Pittsburgh (8) v.s. New Jersey (1)

New Jersey (37-24-11, 105 pts)
The Devils moved from the trap utilized by Jacques Lemaires to a more offensive style this year but the results are the same, lots of wins. New Jersey came on strong late in the year to take the Eastern Conference crown and in the process set an NHL record for road wins in a season with 28. But even if the style has changed, the Devils will win because of their defence. Martin Brodeur is still one of the top goalies in the NHL and the Devil boost a talented corps of D-men lead by Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Lyle Odelein among others. Up front, the Devils may be weaker than some teams, lacking the superstar but they have a lot of depth of front and some good young talent which should assure that they go deep in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh (28-30-14, 98 pts)
The Penguins managed to cope with the loss of Ron Francis just as they coped with the loss of Mario Lemieux the year before that because they still have the best offensive player in the league and his name is Jaromir Jagr. The Penguins are counting on Tom Barrasso to put in some solid games in goal and to stay healthy for the drive for them to succeed. Pittsburgh also needs to get some production by someone other than Jagr and his linemates since the Devils will indubitably try and get the Stevens-Odelein defence pair out there against Jagr.

New Jersey will advance if: Barrasso doesn’t match Brodeur in goal and they can contain Jagr.

Pittsburgh will advance if: They can slow the scoring down and send a few games to overtime where Jagr can work his magic.

Prediction: The Devils are just too good. New Jersey in 5.


Buffalo Sabers (7) v.s. Ottawa Senators (2)

Ottawa (44-23-15, 103 pts)
From rags to riches, the Senators who were the laughing stocks of the NHL just a few years ago are now one of the most dominant teams. The Senators owe this improvement coach Jacques Martin, solid goaltending, some players maturing and a few career seasons. Jacques Martin deserves coach of the year this year hands down since he’s done a great job with this team. In nets, the Senators will start Tugnutt who has had a career year with a league best GAA. If he falters, the Senators can always fall back on Damian Rhodes. Alexi Yashing may be a finalist for MVP this year as he has broken out this season along with a few Senators defencemen. As for career years, look no further than Shawn McEachern who was having a great year before cooling off down the stretch.

Buffalo (37-28-17, 91 pts)
This team will live or die by Hasek which isn’t such a bad situation to be in. Hasek once again, dominated the league as there wasn’t a week when he wasn’t on the highlight reel. Buffalo struggled when he was injured and prospered when he was well and they’ll need him to play the full playoffs to the best of his abilities. The Sabres are missing some depth and last minute acquisitions of Joe Juneau and Stu Barnes won’t help things overly.

Ottawa will advance if: They can double the Sabres in shots every game and limit the mistakes from their young defensive corps.

Buffalo will advance if: Hasek plays like Hasek can and Ron Tugnutt continues his late seasons slump.

Prediction: Buffalo beat ‘em last year so I’m gonna say Sabres in 6.


Boston (6) v.s. Carolina (3)

Carolina (34-30-18, 86 pts)
It’s difficult to pin-point a favorite for this series since the Bruins recorded more points in the regular season than the Hurricanes but Carolina gets home ice for the playoffs since they won the weak Southeast division. But make no mistake, Carolina is a talented team which could raise some eyebrows in the playoffs thanks to Ron Francis and Keith Primeau filling the top two centre positions. In goal, the Hurricanes are set with Arthurs Irbe and Trevor Kidd but the fact remains that this is still the 8th best team in the East.

Boston (39-30-13, 91 pts)
The Bruins are a young team which is lead by the ageless Raymond Bourque. As Bourque’s days wind down, the Bruins would love to give him a Stanley cup and they show potential for that down the stretch although they must still be considered long shots this year. Byron Daffoe is one of the NHL’s top goalies and he led the league with 10 shut-outs. Up front, a young forward corps of Jason Allison, Joe Thornton, Segei Samsonov and Dimirti Kirshtich give the Bruins the talent to win. But they may still be too young to go to far in the playoffs.

Carolina will win if: Keith Primeau is fully healthy and the young Bruins fold under pressure.

Boston will win if: Daffoe blanks the Hurricanes and the young forwards score them goals.

Prediction: I like the Bruins and I think they’re the sleeper team in the East. Boston in 7.


Philadelphia (5) v.s. Toronto (4)

Toronto (45-30-7, 97 pts)
Without a doubt the surprise of the NHL this season as they turned a franchise in turmoil into veritable contenders over the summer. Most people feel this turnaround is due to one man; Curtis Joseph. Joseph has played great for the Leafs who, under Pat Quinn, have gone with a run and gun format this season. They’ve led the NHL in goals but it remains to be seen if this wide open play will work in the playoffs.

Philadelphia (27-26-19, 93 pts)

This was supposed to be the year the Flyers won it all but they’ll be tested with Eric Lindros on the shelf for the first few rounds of the playoffs. John LeClair has struggled in his absence as has Rod Brind’Amour. There will be a lot of pressure on newcomer Mark Recchi to produce as well as Mikael Renberg and Keith Jones. As always, goaltending will be a question mark as John Vanbiesbrouck has not shown to be worth the dough the Flyers spent on him this off season.

