(1) Boston vs. (8) Montreal – The Canadiens hold a 24-7 lead in the playoff history. So, do the Habs really have a shot here? Not really! They might be able to give Boston a few scares early in the series but we just don’t see the Bruins faltering in this one. Of course, they have revenge from falling to the Canadiens last season in seven games. This season, the B’s are the much stronger team whereas last season the opposite was true. Boston goalie Tim Thomas has come a long way this season. The Canadiens have really struggled of late and goalie Cary Price may not have the help he needs in front of him. The defense of the Habs is a question mark with Schneider and Markov. Are they healthy? As for the Bruins, Chara is capable of being, literally, a big force in this series! Up front, Boston has very balanced scoring while the Canadiens rely heavily on a few key players. Depth is an edge for the Bruins here. The rivalry adds to the probability of a few Canadiens victories in this series but, ultimately, the Bruins should prevail.

(2) Washington vs. (7) NY Rangers – First off, note that the Atlantic Division has four of the playoff teams. The Southeast Division has just two. The gap has been closed but one key point we want to make here is that we still feel there is an overall divisional edge here to a club that comes from the Atlantic Division. Keep in mind we saw the Capitals bow out of the playoffs to the Flyers last season. At a comeback price of +185, the Rangers could be worth a look here in the series. Note that Jose Theodore has the highest goals against average of any goalie for a playoff team in the East. The Rangers definitely have the edge between the pipes with Henrik Lundqvist. The question is whether the rest of this Rangers club can step up to support him. The Capitals, with guys like Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann, and Laich being so strong on the offensive end. Also note that defenseman Mike Green scored thirty goals! That’s the first time a defenseman has scored 30 goals in 16 years! The Rangers are definitely the weaker team offensively but they did have the league’s best penalty kill in the regular season. Coach Tortorella has already made a difference in the Big Apple and he will have his club fired up and well-prepared. Another thing to like about the Rangers is that road play becomes critical in the post-season and the Capitals only recorded four more road wins than the Rangers did in the regular season. This series is going to be much tougher for the Capitals than many are expecting and we would not be surprised if the Rangers find a way to get by here!

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) Carolina – The Hurricanes are hot coming into the post-season. They went 13-3-2 in their last 18 games. Note that Carolina went 33-19-5 under Paul Maurice and they have improved defensively in Maurice’s system as the season has gone on. They could absolutely challenge New Jersey here. The Devils were shaky late in the season. Martin Brodeur should be fresher than ever for the playoffs since he missed so much time during the regular season. However, he was a little inconsistent late. That makes this a very tough call to make in terms of a series price. This is one of those series that is likely to have “ebbs and flows” throughout it and the reality is that it has the makings of a seven game series. Cam Ward has been very strong down the stretch run so he could legitimately “match” Brodeur in this series. Carolina’s team speed will give the Devils some problems and, this will especially become an issue for New Jersey if they give too many power plays to the Canes! Carolina was a solid 19-16-6 on the road so they can compete here by stealing a game or two in New Jersey. The Hurricanes momentum is huge as they head into the post-season! As usual, the Devils are “built” for the playoffs and they also grew some this season during the lengthy period of time they proved that they could win without Marty between the pipes. Still, we like the way Carolina forces team to play at their tempo and we also like the way Ward has been dominating in goal. This one should be monitored game to game but the Canes might be worth a look as a dog in this series.

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Philadelphia – Like the Canes and Devils, this should be another fantastic series that could see seven games. Of course the Flyers have revenge from last season’s playoff ouster in the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the Penguins seem to be a revitalized team under Coach Dan Bylsma. Let’s not forget that the Pens went 18-3-4 after he took over! That is simply amazing. To a man, the Penguins simply seem much more confident in Bylsma’s system and that has shown up in the way they’ve carried themselves on the ice. Also, can the Flyers really trust Martin Biron between the pipes? Marc Andre Fleury certainly appears ready for the Penguins on the other end of the ice. Of course, the key for the Flyers here is that they do have a lot of experience with the Penguins as Atlantic Division rivals and they need to use some of that familiarity to find what few holes the Pens have. The Flyers do have a special teams edge as their counterattack short-handed is very impressive. They also were in the top six both in penalty killing and on the power play in the regular season. This is another one that is going to be better judged on a game by game basis. We see the strength of the Penguins with Crosby, Malkin, and Staal plus solid additions like Guerin and Kunitz being key at playoff time. However, we also see a Flyers team that has a league high six 25-goal scorers. The Flyers’ Mike Richards has 46 goals and 7 have come short-handed. If Biron is on his game in this series, don’t be surprised if the Flyers get their playoff revenge from last season and their comeback price is around a +140. As you can see, the game by game approach to gauge Biron, etc. may be the best way to go with this Keystone State battle!