EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Washington Capitals VS (8) Montreal Canadiens

Speaking from a Buffalo fan perspective, Montreal was the one team I didn't want to see in the first round. However, I'm not sure if Washington feels the same way. The Caps pretty much plowed through the regular season and coasted to 121 points and the President's Trophy. Playing in a division that consisted of the Atlanta Thrashers, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers had nothing to do with that.

There are two glaring keys to this series and both involve the guys between the pipes. Theodore was quickly yanked last postseason after game one of the opening round and is now looking for redemption this time. This should be rather easy for Theodore because he the highest scoring team in the league playing in front of him. Washington was the only team in the league to score over 300 goals this season and they easily had the best goal differential with a mammoth +85.

For Montreal, I'm interested in seeing if they can just get some solid and reliable goaltending. They have been flip flopping between Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak all season long. Halak has the better stats, but both have been pretty comparable in the games I've seen them, and neither has been able to wrestle the starting job away for good. My last memories for both are complete opposites. For Price, I remember him imploding in Buffalo with a 2-0 lead and losing it in the last three minutes. For Halak, it was posting back-to-back shutouts in two straight nights against Philadelphia and Buffalo.

Devin's Pick: Montreal in 7

Scott's Pick: Washington in 5


 
(2) New Jersey Devils VS (7) Philadelphia Flyers

Odds are good that I won't see much of this series. For one, this is the only first round series that won't feature one game on either Versus or NBC. For two, it features the insanely boring Devils and a team that made the post-season based on a skills competition. For people that dislike the shootout, watching Philadelphia advance to the playoffs and eliminate the Rangers in a shootout is the ultimate reason why the shootout is awful.

The Devils clinched the two seed on the final day of the regular season with a 2-1 win over Buffalo after the Sabres pulled Patrick Lalime in the last minute knowing they needed a regulation win to clinch the two seed.

New Jersey heads into the playoffs as the lone team in the NHL to allow less than 200 goals during the regular season. This is in complete contrast as Philadelphia heads into the playoffs with the shakiest goaltending of the 16 teams. To say they have had horrendous luck with goalie injuries would be putting it lightly. That being said, it speaks volumes for the team that they still qualified for the playoffs despite this.

The Flyers had great success against New Jersey this season, going 5-1-0 in their six games. With that in mind, this is the playoffs and Martin Brodeur isn't going to lose four games in seven to a team led by Brian Boucher.

Devin's Pick: New Jersey in 7

Scott's Pick: New Jersey in 6


 
(3) Buffalo Sabres VS (6) Boston Bruins

I've got to admit, I've been a little surprised to see so many experts pick Boston to win this series. Don't get me wrong, the Bruins are a decent team and Tuuka Rask is a very good goaltender. In fact, he has pretty much owned Buffalo since coming into the league.

Boston had the decided advantage in the season series, but it isn't that black and white. Two of those games featured either Patrick Lalime or Jhonas Enroth in net, which is an immediate drop off from facing Ryan Miller. So if you hypothetically toss those games out, the season series looks a little more even. See that? It's called spin.

Boston is the lowest scoring team out of the 16 participants in the playoffs. 13 of their season points came courtesy of losing in overtime or a shootout, which is tied for second among the playoff teams for most loser points.

To their credit though, they only allowed 200 goals on the season which is second best in the Eastern Conference and seven goals less than Buffalo.

Buffalo's road record was a pedestrian 20-17-4, but so was Boston's home record of 18-17-6. On the road, Boston was much better, posting a 21-13-7 record. Going along with the theme, Buffalo was excellent within the confines of HSBC Arena going 25-10-6 at home.

So really, I have no idea what to expect in this series. Well, I know what I'm expecting in my head, but I would never dare write that out and post it publicly on the internet.

Devin's Pick: Buffalo in 6

Scott's Pick:
Buffalo in 6


 
(4) Pittsburgh Penguins VS (5) Ottawa Senators

For what feels like the tenth year in a row, Ottawa and Pittsburgh face off in a 4/5 first round matchup.

In the month of April, Ottawa played in five games and grabbed five points. This doesn't sound too terrible until you realize that they played the Hurricanes, Islanders, Panthers, Lightning, and Sabres. Of those five teams, only Buffalo is a playoff team. In that particular game the Senators watched Thomas Vanek score four goals as Buffalo pounded starting goaltender Pascal Leclaire.

Pittsburgh didn't fare much better in April as they also took five points in five games. Much like Ottawa, the Penguins only played one playoff team in those five games and lost that game handedly.

As if the above two paragraphs weren't enough to show how equal these teams are, factor in that they split the season series down the middle with both going 2-2-0 against the other. Not that this matters this year, but they also split their playoff series with Ottawa winning in 2006-07 and Pittsburgh winning in 2007-08.

So with all that in mind, this series could really go any way on paper, however it won't in reality.

Pittsburgh is going to crush Ottawa. The Pens might have struggled a bit this season in terms of not winning their division and only finishing with the four seed, but they are the two time defending Eastern Conference champions and they know what it takes to win in April, May, and June. A team led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury is not going to lose in the first round to a team with two goalies that have a combined total of zero minutes of playoff experience.

Devin's Pick: Pittsburgh in 5

Scott's Pick: Pittsburgh in 5


 
WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) San Jose Sharks VS (8) Colorado Avalanche

Devin's Pick: San Jose in 6

Scott's Pick: San Jose in 6

(2) Chicago Blackhawks VS (7) Nashville Predators

Devin's Pick: Chicago in 7

Scott's Pick: Chicago in 4

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

Devin's Pick: Los Angeles in 7

Scott's Pick: Los Angeles in 7

(4) Phoenix Coyotes VS (5) Detroit Red Wings

Devin's Pick: Detroit in 6

Scott's Pick: Detroit in 6