are rounding into the form that won them the Cup last year, especially their goaltending.
3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - Devils in 6. Congratulations to Florida on winning the worst division in hockey, but it's not going to last against a New Jersey team that won 6 in a row to finish the regular season. The Devils are young and balanced up front and Martin Brodeur looks revitalized in net. The Panthers lost in extra time 18 times this season.....those won't count in the playoffs.
4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Penguins in 7. Best series of the first round. Both teams have stars up front and scoring depth and talent on the blue line. Add in the bad blood that's developed over the last week and this has the makings of a classic. This one could go either way because brawls like the one they had a week ago can tip the scales in either direction, but I'm going with the team that has the bigger whiners but unfortunately slightly more talent and an advantage in goal.
Advantage in goal? Flurryfags has been their achillies heel< Bryz has been fire. <_> ...I knew Jay was biased agains the Pens cause he bleeds yellow and gold. Flyers are going to physically beat a victory out of them.
1) Vancouver vs. 8) Los Angeles - Canucks in 5. Vancouver's not much different from the team that was one win away from a Cup last year except one of the Sedins is hurt and there's a bit of a controversy in net. Still, that's more than enough to beat a Kings team that can't score consistently without Jeff Carter handily.
2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - Blues in 5. By contrast, this is not the Sharks team that went deep last year. None of their off-season or trade deadline acquisitions have worked and they've struggled mightily with consistency. The Blues swept the Sharks in the season series and it won't be much different in the playoffs with the suffocating style of hockey St. Louis plays. They have two goaltenders they can win with and are very hard to beat at home. Even with St. Louis not playing as well down the stretch, this is a bad matchup for the Sharks.
3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Coyotes in 7. Chicago's fans wanted this matchup. Well, be careful what you wish for, because you're getting a Phoenix team that finished well down the stretch with a Vezina Trophy candidate in net. Mike Smith has been nothing short of spectacular for the Coyotes this year, and I suspect that will be the difference. Chicago has found their stride lately and will get Jonathan Toews back, but their goaltending has been a question mark all year and their defense doesn't exactly inspire confidence either. The Hawks are very good and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win, but I feel this is Phoenix's best chance to reach the second round in a while.
Comments
1) NY Rangers vs. 8) Ottawa
2) Boston vs. 7) Washington
3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey
4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia
West still up in the air, though it looks like Phoenix will clinch the 3 soon.
2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - B's in 5
3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - Devils in 6
4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Flyers in 7
1) Vancouver vs. 8) Los Angeles
2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose
3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago
4) Nashville vs. 5) Detroit
Exact times will be announced tomorrow, but all Game 1's will be on Wednesday and Thursday.
2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - St Louis in 6
3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Chicago in 6
4) Nashville vs. 5) Detroit - Nashville in 7
1) NY Rangers vs. 8) Ottawa - Rangers in 6
2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - Boston in 5
3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - NJ in 6
4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Phila in 7
WEST
1) Vancouver vs. 8) Los Angeles - LA in 7
2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - SJ in 6
3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Chicago in 6
4) Nashville vs. 5) Detroit - Nashville in 6
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=626625
inb4 detroit fans cry.
2) Boston vs. 7) Washington - Bruins in 6. Washington has been playing like the team many thought they would be when the season began, but the Bruins are rounding into the form that won them the Cup last year, especially their goaltending.
3) Florida vs. 6) New Jersey - Devils in 6. Congratulations to Florida on winning the worst division in hockey, but it's not going to last against a New Jersey team that won 6 in a row to finish the regular season. The Devils are young and balanced up front and Martin Brodeur looks revitalized in net. The Panthers lost in extra time 18 times this season.....those won't count in the playoffs.
4) Pittsburgh vs. 5) Philadelphia - Penguins in 7. Best series of the first round. Both teams have stars up front and scoring depth and talent on the blue line. Add in the bad blood that's developed over the last week and this has the makings of a classic. This one could go either way because brawls like the one they had a week ago can tip the scales in either direction, but I'm going with the team that has the bigger whiners but unfortunately slightly more talent and an advantage in goal.
2) St. Louis vs. 7) San Jose - Blues in 5. By contrast, this is not the Sharks team that went deep last year. None of their off-season or trade deadline acquisitions have worked and they've struggled mightily with consistency. The Blues swept the Sharks in the season series and it won't be much different in the playoffs with the suffocating style of hockey St. Louis plays. They have two goaltenders they can win with and are very hard to beat at home. Even with St. Louis not playing as well down the stretch, this is a bad matchup for the Sharks.
3) Phoenix vs. 6) Chicago - Coyotes in 7. Chicago's fans wanted this matchup. Well, be careful what you wish for, because you're getting a Phoenix team that finished well down the stretch with a Vezina Trophy candidate in net. Mike Smith has been nothing short of spectacular for the Coyotes this year, and I suspect that will be the difference. Chicago has found their stride lately and will get Jonathan Toews back, but their goaltending has been a question mark all year and their defense doesn't exactly inspire confidence either. The Hawks are very good and I wouldn't be surprised to see them win, but I feel this is Phoenix's best chance to reach the second round in a while.