If you missed any of the first round, I truly feel sorry for you. Best hockey I’ve seen in a long time. Bruins swept Le Canadiens. See ya to the frenchies, after those few knuckleheads boo a country’s national anthem. Grow up and learn some respect. Washington came back down 3-1 to New York. Carolina beat Brodeur in a Game 7. I still can’t believe that happened. Pittsburgh beat crosstown rival Philadelphia in six. In the West the Ducks were mighty (sorry J.R.) and beat the Sharks in six. It should have been a sweep the way they played. Detroit and Vancouver easily went by Columbus and St. Louis in sweeps. The young Blackhawks blew out the Flames in six to set up an even better second round of this years playoffs.

Eastern Conference Semifinals

1 Boston vs. 6 Carolina

After that emotional Game 7 win the Hurricanes now have to face the best in the east. The Bruins are well rested although I think that might hurt them. Zdeno Chara and Andrew Ference will need to be sharp to stop the Canes attack of Eric Staal and Ray Whitney. Goalie Tim Thomas has to be up to form in this one. Learn from the mistakes of Brodeur and don’t get beat in the last minute. Cam Ward has been brilliant in net so far for Carolina. The key here is defense. Both teams can score, but it will come down to who plays the best defense. Key players here are David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Both were great against Montreal, but must continue the success for the Bruins to prevail. Boston in seven.

2 Washington vs. 4 Pittsburgh

The two names of hockey are now going to clash for a spot in the Eastern Finals. Of course I’m referring to Miroslav Satan and Donald Brashear. You thought I was really that senile. CROSBY VS. OVECHKIN. You already knew anyway. Sid has something to prove here. To get back to the Finals he has to beat his top rival. He has help in Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, but Ovie has Alexander Semin and Mike Green. Pretty even if you ask me. As in the previous round for these two it will come down to goaltending. Marc-Andre Fluery was fantastic in the net for the Penguins. And how about Simeon Varlamov for the Caps. You talk about pressure. Having to start Game 2 against the Rangers and shine the way he did for the rest of the series. Varlamov is the reason why the Caps are here. Ovechkin will win the Hart trophy and that is all he wins this year. Pittsburgh in seven.

Western Conference Semifinals

2 Detroit vs. 8 Anaheim

Everyone knows that the Ducks are no ordinary eighth seed. The defending champs will have their hands full with trying to contain Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan on the offense. Getting past Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin on the defense and trying to score on Jonas Hiller. Don’t get me wrong. The Red Wings have their stars in Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetteberg and Nick Lidstrom. The Wings will need another great performance out of Chris Osgood. The Ducks made Evgeni Nabokov look like a regular guy. What will they do with Osgood? Key player is Marian Hossa. If Hossa is kept quiet the Ducks will have no problem knocking off the champs. This time I go with my heart. Ducks in seven.

3 Vancouver vs. 4 Chicago

Quite possibly the best matchup in the West if not the second round. The Canucks play sound defense and score when they need to. Roberto Luongo is just amazing. He can stop almost anything, key word almost. This Blackhawk team is young, fast and hungry. They can smell the Cup. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are a superstar tandem. Chicago has hockey fever again and it’s thanks to them. Nikolai Khabibulin was great against Calgary and must be against Vancouver. Now more than ever Chicago needs Khabibulin to be on his game because there will be few scoring chances against Luongo. Key player is Martin Havlat. Havlat will need to take charge on offense for the Blackhawks to skate past Vancouver. Chicago in seven.

Without gloating (too much), the first round in a previous post was correct on all, but the Sharks vs. Ducks. I don’t see anything short of seven games for all the series. For more great hockey playoff previews and chatter check out hockeytalkbiz.

It’s the most exciting time of the year for hockey fans. The 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will provide great matchups and some of the best hockey you will ever see. The first round promises to be very competitive with virtually no chance of any first round sweeps. Let’s get started with the preview and predictions for the first round.

Eastern Conference Round 1

1 Boston vs. 8 Montreal

This is perhaps the most lopsided matchup in the playoffs. The Bruins finished with the most points since their Cup winning season in 72′. This is a great rivalry that should be mentioned, but with Vezina candidate Tim Thomas in net and captain D Zdeno Chara leading the way. The Bruins have nothing stopping them. Montreal’s 100th season will result in a 4-1 series loss to rival Boston.

