NHL Playoff Predictions 2012: Picking the 1st-Round Eastern Conference Winners

The Eastern Conference bracket in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs features four matchups that could go either way. No one team stands out as a runaway winner.

Naturally, that makes predicting winners pretty tough. All we can do is read the signs to the best of our ability and then make educated guesses. After that, all we can do is watch.

For what they're worth, here are my educated guesses for who is going to advance to the next round in the Eastern Conference.

No. 1 New York Rangers vs. No. 8 Ottawa Senators

This looks like a mismatch at first glance, but it's not. The Senators won three of their four games against the Rangers this season, and the Rangers didn't exactly play their best hockey in the tail end of the season.

Because of that, Ottawa has to like its chances. This series is a chance for the Senators to beat a team they know they can beat, and it's a chance for their young guns to show the world that they are not to be underestimated.

It won't be that easy, of course. Despite their poor play late in the season, the Rangers remain one of the most balanced teams in the league, as they finished the season ranked 11th in goals for and third in goals against. 

In this series, the emphasis will be on limiting Ottawa's dangerous offensive attack. That shouldn't be too much of an issue in theory, but it's worth noting that the Senators were one of few teams to have Henrik Lundqvist's number during the regular season.

Still, the Rangers obviously have the advantage as far as goalies go, and their own offense should be able to give Craig Anderson a hard time.

It won't be a clean sweep, but the Rangers should take this series.

Rangers in six

No. 2 Boston Bruins vs. No. 7 Washington Capitals

This is yet another series that looks like a mismatch on paper, as surely the defending champs won't let themselves be beaten by a Capitals team that underachieved yet again this season.

The matchup does indeed favor the Bruins. They can put the puck in the net as well as any team in the playoffs, and they have the defense to handle the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Bruins can also rest easy knowing that they have Tim Thomas, who was tremendous in the playoffs last year, between the pipes.

I for one don't think anybody should be too quick to write the Caps off. They played the Bruins in Boston twice in March, and they won both games. And if Ovechkin stays as hot as he was after the All-Star Game, the Caps are going to be better than a lot of people are giving them credit for.

Besides, we should all realize that this year's Bruins team is not as strong or as deep as last year's Stanley Cup-winning team. Nothing is going to come easy for the B's in these playoffs.

That much will be obvious in their first series. The Bruins are going to need all seven games to win it.

Bruins in seven

No. 3 Florida Panthers vs. No. 6 New Jersey Devils

The Panthers are the higher-seeded team in this matchup, but everyone knows that they're far from perfect. Florida was one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league in the regular season, and it ended up ranking 12th in goals allowed per game.

By contrast, the Devils played a very balanced game during the regular season, finishing 15th in goals for and eighth in goals allowed. They were also the top penalty-killing team in the league, which is a quality that will come in handy against the Panthers.

So for the Panthers to pull off the upset, they're going to have to get creative. They're not going to be able to overpower the Devils offensively, and the Panthers don't hold any significant advantages on the defensive end.

To put it bluntly, the Panthers are overmatched. If the Devils don't win this series, it will be a huge surprise.

Devils in five

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers

This series is going to be an offensive clinic.

The Penguins and the Flyers finished first and second in the league in scoring this season, respectively. The Penguins' attack is spearheaded by an excellent trio of centers in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, all three of whom are elite playmakers. The Flyers' attack is pretty darn good in its own right, as it's spearheaded by stars like Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell and Jaromir Jagr.

As if all the star power wasn't enough, this series is intriguing because of the rivalry that exists between these two teams. They don't like each other, and that reality is going to play itself out on the ice.

The key thing to watch in this series is Crosby's health, which is something that can't be taken for granted from day to day. Given his recent history, all it will take is one hit to knock him off the ice for good. The Flyers will catch some heat if they do take Crosby out of the equation, but they know as well as anyone that knocking Crosby out of the equation could lead them to a victory in this series.

But even if they do, it will be a battle. Given the amount of talent they have, the Penguins don't need Crosby to win this series.

And ultimately, I think they will win this series.

Penguins in seven