Round 1 of the NHL playoffs ended last night with a bang—Nathan Horton's overtime goal hitting the back of the net in Boston to beat the Habs in seven—and a whimper—as the Lightning stuffed the Crosby- and Malkin-less Pens to win the deciding game seven in that series.
The previous night, the Blackhawks—despite being whupped up and down the ice by a dominant Vancouver team—almost staged a miraculous comeback with Jonathan Toews' tying goal in the last two minutes and an almost superhuman effort by goalie Corey Crawford, and Philly got the buffalo off their back, finally turning in a dominant performance against the Sabres (who are now, sadly, going to have to shave off their playoff sideburns).
Already in the second round before Tuesday: My Washington Capitals dispatched the Rangers in 5, San Jose finished off the Kings in 6, Nashville grounded the Flying V in 6, and the Red Wings kicked the Phoenix Coyotes so hard in the backside that they might end up landing back in Winnipeg.
And so here we are in round 2 of the playoffs; the winners of these series will go to the conference finals to play for the right to represent their conference (I still want to call them the Wales and Campbell conferences) in the Stanley Cup Finals, to determine who gets to drink beer out of this fancy piece of hardware:
Photo: Cupcanal
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In the East:
1 Washington vs. 5 Tampa Bay
First Game: Friday, 7pm EDT at the Verizon Center* in DC (TV: VS or TSN)
Tampa Bay has Washington's run'n'gun offense from last year, a veteran goalie, and offensive weapons the Rangers didn't have (as in, any offensive weapons at all), but played their last three games staving off elimination. The Capitals haven't played since Saturday and will see their new-look defensive stinginess put to the test against the Lightning, but have shown the ability (like game 4 in New York) to go back to last season's high-scoring ways if they need to—and the young Michael Neuvirth has proved himself a cool customer in the crease.
My prediction: Capitals in 5
* Incidentally, the Verizon Center is in fact louder than Madison Square Garden.
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2 Philadelphia vs. 3 Boston
First Game: Saturday, 3pm EDT at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly (TV: NBC or CBC†)
Both the #2 and #3 teams went to seven games against lower-seeded opponents; both managed to scrape out wins, although Philly did it much more convincingly. (Perhaps the most convincing part of last night's Bruins game was the Habs' acting as they took dive after dive.) Both are tough, physical teams, and this promises to be a bruiser of a series; however, I'm going to have to give the edge to Philly here despite some serious goaltending issues, simply because they made it look easy against a great big-game goalie, Ryan Miller, when the chips were down in Game 7. But this is probably the prediction I'm least comfortable with.
My prediction: Flyers in 7
† If you get it, watch CBC at intermission just to see what Don Cherry is wearing.
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In the West:
1 Vancouver vs. 5 Nashville
First Game: Thursday, 9pm EDT at Rogers Arena in Vancouver (TV: VS or CBC)
Despite their dominance over the regular season, it's easy to see how Vancouver could lose this series. After going up 3-0 on the Blackhawks in round 1 they had to go to overtime in Game 7 to finish them off; additionally, the benching of goalie Roberto Luongo in Game 6—and his subsequent return after the backup's injury—could seriously shake his confidence going into another round, as the intensity (and the pressure from Vancouver fans, who are used to perpetual choking) ramps up another level. Plus, coming off the emotional high of winning Game 7 in overtime just a couple of nights ago could prove costly. That's why I think they're going to lose tonight... but I don't think they'll drop another one in this series. They're just head and shoulders better than the Predators, who don't have a Corey Crawford to singlehandedly keep them alive when it's just the guy in the crease and two skaters on a breakaway.
My prediction: Canucks in 5
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2 San Jose vs. 3 Detroit
First Game: Friday, 10pm EDT at HP Pavilion in San Jose (TV: VS or TSN)
Last year, Detroit lost to the Sharks in five games, a blow to a team many thought had as good a chance as anyone to hoist the hardware over their head—but I think this year's going to be different. The Sharks have a strong team and have demonstrated some serious heart, as in their Game 3 comeback from a 5-0 deficit against the Kings, and they have a Stanley Cup-winning goalie in Antti Niemi... but I don't think they'll a match for a Detroit team that features a guy who can do this:
I think they'll split 'em in San Jose, but once it goes back to the Joe and the octopi start flying, Detroit will take two there, drop one back in San Jose, and finish it in front of the home crowd.
My prediction: Wings in 6
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Got any predictions?
Observations from Round 1?
Tips for the Phoenix players, who I'm sure have acclimated to that hot desert weather, to stay warm through a brutal Winnipeg winter next year?
Let's talk.
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