2011 NHL Playoffs: Round Two Preview and Predictions

With the entertaining first round finally in the history books, the stage has been set for a grueling second round. With four of the eight round-two teams just exiting a seven-game series this should definitely be an interesting one.

The Detroit Red Wings were the only team to pull out a sweep in round one and have had eight days of rest, while the big shot Canucks played their final game just a mere two days ago and will begin their next challenge tonight.

We're going to take a deeper look into the second round and make some predictions as we dive into the four semi-final match-ups: Vancouver Canucks vs. Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins.

1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 5. Nashville Predators

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ANAHEIM, CA - APRIL 15: Mike Fisher #12 of the Nashville Predators celebrates a goal by Shea Weber #6 against the Anaheim Ducks in the second period of Game Two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Cen

I for one, am very excited about this series and it could go one of two ways. The Canucks are either going to blow out the Predators while they try and find their stride in their first ever semifinal, or Nashville will put together a couple solid games and give the Canucks a scare much like the Blackhawks did in round one.

The second round could have looked a lot different had Game 7 of the Vancouver game ended differently, but they avoided disaster with a blast from Alex Burrows in overtime. Now they must take on the young upstart Nashville Predators.

The Predators may not have nearly as much firepower as the Canucks but their big guns stepped up for them in Anaheim and watch for them to do it again.

Shea Weber and Mike Fisher are both playing like they deserve to be in the second round, and if Pekka Rinne can get out of this funk and back to his normal self, the Predators may have a shot.

Vancouver is coming off of a grueling seven-game series against the Hawks in which they showed some gaping holes in their nearly perfect regular-season team.

Roberto Luongo has again been less than stellar, so much so that the Canucks benched the goaltending legend in game 6 (which Cory Schneider would end up hurt anyway).

The Sedin twins have slowed since the regular season, and their defense hasn't been at the top of its game either. They're going to need to rediscover the touch they had during the regular season if they want to bring the cup back to Canada this year and to Vancouver for the first time since 1915.

The two team split the season series, and I would look for another long series. Depending if Vancouver can play to their potential, they should be able to hold off the up-start Predators.

 My Prediction: Vancouver Canucks in six

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 3. Detroit Red Wings

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SAN JOSE, CA - NOVEMBER 30: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings is congratulated by Henrik Zetterberg #40 and Daniel Cleary #11 after he scored a goal on Antero Niittymaki #30 of the San Jose Sharks at HP Pavilion on November 30, 2010 in San Jose,

The Detroit Red Wings playoff storyline is starting to look a bit familiar. Beating the Phoenix Coyotes in round one and drawing the San Jose Sharks in round two. This year however, the Wings are looking to avenge a five-game series loss to the Sharks and re-establish themselves as a Western Conference powerhouse.

The Red Wings had a massive eight day-break after being the only team to sweep their first round opponent, even without the likes of leading scorer Henrik Zetterberg and a war-torn Johan Franzen.

With the Wings back to full health and finally playing as a team—and if netminder Jimmy Howard can continue his steady play—the Wings have a solid chance of getting their revenge on the Sharks.

Watching the San Jose Sharks play the L.A. Kings in the first round really had me wondering how they managed to finish second in the league. Then I remembered the San Jose Sharks playoff record of the last couple years and it started to make sense.

The big three in San Jose (regardless of Joe Thornton's game winner in Game 6) again played under their ability. I don't think I heard Dany Heatley or Patrick Marleau's name mentioned once during the first round.

Antti Niemi put up the worst save percentage in the league and a goals against only beaten out of last place by Ilya Bryzgalov, who was lit up by the Red Wings in round one.

The second line of the Sharks will need to continue their great play but the first line will have to show up for more than one game in this series if they want to have a chance at repeating their victory over the Wings.

The season series watched the Sharks take three of four over the Red Wings, but I would watch for the Wings to turn that around and pull this one out.

My Prediction: Detroit Red Wings in six.

1. Washington Capitals vs 5. Tampa Bay Lightning

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PITTSBURGH, PA - APRIL 27: Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on April 27, 2011

This should be Gary Bettman's favorite series of the year considering Sidney Crosby hasn't played since January. Alexander Ovechkin, Mike Green, Alex Semin, Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier.

This series has some serious ammunition on the bench and all of that ammo should lead to a high-powered, exciting series.

The Washington Capitals are coming off a huge break after offing the New York Rangers in five games—the only series to end in five. Their new defensive mindset worked out well even though each of the five games was a white-knuckled one- or two-goal game.

Ovechkin and Semin lead the charge while rookie Michal Nuevirth backstopped to the best goals against average in the league. I would expect to see this defensive trend continue as well as some tight games in this one.

The Tampa Bay Lightning get all of one solid day of rest before packing up and heading to the nation's capital to take on Washington.

They had a surprise series coming back to knock off the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games IN Pittsburgh, no easy feat.

Their team may not get the solid rest that the Caps had, but they are still healthy and riding the momentum of an energy-filled series. Roloson will have to keep up his astonishing play if they want to take the Caps though.

The goaltenders in this series deserve a section all on their own. Nearly two decades apart (Neuvirth is 23 and Roloson is 41), these two pack a one-two punch in the NHL, literally.

Dwayne Roloson leads the NHL in save percentage with 94.9%, 0.3 percent better than Neuvirth.

On the goals against average side, Neuvirth leads the NHL with 1.38 goals against, less than a half a goal better than Roloson. This series will really come down to which team can beat the hot goaltender more and, with the Caps firepower pumping on all cylinders, I think they have the upper hand.

The season series watched the Caps win four of six against the Bolts and I think they will pull off four more to advance to the Conference Final.

My Prediction: Washington Capitals in five.

2. Philadelphia Flyers vs 3. Boston Bruins

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CHICAGO - MAY 30: Michael Leighton #49 and Brian Boucher #33 of the Philadelphia Flyers practice for the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at the United Center on May 30, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)

This one should be interesting, and after watching both team's performances in the first round, I am on the fence as to which way to go.

Personally I thought both teams underperformed against their lower-seeded opponents and both have some areas to work on if they want to contend for a Stanley Cup.

With both teams coming out of seven game series, it really could go either way.

The Philadelphia Flyers are coming out of a hard-fought battle against the Buffalo Sabres in which they barely edged out with the series win. The goaltenders have stolen the show again in Philly—and again—not in a good way.

Splitting time among goalies Sergei Bobrovsky, Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher, the Flyers couldn't buy consistency and it ultimately almost lead to their demise in the first round.

Pronger's return should help a bit, but it seems the offense is going to have to front load the scoreboard (which is very possible between Claude Giroux and Danny Briere) in order for them to pull out a win.

The Bruins are also coming off a seven-game series in which they squeaked out an overtime winner in Game 7 to hold off the Montreal Canadiens. Boston doesn't seem to have nearly as much firepower up front as Philly, but between Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas in net, they don't need as many goals to overpower teams.

They are going to need more input from their big offensive guns if they want to take this series away from Philly.

The season series watched Boston take three of four games against the Flyers and although it may be closer, I think the Bruins will squeak past Philly in this one, depending on how good Thomas can play against the hot top line of the Flyers.

My Prediction: Boston Bruins in seven.