Dwayne Roloson could be the "X-factor" in the Caps-Bolts series
Washington Capitals(1) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning(5)
Deja vu? A hot goalie playing against the Capitals? Dwayne Roloson is at the top of his game once again at playoff time. I’m going against the grain and saying the high flying Caps stumble against Dwayne Roloson and the Bolts. Remember that the Bolts won the Cup back in ’04 with a similar core group (Lecavalier and St. Louis) and the Capitals tend to get rattled at a hot goalie. If Rolly the goalie plays to the peak we could see this series end in Tampa’s favour, if not, the Caps got this one easily.
Bolts in 6
Philadelphia Flyers(2) vs. Boston Bruins(3)
This series has drama written all over it! Flash-back to last year, the Bruins went up 3-0 to the Flyers in round 2 before Philly had one of the biggest comebacks in hockey history. The Flyers won the next 4 straight games to win the best of seven series. This year both teams improved in the offseason and are much deeper. With a healthy Chris Pronger, I think the Flyers are that much better than the Bruins. Briere, Giroux, and Phillies offence are on firre right now and could find the holes in the Vezina candidate, Tim Thomas. The goaltending match-up favours the Bruins but the Flyers found their guy last round, Brian Boucher. I’ll take the Flyers based on depth.
Flyers in 6
Vancouver Canucks(1) vs. Nashville Predators(5)
This series comes down to goaltending. Luongo vs. Rinne. Both have played unreal in the season, but have had their speed bumps in the playoffs. In game one the goaltenders ended up being the story line in a 1-0 win for Vancouver. I like the Nuckleheads odds in this match-up. Although, the Preds have bought into Barry Trotts system and looked good in round one. There is no clear forward that the Canucks (or Ryan Kesler) have to shut down but Nashville has a bunch of grinders who can chip in at the right time. The Canucks have just too much depth to overpower the Preds.
Canucks in 5
San Jose Sharks(2) vs. Detriot Red Wings(3)
This one will be fun to watch. I don’t think there is two evenly matched teams like this. The Sharks have found their game last round and have their offence coming from everywhere. Meanwhile the Wings destroyed the future Jets last series with a clean sweep, and that was without Zetterburg! Detroit enters this round much stronger, with Zetterburg returning to the line-up. As much as I like the Wings line-up and expirence, I think the Sharks are stronger. The offence for San Jose is nuts! The one thing that will hold San Jose back is their defence. Dan Boyle and the Sharks defence must improve if they want to move on. Also former Stanley Cup winner Antti Niemi will be under pressure to perform at the big stage, similar to last year’s pressure.
Sharks in 7
