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New York Rangers (1) vs. Ottawa Senators (8)
Season Series: New York: 1-2-1; Ottawa: 3-1-0
New York, March/April: 11-9-1
Ottawa, March/April: 7-8-2
Outlook: Neither team played particularly well down the stretch and both have something to prove. For the Rangers, it's that their stifling defense in front of Vezina and Hart Trophy candidate Henrik Lundqvist can keep the game slow and structured, and without much space for speedy Ottawa stars Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek. For the Senators, it's that coach Paul MacLean has re-established a confident, winning identity to match a high base of offensive talent. Though Ottawa made the playoffs for 11 consecutive seasons between 1997 and 2008, this will be the first playoff matchup between these teams since the original Ottawa Senators lost in a quarterfinal series in 1930.
X-Factor: Marian Gaborik, Rangers. Gaborik led the Rangers with 41 goals and 76 points while playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career. He'll be expected to maintain that production against an Ottawa team that ranks last amongst playoff teams by allowing 2.88 goals per game.
Prediction: Rangers in five.
Boston Bruins (2) vs. Washington Capitals (7)
Season Series: Boston: 1-2-1; Washington: 3-1-0
Boston, March/April: 12-8-1
Washington, March/April: 10-6-3
Outlook: Washington jumped into the seventh seed, but the intangibles of this series point heavily to Boston, a team with superior goaltending, special teams, leadership, work ethic and coaching. Caps star Alex Ovechkin has surged into the playoffs with 12 goals over his final 16 games, and his tally 32 seconds into Saturday's win at Madison Square Garden set the tone for an important playoff-like victory over the Rangers. With its role reversed as an underdog, perhaps the Caps will feel unburdened and excel with the lack of pressure, though their inconsistent play all season leaves me skeptical.
X-Factor: Tyler Seguin, Bruins. Seguin will have a much different role in his second playoff go-round after his breakthrough sophomore effort. His average time on the ice during the season was six-plus minutes more than the 10-1/2 minutes he spent on the ice during last year's playoffs. With 19 points since March 1, it appears he's caught a second wind.
Prediction: Bruins in six.
Florida Panthers (3) vs. New Jersey Devils (6)
Season Series: Florida: 2-1-1; New Jersey: 2-2-0
Florida, March/April: 8-6-6
New Jersey, March/April: 13-5-2
Outlook: Don't mistake the Panthers' home ice advantage for the upper hand. With a minus-24 goal differential that was worse than Buffalo's, Winnipeg's and Montreal's, Florida is one of only two playoff teams (Los Angeles the other) that won fewer than half its games. Having lost five of six, the Panthers will play right into the hands of a steady New Jersey squad that enters the playoffs with six straight wins and one of the league's sneakier offenses as Ilya Kovalchuk (37 goals), Zach Parise (31) and David Clarkson (30) all cracked the 30-goal barrier. The Devils are just 2-6 in playoff series and 16-26 in playoff games since their 2003 Stanley Cup.
X-Factor: Martin Brodeur, Devils. This season may represent the last, best opportunity for the 39-year-old to capture his fourth Stanley Cup, and he's posted three shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average and .922 save percentage since Feb. 1.
Prediction: Devils in four.
Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)
Season Series: Pittsburgh: 2-3-1; Philadelphia: 4-2-0
Pittsburgh, March/April: 14-4-1
Philadelphia, March/April: 13-5-2
Outlook: Flyers star Scott Hartnell already announced this series will be a "bloodbath." Shenanigans aside, there will be plenty of goals scored in this series between bitter in-state rivals. Hart trophy favorite Evgeni Malkin will share the ice with likely Hart finalist Claude Giroux, while the NHL's power play goals leader, James Neal, is countered by the power play runner-up Hartnell, and we haven't even mentioned Sidney Crosby or Jaromir Jagr yet. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia ranked first and second in the league in goals, but this series will come down to the ability to win a 2-1 or 3-2 game, and for that we favor the Penguins' structure and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's playoff success. Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov also has seen success in the playoffs, where he guided Anaheim to the conference finals in 2006 and boasts a career .917 save percentage, but has seen his playoff GAA rise in each of the past three postseasons.
X-Factor: Zbynek Michalek, Penguins. Pittsburgh's defense has been inconsistent, and Michalek battled through a rough early stretch to provide more quality minutes. He'll see most of his five-on-five time with Brooks Orpik, and how they perform in heavy minutes against Philadelphia's elite forwards while Kris Letang is on the bench will determine the Penguins' defensive success in this series.
Prediction: Penguins in seven.
