NHL Playoffs 2012: Predicting What Round 2 May Look Like

There haven't been any sweeps in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there's been plenty of drama that has shaped compelling second-round matchups.

With many Game 5's fast approaching, a few teams are on the verge of punching their tickets to the quarterfinals while some top seeds will desperately be trying to stave off elimination. Everything is still up in the air, but it's getting easier to speculate about which teams will still be playing at the end of next week and which ones will be making tee times.

Here are predictions for which teams will be packing it up and which teams we'll be watching in the quarterfinals.

Kings vs. Blues

The Kings are one win away from knocking off the top-seeded Canucks, which would deliver a serious blow to a team—and a fan base—that lost the Stanley Cup to the Bruins just one year ago. The Canucks narrowly staved off elimination in Game 4, winning 3-1.

The Kings' success in this postseason has been a bit more surprising. Though they finished third in the Pacific Division, Jonathan Quick's 2.10 GAA ranks second in the league, and he's been even better than Rinne in the postseason with a 1.77 GAA.

After losing the first game of the playoffs, the Blues have looked like one of the best teams in the conference, and they can send the Sharks packing with a fourth consecutive win. If the Blues advance, it will be their first playoff series win since 2002.

Goalies Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak have been a formidable pair, shutting out San Jose 3-0 in Game 2 and then holding them to one goal in Game 4. Meanwhile, the Sharks have lost seven of eight to St. Louis this season and will need a miracle to stay alive.

Coyotes vs. Blues

There aren't a lot of people outside Phoenix who want to see the Coyotes win after the nonsense Raffi Torres pulled in Game 3, but with a 3-1 series advantage, it looks like they'll soon be gearing up for a quarterfinals series against the Blues.

Phoenix has won two straight overtime contests against the Blackhawks, both of them on the road, so it will be hard for Chicago to regain the momentum. Even more impressive is the fact that the Coyotes have found ways to win despite being without Martin Hanzal and Lauri Korpikoski. History, however, won't be on their side: They haven't advanced past the first round since 1999.

The Predators lead their series with the Red Wings 3-1. Nashville, the West's fourth-seeded team, finished second in the Central Division to the Blues and boasts the nation's top power play unit, which converts at 21.6 percent. Goaltender Pekka Rinne owns the eighth-best goals-against average in theNHL at 2.39, and he's been even better in the playoffs, going 3-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a .942 save percentage.

Bruins vs. Flyers

This series is very up in the air, as both of the current first-round series are knotted 2-2.

The Capitals and the Bruins have traded wins throughout the first four games of this postseason, but the B's have the edge because of goaltending—and because they're headed back to the TD Garden for Game 5. Washington is no easy No. 7 seed to contend with, given its offensive prowess.

But the Caps' rookie goaltender, Braden Holtby, is untested, though he's been playing as well as—if not better than—Tim Thomas. It's difficult to count out the Bruins when they have the reigning Vezina Trophy winner on their side, despite the fact that their offense hasn't displayed any firepower during this series. If and when the offense wakes up just a little bit—or if Holtby reveals a chink in the armor—Boston will advance.

The Penguins showed signs of life in Game 4, but it's too little, too late. Karma is a powerful thing, and it would be quite a story if the Flyers blew a 3-0 lead in the playoffs after what they did to the Bruins a couple of years ago, but the odds are it won't happen this soon.

The Penguins' offense was unbelievable in Game 3, but the Flyers have one of the most consistently explosive lineups in the NHL. The Pens are going to have to score 10 goals every game in order to advance to the quarterfinals. Pittsburgh has given up too many big leads, and the Flyers have scored too many goals to indicate that they can't win just one more game.

Rangers vs. Devils

Goaltending has somehow been a problem for the Devils against the Panthers, despite the fact that they have future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur between the pipes. He was pulled from Game 3 after coughing up a three-goal lead very quickly, but he came back to shut out Florida in Game 4 and tie the series.

Brodeur has the experience—and now the fire, given the doubts that followed him after the Game 3 debacle—to hold strong the rest of the way for the sixth-seeded Devils.

And though it might be difficult to find motivation when you've won three straight games in a series, the Pens did a pretty good job of handing it to the Flyers on a silver platter by putting a 10-spot on them.

Though the Rangers and the Senators have also traded wins through four games, the Rangers—heading back home after their overtime loss in Game 4—should be able to eke out the series victory. It will come down to goaltending for top-seeded New York, and Henrik Lundqvist has the third-best GAA in the league at 1.97. Just one game before the Game 4 loss, he posted a 39-save shutout.

Craig Anderson was good in Game 4—good enough to hold strong for the remainder of the game after allowing two power-play goals in the first six minutes—but a lack of consistency could prove problematic for the Senators in the rest of the series.