It's almost unfair that 4 of these teams will be eliminated so soon. The quality in the Eastern Conference is as good as ever and it'll take a team at the top of their game to make it through this bracket. There are a number of teams that have been on the precipice of success and are looking to take that step towards a WCHL championship.

Pittsburgh – New Jersey

Season Series: Pittsburgh 4-0 (21-5)

Pittsburgh (1st – 124 points)

Leading Scorer: Alex Semin – 39-42-81

Goaltending: Marc-Andre Fleury – 57-14-2, 2.51, 0.899

Special Teams: PP-23.72% (1st), PK-82.67% (16^th)

New Jersey (8th – 95 points)

Leading Scorer: Vincent Lecavalier – 31-39-70

Goaltending: Dwayne Roloson – 36-21-9, 2.59, 0.886

Special Teams: PP-16.16% (10^th), PK-82.48% (17th)

This has the makings for an ugly series. Pittsburgh has been phenomenal this season finishing atop the final two Power Rankings, scoring more goals than any other team and dominating on a power play whose closest competitor was 3% behind. They’re the hottest team coming into the playoffs (9 game win streak) and this team is deep and talented with a coach in Babcock that knows how to win. They also had their way with the Devils this year including wins of 5-1, 6-1 and 7-1. The Devils went to the Conference finals last year and the long playoff run seemed to cause a bit of a hangover as they drop to an 8^th seed this year. It’s a good team in a great conference but the quality of their depth just can’t match the Pens this season. They’re going to need Roloson to come up huge and steal the series for them to have any chance of moving into the 2^nd round.

Prediction: The march of the Penguins starts here. Pens in 5

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Atlanta – Buffalo

Season Series: Tied 1-1 (3-4)

Atlanta (2nd – 108 points)

Leading Scorer: Henrik Sedin – 26-44-70

Goaltending: Martin Brodeur – 49-23-10, 2.38, 0.893

Special Teams: PP-17.39% (15th), PK-84.29% (9^th)

Buffalo (7th – 106 points)

Leading Scorer: Joe Pavelski – 29-34-63

Goaltending: Jimmy Howard – 33-21-4, 2.26, 0.902

Special Teams: PP-15.94% (10^th), PK-87.50% (1st)

Only two points separated these two clubs in the regular season, yet these teams find themselves in the 2-7 matchup. There really isn’t a lot between these two clubs especially when you consider that Atlanta was able to take advantage of playing in the weakest division in the league. The Thrashers will depend on the Sedin twins and Martin St Louis to lead the way and they’ll be looking to take advantage of the lack of experience in Buffalo’s net in Jimmy Howard. In Buffalo, there is a scoring by committee approach and they’ll need everyone to continue their “defence-first” mindset that lead them to the least goals against in the league. Like previous Sabres squads they’ll need a hero to put them over the top. The only question is, who will be this year’s “May Day”?

Prediction – They’ll be doing the “Sedin Cycle” in the clubs in Hotlanta once this one is over in 6.

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New York Rangers – New York Islanders

Season Series: Tied 2-2 (10-8)

Rangers (3rd – 117 points)

Leading Scorer: Simon Gagne – 33-38-71

Goaltending: Henrik Lundqvist – 55-21-4, 2.55, 0.890

Special Teams: PP-18.98% (8th), PK-83.33% (14^th)

Islanders (6th – 107 points)

Leading Scorer: Nicklas Backstrom – 30-34-64

Goaltending: Carey Price – 29-15-5, 2.50, 0.890

Special Teams: PP-19.89% (4^th), PK-83.57% (11th)

It seems goalie controversies are synonymous with Carey Price. Kari Lehtonen has outplayed Price this season with a better win%, better GAA, a better sv% and twice as many shutouts in 15 less games. The media in New York has gone crazy trying to figure out what Kari needs to do to secure the spot over Price, and it’ll be fascinating to see just how short Price’s leash might be. One thing is for certain; they’re in tough in this series against their local rivals from Manhattan. The second best team in the league is also the second hottest heading into the playoffs. In what will be Scott Niedermayer’s swan song, they’ll be looking to avenge their 1^st round upset of last season when they were the President’s Trophy winners. Another early exit and we could be pinning the “chocker” label on this club, and so the pressure will be on in that media hotbed of New York City.

Prediction: Like Yogi Bear, the Islanders will be stealing this one from under the Rangers nose in 6.

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Philadelphia – Boston

Season Series: Philadelphia 3-1 (11-8)

Philadelphia (4th – 111 points)

Leading Scorer: Jeff Carter – 44-45-89

Goaltending: Niklas Backstrom – 49-21-6, 2.20, 0.903

Special Teams: PP-19.78% (6th), PK-87.33% (2nd)

Boston (5th – 109 points)

Leading Scorer: Mark Recchi – 29-36-65

Goaltending: Craig Anderson – 50-24-7, 2.25, 0.902

Special Teams: PP-17.37% (16^th), PK-86.25% (4th)

Last year’s WCHL finalists surprised everyone as the 8^th seed, knocking off the top two seeds in successive rounds but falling short. This year, they hope to repeat that success but the road back to the final goes through Philly. Philly’s special teams is tops in the league and the 1-2 punch of Carter and Getzlaf puts the Flyers in a position to score at any time. That’s not to say goals will just come from down the middle on this club. A defence that includes Mike Green, Sheldon Souray and Dan Boyle is extremely potent and will force the Bruins to make tough decisions about defensive zone strategy. Bean Town’s Mark Recchi has a resurgence this year as a 41 year-old, but you have to wonder if at this point he’s running out of gas? A number of players on this Bruins team are on the down slope of their careers and this could be Boston’s last kick at the can in a tough conference.

Predictions: Flyers soar passed the Bruins and take it in 5.