Surprises abound


 
As much as the second round about who is there, it is also about who isn't. The first round seen some teams which spent the year getting ready for the playoffs knocked out at the hands of lower seeded squads.

Two of the biggest names were the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers. Seemingly always an early exit since they won the title in Season 11, the Flames dropped a tough series to the Nashville Predators in six games. On the flip side, the usually very successful Rangers, who have claimed three straight Eastern Conference titles, was dropped by their cross town rival Islanders and now have a much longer off-season to dwell on.

Will the cinderella stories continue or will the contenders dominate? Some classics like Anaheim and Pittsburgh are still in the hunt after all.

Here are my predictions for round two of the post-season:

Western Conference

(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (6) Nashville Predators - The Ducks survived a small scare at the hands of the San Jose Sharks in the opening round and seemingly face an equally weak opponent in round two; however that might be overlooking the Predators too easily. After all, they did pull a first round upset and could be poised for another.


It'll likely be more joy for the Ducks in round two.
Post-season hero Patrice Bergeron is doing it again, leading the Bruins in scoring with three goals and six points, and if the Ducks can get decent goaltending from Tuukka Rask, the club should be able to push through.

Nashville meanwhile seems to be rallying around their embattled star Henrik Zetterberg, who is rumoured heading out the door back to Montreal after the playoffs. True or not, Zetterberg isn't playing like a man on his last legs in his current city. He leads the club with eight points in six games.

It's likely that the Predators will put up a fight, but it's an uphill battle. Prediction: Anaheim in six games.

(2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (4) Minnesota Wild - The Avalanche had arguably the biggest scare of any club that made it into the round of eight, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to escape with a 4-3 series win, taking game seven with a narrow 3-2 victory.


The Wild will need to pull out a few tricks to better the Avs.
Colorado and Anaheim seem destined to meet up in the playoffs again and while that is still possible Colorado's going to need to smarten up quickly or it'll be a wild post-season.

Minnesota is embracing a playoff series win for the first time in a few years and had the easiest run of any first round club, winning in five games over the Los Angeles Kings in what looked to be an even match-up. If Minnesota can keep the momentum up, they could be on the fast track to round three.

It should be a tight series, but Colorado also should have got their head on straight by now. Prediction: Colorado in six games.

Eastern Conference

(1) Washington Capitals vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers- Washington was pushed to the limit in their first round match-up with the New Jersey Devils, a possible sign the team is cracking under pressure from having an amazing regular season. They'll get another chance to show they are the real thing against the Flyers who only finished five points higher in the standings than the Devils.
 

Where Philadelphia is, physicality is sure to follow.
There is a riot in the streets of Philadelphia as the Flyers bested the always hated Toronto Maple Leafs, and it is cause for celebration. The Leafs were the second seeded team after all, but in reality the pair of teams were closer than they appear as the Leafs only had 13 more points than the Flyers. The spread this time will be exactly three times as much and it'll be three times the challenge for Philadelphia.

The Flyers will keep games close but the Flyers are still retooling and inexperience will cost them in the post-season. Prediction: Washington in five games.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) New York Islanders- Both clubs moved on in six games in round one, but it was a gigantic step for the Islanders, who exorcised a few demons by beating the cross town Rangers in the first round. It ended a fantastic post-season run for the Rangers and opened the door for the Islanders to get back in the cup mix. The last team to win the eastern conference not named the Rangers was the Islanders.


The Islanders hope to fend off the Penguins and move on to another Western Conference title for a New York based team.
And usually knocking on the conference title door is the Penguins, who now have one less hurdle with the Rangers gone. They'll need to show that they can better the Islanders to have a chance to do it, but the Penguins are a veteran squad trying to rally around seemingly ageless wonder Teemu Selanne, who has indicated this is likely his last season in the WCHL. He'd like to go out a champion and the Penguins would like to show they can still do it.

If Pittsburgh can start the series with a win, it's theirs. Prediction: Pittsburgh in six games.
 
ACHL
 
West
 
(1) Abbotsford Heat vs. (6) Grand Rapids Griffins - Abbotsford in five games.
(2) Norfolk Admirals vs. (4) Lake Erie Monsters - Lake Erie Monsters in seven games.
 
East
 
(3) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (8) Syracuse Crunch - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in four games.
(4) St. John's IceCaps vs. (7) Adirondack Phantoms - Adirondack in seven games.