2011 NHL Playoffs: A Look at Round Two and Predictions

What a fantastic first round of playoffs that was!  Four series went to game seven and two of those games sevens went to overtime.  Let's hope that the second round will be just as exciting as the first round.  I went seven for eight in my first round predictions and all four of my final four are still alive. (*) notes games if necessary.

Washington (#1) vs. Tampa Bay (#5)

Games: Friday (29), Sunday (1), Tuesday (3), Wednesday (4), Saturday* (7), Monday* (9) and Wednesday* (11)

Season Series: Washington won series 4-1-1 and outscored Tampa 19-10
Season Home Records: Washington (25-8-8)–Tampa Bay (25-11-5)
Season Away Records: Washington (23-15-3)–Tampa Bay (21-14-6)
Playoff Powerplay Rank: Washington (11th)–Tampa Bay (3rd)
Playoff Penalty Kill Rank: Washington (3rd)–Tampa Bay (2nd)

Key Injuries: Randy Jones (indefinitely), Matt Smaby (questionable), Tom Poti (indefinitely), Dennis Wideman (indefinitely), Mike Green (probable), Mike Knuble (questionable) and Alexander Semin (probable)

Washington Top Scorer First Round: Alexander Ovechkin (six points)
Tampa Bay Top Scorer First Round: Martin St. Louis (eight points)
Washington Player That Needs to Step Up: Nicklas Backstrom (one point)
Tampa Bay Player That Needs to Step Up: Ryan Malone (two points)

Prediction: Washington in five.

Philadelphia (#2) vs. Boston (#3)

Games: Saturday (30), Monday (2), Wednesday (4), Friday (6), Sunday* (8), Tuesday* (10) and Thursday* (12)

Season Series: Boston won series 3-1 and outscored Philadelphia 13-8
Season Home Records: Philadelphia (22-12-7) – Boston (22-13-6)
Season Away Records: Philadelphia (25-11-5) – Boston (24-12-5)
Playoff Powerplay Rank: Philadelphia (12th) – Boston (16th)
Playoff Penalty Kill Rank: Philadelphia (12th) – Boston (T-9th)

Key Injuries: Trent Whitfield (indefinitely), Marc Savard (playoffs), Ian Laperriere (playoffs), Jeff Carter (questionable), Andreas Nodl (questionable) and Michael Leighton (questionable)

Philadelphia Top Scorer First Round: Claude Giroux (nine points)
Boston Top Scorer First Round: Patrice Bergeron (seven points)
Philadelphia Player That Needs to Step Up: Brian Boucher
Boston Player That Needs to Step Up: David Krejci (one point)

Prediction: Boston in six.

Vancouver (#1) vs. Nashville (#5)

Games: Thursday (28), Saturday (30), Tuesday (3), Thursday (5), Saturday* (7), Monday* (9) and Wednesday* (11)

Season Series: Tied 2-2 and Nashville outscored Vancouver 8-6
Season Home Records: Vancouver (27-9-5) – Nashville (24-9-8)
Season Away Records: Vancouver (27-10-4) – Nashville (20-18-3)
Playoff Powerplay Rank: Vancouver (T-6th) – Nashville (T-6th)
Playoff Penalty Kill Rank: Vancouver (7th) – Nashville (16th)

Key Injuries: Matthew Lombardi (playoffs), Cal O’Reilly (indefinitely), Marcel Goc (playoffs), Martin Erat (probable), Rick Rypien (indefinitely), Manny Malhotra (playoffs), Sami Salo (doubtful) and Cory Schneider (questionable)

Vancouver Top Scorer First Round: Daniel Sedin (seven points)
Nashville Top Scorer First Round: Mike Fisher (six points)
Vancouver Player That Needs to Step Up: Ryan Kesler (zero goals)
Nashville Player That Needs to Step Up: Sergei Kostitsyn (zero goals)

Prediction: Vancouver in five.

San Jose (#2) vs. Detroit (#3)

Games: Friday (29), Sunday (1), Wednesday (4), Friday (6), Sunday* (8), Tuesday* (10) and Wednesday* (12)

Season Series: San Jose won series 3-1 and outscored Detroit 15-11
Season Home Records: San Jose (25-11-5) – Detroit (21-14-6)
Season Away Records: San Jose (23-14-4) – Detroit (26-11-4)
Playoff Powerplay Rank: San Jose (13th) – Detroit (4th)
Playoff Penalty Kill Rank: San Jose (8th) – Detroit (15th)

Key Injuries: Chris Osgood (indefinitely), Ruslan Salei (probable), Henrik Zetterberg (probable), Johan Franzen (probable) and Kent Huskins (indefinitely)

San Jose Top Scorer First Round: Ryane Clowe (seven points)
Detroit Top Scorer First Round: Pavel Datsyuk (six points)
San Jose Player That Needs to Step Up: Antti Niemi
Detroit Player That Needs to Step Up: Jimmy Howard

Prediction: Detroit in six.

Aaron Brouwer is the co-creator of www.fantasyhockeycoach.com.  FHC is a free fantasy hockey service that developed a ranking system combining post-lockout statistics, current factors and our own hockey knowledge.  Brouwer writes about fantasy hockey on Bleacher Report. You can contact Coach Brouwer at [e-mail].