Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Eastern Conference
[1]Montreal vs.[8]Boston
Season series: Canadiens won, 8-0-0.
Why the Canadiens can win: Skilled forwards Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn are the driving force behind Montreal's top-ranked power play (24.2 percent). It's going to roll over the Bruins -- again.
Why the Bruins can win: Two words: the trap. It might be the Bruins' only hope against a Montreal offense that scored 3.13 goals on average during the regular season, second only to Ottawa's 3.15.
Player to watch: Patrice Bergeron, Boston's high-scoring center, was cleared to return Monday, six months after suffering a concussion that forced him to miss 72 games.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tomorrow at Montreal, 7 | April 17 at Montreal, 7 | |
| Saturday at Montreal, 7 | April 19 at Boston | |
| Sunday at Boston, 7 | April 21 at Montreal | |
| Tuesday at Boston, 7 |
Season series: Senators won, 3-0-1.
Why the Penguins can win: They've got one of the most potent offenses with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa -- and a score to settle. The Senators eliminated Crosby and Co. in five games last season.
Why the Senators can win: That's a tough one. Their goaltending has been a disaster, forwards Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson are injured and they lost seven of their last 10.
Player to watch: Drafted a spot behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin in 2004, Malkin carried the Pens in Crosby's absence, finishing second to Ovechkin in scoring with 106 points.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tonight at Pittsburgh, 7 | April 19 at Pittsburgh | |
| Friday at Pittsburgh, 7 | April 20 at Ottawa | |
| Monday at Ottawa, 7 | April 22 at Pittsburgh | |
| April 16 at Ottawa, 7 |
Season series: Tied, 2-2-0.
Why the Capitals can win: They've got the league's leading scorer in Alex Ovechkin, the favorite to win MVP, and its hottest goaltender in Cristobal Huet, who has been stalwart since coming to Washington at the trading deadline.
Why the Flyers can win: Balanced scoring provided by Daniel Brière, Mike Richards and Vaclav Pospal and a strong play from goaltender Martin Biron, who finished the regular season with a pair of shutouts. Defenseman Derian Hatcher might return from a broken leg.
Player to watch: Everyone's wondered how Ovechkin would perform on the NHL's biggest stage. We're about to find out.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Friday at Washington, 7 | April 19 at Washington, 1 | |
| Sunday at Washington, 2 | April 21 at Philadelphia | |
| Tuesday at Philadelphia, 7 | April 22 at Washington | |
| April 17 at Philadelphia, 7 |
Season series: Rangers won, 7-0-1.
Why the Devils can win: Martin Brodeur has been the best goalie on the planet for the better part of a decade. And you know what? He still might be.
Why the Rangers can win: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist keeps games close and forwards Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez are always a threat. Coach Tom Renney is underrated.
Player to watch: Although Brodeur got off to a rough start, the future Hall of Famer returned to form and posted 44 of the Devils' 46 wins, not to mention a 2.17 goals against average.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tonight at New Jersey, 7 | April 18 at N.J., 7:30 | |
| Friday at New Jersey, 7 | April 20 at N.Y. Rangers | |
| Sunday at N.Y. Rangers, 7 | April 22 at New Jersey | |
| April 16 at N.Y. Rangers, 7 |
[1]Detroit vs.[8]Nashville
Season series: Red Wings won, 5-3-0.
Why the Red Wings can win: The Presidents' Trophy winners are talented . . . and experienced . . . and deep . . . and . . . get the picture?
Why the Predators can win: If Dan Ellis, who entered training camp hoping to secure a job as the organization's No. 3 goalie, forgets he's never played a playoff game. He led the league with a .924 save percentage.
Player to watch: Nicklas Lidstrom is poised to claim win his sixth Norris Trophy in the past seven seasons with after leading all NHL defensemen with 70 points and in plus-minus (plus-40).
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tomorrow at Detroit, 7 | April 18 at Detroit, 7:30 | |
| Saturday at Detroit, 2 | April 20 at Nashville, 3 | |
| Monday at Nashville, 7:30 | April 22 at Detroit | |
| April 16 at Nashville, 9 |
Season series: Flames won, 3-1-0.
Why the Sharks can win: The addition of defenseman Brian Campbell to a lineup that already includes 2006 MVP Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo helped them close the season with an 18-2-2 run.
Why the Flames can win: They have one of the league's best forwards (50-goal scorer Jarome Iginla), one of its toughest defenseman (Dion Phaneuf) and one of its steadiest goaltenders (Miikka Kiprusoff).
Player to watch: Iginla can score goals, set them up and pick a fight -- all in the same period. He was third in the league with 50 goals.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tonight at San Jose, 10 | April 17 at San Jose, 10 | |
| Tomorrow at San Jose, 10 | April 20 at Calgary | |
| Sunday at Calgary, 10 | April 22 at San Jose | |
| Tuesday at Calgary, 10 |
Season series: Wild won, 5-2-1.
Why the Wild can win: It has some skill up front in Marian Gaborik (career best 42 goals, 83 points), Brian Rolston (31 goals) and Pierre-Marc Bouchard (50 assists) and the fourth-best penalty kill (85.2 percent).
Why the Avalanche can win: With Joe Sakic, José Theodoré, Milan Hejduk, Peter Forsberg, Adam Foote and Paul Stastny, the Avs have the appearance of a team that could make a surprising run.
Player to watch: The other Niklas Backstrom had a pretty good season, too. The Wild goaltender won 33 games, posted a 2.31 goals against average and .920 save percentage.
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tonight at Minnesota, 9 | April 17 at Minnesota, 9 | |
| Friday at Minnesota, 9 | April 19 at Colorado | |
| Monday at Colorado, 10 | April 22 at Minnesota | |
| Tuesday at Colorado, 10 |
Season series: Stars won, 5-2-1.
Why the Ducks can win: They've got the best blueline in the business with Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Mathieu Schneider and François Beauchemin.
Why the Stars can win: They netted the second-most goals in the Western Conference behind Mike Ribeiro (56 assists, 83 points) and Brenden Morrow (32 goals, 74 points). Goalie Marty Turco was tough, posting a 2.31 goals against average.
Player to watch: The Stars broke the bank to acquire center Brad Richards from Tampa Bay. Eventually, he's going to start scoring, right?
| Games 1-4 | Games 5-7 (If nec.) | |
| Tomorrow at Anaheim, 10 | April 18 at Anaheim, 10:30 | |
| Saturday at Anaheim, 10 | April 20 at Dallas, TBA | |
| Tuesday at Dallas, 8:30 | April 22 at Anaheim, TBA | |
| April 17 at Dallas, 8 |
View all comments that have been posted about this article.