NHL Playoffs: Conference Semi Finals

6-2 in my round one predictions.

(6) NY Rangers vs. (1) Buffalo: The Thrashers were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked in the first round. Buffalo won all 4 games against the Rangers, but three were one-goal games. I really like the Rangers as a potential dark horse in the finals. Lundqvist has been great, and they've been scoring a lot more as well. I didn't like how the Sabres looked against the Islanders...those 5 games didn't really look like playoff games. The Sabres should have blown them out in 4 games, even with DiPietro. I think with the advantage on special teams and goaltending, we're going to see an upset. Rangers in 7.

NYR #18 goals for vs. BUF #13 goals against
NYR #9 goals against vs. BUF #1 goals for

NYR #8 power play vs. BUF #20 penalty kill
NYR #12 penalty kill vs. BUF #17 power play

(4) Ottawa vs. (2) New Jersey: This is a tough call. Brodeur had kind of a rough start but things seem to be good now. I have no idea how the Senators goal scoring is going to go because the Penguins have no defence. Same thing with the Devils. And I don't care about the stats, Ray Emery is still a piece of shit. The Sens defence more than makes up for it though. Anyway, they stack up pretty close, so since New Jersey took the season series 3-1 I'll go with Devils in 6.

OTT #2 goals for vs. NJ #4 goals against
OTT #10 goals against vs. NJ #27 goals for

OTT #14 power play vs. NJ #4 penalty kill
OTT #9 penalty kill vs. NJ #16 power play

(5) San Jose vs. (1) Detroit: I liked the Sharks' "angry guy" thing against Nashville, it was very entertaining. I think the Sharks have a lot of momentum...they knocked off what a lot of people considered to be a Stanley Cup contender in only 5 games. I don't think the Wings will dominate the shot tally the same as in the last round because the Sharks' defence has been a little better than the Flames' recently. Nick Lidstrom against Joe Thornton will be pretty fun to watch. Detroit hasn't lost at home yet, but the Sharks are the best road team in the west. Also, the Sharks won the season series against the Wings 3-1, not too shabby. Sharks in 6.

SJ #6 goals for vs. DET #10 goals against
SJ #6 goals against vs. DET #2 goals for

SJ #2 power play vs. DET #21 penalty kill
SJ #14 penalty kill vs. DET #7 power play

(3) Vancouver vs. (2) Anaheim: I've said it before, I'll say it again...every team could use more Chris Pronger. The Ducks have what is most likely the best playoff goaltending tandem. Still, I have to give Luongo credit, he's by far the best player on the Canucks. Naslund and the Sedin sisters have been pretty quiet so far, and I don't think the Canucks will be able to score more goals against the Ducks. I gotta say, I wish I hadn't sold my purple Mighty Ducks jersey in grade 7 for 60 bucks. Ducks in 5, and reach the conference finals for the third time in four seasons. Quite good, really...it's almost New England Patriots good...

VAN #22 goals for vs. ANA #7 goals against
VAN #5 goals against vs. ANA #9 goals for

VAN #20 power play vs. ANA #5 penalty kill
VAN #1 penalty kill vs. ANA #3 power play