Excitng First Round Play Leads to Unexpected Second Round Matchups

Alright, so I was wrong.  Let me eat my words. 

The Stanley Cup playoffs are through one round of play and the team I favoured to make it to the final round, but lose the Cup, is out.  Anaheimhad all the potential to make a second appeareance in a row in the Final, but failed due to heinous first round play and a sparkling Dallas opponent.  Dallas wanted it more.  They played like they wanted it, they played like they meant if, and they played to win.  And so, we'll see them next round as they face off against the San Jose Sharks.

This will be, in my opinion, the hardest series to judge.  Dallas has speed, agility, skill, and Marty Turco.  The Sharks, however, have speed, agility, skill, and Joe Thornton.  While Calgary did a decent job of shutting down Thornton, I think Dallas will have a tougher time.

While I want to say Dallas will ride the thrill of taking out the Ducks, I think it's just as likely to see San Jose come out on top.

My assumption that the Colorado Avalanche might be the dark horse is still holding strong.  

The boys from the mile-high city are playing like there's no tomorrow.  The problem is, several times during the first round, they were outplayed by their opponent, the Minnesota Wild.  

The Wild are a hard team to beat.  They play a sick defensive style of hockey (ie: the Trap), and they work the body.  The amazing play of Jose Theodore was the only thing at times keeping the Avs afloat.  If they want to advance to the Western Final, they'll have to back up their goalie and play smart, fast, and hard.

They'll also have to beat Detroit. They have a lot of skill, but I don't expect much from the Red Wings.  It's a miracle they made it past the first round, let alone accomplish a Western Final appearance. 

In the East, there is an entirely different story being written.

Pittsburgh did as expected against the lowly Senators.  Ottawa wasn't prepared, and just wasn't able to handle the young Pittsburghphenoms and the old stand-bys.  It will be interesting to see how Sid the Kid will face the likes of Jaromir Jagr and the boys in New York.

North of the border, Carey Price is looking more and more like a Conn Smythe contender.  He played fantastically during his first series.  Some would point out the two 5 goal games he had as less than spectacular, but his bounce back in Game 7 to shut-out Boston showed real skill and poise.  Look to him to be the big player in the series between Montreal and Philadelphia. Saku Koivu should also provide some offence now that he has returned.

There you have it.  Second round play is set to begin on Thursday, and we're all ready for a new batch of rivalries, hits, goals, near-misses, and fresh, good, hockey.

Look to see Colorado and Dallas in the Western Conference Final and Montreal and Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Final. 

Until then...