Well, it's the most wonderful time of the year!! And so on and so on....My Sens are slumping and the West looks strong so who will host Lord Stanley's Cup, that most glorious and shiny of trophies, come June. Well it all starts with round one so here with humble thoughts are my winners:
EAST
1) Montreal vs. 8) Boston
- Habs dominated regular season series and no reason to see why they won't win this one too. Carey Price looks poised to make a name for him self and with their team speed the flying frenchmen are hard to stop.
2) Pittsburge vs. 7) Ottawa
- Sentimental pick - Sens, realistically, - Pittsburgh. With Captain Daniel Alfredsson, #2 centre Mike Fisher and checking centre Chris Kelly all out with injuries, and poor play the last three months, Ottawa is ripe for the picking. They can be competitive but I think Sid, 'Gino' Malkin and the boys will have a big one here and may win the est, but first things first.
3) Washington vs. 6) Philidelphia
- Philidelphia will pound the hell out of Ovechkin, but that won't bother him. The highly quick, and even more highly skilled Caps will probably be to much to handle for Phili's slow defense over seven games, and Phili is missing some key members like Simone Gagner and Briere is just returning so it will be tough.
4) New Jersey vs. 5) New York Rangers
- This is probably one of the closest series to call in the whole first round, but somebody told me that Brodeur guy is pretty good, and I think they may be right. Not to say Lundquvist and the Blueshirts aren't a solid team but I just can;t go against Jersey and their great playoff history.
WEST
1) Detroit vs. 8) Nashville
- Skill, Speed, and well, more skill meet the Red Wings! While Nashville plays a gritty, low scoring type of game, the free wheeling Red Wings are one of the highest scoring teams and one of the best defensive, so this is a bad combination for the Preds. Past failures in early rounds for Detroit will not be repeated this year.
2) San Jose vs. 7) Calgary
- This is what I think will be the most intriguing series in the opening round. The Sharks are a favorite to go all the way and have a lot to prove due to past failures, but Calgary has nothing to loose and a solid record against the Sharks to go with an eliete forward in Jerome Iginla, an eliet defensive core in Regher and Phaneuf and goalie in Mikka Kipprusoff, but the Sharks and Big Joe Thornton will start their run here in a long series.
3) Minnesota vs. 6) Colorado
- Jose Theodore is having a comeback season extradonaire and with the playoff proven Avs getting healthy I think they will knock off their division rivals in a physical all be it not overly high scoring series. Minnesota has the team to best them in the alley, but probably not on the ice.
4) Anaheim vs. 5) Dallas
- The Ducks are reigning champs for a reason and I believe they will show us why here. The Ducks have a mix of grit, seed and goaltending that most envy and though Dallas had a solid year, the struggled down the stretch and may not have the depth to keep up in this series.
So, there you have it, good luck and keep your stick on the ice!
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