Eastern Conference Matchups (Regular season seed in brackets)
Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
Season Series: 3-1-0 Penguins
The Penguins are the defending Stanley Cup champs and not much has changed roster-wise since last spring so Montreal knows another post-season victory won't be any easy task. Fortunately for the Canadiens, Hal Gill is on their side, not the Pens he won a ring with last spring. The 6'7" Gill was a crucial part of Montreal's upset over Washington, strong on the penalty kill and excellent at getting in lanes and blocking shots. The Canadiens are going to need much of the same in order to win against Pittsburgh.
Keys to Pittsburgh's success
- Sidney Crosby leads NHL playoffs in points with 14 (five goals, nine assists)
- Evgeni Malkin was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP during Pittsburgh magical post-season run last spring and had four goals and four assists against Ottawa
- Penalty kill struggled mightily against the Senators in first round (68.2 per cent), needs much improvement against potent Habs powerplay (second in NHL in regular season)
- Jordan Staal remains a threat shorthanded and is an excellent defensive forward (a goal and two assists this post-season)
Keys to Montreal's success
- The team did an excellent job overall containing Alexander Ovechkin in first round series despite Ovie's 10 points
- Michael Cammalleri enjoyed breakout first round (10 points in seven games) but Scott Gomez needs to step up and help share the load
- Jaroslav Halak produced legend-like results in helping shut down superior Capitals offense
- Continue to block shots (40-some blocks made a huge difference in beating the best team in NHL in Game 7)
Outcome: Pittsburgh in seven
Boston Bruins (6) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7)
Season Series: 2-2-0
Perhaps the biggest surprise meeting of the Eastern Conference so far. Both teams entered the season with astronomical expectations, the Bruins were coming off first place in the Eastern Conference and Philadelphia retooled and added former Hart and Norris Trophy winner Chris Pronger in the off-season. However, during the year the Flyers were madly inconsistent and Boston suffered a few key injuries and couldn't score so both teams weren't predicted to do well come playoff time. They both managed to pull it all together when the games mattered most and advance into round two.
Boston knocked off the Sabres in six and Philadelphia handled the New Jersey Devils with ease, winning in five.
The Bruins Marc Savard has been cleared to play and should be back for Game 1 after missing almost two months with a concussion. Philadelphia will be without vital forwards Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne, who both went down with foot injuries in round one.
Keys to Boston's success
- Marc Savard returns from injury, which should help the team's scoring woes
- Penalty kill didn't allow a goal against Buffalo all series but must be just as good and hold Philadelphia's lethal special teams in check
- Tuukka Rask dominated the Sabres (2.18 GAA, .927 SV%) but will have hands full with Flyers strong offense and tendency to crash the crease. Good numbers against Philly in regular season (2-0-1 with 2.27 GAA and .926 SV%)
- Michael Ryder may be a dark horse (scored two goals and an assist in first round against Buffalo) but had one of his worst seasons of career offensively in regular season
Keys to Philadelphia's success
- Brian Boucher had shaky regular season but provided Flyers with sparkling netminding in first round (1.59 GAA and .940 SV% was NHL post-season's best)
- Captain Mike Richards set a career-high for goals this season (31) in what was a down regular season (62 points compared to 80 last year). However, he picked up his play against New Jersey and leads the team in scoring with eight points.
- NHL's second-highest penalized team (16.6 PIM per game in regular season) needs to wear down 6'9" monster Zdeno Chara on defense. Daniel Carcillo and Scott Hartnell are two key components in getting under Chara's skin but must avoid taking ill-advised penalties.
- Claude Giroux seems revitalized in playoffs (more was expected in regular season but performed well in first round with six points). Enjoyed breakout post-season last year.
Outcome: Philadelphia in six
Western Conference Second Round Playoff Predictions can be found here
Thomas Cranston - Thomas Cranston is a graduate of the Journalism (Print) program at Durham College (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada). He is passionate about a wide ...
