ROUND 2 PREDICTIONS

Round 1 of the 09 NHL playoffs is complete and as usual we saw great games, overtimes and upsets. It is still amazing the Sharks again completed their annual playoff choke job although they were facing a very good Anahiem squad. Heroes of the first round included Carolina's red hot goal scorer Eric Staal, Washington's 20 year old goalkeeper Simeon Vamalov and the entire Chicago Blackhawk blueline. Let's hope round 2 is as exciting as round 1!

CAROLINA HURRICANES VS BOSTON BRUINS-The Canes have been playing good hockey for the better part of two months now and are a real threat to knock off the top seeded Boston Bruins. The Bruins have been sitting at home for a week now so it'll be interesting to see if they have any rust in the first few games. I am still not sold on Tim Thomas being a Stanley Cup goaltender but I think the Bruins will prevail in a very entertaining and high scoring series, winning in 7.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS PITTSBURGH PENGUINS-The Gary Bettman special finally comes true as the two biggest stars in the NHL collide for the first time in the playoffs. The Caps are riding high after overcoming a 3 games to 1 defecit against the Rangers to advance to the 2nd round for the first time in 11 years. The Penguins eliminated the Flyers in a physical 6 game series. Although the Pens did not defeat the Caps in regulation in 4 tries during the regular season, most of the games were before the coaching change in Pittsburgh. Penguins take this one in 6.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS-The Hawks surprised me with their first round victory over the Flames while the Cancuks had very little problem in sweep the Blues. These two teams engaged in a fight filled game at the end of the regular season which should add to an already interesting series. In the end, Roberto Luongo will be the difference as the Canucks advance in 7 games.

ANAHIEM DUCKS VS DETROIT REDWINGS-Anahiem is officially the team nobody wants to play right now after their stunning upset of San Jose. The Red Wings continue to roll on, defeating the Blue Jackets in round 1. This series provides two different styles of play with Detroit being more of a skilled and soft team while Anahiem is big and rough. In my mind, this series is a toss-up, I am going with Detroit in 7 but that could change very easily depending on which Chris Osgood shows up.