Dub's NHL Playoff Prognostication, Eastern Conference Style.

The NHL playoffs start on the 14th, and being a huge hockey fan I thought I would give some thoughts to the matchups in the first round of the playoffs, commonly referred to as the Conference Quarterfinals. So let's get started with the Eastern Conference matchups shall we!



Washington Capitals (1) vs Montreal Canadians (8) My prediction: Caps in four.

The Capitals are an offensive machine, if Montreal is to have any chance they need to hope they can take advantage of the Caps poor PK and pray that Jaroslav Halak plays like the second coming of Patrick Roy.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (7) My prediction: Flyers in seven

If there was one team the Devils did not want to play in the first round, it would have been the Flyers. Philadelphia went 5-1-0 against the Devils this season. The biggest question for the Flyers is their goaltending, is it going to be good enough.

Buffalo Sabres (3) vs Boston Bruins (6) My prediction: Sabres in seven.

Being a Sabres fan I couldn't be any less happier to see them facing the Bruins. Boston went 4-2-2 against the Sabres this year, and Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask shut down the Sabres for the most part. On the flip side, Ryan Miller was 2-0-2 against the Bruins and is arguably the best goaltender in the NHL right now. The problem for both teams will be offense. The Sabres may have finished in the top ten in goal scoring, but that was mostly due to a late season surge in scoring while their defense was not at impressive as it was in the first have of the season. The Bruins are the worst scoring team in the NHL and if it wasn't for the play of Rask they would not be in the playoffs. Look for this series to be a low scoring snooze fest.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Ottawa Senators (5) My prediction: Pens in six.

They split the season series and all game were decided by three goals or more. But, the playoffs have a way of evening things out so expect a much tighter game from both teams with less scoring. In the end Pittsburgh has better goaltending and are a much more balanced team and it will be too much for Ottawa.