Let the second round begin! (Finally)

Well looks like I was right in my predictions, although the scores were a little off from what I expected. In the earlier game, the Capitals fought off elimination by wearing down a stingy Rangers team. Lundqvist played amazing, but was fooled on a crazy redirection for Washington's first goal. And on Washington's second goal, The King had no chance as playoff veteran Sergei Federov sniped a laser beam to give Washington the GWG. It was a great series and I hope the Capitals and Penguins go 7 games as well. I am sad the Rangers didn't win though for one reason: I wanted to see how big former Bruin's Paul Mara's beard would get.

This thing could have been like grizzly adams!

The Hurricanes pulled off an improbable win tonight by scoring twice in the games final minutes, and did it away from home. Being down 3-2 late in the 3rd period, the Hurricanes rallied back and won the game and the series 4-3. I like the match up for the Bruins. The B's beat the Hurricanes 4-0 in the regular season. Although those numbers don't mean anything anymore, the Bruins still should hold the edge in most categories. But don't underestimate the 'Canes. They were one of the hottest teams leading into the postseason, and will look to continue their surge into Boston. I hope the series starts Thursday with game 2 being Saturday night, but who knows. We'll have to wait and see tomorrow.



As for the western conference...wow. Thank you Anaheim for knocking off the Sharks. Jumbo Joe didn't really look jumbo at all. In fact, the best quote about him: "Built like Tarzan, plays like Jane." I think that about sums up Thornton and his Sharks. The Ducks will now take on the task of trying to oust the #2 seed, the defending Stanley Cup Champions Detroit Red Wings. In the other series, we have the Canucks against the Blackhawks. I look for this series to be decided by the goaltending, the Sedin twins, and the young guns for Chicago.

My predictions:
#1 Bruins over #6 Hurricanes (Bruins should beat this team, key word being should)
#3 4 Penguins over #2 Capitals (Sid the Kid outlasts Alexander the Great)

#8 Ducks over #2 Red Wings (Thats right, I went there!)
#4 Blackhawks over #3 Canucks (The Bulin wall will stand tall)

In any case, the series to watch for this round is Washington vs Pittsburgh. The league's most marketable names, Ovechkin vs Crosby, squaring off in the playoffs for the first time, but definitely not the last. More fuel for the fire that burns between the 2 superstars.