^^It will be an upset if Detroit loses.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Washington Capitals VS. Montreal Canadians (8)  4 games

(2) New Jersey Devils VS. Philadelphia Flyers (7)       6 games

(3) Buffalo Sabres VS. Boston Bruins (6)                     6 games

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins VS. Ottawa Senators (5)      5 games

-Washington is just too strong for Montreal. Montreal has a huge edge in goaltending, but not enough to overcome the high flying Caps offense. Halak might be able to steal a game, but not any more than that.

-Although Philly has a ragtag set of netminders, and NJ has the legendary Brodeur, Philly managed to manhandle Brodeur this year. I think they'll keep it up in the playoffs. This one could go 7.

-Buffalo has Miller and Boston has Rask - I feel like they cancel each other out. Offense wise, Bruins were the lowest scoring team in the NHL, and Savard being out isn't going to help. I don't know where the Sabres were ranked offhand, but they'll score enough to win.

-Losing Kovalev is going to hurt Ottawa. Even though he didn't really have a good season, he's a solid player in the playoffs. Elliot and Leclaire don't instill confidence in me - I think Crosby, and Malkin if he plays more like he did last year, will eat them alive.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) San Jose Sharks VS. Colorado Avalanche (8)          5 games

(2) Chicago Blackhawks VS. Nashville Predators (7)    5 games

(3) Vancouver Canucks VS. Los Angeles Kings (6)       6 games

(4) Phoenix Coyotes VS. Detroit Red Wings (5)            6 games

-Anderson, the biggest reason they made the playoffs, is very fatigued after starting the most games of his career. The big 3 for the Sharks should take advantage. If this little break is enough for Anderson, I can see him stealing this series.

-I like Nashville, and especially how they're run, but I don't think David is going to survive the pounding the Goliath Hawks are going to unleash. I hope Nashville wins though.

-Well, my team hasn't been playing very well lately, but that might have been due to their position already been determined over a week ago.  The offense has been fantastic this year, the defense solid (when healthy - we'll miss Mitchell a lot), but the goaltending suspect. Luongo hasn't been himself since the Olympics. Lucky for us though, Quick hasn't been too hot himself. I think the Canucks win in 6, but I can see LA winning.

-The entire year I've doubted Phoenix, thinking they'll fall down back to Earth. They haven't yet, and I don't think they'll start now. Detroit is old, has played so many games over the past season, dealing with injured players - I think they're out early.

EA's NHL10 simulation predicts that the Hawks will beat the Pens in the finals.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=525280&navid=DL|NHL|home

WSH (4) - MTL (0)

- Montreal have very little going for them, they lost their way into the post season and their lack of consitency and offense, shaky defense will allow the Caps to rip right through em. Halak will keep it close for games 1-2 but soon enough Ovy will find his stride.

NJ (2) - PHI (4)

- The Flyers have both the advantages in offense and defense and will use these to pepper Marty throughout the series. Hopefully Pronger, Timonen and company can keep NJ's offense at bay and give Brian Boucher a chance to win. If the series goes late expect Michael Leighton to also make a return.

BUF (4) - BOS (1)

- One of the least offensive teams in the league going up arguably the best goalie going into the playoffs? Expect Miller and the Sabres to do a good job at keeping the Bruins at bay.

PIT (4) - OTT (1)

- The Sens have been plagued by inconsistency all season, and seem to be in a lull going into the playoffs, combine this with Crosby's stellar play near the end of the season and we can see the defending champs advancing rather easily.

SJ (4) - COL (1)

- The Avs barely stumbled into the playoffs (thanks to the Flames inability to win games) and face the vaunted Sharks who seemed to find their stride going to into the playoffs. Expect a quick one.

CHI (4) - NSH (3)

- Never underestimate the Predators, a team that seems to win despite all odds, the Predators will give the Hawks a scare early but expect the Hawks superstars to pull out a win.

VAN (4) - LAK (2)

- The Kings are still relativly untested in the playoffs while the Canucks are perenial contenders, expect to Nucks to elevate their game now that the matchs matter to them.

PHX (1) - DET (4)

- One of the hottest teams coming back from the Olympics, the Red Wings are perenial cup contenders and down the stretch they played liked it. The yotes will be hard pressed to beat a Detroit team that is studded with stars both on the ice and on the bench.

Only 3 hours till the puck drops - I'm so pumped!

The Wings start at 10pm eastern, I hate being in the western conference when we are in the Eastern Time zone.... Guess I'll be up late tonight. lol

Flyers and Devils drop it at 7:30, gonna be good.

GO FLYERS!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...yeah, go Flyers. The Devils are the only team in the East I'm not confident the Pens can beat. We just can't get past their trap.

I missed most of the game, but Ottawa surprised me from the 15 minutes that I saw. How did they play overall?

Doan is a beast tonight - he has like 6 or so hits so far, and the 2nd isn't even over yet.