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On the whole, Round 1 — while full of great games — ended up being rather predictable. There were only two upsets — Anaheim and Carolina — and I've seen a ton of pundits with nearly flawless pick 'ems records to this point. I bet that changes after Round 2.

My own bracket is nearly intact, which makes the predictions relatively easy (as long as I stick with the teams I had going the distance two weeks ago).

ROUND 2

Eastern Conference

(1) Boston v. (6) Carolina
Series key: Tim Thomas v. Cam Ward

Yes, Boston had a terrific season, but they haven't really been tested in the playoffs. Fifteen other postseason teams would have likely beaten up on the beaten up Habs in Round 1, and the Bruins' real work begins now. Having such an easy go of things to start will help in the long run, but the Hurricanes aren't going to be pushovers — especially with the way Ward's played the past 30 or so games. The Thomas v. Ward battle will be a major series key, as will Carolina's ability to have some success against Boston's depth. The Bruins are one of the few NHL clubs with three lines that can score, with the likes of Kobasew-Bergeron-Recchi making up the third line and Krejci emerging as a dominant performer on the second one, and as a result, I don't think the 'Canes will be able to out produce them at even strength. Zdeno Chara's a big-time worry, too, and is about to make Eric Staal's life difficult.

(2) Washington v. (4) Pittsburgh
Series key: Mike Green and the Caps D

The series everyone wanted to see should, in theory, be a good one. Although I'm not so sure — especially after what we saw from Washington in Round 1. The Caps looked completely befuddled by a terribly mediocre Rangers team that couldn't score all season, and I really wonder if they'll have an answer defensively for a Pens club that has been incredibly difficult for teams to contain under Coach Bylsma. One thing's certain: Mike Green needs to be a whole lot more effective on the Caps blueline. He logs about 26 minutes a night and is guaranteed to see considerable minutes against two of the most dangerous offensive players in the league in Crosby and Malkin throughout the series, and it'll be interesting to see if he can help his team outscore that level of opposition as opposed to some of the lesser lights they often faced during the season. Ovechkin, too, needs to be more of a factor than he was at times in the New York series. As those two go, so do the Caps, and my money's on Pittsburgh's underrated supporting cast being able to shut them down. 

 


Western Conference

(2) Detroit v. (8) Anaheim
Series key: The Perry-Getzlaf-Ryan line

Well, so much for my prediction that we'd see Detroit stumble a bit against the Blue Jackets — Round 1 proved as much of a cake walk as you can get. This series won't be that, even if the matchups do favour a Detroit team will all kinds of depth. The Ducks can win this series, but they'll need to continue getting stellar goaltending from Jonas Hiller and significant production from a dominant top line (which is sure to see tons of time against Datsyuk, Zetterberg and the Red Wings' other shutdown specialists). Anaheim's going to try to win by being mean — something that can work if you can do it while staying out of the box (not their specialty) — but barring a Chris Osgood meltdown, I don't see the Ducks' luck continuing. Detroit's second- and third-line depth will outscore Anaheim's, so the series is in the hands of its No. 1 line while seeing major minutes against Lidstrom and Rafalski. Life's never easy for an eight seed. 

(3) Vancouver v. (4) Chicago
Series key: Sedins v. Seabrook-Keith

My guess is we see some pretty interesting linematching in this one from Alain Vigneault and Joel Quenneville, especially against the Sedin twins. Despite finishing with the sixth-most points in the NHL this season, the 'Hawks are an underrated group, one that many are writing off due to their age and experience level, but there's a lot of talent there, and they're only really outmatched in this series in goal (and even then not by that much). If Luongo's lights out, it could very well be a shorter series than I'm predicting here, but Vancouver will have a tough time beating Chicago's mobile defence, and if the Sedins are silenced, it'll be interesting to see if they can get enough from the supporting cast to win a series. I bet this is a good one — and finally a coming out party for some of the 'Hawks unheralded talents like Ladd, Versteeg, Bolland, Sharp and Keith. Flip a coin.

And for more blog coverage of the second round of the playoffs, check out SB Nation's blogs representing every team: Stanley Cup of Chowder v. Canes Country, Japers' Rink v. PensBurgh, Winging It In Motown v. Battle of California, Nucks Misconduct v. Second City Hockey.