Off to round 2

The first round of the playoffs certainly did not let down. Three game seven's, one that ended in most dramatic fashion in overtime and only one sweep. Every series was close right to the end with the exception being the Penguins-Senators series and the Rangers-Devils was a bit of a dud as well. Every other series was exciting and full of intriguing story lines.

Overall, I scored a 62.5 on my first round predictions. C level material I know and nothing to be proud of. Not horrible either. I guess I need a copy of the pictured book. I had a tough time picking between New Jersey and New York. I wasn't huge on the Rangers offensive abilities, but man did they prove me wrong? A balanced attack from three solid lines. It wasn't just the star players such as Jagr, Shanahan or Gomez, but their younger guys like Dubinsky, Dawes and Callahan as well. Henrik Lundqvist held the fort like he always does and the Devils lack of scoring ability killed them. It won't be the same facing the Penguins however. Both teams have had plenty of time off, so both teams will be equally rusty.

The Flyers and Capitals were close right to the end and needed even more time to decide a winner. I wasn't off the mark when I said this series could go either way. Philly did a very good job containing Ovechkin for the first five games, but he broke out in game six and almost single handedly brought the Caps to the second round. This is just the beginning of things to come for the Capitals. Karl Alzner will be a fantastic addition to their blueline next year. The captain of this past year's Canadian world junior championship winning team should be NHL ready by next season. He's a good puck mover, but not flashy and very reliable in all situations. He should fit along nicely with the gambling Mike Green. This team will also get Michael Nylander back who missed most of the season due to injury. They have about 20 million dollars in cap space and a portion of that will go towards re-signing Cristobal Huet - or should anyways. Both Huet and Olaf Kolzig are UFA's. Though Huet let in a few softies in the series, he was very good overall and made several huge saves in game 6 after the Caps went down 2-0. Those saves kept the team in the game and enabled them to have a shot at coming back from two goals down, which they did of course. Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn and Brooks like are restricted free agents and all in line to get raises (especially Green.) They have all the right pieces in place, it's just a matter of time before this team is contending for the Stanley Cup every year.

As for the Ducks, they have to go down as being nearly as disappointing as the Senators this season. They weren't as bad as the Senators in the regular season, but they only showed up in two playoff games and nearly blew both of their leads in each win. Stanley Cup hangover? Maybe, but it just goes to show how hard it is to repeat as Cup champions even when you have basically the exact same team that won it for you the year before. You have a big target on your back, but more importantly, you can't make so many bone head mistakes and take so many dumb penalties as they did. To a certain extent, you need a share of lucky bounces and have everyone clicking at the right time but some credit needs to go to the Stars who were simply the better team from the opening face off. They will give San Jose a run for their money, that is for sure.

It's a tough call to make between which series was better: Philly-Washington or San Jose-Calgary. The Philly series was loaded with skill, speed and excitement, while the San Jose series was filled with rough, crushing hockey, not to mention two of the better all around players in the game in Iginla and Thornton. While calling the Flyers-Caps series I actually thought Gord Miller might blow out his larynx at any moment. Every game seemed like a nail biter, filled with scoring chances and Miller was into every second of it. I'd have to give the edge to the Flyers series, but not by much. If the second round is half as exciting as the first round, we will still be in good shape.

The Flyers are the better all around team and certainly deserved to win their series, but it would have been tons of fun to see the Penguins and Capitals go at it in the first round. Crosby and Malkin vs. Ovechkin and Semin? Man, that would've been a great series, but New York-Pittsburgh and Montreal-Philly matchups aren't so bad either. Out in the west, Detroit and Colorado renew their old rivalry, while Dallas and San Jose play one another in the playoffs for the first time since 2000 (the Stars won that 2nd round matchup 4-1 in case you were wondering). A lot will be made of the Detroit-Colorado rivalry, but only a handful of players are left from the team's that fought it out annually in the Western Conference. Though with Osgood, Forsberg and Foote back in their respective teams after long absences, who knows? Osgood might be so inclined to take on a different French-Canadian goalie: Jose Theodore.