Eastern Conference
(1) Buffalo Sabres – (8) New York Islanders
My Pick: Sabres in 5 games
Actual: Sabres in 5 games
The Sabres were able to win in 5 despite not playing their best. The Islanders got a shot in the arm when Rick DiPietro came back in game two, the only game the Islanders won. This wasn’t the high flying Sabres team that I expected to see, but they were able to capitalize on Islanders miscues and some fortunate calls. The Isles played tough, but the Sabres were just too deep and too tough. Ryan Miller made some key saves when he had to, and I was impressed with the Buffalo defense, especially Brian Campbell.
(2) New Jersey Devils – (7) Tampa Bay Lightning
My Pick: Devils in 6 games
Actual: Devils in 6 games
I originally said that Martin Brodeur would be the difference in this series. It took 5 games for the real Brodeur to show up, but he finally did. The Devils power play stepped up and Zach Parise is showing that he is a star in the making. The Lightning’s big three of Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Richards played well and put up numbers, but they needed more. Plus, Johan Holmqvist wasn’t able to steal a game or two like he needed to. He wasn’t horrible, but there were a lot of questionable goals allowed.
(3) Atlanta Thrashers – (6) New York Rangers
My Pick: Rangers in 6 games
Actual: Rangers in 4 games
This series was what we like to call a good, old-fashioned ass whooping. The Thrashers played musical goalies in the series with Johan Hedberg outplaying Kari Lehtonen, but it didn’t matter. Henrik Lundqvist looked great, the Rangers offense was clicking, and this series was never in doubt. They were the hottest team heading into the playoffs and continue to be so. Sean Avery continues to impress and fits perfectly with this team, even on the power play. He was even able to get Ilya Kovalchuk and Keith Tkachuk off their games to where they were more worried about playing physical than putting the puck in the net. The Thrashers made some big deals to get to the playoffs, and have to be very disappointed with the outcome.
(4) Ottawa Senators – (5) Pittsburgh Penguins
My Pick: Ottawa in 7 games
Actual: Ottawa in 5 games
This was probably the most anticipated series, and for the time it lasted, it didn’t disappoint. It was physical, the stars were playing well, and it was fun to see the mix of youth and experience coming together. In the end, the depth of Ottawa was the key to this series. They were able to get key goals from the 3rd and 4th lines, who are very talented and make the most of the time they get on the ice. This was a good series for the young Pens to get a taste of the intensity of the playoffs, and should be hard to handle next year. Dany Heatley, Daniel Alfredson and Jason Spezza all played well, a lot better than last year, and they are going to have to keep it up to keep moving along.
Western Conference
(1) Detroit Red Wings – (8) Calgary Flames
My Pick: Detroit in 7 games
Actual: Detroit in 6 games
This series was a tale of two Calgary teams, and a solid Red Wings team. Calgary was brutal in all 3 games in Detroit, capping with the train wreck that was game 5. Mikka Kiprusoff was the only reason the Flames were able to stay in any of the games, but there is only so much one man can do. Detroit was able to keep the pressure on every game getting 40-50 shots seemingly every night, and they had contributions from up and down the lineup. Pavel Datsyuk even showed up. Dominik Hasek continues to play younger than his years, but will it last? He has been on the verge of brittle the last couple years, so that should be key next series.
(2) Anaheim Ducks – (7) Minnesota Wild
My Pick: Ducks in 6 games
Actual: Ducks in 5 games
Despite what I and several analysts thought, Ilya Bryzgalov started the playoffs in net for the Ducks, and he didn’t disappoint. Anaheim was able to win this series by beating the Wild and Jacues Lemaire at their own game, a suffocating defensive trapping style was able to shut down the offensive attack of the Wild. Of course that’s easy to do when you are solid in net, no matter who you put in, and have questionably the best defensive corps in the league. They were able to pretty much shut down the Wil power play while connecting at a good clip when they had their chances. Add in a mix of speed and size up front, and the Ducks were able to dismiss the Wild with ease.
(3) Vancouver Canucks – (6) Dallas Stars
My Pick: Stars in 7 games
Actual: Canucks in 7 games
I really thought the Stars would come through and win this series. They battled back from being down 3-1 in the series to force a game 7, but they were wore down and took a lot of penalties in the third period of the last game which led to their demise. You certainly can’t blame Marty Turco who played extremely well. At the other end, Roberto Luongo was stellar and was another key to this being an extremely low scoring series. Vancouver scored when they needed to even though their big guns were kept in check for much of the series. This was a hard fought series and Vancouver is going to have their hands full again against Anaheim
(4) Nashville Predators – (5) San Jose Sharks
My Pick: Sharks in 7 games
Actual: Sharks in 5 games
This was a fun series to watch. I really thought it would go deeper than 5 games, but San Jose was able to pull it out earlier. The thing people are going to remember about this series was the physical, sometimes dirty play. Nashville had 3 guys receive game misconduct penalties and couldn’t stay out of the box. Peter Forsberg made his presence known from game one, but Nashville just couldn’t get it going. San Jose looked good, they have the firepower up front, and the addition of Craig Rivet has really paid off. For Nashville, Alex Radulov showed he is going to be GOOD. He has a knack for scoring and will play a big part of their future. The Sharks have what it takes to go far in the playoffs, and I expect more out of Guerin and Marleau in the next round.
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