2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs

The end of the regular season in the NHL is the most exciting time for hockey fans and other sport fans because it means only one thing... we get to embrace the Stanley Cup Playoffs...The 82 game schedule is finally done and now the remaining 16 teams only have to win 16 games to win the most prized trophy in all of sports...the Stanley Cup....The eight teams from the east and the eight teams from the west buckle down and play with that do-or-die attitude which makes these playoffs more popular to watch than the other three major sports....The Detriot Red Wings are still in it which means we can have a repeat in champions but Im not going to go to far down that road and predict that winner just yet....Here are my first round predictions for both the Eastern and Western conference...

East

1. Boston vs 8. Montreal - The Boston Bruins seemed to be cursed when facing the Canadians in the playoffs but Boston is way beyond Montreal this year...Boston is all-around better than Montreal and have the scoring, defense, and goalie to pull this series out...Montreal's goalie Carey Price is not having the season Canadian fans wanted out of him and I think that will be the achilles heel for them...Boston is the top see for a reason and will win this series...Boston in 5

2. Washington vs. 7. New York Rangers- The rangers sneaked their way into the playoffs with big wins toward the end of the season to jump ahead of Montreal and the pressing Florida Panthers...The Rangers need their top guns to come out in Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Nik Antropov if they want to move on to the next round...Washington, like Montreal, does not have the goaltending to make them as dangerous in these playoffs...Alex the great cant do it all by himself...Rangers in 6

3. Carolina vs. 6. New Jersey- The Devils did not have future hall of fame goaltender Martin Brodeur for most of the season but still found ways to win (thanks to AHL goalie Scott Clemmensen)....Devils forward Zach Parise lights the lamp with help from guys like Jamie Lagenbrunner and Travis Zajac, and with a playoff hungry Brodeur, the Devils can be dangerous...Carolina rides the wave of Eric Staal and if goalie Cam Ward plays the way he did in '06, Carolina can be just as dangerous...I like Carolina just for the fact that the Devils D has be non existent...Carolina in 7

4. Pittsburgh vs 5. Philadelphia- The battle of Pennsylvania at first was not a matchup everyone thought could of happened since Pittsburgh was playing so poorly and Philly was playing so good...However, the beauty of hockey draws these two rivals together in a first round matchup...Both of these teams have great offense and goaltending...However it comes down to two men....No no Crosby and Malkin, but Jeff Carter and Daniel Briere...If these two are clicking Philadelphia should have no problem...Philly in 6

West

1. San Jose vs. 8. Anaheim- San Jose just wrapped up the President's Trophy for the first time in team history and should be the team to beat in the west...The have the key ingredients to win it all with the scoring and goaltending...Anaheim squeaked their way in to gain the last spot with very good play in the last couple of games and should play San Jose tough...San Jose is too good though and should take this series...San Jose in

2. Detroit vs. 7 Columbus- This is bittersweet for Columbus fans...Their team makes the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and they draw the defending Stanley Cup champs in the first round....We all know how good Detroit is with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsuyk but Columbus does have soon to be Rookie of the Year goalie Steve Mason...Detroit is too much though for Columbus...Detroit in 5

3. Vancouver vs. 6 St. Louis- Who would ever of thought of St. Louis to jump in but they went from the dweller to 6th in a blink of an eye...With the way they are playing with forwards David Backes and the return of Paul Kariya, St. Louis can make this series interesting...Vancouver has star goalie Roberto Luongo and the Sedin twins which can carry them through...Vancouver in 6

4. Chicago vs. 5 Calgary- Chicago makes the playoffs for the first time since the 2000s and can thank the pair of John Towes and Patrick Kane for that...Goalie Nik Khabibulin played very well for the Balckhawks in net this year and can be the x-factor since he did win a cup in '04....Calgary also has a x-factor goalie in Mika Kipersouff who can take his team as far as he can...Jarome Iginla and newly arrived Oli Jokinen help Calgary as well...Calgary in 7

The Nuch