After an exciting and unpredictable First Round, the NHL takes Wednesday off to prep for the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals. I was 4-4 with the Flyers and Stars the upset winners, from my predictions anyway.
The Dallas and Philly fan bases both went nuts upon their long-awaited first round wins. Both looked stronger than expected and the relief of winning an early series encourages big momentum into the next phase. The Ranger and Avalanche victories were toss-ups (I lost them both) but prove a balanced attack and veteran leadership goes a long way in the post-season. Montreal and San Jose worked harder than expected to get past their opponents, but may be building confidence at the right time. Or, they may both be exhausted from their Game 7 wins.
The quote machine all says the same thing "that was the first step toward the big goal. They've all won four games but need twelve more wins to hoist the cup. A look at what's next.
The East
1 MTL vs. 4 PHI In what should have been a lesser series, Boston took Montreal to the limits in a seven game thriller. The Habs speed and offense got highlighted in three games, while some spotty defense and a big gamble on a goaltender almost got them in the middle of the series when they lost three of four. Typical of the speedy, goal scoring machine they were all season, Montreal came back with a vengeance to shut the Bruins down 5-0 in Game 7, no easy task. Philly remains a mystery to me. I expected them to be slow, uneven and poor on special teams, but they held their own and won outright. Many want to blame the Caps late season run for exhausting their team, but the Flyers were gritty wining early and, more importantly, in overtime. The game seven winner provides a morale boost, but may take a physical and emotional toll if this goes long. Trouble is, the did little to stop Ovechkin, a fast skater with great scoring touch. The Canadiens have a few guys like that - not as great as he is - but good, speedy guys that can give the Flyers trouble. The Price-Brion match up in net is interesting as neither was outstanding, but both proved worthy of this round. I expect "new NHL" roster to prevail over the "old school" one unless the Flyers can keep scoring four plus goals a game. Montreal in 6
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