Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day Five Predictions

Saturday night saw a quartet of Original Six teams scoring victories to put them up 2-0 in their series'.

While Detroit, Boston and Chicago pulled through my only loss came at the hands of the New York Rangers as Henrik Lundqvist stopped 35 shots en route to a 1-0 win over the Washington Capitals.

Chris' record after Day Four: 8-7

Eastern Conference

Pittsburgh (4) at Philadelphia (5)—PIT leads 2-0

The Flyers suffered a crushing loss on Friday evening with Penguins forward Bill Guerin scoring on a 5-on-3 late in the first overtime period.

There is two positives the Flyers can take heading into today's action—they were neck and neck with the Pens for most of Game Two, and they now have a packed house to back them up. History shows that teams who visit the city of brotherly love get very little love from the home crowd.

The good news for the Penguins would be that they took two of the last three meetings at Wachovia Center with the most recent victory coming on February 21st.

Evgeni Malkin leads the playoffs in scoring with a pair of goals and three assists in two contests. Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby both have three points thus far in the series.

Game Three Winner: Philadelphia

New Jersey (3) at Carolina (6)—Series tied 1-1

Tim Gleason scored the overtime winner for the Hurricanes in Game Two to even the series. Cam Ward made 33 saves for the win.

Tonight the Hurricanes will play their first playoff game at RBC Center in Raleigh since winning the Stanley Cup in Game Seven of the 2006 Finals. There's no question that the Carolina faithful will be behind their team once again.

New Jersey captain Jamie Langenbrunner did not skate on Saturday and will most likely miss Game Three with an undisclosed injury. This could prove to be a costly blow to the Devils.

Game Three Winner: Carolina

Western Conference

Vancouver (3) at St. Louis (6)—VAN leads 2-0

Although the Canucks are ahead two games against the St. Louis Blues they have played below par.

Goaltender Roberto Luongo stole the show in Game Two as he shut out the Blues. The Canucks captain made 14 saves in the third period alone.

Vancouver must improve their play before St. Louis takes advantage of it. Along with the possibility of Paul Kariya returning to the lineup, fans at the Scottrade Center could witness the Blues' first playoff win since 2004.

Game Three Winner: St. Louis

Anaheim (8) at San Jose (1)—ANA leads 1-0

This is the final matchup that has yet to play two games in the playoffs. The Ducks stunned San Jose in Game One as they broke a third period deadlock to go on to a 2-0 win. Jonas Hiller had a shutout in his playoff debut as he turned aside 35 shots.

It's hard to believe that there is even more pressure on the Sharks than there already was. San Jose has had a history of playoff failure and are looking to silence their critics by getting back into the series with a win tonight.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan had two days to prepare his team for Game Two. Expect a more energetic start from the President Trophy winners.

Game Two Winner: San Jose