My NHL Playoffs Second Round Picks

I did pretty well with my picks in the first round, as did Dan, Joe, and those of you who participated in the poll. The first round records were as follows
Mine: 5-3
Dan: 5-3
Joe: 6-2
Poll: 5-3
Be sure to post your picks for round two in the comments, on my facebook, on twitter, or just pick your four winners in the poll:

Round 2 Match-ups:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Vancouver vs #5 Nashville
It took till the fourth game but Vancouver finally found a way to close the door on the youthful and pesky Hawks. The Canucks looked strong in the first three games, as well as games 6 and 7. They will need Luongo to find the form that he displayed in the four wins for them to carry on any further. Vancouver will also need their big name players to play bigger. Because of the two blowouts a majority of the Canucks players were minus players for the series. The Sedin twins combined for 12 points, unfortunately Daniel scored all 5 goals that the pair accounted for. A more balanced scoring attack would help as well, only 9 players recorded goals in the 7 games against the Hawks. Nashville found a way to shutdown, if you can count a 3.33 goals against per game shut down, the top line of the Ducks. Even if it required having one of them stomp on a players foot to get him suspended. Rinne wasn't spectacular, with an official 3.29 GAA, it was enough to get the series won but im not sold on it being enough this series. The Preds found scoring from 12 different players including 3 from Fisher, Weber, and Ward. For the Predators to win this series I think they will need to tighten up defensively to help out Rinne and hope for the offense to continue on from the first round. As mentioned before, the Canucks will need Luongo to be a presence in net, hoping that his downfall was a mental block against the Hawks. I also think the Canucks offense will break out in this series. Using solid goaltending, and a more rounded offense, I think Vancouver takes the series in 5.

#2 San Jose vs #3 Detroit
Detroit rolled through their first round series against what turned out to be a significantly inferior opponent. They won the first four games of the series, only one of them was decided by less than 2 goals(no empty netters). The extra time off was extremely beneficial to the Wings, giving Franzen's face time to heal, he took 20 odd stitches and refused a mask early in the series, as well as a chance to get Zetterberg healthy without having to rush him back. San Jose took longer to finish off a team that many thought they would have no trouble with. It took three overtime wins, including a four goal comeback, and a 6-3 win for the Sharks to move on. The Sharks got big numbers out of their rookie Logan Coture, who was behind only Ryane Clowe for the team lead in points so far. Their goaltending will need to be far better, especially against a high scoring Detroit team. Antti Niemi had a GAA of 4 in the first round, with only a .860 save percentage, not up to par for a goalie with a ring in his pocket from last season. I think the veteran loaded Sharks will do a much better job of getting to Howard than the Coyotes did. This, along with a better performance in the net will lead the Sharks to a series win, in seven games. 


EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Washington vs #5 Tampa Bay
Both of these teams looked strong in the first round, however they both knocked off teams that were missing pieces. Tampa Bay holds the edge in the goaltending department, Roloson played well in the first series and has playoff experience earlier in his career. For Washington Neuvirth has playoff experience, winning back to back titles, but it was at the AHL level not the NHL. Rest in this series will also come into play with the series starting on Friday. The Lightning finished up their comeback from being down 3-1 in the series on Wednesday while Washington has been waiting to find out their next opponent for nearly a week by the time the puck drops. Both of these teams have very potent offenses, though Washington settled into a defensive strategy that seemed to work against the Rangers in the first round. I also think that the Caps will be able to shut down the weapons of Tampa on a semi regular basis. Im taking the Capitals in 6.


#2 Philadelphia vs #3 Boston
This pick is another difficult one to make, both teams are lacking in areas and strong in others. For the Bruins they will need to find something for their powerplay. Making it through one series without scoring a single goal is lucky as it is, doing it against the Flyers would be near suicide for their playoff hopes. Another key to fix is their discipline. Although I did not agree with some of the calls in the first round, Boston spend way to much time in the penalty box. Two 5 on 3 goals in game six allowed Montreal to stay in the series against them, not to mention two powerplay goals in game seven to keep it close. The Bruins do have the advantage in the defensive zone. Anyone with Chara on their team automatically on the positive side but that is not the only reason. The main reason is that Tim Thomas is in net for the Bruins. They relied  on Thomas a little bit to much in the first round but he stepped up and kept them in it. The Bruins will have to cut down on the number of odd man rushes that they surrender this series, the Flyers offense is better in my opinion then the Canadians. They key for the Flyers is goaltending. Can one of the keepers on the carousel make it stop long enough to win a few games? They did just enough to make it through the series against and undermanned Buffalo offense but what will they do against a higher powered Bruins team. The Flyers will get some goals in this series, Briere can't be shut down for the whole thing and they got goals from unexpected contributors in the first round, something that will continue in the second. This should be an extremely fun series to watch, physical with lots of chances for scoring. In the end I think it comes down to special teams and goaltending, I like the Bruins in 6.