NHL Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

#6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #1 Boston Bruins

These two teams couldn’t have had more differing journeys through the first round. The Bruins tore through a team they’ve hated for decades. At no point was the series ever in doubt. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, fought tooth-and-nail to win one of the most competitive series I have ever seen. Half way through the 3rd period of the 7th game of the Devils/Canes series, they had the same amount of shots on goal and the same amount of goals scored (not to mention, the same amount of WINS) throughout the series. As if that wasn’t close enough, 2 goals in 48 seconds flipped the script from bitter defeat to mind-boggling victory.

Thomas has been on his head all season-- at this point, the Bruins can expect nothing less

If this was the Hartford Whalers against the Bruins, it would just LOOK right. The Carolina Hurricanes don’t bring back the same memories that the old Adams division match-ups spark in my mind’s eye. I think of the old Boston Garden, poor lighting and trying to find SportsChannel on cable. It might be the same two organizations, but nothing else seems the same. Wait, no one can find Versus either—so I guess there is a little continuity!

The biggest question for the beginning of the series is the question of rust. With over a week off, will the Bruins be able to flip the switch and bring the intensity needed in the Stanley Cup finals? Likewise, will the Canes be able to bring any kind of intensity after that thrilling Game 7 win on Tuesday? Say whatever you want, no team can bring the same emotion to the 1st game of a series as they do to a 7th game. A key for Carolina to earn that desired split in Boston, they’re going to have to recover from the emotional high of the last series as soon as possible. I doubt the Bruins have thought about the Habs since last week—it’s imperative that the Canes put the Devils in the rearview mirror as well.

There are great goaltenders littered all over the 2nd round, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better matchup that we have in this series. We have the best goaltender in the league this season (statistically speaking) going up against one of the best young PLAYOFF goalies in the NHL. Would you rather have the guy that had a 2.10 Goals Against Average and .933 save percentage this season for the Bruins; or the guy that has a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy (both as a rookie) and has beaten Martin Brodeur TWICE in the playoffs for the Hurricanes? There you have it: Tim Thomas vs. Cam Ward

There's going to be all kinds of nastiness when Tim Gleason is out there against the Bruins

The rest of the match-ups are just as interesting as the netminders. Is Milan Lucic going to get into it with Tim Gleason like he did with Mike Komiserek all series? How is Eric Staal going to deal with seeing Zdeno Chara in his face during every shift of every game? As strong as the Devils are with their team defense, they don’t have that ONE nasty, shutdown defenseman like Chara. How will the Canes top line deal with it?

Likewise, will the Kessel/Savard combination pick up where they left off against the Habs? Carolina will probably try to match up Gleason against that line—but how are they going to slow down the rest of the Bruins? Part of the reason they were the best team in the East all season was because they had such a balanced scoring attack. Just when you think you’re doing a decent job on the #1 line, you look up to realize that Michael Ryder is leading the playoffs in points per game. Pick your poison.

What kind of tone is this series going to end up taking? Is this going to end up being a grind-it-out series? If it is, does Boston have what it takes to step it up in those tight, close checking, 1 goal, pressure packed games? Part of me wonders if this could be like the San Jose vs. Anaheim series. We KNOW that Carolina can win the 1 goal game (see Game 7 and the entire 2006 Stanley Cup run), but can the Bruins do the same? We’ll have a best-of-7 series to find out!

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #2 Washington Capitals

After a few 3rd period goals in a couple of Game 7’s, Gary Bettman’s wildest fantasies have finally come true. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in the same series, oh my God!? We might have to check Bettman’s office to make sure he’s going to survive. It might be too much for him to handle! Somehow, I have a feeling that both Versus and NBC might pick up a few of these games! I hope you don’t care about the rest of the 2nd round—because if you don’t have NHL Center Ice, you might miss some of it! The NHL has its priorities.

If the entire team plays with the heart that Matt Cooke plays with, the Pens have a good shot at advancing

Despite what the NHL, ESPN and any local news outlet that is clueless with the Stanley Cup playoffs believe, there will be 19 other players on each bench that will most likely decide the fate of this featured series. If Alexander Semin or Evgeni Malkin played in any other city, they would probably be the face of their franchise. It was these two Russians that lead their respective teams in scoring during the 1st round, not their more publicized teammates. Needless to say, there’s going to be all kinds of scoring talent on display in this series.

So what are some of the things that could separate the teams that don’t involve these high flying forwards? For the Penguins, the formula is pretty simple. Ever since Dan Bylsma took over for Michel Therrien in mid-February, the Penguins have been a completely different team. They have played with much more heart, much more emotion and much more defensive responsibility. Not surprisingly, they’ve had much more success.

The perfect example of this new look for the Penguins was in Round 1 against the rival Philadelphia Flyers. Against a team that is known for throwing their weight around, it was PITTSBURGH that was the aggressor for most of the series. In the 6 game series, the Penguins may have played more physically for 6 games than they have during the entire Crosby/Malkin era. But will they be able to keep up the intensity when they face a team that’s not as hated as the Flyers?

In the same way that the Pens had a turning point, the Capitals also had that pivotal moment that turned them from an ordinary playoff team to legitimate Cup contender. The difference is that the Caps turning point happened between Games 1 and 2 of their series against the New York Rangers. After losing the first game at home to the Rags, fans and analysts alike were searching for reasons that the Caps fell short. They had one weak link: Jose Theodore’s glove hand.

Bruce Boudreau made the gutsy call to throw in rookie Simeon Varlamov to save the team in Game 2. Well, 6 games, a 1.17 GAA, a .952 save percentage and two shutouts later, it’s unquestionably Varlamov’s job for the rest of the playoffs. With the rookie in net, the Caps now have the look of a team that can win the low scoring 1-goal games that are so important in the playoffs. With Theodore in net, it seemed like Washington would have to win every game 7-5. Needless to say, Varlamov in net has been a tremendous upgrade.

The team that can continue the play since their “turning points” will be the team that moves onto the Eastern Conference Finals. Will the Penguins be able to continue to play with the energy and intensity from top to bottom that helped them turn their season around? If so, chances are they’ll be able to win the necessary 4 games to move on. Will Simeon Varlamov continue to give the Capitals the consistent goaltending that they so desperately need? Will he be able to make the big save on the Penguin snipers when they have their expected scoring chances? If they can, chances are they’ll earn the right to play on the biggest stage the Eastern Conference has to offer.

Now if BOTH teams can continue to play the way they need to, we’re in for a helluva series.

Just a reminder: we’ll take a look at the Western Conference Semi-Finals later today!