Boston vs Carolina
Hard not to see the Bruins advancing from this series, but as i’ve already committed to Carolina being my dark horse in the East, i’m thinking that the ‘Canes are indeed cabable of the upset here. Given that they’ve got a core group of at least a dozen guys from their Stanley Cup year; plus with the Coach in an ‘old-hat- new-lease-on-things’position, Carolina has an experienced working system with some added upgrades. They are good in the face-off circle; have a dangerous offense; and with Ward and a familiar bunch of faces around him in the D positions, these guys are a solid team. It just remains to be seen if they can handle the physical play of the well rested bruins. Take the ‘Canes in 7
Detroit vs Anaheim
Boy is this going to be some match up. Watch out for those Ducks! It’s going to be the first real test for the Wings in this post season. We’ll have to see how slow or fast Detroit is out of the gate in sizing up with some pretty battle tested Ducks players. This is going to be a fairly long series, but unless Osgood (or Conklin) are awful, the Wings should have the depth to handle Anaheim in the end. Wings in 6
Washington vs Pittsburgh
Just like with the Boston series, i’m going with the ‘dawg’ in this one if only, perhaps, to see Ovechkin play a little longer into May. He is for sure the best nhl player and the most entertaining to watch. I’m very impressed, however, with how Pittsburgh has come together since the coaching change and with the addition of Guerin and Kunitz at the trade deadline. Their team play is probably better at this point than the Capitals. But just as better teams seem to sometimes struggle with lesser teams, I think the Rangers didn’t bring out the best in Washington and the Penguins most likely will. Take Washington in 7