The NHL Playoffs are like an entirely different season from the regular season. Sure you always hear the cliche in sports: "anything can happen in the playoffs". But in the NHL, the gameplay is very different. The players skate twice as hard, the scoring chances are more spectacular, the hits are more intense, and the crowds are louder. NFL, NBA, and MLB playoff games look like regular season games. NHL playoff games are different.

Anyway, Nikki and I have OLN on every night and at least have a couple of games on in the background through the evening. It's been a fun start to the playoffs and we're almost to the semi-finals.

Western Conference

Who would have thought Edmonton would be leading 3-2 in their series against Detroit? My only guess is that Detroit knew they had the best record in the NHL and they knew they were going against the lowest-seeded team to start - and they got lazy. I think Edmonton is now better than their regular season record suggests because of their late pickup of Roloson in goal.

Colorado upset the Stars with a 4-1 series win. The Stars were seeded 2nd, but I think that Colorado is a better playoff team. They've consistently made it to the playoffs for years and always turn it on in the post season.

Too bad Nashville was eliminated by San Jose. I've enjoyed keeping my eye on the Nashville franchise because they're a very young team that is getting consistently better.

Eastern Conference

Ottawa eliminates Tampa. Not a big suprise, but these games were fun to watch because the two teams played like they hated each other. Tampa got beat by some large goal margins though. The better team definitely won.

New Jersey has swept the Rangers. The Rangers fell apart in the playoffs, and New Jersey is like Colorado in that they have a lot of playoff experience and have maintained a core set of strong players through the years. I think the Rangers will keep getting better in the future if they can hold on to their core players and let their young goaltender develop. A lot of people have been suprised that New Jersey has shown so much offense because they're typically a defense-first team. News flash to defensive-hockey naysayers: it's ok to play offense if you cover your own end of the ice first.

The Buffalo/Philadelphia series has been fun to watch because both teams have some offensive flare. This one is a toss up and it's hard to say who'll win, but I'm pulling for Buffalo because they have the best team logo in the league.

Mike's Predictions

I hold off on predicting NHL playoff winners in the quarterfinals because "anything can happen". It's just so true. Plus, the matchups aren't determined automatically in each round through bracketing like in NCAA basketball.

Edmonton will upset Detroit and will face Colorado. Colorado will maintain their playoff dominance and win in 6 games. The winner of the Calgary/Anaheim series will beat San Jose, and I give the edge to Calgary. Colorado beats Calgary in 7 games.

I expect all of the top seeds in the Eastern conference to advance. Ottawa will face Buffalo and win in 6 games. Carolina will face New Jersey and will lose to the Devils in 5 games with Brodeur getting at least one shutout against the Hurricanes. In the conference final, I'm pulling for Ottawa because it's their turn to make it to the Cup finals. It'll be tough with the Devils' Brodeur still at the peak of his career. I guess it's more of a plateau now. Ottawa wins in seven games.

In the cup finals, Ottawa will beat Colorado in seven games. Ottawa is younger and just as talented as Colorado, and I think they want it more. Colorado can get far but they're going to get out-skated. I'd say Ottawa could beat Colorado in fewer games, but I don't think Ottawa's goaltending is as good as Colorado's. Colorado was wise in picking up Theodore at the trade deadline.

We'll see how wrong I am in a few weeks!