Tonight the road to the Stanley Cup begins with all 16 teams hopeful of holding that chalice of victory.
As usual here are my laughable/remarkable predictions at which you can laugh/marvel. Have a look.
Eastern Conference
1. New York Rangers vs. 8. Ottawa Senators
New York has played great all year and they are matched up against an Ottawa Senators team that has to be the surprise of the year. Picked around the bottom of the league the Senators have been in the playoff picture almost all year.
Series questions, some of them serious: Can Craig Anderson repeat his magical play that he had with the Colorado Avalanche two years ago that befuddled the San Jose Sharks? Can Karlsson score 80 points in the series? How many times will coach John Tortorella be fined? Can the speedy Senators get through the Ranger defense? How jealous will LeBron James get at how well the REAL King (Lunqvist) plays in the playoffs?
Key battle: Jason Spezza versus Marc Staal. Spezza will have to get by him to even attempt to get the puck by Lundqvist.
Prediction: Rangers in six. Anderson steals a game or two but the Rangers are too much
2. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Washington Capitals
What happened here? Wasn't Washington the favored team heading into the year? A tumultuous year for the Capitals, especially without center Nicklas Backstrom, who missed much of the year. Alex Ovechkin has also struggled throughout the year but the Capitals are playing well at the best time of the season. They face a Bruins team that has been There and Back Again. They won the cup last year while playing three seven game series to win it.
Series questions: Have the Capitals figured it out? Can they capitalize (no pun intended) on the Bruins playing so much hockey the past couple of years? Who wins the battle between Chara and Ovechkin? Can the Bruins win this one in anything but seven games?
Key Matchup: Zdeno Chara vs. Alex Ovechkin. One of the best defensemen versus one of the most prolific scorers in the game today.
Series prediction: Bruins in 7. Bruins get a scare but get by.
3. Florida Panthers vs. 6. New Jersey Devils
Everyone laughed at the Florida Panthers for their spending spree this summer, calling it a shopping spree at the dollar store but it turne out to be more than that. The Panthers are back in the playoffs for the first time since Jesus was on the earth 2000, making the Maple Leafs the only team not to qualify for the playoffs since the lockout. They go against the ever present New Jersey Devils who return to the playoffs one year after drafting Adam Larsson fourth overall.
Series Questions: How much heart with Tomas Fleischmann show? Can the Panthers score enough to stay in the series? How long can the ageless male (Brodeur) keep going? Will Theodore play well enough to keep the Panthers in the games?
Key matchup: Brian Campbell vs. Ilya Kovalchuk. Campbell will be on center stage as he, along with the rest of his teammates try to keep this guy from scoring.
Series Prediction: Devils in five. Theodore plays badly and the Panthers get bounced early.
4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. Philadelphia
Everyone fasten your seatbelts because this one could get intense. The level of talent on display here is tremoundous. Crosby, Malkin, Jagr, Giroux. Wow. Not only are these teams talented but they are physically tough. It is hard to see either of these teams winning the cup purely because after this series, the winning team could be so banged up, they could just fall early in the next round. Get ready for one of the more epic first round playoff series in a long, long time.
Series questions: Will Crosby be able to stand the physical playoff-brand hockey? Can the Flyers be physical without taking penalties? Who will keep their cool better? Can Bryzgalov recover from a bad playoff series last year? Will anyone be left standing when this is all said and done?
Key matchup: Matt Cooke vs. Maxime Talbot. This series might be decided based on who gets the other team of their game the best and the onus will be on these two to be a distraction to the opposition without taking stupid penalties.
Series Prediction: Flyers in seven. Jagr with the series winning goal to boot.
Western Conference
1. Vancouver Canucks vs. 8. Los Angeles Kings
Thanks to a late surge, the Canucks have claimed their second consecutive President's Trophy and now take on the Los Angeles Kings. This could be a dangerous matchup for the Canucks. No one really knows how healthy Daniel Sedin is and the Kings are as hard a team to peg as any. They have the talent to play with the best in the league but frequently underachieve.
Series Questions: Which Kings team will show up? Is Daniel Sedin Healthy? Will Ryan Kesler be able to produce enough that the Sedins get some breathing room? Is Jeff Carter truly healthy? Can Mike Richards and Carter play like they did for Philadelphia two years ago? Can Luongo start strong or will it be up to Cory Schneider to power the Canucks to victory?
Key matchup: Ryan Kesler vs. Mike Richards. Whoever wins this battle, whether in a direct matchup or a production matchup will be the one to free up the other team's top line.
Upset alert! Series Prediction: Kings in 7. This one feels like the Kings-Wings matchup in 2001 where the Kings stunned the Wings. Luongo usually has a rough first round of the playoffs and Jonathan Quick can take over a game. Factor in the questionable health of Sedin, this has potential for an upset.
2. St. Louis Blues vs. 7. San Jose Sharks
It is youth versus experience in this playoff matchup. The Blues are returning the the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and their team doesn't have much experience. In fact, Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner have more combined playoff experience than rest of the Blues team. On the other side the Sharks, like the Capitals surged at the end of the year to qualify for the playoffs.
Series questions: Will the Blues goaltending hold? Will their inexperience show? Can the Sharks play like a real playoff team? Can Joe Thornton produce or will Joe Pavelski step up into that void once again? Can Antti Niemi stop the puck?
Key matchup David Backes vs. Joe Thornton. It will be up to Backes to throw Thornton off his game.
Series prediction: Blues in 6. Sharks give the Blues a scare early but Halak plays a big part in getting the Blues to round 2.
3. Phoenix Coyotes vs. 6. Chicago Blackhawks
After claiming the Pacific division, the Coyotes get the unhappy privilege of playing the Chicago Blackhawks, a team getting healthy back at the right time. Star center Jonathan Toews a game-time decision for game one and appears to be healthy. The Coyotes will have to use their neutral zone trap to slow down the Blackhawks.
Series Questions: Is Toews healthy? How will he come back? Can the Coyotes slow down the Hawks' speed? Is Mike Smith up to challenge of stopping the high-powered Hawks offense?
Key matchup: Keith Yandle vs. Patrick Kane. It will be up to Yandle to make sure goaltender Smith can see Kane's shots and to make sure Kane can't get in too close to the net
Series prediction: Blackhawks in 5. Yotes steal one but the Hawks take the series.
4. Nashville Predators vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings find themselves in an unusual situation: starting the playoffs on the road. Thanks to the great play of the Blues and Predators paired with Detroit's injury-riddled second half, the Wings have to go into Nashville to face a Predators team that some pick to be the West's representative in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Series Questions: Are the Wings healthy? Can Jimmy Howard play well enough to push past the Predators? Can the Predators handle the expectations leveled upon them? Is Alexander Radulov going to be a factor? Can Lidstrom shut him and the Predators down?
Key matchup: Radulov vs. Lidstrom. Lidstrom will probably be the guy tasked with shutting down Radulov to make sure the Predators' offensive game-changer is nullified.
Series prediction: Predators in seven. Predators get pushed to the brink but they move on after a grueling seven game series
For the record, if I were doing the bracket, the rest would go:
NYR over NJ in 6
Phi over Boston in 7
StL over LA in 6
Chi over Nash in 7
NYR over Phi in 6
StL over Chi in 7
NYR over StL in 6
How would your bracket go down?
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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