hockeytalk

I have less interest in what happens out East because I feel as though there are only a couple of decent teams anyway. Because of this, I will go through the Eastern Conference quite quickly, so that I do not waste too much of your time. Also, I know that most of the series started yesterday, but I was wrong about every game in the East, so I’ll keep with my original picks.

1) Boston Vs. 8) Montreal

Boston easily has the most depth of any Eastern Conference team and Montreal has looked horrible in its historic 100th season. If this were a movie, the Habs would find someway to pull this off and go on a run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately, this is real life and the Bruins are simply much too good. You could even make the argument that Boston’s third line is better than Montreal’s first, especially if Kovalev doesn’t show up. The Bruins win this one in fives games.

2) Washington Vs. 7) New York Rangers

This series has already started, with the Rangers pulling off an upset in game one and coming away with a victory. I have felt all year that the Capitals are overrated, as Jose Theodore is simply not that good and outside of Ovechkin, Green, Semin and Backstrom, the team does not have a whole lot of depth. Fortunately for the Caps, the Rangers don’t even have that, as they overpaid guys like Drury, Gomez, and Redden. I had originally thought this series would be a sweep, but I’ll change my tune a little bit and say the Capitals win in 6.

3) New Jersey Vs. 6) Carolina

This series has the best chance of being a major upset, as Carolina has been to the dance before and was incredibly hot over the last part of the season. New Jersey, on the other hand, managed to play well all season without Martin Brodeur and has to be considered a Cup contender. With that being said, and despite last night’s result, I think that the Hurricans take this one in six games because of their great depth and veteran leadership. I also think that the Devils are a little weak on the backend and that Brodeur will only be able to keep them in it for so long.

4) Pittsburgh Vs. 5) Philadelphia

This series has all of the makings of a classic, especially if both teams bring their A-games. As a general rule, I tend to favor Philly in close matchups because of their gritty style. I think that the Flyers are a team that is built for the playoffs and that over the course of a series, they will wear the Penguins down. In fact, the Flyers are my pick to come out of the East this year, so I think they’ll bounce back and win this series in seven. The only real question is Martin Biron, as he is one of the most inconsistent goalies in the league and is not someone that  I would want to trust going into a big game.

There you have it… That is exactly what will happen in the first round of the NHL playoffs.

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