Eastern Conference:
1. Boston Bruins vs 8. Montreal Canadiens
This series went the way most people assumed it would. I hoped that the Canadiens would put up some sort of challenge, but no. Bruins completely dominated without a problem. Not much to say about this series. The Canadiens needed Carey Price to stand on his head and he did everything but that.
Crappy 100 year anniversay for the Canadiens
2. Wasington Capitals vs 7. New York Rangers
This was the craziest series in my opinion. The Rangers completely dominate and go up 3-1 only to lose the series in 7 games, and have all of the crap in between.
We have Lundqvist playing on top of his head in the beginning only to play completely awful in games 5 and 6. Then we have the whole Tortorella fiasco, the Brashear hit, and the alleged “biting” incident.
I’m actually spent from talking about this series any more, but game 7 was nasty. Only if the Rangers actually had some sort of offense.
3. New Jersey Devils vs 6. Carolina Hurricanes
This series did not receive the publicity and attention that it deserved. Mostly because the games were played during every WAS-NYR game and the NHL and VS chose to air those games instead.
These teams traded wins throughout the whole series and basically every game was great. The last game was the best obviosuly. The Devils are less than 2 minutes away from advancing to the 2nd round with a 3-2 lead and then BAMMM….Jokinen and Staal make it 4-3! Great Series!
4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5. Philadelphia Flyers
Decent series between these Pennsylvanian rivals. I expected a little more excitement and some closer games. The games were good. I guess I was just wishing for a ton of OT finishes and a 7 game series.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury were absolute monsters in the series….as expected.
Bring on Ovechkin!
Western Conference
1. San Jose Sharks vs 8. Anaheim Ducks
I can happily say I predicted this series. The Sharks have not really impressed me all season. Yes they are a decent team, but they would rarely blow teams away. When it came down to playoff time, they simply coasted through with regular season play and did not step up their game.
They also ran into probably the best 8 seed in NHL history. The Anaheim Ducks are just as good now as they were 2 years ago during their Stanley Cup run. Assuming Jonas Hiller stays strong in net, they have a chance at knocking off the Red Wings.
2. Detroit Red Wings vs 7. Columbus Blue Jackets
This series could not have gone any worse for the Colubus Blue Jackets and their fans. This was their first playoff series in franchise history and they run into one of the best teams in the history of the NHL.
Unfortunately there is not much to say here. The only chance the Blue Jackets had was Steve Mason and he simply did not show up.
3. Vancouver Canucks vs 6. St. Louis Blues
These pictures basically sum up the series. Roberto Luongo was an absolute monster. The weird thing about this series was that the Blues played great. They just did not have an answer for Luongo; plain and simple.
4. Chicago Blackhawks vs 5. Calgary Flames
I am pretty shocked the way this series ended up. I really expected Calgary to come through strong and to take advantage on Chicago’s inexperience. The opposite was the case. The young guns of the Blackhawks only got better each game and Nikolai Khabibulin was simply remarkable in net for them.
The Flames played great, but just could not find an answer for Khabibulin.
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Honorable Mention Pics:
