It's time to drop the puck on the NHL playoffs. With that said, Tim Panaccio and Sarah Baicker provide their predictions for the first round.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 Pittsburgh vs. No. 8 New York Islanders
Panotch: Sidney Crosby and John Tavares both got votes from CSNPhilly.com for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. After a prolonged playoff absence, the Isles are back, but they’ll get rolled. Pittsburgh played the final weeks without key personnel and was scary strong. Pick: Penguins in five.
Baicker: It’s great to see the Islanders finally get a chance at a postseason run … but they’re not going to last very long. The Penguins -- with or without Sidney Crosby -- have so much depth on offense, they’re almost unbeatable at this point. There’s not much more to say than that. Pick: Penguins in four.
No. 2 Montreal vs. No. 7 Ottawa
Panotch: This is one of those “much anticipated” rivalry series within Canada that will have the Hockey Night fans glued to their sofas for two weeks. Can the Sens’ Craig Anderson be the ultimate difference? He has a 1.69 goals against and .942 save percentage, but played less games than Carey Price. We smell upset. Pick: Senators in seven.
Baicker: Montreal has looked shaky in recent weeks despite its second-place finish. They’ll face a tough task in Ottawa, which as Tim points out, can and has won some goaltending battles with Anderson in net. But I think the Habs, who were 1-1-1 vs. the Sens this season, can pull out a series victory -- if Price plays up to his potential. Pick: Canadiens in six.
No. 3 Washington vs. No. 6 New York Rangers
Panotch: Oh well, Winny-peg died in the final weeks and forked it over to the up-and-down Capitals. Alex Ovechkin finished as highest goal scorer in the league (32), while the Rangers floundered as the eighth seed nearly the entire final two months of the season. Gotta like the Rangers with Henrik Lundqvist. Pick: Rangers in six.
NHL
Baicker: What happened to the Rangers? Expectations were so high at the beginning of the season, and the acquisition of Rick Nash should have helped propel them forward. Instead, they’re lucky to have finished sixth. That said, the Rangers didn’t lose to the Caps in regulation this season, and I can see their success in this matchup continuing, in spite of Ovechkin’s domination. Pick: Rangers in seven.
No. 4 Boston vs. No. 5 Toronto
Panotch: If any team is ripe for an upset in these playoffs, it’s the Bruins, who managed to blow the No. 2 seed in the East at the end. The Bruins lacked their usual bite over the final month of the season but … the Maple Leafs aren’t the team that can upset them either unless Phil Kessel and James Reimer steal the series. Pick: Bruins in six.
Baicker: The Bruins lost a step as this season came to a close, but that doesn’t mean they’ll fall to Toronto. In fact, the B’s have had the Leafs’ number this season, going 2-1 against them and outscoring them 5-2 in their two victories. The Leafs had an impressive season, and it’s nice to see James van Riemsdyk have some success, but I just don’t see their playoff stint lasting very long. Pick: Bruins in five.
Western Conference
No. 1 Chicago vs. No. 8 Minnesota
Panotch: It would have been nice if Columbus had won the eighth seed. Guess Ryan Suter and Zach Parise only had so much influence on the lame Wild, which was lucky to make it. Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Co. are going to make mincemeat of them anyway. Pick: Blackhawks in five.
Baicker: Like Pittsburgh in the East, Chicago is the team to beat in the West right now. Nevermind their record-breaking start to the season -- the Blackhawks are a smart team with great coaching, and the Wild barely made it to the postseason … even with Parise and Suter. Pick: Blackhawks in five.
No. 2 Anaheim vs. No. 7 Detroit
Panotch: This isn’t yesteryear in which the fabled Red Wings scared the hell out of everyone in postseason. The Wings were good down the stretch. It should be an interesting trade-off series between the Ducks’ Ryan Getzlaf and the Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk. Jimmy Howard would have to win this series for Detroit. Pick: Ducks in seven.
Baicker: This could be a fun one to watch -- Anaheim very well could be fighting for the Cup come June. Of course, they’ll have to fight past Datsyuk and the Wings first. I think the Ducks learned last year’s lesson (they missed the playoffs altogether) and won’t let this year’s opportunity go to waste. Pick: Ducks in six.
No. 3 Vancouver vs. No. 6 San Jose
Panotch: When was the last time you saw a playoff club like the Sharks sell off assets at the trade deadline and still finish sixth? Goalie Cory Schneider’s health is everything to the Canucks. No one sees the Sharks as a legit Cup contender. Those days are long gone. Pick: Canucks in six.
Baicker: The Sharks were lukewarm even after their deadline moves, but they did win all of their meetings with the Canucks this season. The odds might be against them, but they were stellar in their home arena this season, posting a 17-2-5 record in front of their fans. I think they’ll come close, but fall just shy of the upset here. Pick: Canucks in seven.
No. 4 St. Louis vs. No. 5 Los Angeles
Panotch: Talk about having a delightful coaching matchup: Ken Hitchcock vs Darryl Sutter. Oh baby! It’s hard to look past the reigning Cup champions and goalie Jonathan Quick and truthfully, both of these teams deserve to stick around but … the Blues have the better defense. Pick: Blues in seven.
Baicker: I want to pull for the Blues, if only because Hitchcock is a great coach and I spent four great years living in St. Louis. But the Kings have won four in a row over the Blues, going back to last season. I don’t believe a lengthy run is in the cards for the Kings, but I do think they’ll just barely beat out Blues, who would probably have had little trouble facing almost any other Western Conference foe. Pick: Kings in seven.