(Photo by Len Redkoles/Getty Images)
The second round of the playoffs begin tomorrow with Vancouver and Chicago.
This should be an interesting second round, as almost all four series could go either way.
Here are predictions on while will advance to the conference finals.
Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (6)
The Boston Bruins have a lot of advantages over the Hurricanes—yet they have one big disadvantage going into the series.
While the Bruins swept the Canadiens and will not have a played a game in two weeks when the series begins, the Hurricanes are all full of energy following their seven-game victory over the New Jersey Devils.
The Hurricanes, if fatigue is not a factor, could actually steal a game from the Bruins at the Garden.
The Bruins will most likely need some time to find their legs again and get their gigantic offensive machine pumping again—although, the Bruins could be very much ready for the supercharged ‘Canes.
They had five players with a point or more per-game average, as well as two players score a goal per game.
Cam Ward has been hot since the All-Star break. He was very hot in 2006 as a rookie when the Canes won the Cup, and he is showing that hotness again after upsetting the favored Devils in the first round.
The Bruins are a complete team, though. Tim Thomas was spectacular in the first round, although against a depleted Canadiens team. He is a Vezina finalist and he will have Zdeno Chara, along with two other tough, gritty defensemen in Aaron Ward and Mark Stuart.
The Bruins are very lethal up front. Phil Kessel and Marc Savard are very deadly pair, as are David Krejci and Michael Ryder. It must have felt nice for Ryder to score four goals and seven points against a team that cast him out last year.
The Bruins have plenty of sandpaper with Milan Lucic, Stephen Yelle, and Shawn Thornton.
They also have plenty of playoff experience and leadership from trade-deadline acquisition Mark Recchi, who helped Carolina win its first Cup in 2006 in a deadline deal.
They also have Stephane Yelle, who has two Stanley Cups with Colorado and was part of the Calgary Flames team that lost in Game Seven against Tampa in 2004.
Those two players certainly know what it takes to win the Cup, and will provide much leadership to a team which is fairly young and has no playoff experience.
The Canes are playing like they did in 2006 when they won the Cup.
They're getting dangerous and they're clicking.
Cam Ward trumped King of Kings of goaltenders Martin Brodeur for the second time in the playoffs. The Hurricanes have many of the same key components they did when they won the Cup in 2006.
Paul Maurice has sparked this team from playoff dark horses to the sixth seed after the All-Star break.
The Hurricanes have a very deadly top line featuring Ray Whitney, Eric Staal, and tough guy Chad Larose. Larose, who reached a career high in goals (19) and points (31) this year, has a point per game in the first round.
However, after their top line, the Canes' production goes downhill.
Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen have provided some offense on the back end, and Jussi Jokinen has provided some secondary scoring. After that, the team trails off in a bad way.
If the Canes home to make this a close series or have a shot of upsetting the Bruins, they need players like Samsonov—who has one point—and Rod Brind'Amour, who has not scored any points yet, to score too. They also need scoring from Tuomo Ruutu, who has very efficient in the regular season.
Cam Ward will be facing a lot more rubber this round and will be plenty busy.
The Bruins have a lot more offense than the Devils did, and will need to try to take as much out of that factor to survive. Ward will be tested and so will their defense, but the Bruins have too much power and jam.
The Canes might be able to steal a win or two from them, depending on Cam Ward.
But the Bruins take this series with no problem in six games.
Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (4)
This is what everybody has been hoping for since the 2005-2006 season: Sidney Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin in the playoffs. This is history—nothing will be bigger in this round than this series.
This series is the equivalent of Wayne Gretzky vs. Mario Lemieux, if the two had ever played against each other in the playoffs.
These two players are possibly the biggest and most popular players since those two. All eyes will be on these two to see who advances—along with the sub-drama of Alex Ovechkin versus Evgeni Malkin and Alex Semin versus Crosby. I'm sure Crosby hasn't forgotten Semin's comments about him earlier in the seas
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