SECOND ROUND PICKS

In the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I'm picking...

Detroit Red Wings over Anaheim Ducks

Detroit/Anaheim is going to be a tough series. Anaheim had a strong finish to the season and took out the President's Trophy winning San Jose Sharks. The Ducks did win the Cup just two seasons ago as well. Anaheim has a great team, but I don't think they can stand up to the power-house that is the Stanley Cup defending Detroit Red Wings.


Vancouver Canucks over Chicago Blackhawks

I'd expect another quick victory by the Canucks who swept the St. Louis Blues and also finished the regular season strong. The Blackhawks are a young team without much playoff experience. Just getting to the second round is a great achievement for the Chicago franchise.


Boston Bruins over Carolina Hurricane

I think the Bruins will end this series quickly. They destroyed the Montreal Canadiens in four games and I don't think Carolina will fair much better. Boston's the most complete team. They have a Vezina Trophy finalist in Tim Thomas and a Norris Trophy finalist in Zdeno Chara. They play a great defensive system, but still have explosive scoring depth. The Hurricane are tired and worn after their seven game series with the New Jersey Devils that they just barely won.


Pittsburgh Penguins over Washington Capitals

The most exciting match-up of the second round should be Pittsburgh/Washington. Arguably the leagues top three players in Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby will be in the same series. Both teams are coming out of long first round series and this series could be just as long. I'm picking Pittsburgh because of their experience in last year's playoffs and because of the crazy one-two punch of Crosby and Malkin on different lines. The Penguins hurt bad after last season's Cup final and I think that'll give them enough push to pull past Washington.

GET OUT YOUR BROOM, IT'S TIME FOR A SWEEP!

Right now, there's a possibility that half of the first round NHL playoff matches could end in sweeps.

The Vancouver Canucks could be the first team to advance into the second round if they finish off the St. Louis Blues tonight.

The Boston Bruins will get a chance to complete their sweep of the Montreal Canadiens tomorrow. It would be a fitting end the Canadiens disappointing centennial year.

The Detroit Red Wings aren't quite in "sweep position" yet as they lead the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-0 going into tonight's game, but with Detroit being the powerhouse they are, I wouldn't be surprised if Columbus' first trip to the playoffs ends in a sweep.

How embarrassed would the President's Trophy winning San Jose Sharks be if they were not only beaten in the first round but swept! The Anaheim Ducks take their series against their California rivals to Anaheim tonight leading 2-0. I've said before that San Jose's awful playoff record wasn't Ron Wilson's fault.

WHO WILL WIN THE STANLEY CUP?

I'm picking The Detroit Red Wings over The Boston Bruins in The Stanley Cup Finals.

They're the last team to win back-to-back Cups, and I think they can do it again. On paper, their roster is better than last year. They have a lot of play-off experience in recent years. Seems like the best bet.

Here's my picks for the first round:

San Jose over Anaheim
Detroit over Columbus
Vancouver over St. Louis
Calgary over Chicago

Boston over Montreal
Washington over New York Rangers
New Jersey over Carolina
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia

COULD LUKE SCHENN MAKE TEAM CANADA FOR 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?

Early next week, GM Doug Armstrong will name Team Canada's roster for the 2009 IIHF World Championship.

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie defenseman Luke Schenn definitely deserves a spot on the team.

Of all the NHL defensemen available to Team Canada, Schenn had the second most hits this season after Stephan Robidas. Robidas is also listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury, and may not want to participate in the tournament. If Team Canada wants a young checking defenseman in their line-up, Luke "The Eraser" Schenn is their man.

It would also be benificial to Team Canada is give 19 year-old Schenn as much international experience as possible as he's expected to be a big part of Team Canada for years to come. Schenn won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2007-08 World Juniors on the team's top shutdown pairing with Thomas Hickey.

Schenn also sits second amoungst defensemen in NHL rookie scoring after Drew Doughty who may also suit up for Team Canada in this year's World Championship.

I TOLD YOU SO: THE SENATORS SUCKED THIS YEAR

Now that the Senators are officially eliminated from participating in this season's Stanley Cup play-offs, I can now say "I told you so."

I predicted last April, that the Sens would place a lot worse this season than last season though a lot people didn't share my opinion at the time.

As proof, here's an article I wrote nearly a year ago: The 2008-2009 Senators are Doomed!

"Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah, I told you so!"

If newly acquired Pascal Leclaire can have a healthier season, the Sens may improve a bit next year, but the question is whether or not they'll have enough secondary scoring beyond their top three forwards to push them into a play-off spot in 2009-2010.