2 Washington vs. 7 NY Rangers

Star power galore in this one. Hart trophy winner Alex Ovechkin (yes he will win), Alexander Semin, Mike Green, Nicklas Backstrom for the Caps. Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Markus Naslund and Wade Redden for the Rangers. The most intriguing matcup is G Henrik Lundqvist against the scoring onslaught of the Capitals. Henrik will be lucky to win 2 games in this series, but I will give him two as the Caps win 4-2. JR’s boy Sean Avery is back in the playoffs. What will he do this time? (Avery is really not JR’s boy, J/K)

3 New Jersey vs. 6 Carolina

I’ve been going back and forth on this one. Carolina has finished the season better than any playoff team. G Cam Ward is as good if not better than their Stanley Cup run a few years ago. New Jersey on the other hand has finished the season in the worst way. Going 4-5-1 in their last 10 games was not how they wanted to enter the playoffs. Eric Staal is primed for another great postseason for the Canes. Carolina wins 4-2. A record season for Brodeur will go down in flames.

4 Pittsburgh vs. 5 Philadelphia

Coach Dan Bylsma has taken the Penguins from the bottom to home ice in the first round. Amazing accomplishment considering how abysmal this team was playing in February and early March. Nonetheless it’s a rematch of last years conference final. Crosby and Malkin is all you have to say about Pittsburgh. Yes Gonchar will be a factor on defense, but lets be honest. Everyone will be watching the Kid and Malkin. Philly isn’t too shabby either. Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell and Daniel Briere are great forwards. Kimmo Timonen is healthy for this rematch. Ultimately it will all come down to goaltending. Go figure. Martin Biron for the Flyers and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Penguins. Who will outduel the other? I have Fleury and Pens in 7 games.

Western Conference Round 1

1 San Jose vs. 8 Anaheim

President’s Trophy winner for the best record San Jose has to play division rival Anaheim who played probably the best hockey of anyone just to get in. I could go on and on about the Ducks, but I will hold back. Thanks to the great play of the Niedermayer brothers, Chris Pronger and Bobby Ryan down the stretch along with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and goalie Jonas Hiller the Ducks are in position to upset their rivals. The Sharks have had rotten luck in the past. You can attribute that to bad finishes, sluggish starts or some have said flat out quitting when it comes to the postseason. I think it’s different this year. Rob Blake and Dan Boyle were great additions. Jonathan Cheechoo and Patrick Marleau are the backbone of their attack. Goalie Evgeni Nabokov has to be up to form to stop the Ducks if they want to contend for the Cup. Randy Carlyle has a tough decision at goalie. Go with experience (J.S. Giguere) or go with youth (Jonas Hiller). I have a saying that I got from someone else whose name escapes me, “Go with what got ya there.” With that said I have to go with my head and not my heart. Sharks in 7 games.

2 Detroit vs. 7 Columbus

Poor Columbus. Their first postseason birth since coming into existence and they have to play the defending champs. Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, and Henrik Zetteberg. Oh, and Nicklas Lidstrom. That is all I have to say about Detroit. Really, same team from last year with Marian Hossa. That’s the Red Wings. Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason (yes he will win) and his 10 shutouts for a rookie goalie will make some amazing plays in this series, but it won’t be enough. Everyone who doesn’t know already will finally get to see Rick Nash in the national spotlight for the Blue Jackets. Nash will get at least five goals, but Columbus will lose to the defending champs 4-2.

3 Vancouver vs. 6 St. Louis

The Canucks came up and basically slapped Calgary out of the division lead. Vancouver is a great defensive team and will not allow easy goals. Goalie Roberto Luongo is in my opinion the best goalie in the NHL today. The Sedin twins are solid and even late arrival Mats Sundin is playing good hockey. The Blues have had a ressurgence in the blink of an eye this year. No one had them in let alone getting the sixth seed. Paul Kariya is banged up which will hurt the Blues tremendously. Good defense, but inexperienced. As is goalie Chris Mason, but he might surprise some people. He was doing that all season long (27-21 W-L, 2.41 GAA, .916 S%, 6 SO). The Canucks have the advantage though in all the important areas. Cancuks win 4-1.

4 Chicago vs. 5 Calgary

The Blackhawks are here to stay. First playoff appearance since 2002. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Martin Havlat have lead the way on offense. While Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook have on defense. Sammy Pahlsson was a great addition for the Hawks and it will show in the postseason. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has returned to Stanley Cup champion form at the right time for this young team. If Khabibulin continues, it will lead to a conference final for these guys. Calgary struggled after their deadline deals. The Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold deals were supposed to ignite the Flames (pardon the pun) into a competition for the second seed with Detroit. Alas it backfired and resulted in losing out on the second seed, the division title and home ice in the first round. Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who lead the NHL in wins, still has something left. With Jarome Iginla playing at a high level the Flames will not go out that easily. Youth will prevail in this series. Chicago is a darkhorse in these playoffs. Blackhawks win 4-2.

For more NHL playoff previews and analysis check out hockeytalk.biz. You’ll be glad you did.