Stanley Cup Playoffs: Day 17 Predictions

As a hockey team you know you are doing something right if you're playing in May.

But rather than admiring what you've accomplished as a team, you have to be even better to play in June.

We kick off May with a double-dose of hockey as the Anaheim Ducks travel to Detroit for a matchup between the last two Stanley Cup champions. Meanwhile, the upstart Carolina Hurricanes storm into Boston to try and give the Bruins their first loss of the post-season.

Chris' record after Day 16: 26-16

Western Conference

Anaheim (8) @ Detroit (2)

The Ducks had a tough time with the Red Wings this season winning one of four games against the reigning champions. However the last meeting between the two teams was on Feb. 20, a date that is well before the time the Ducks caught their stride.

Anaheim was one of the hottest teams down the stretch and proved it as they took down the top-ranked San Jose Sharks in round one. They'll look to build off a strong performance in order to earn the split at Joe Louis Arena.

Fans in Detroit are still waiting for playoff action as their last home game came on Apr. 18. The Columbus Blue Jackets proved to be no match for the Wings until Game Four, where Detroit still prevailed with a 6-5 victory to eliminate the Jackets.

Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller was spectacular against the Sharks as he posted two shutouts and a 1.67 GAA in his playoff debut. With many critics doubting the play of Chris Osgood the Wings goaltender made big saves early in the first round to keep the Blue Jackets off the board.

While some stats may be deceiving there is one that may catch your attention. Thus far in the playoffs the Red Wings have outshot their opponents by an average of 7.5 shots per game. At the other end of the ice the Ducks have been heavily outshot through round one, giving up an extra 12.3 shots in their six games against San Jose.

The Red Wings have as much—if not more—offensive fire-power than the Sharks and the Ducks defensemen will have to keep the shots to the outside and limit Detroit's scoring chances. Hiller won't be able to hold off the Stanley Cup champs by himself.

This series will come down to a battle of the D's when Niedermayer and Pronger go head-to-head with Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski. Unfortunately, Rafalski will be unable to go in Game One as he will sit with an upper-body injury.

Game One Winner: Anaheim

Eastern Conference

Carolina (6) @ Boston (1)

With less than two minutes left in Game Seven against the New Jersey Devils it looked all but over for the Carolina Hurricanes.

In a 48-second span, their fortunes took a turn for the better.

The Hurricanes rallied late in the decisive game and stole the series from a stingy Devils team. Eric Staal proved to be the impact player of the series as he tallied five goals in total with three of them coming in the final two contests to keep Carolina from getting knocked out of the playoffs.

Staal will have his hands full with Zdeno Chara this round and won't have an easy time scoring on Tim Thomas, either.

Chara and Thomas were nominated for the Norris and Vezina trophies respectively and both have great odds of coming away with the awards. But there's a bigger trophy that these two would rather win.

The Bruins took out the Montreal Canadiens in round one despite playing average hockey. Even though they swept the season series with the Hurricanes there's no doubt that Claude Julien and his team will be prepared to take on a resilient Carolina squad.

Thomas and Cam Ward will be locked in a goaltending duel, one that could even prove to be better than the Ward/Brodeur matchup in the first round. The edge definitely goes to Thomas as he has a much stronger defensive core playing in front of him.

While this series may be one-sided on paper don't expect the Hurricanes to roll over for the Bruins. This will be a physical series and will ultimately rely on special teams.

Game One Winner: Boston