The Leafs will win if: They clear the rebounds in front of CuJo and keep scoring goals.

The Flyers will win if: They can get some other big guns like LeClair and Brind’Amour to pick up the pace in Lindros’ absence.

Prediction: Without Eric, the Flyers won’t get off the ground. Toronto in 6.


Western Conference

Edmonton (8) v.s. Dallas (1)

Dallas (51-19-12, 114 pts)
The Stars have the best team in the NHL far and away and come into the playoffs as heavy favourites. They’re solid in goal, solid on defence and solid up front, especially after signing Brett Hull in the off-season. The one drawback is that captain Derian Hatcher will miss the first 5 games against the Oil due to a suspension which should crippled the Dallas defence which will have to be strong against a fast and big Edmonton team.

Edmonton (33-17-12, 78 pts)
They come into the playoffs as underdogs, knowing that a win in this series would be one of the biggest all-time upsets. That said, this team has trounced Colorado and Dallas in the first round the past two years so anything’s possible. The big difference is the Oilers had CuJo in goal those two times and they’re counting on Tommy Salo who has played descently to bail them out this time around. The Oilers are also hurting with bill Guerin and Josef Beranek out for most of the first round. Edmonton has a fast team and they’ve said they’ll try and use their size advantage to intimidate the Stars.

Dallas will win if: They don’t get too many serious injuries.

Edmonton will win if: Tommy Salo and Doug Weight play great.

Prediction: Stars are just too good. Dallas in 4.


San Jose (7) v.s. Colorado (2)

Colorado (44-28-10, 98 pts)
The Av’s have got an incredible offense with 3 of the top 10 forwards in the NHL; Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Theo Fleury. Fleury has sparkled in Colorado and the Av’s can field two explosive offensive lines now. As always, Colorado will depend on Patrick Roy to play great but he lives on the playoffs as shown by 3 Stanley Cup Rings. The Av’s may be weak on defense though with the off-season loss of Uwe Krupp and an off year by Sandis Ozolinch.

San Jose (31-33-18, 80 pts)
The Sharks know that Colorado is already looking ahead to Detroit, and this should serve as motivation for them. Mike Vernon is a competent goalie and the Sharks have got some young forwards with Stephane Marleau and Marco Sturm. Jeff Friensen, Owen Nolan and newly acquired Vincent Damphouse give the Sharks some good offensive players but they really lack the talent Colorado has.

Colorado will win if: Patrick Roy plays like Patrick Roy

San Jose will win if: They take an early lead in this series and get under Roy’s skin.

Prediction: Colorado in 5


Anaheim (6) v.s. Detroit (3)

Detroit (43-32-7, 93 pts)
The got them at the deadline: Chelios, Clarke, Samuelsson and Ranford. Thanks to a spending spree, Detroit is gunning for a 3-peat and they have the team to do it. Obviously, they’ve got lots of playoff experience and a strong defensive corps which includes Lidstrom and Krupp along with the acquisitions. Up front, the Wings need Sergei Fedorov to bounce back after a tough year as well as Brendan Shanahan who had a tough second half. Steve Yzerman is the leader as always and Scotty Bowman behind the bench gives the Wings a huge advantage over the competition.

Anaheim (35-34-13, 83 pts)
It’s up to Kariya and Selanne to foil the Red Wings but Anaheim will need other players to emerge if they want to oust the champs. Steve Rucchin, Marty McInnis and Thomas Sandstom will need to help their fellow Ducks out against a talented Detroit team. Guy Hebert could be the secret weapon in goal although he’s struggled the past 2 years.

Detroit will win if: Fedorov earns his pay up front.

Anaheim will win if: Someone other than Kariya or Selanne score.

Prediction: Should be no problem for Detroit. Wings in 5.


St.Louis (5) v.s. Phoenix (4)

Phoenix (39-31-12, 90 pts)
The Coyotes were the surprise of the first half of the year before fading down the stretch. The Coyotes need Nikolai Khabibulin to come through in goal if they hope to advance. The bad news is very bad as Jeremy Roenick is out for this series and probably longer after Derian Hatcher anihilated his jaw near the end of the season. Keith Tkachuck is obviously the big man but he slowed down the stretch as well. The Coyotes will need Rick Tochett and Robert Reichel to come through big time for them because although they are the home team, they come in as underdogs.

St.Louis (37-32-18, 87 pts)
The Blues overcame some off season losses and unlike Phoenix, they are HOT coming into the playoffs. The Blues will count on the aged Grant Fuhr to bail them out but they need him to be healthy. The big strength of this team is that they have two defencemen who will both be Norris Trophy finalists in Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis. Pronger is one of the toughest defencemen in the NHL and MacInnis is a great man to have on the power play. The Blues are weak up front and will count on 30 goal man Pierre Turgeon to deliver.

Phoenix will win if: Khabibulin plays like he did before Christmas

St.Louis will win if: Fuhr stays healthy.

Prediction: Two team heading in opposite directions. Blues in 6.