Western Conference
Detroit (1) vs. Dallas (5)
It doesn't matter that Marty Turco has never won a game at the Joe in his career. Just like it didn't matter that he hadn't won a play-off series before this year. At the very least, he is the better goalie in this series.
Sure, Chris Osgood has better numbers, but Osgood really hasn't been forced to win any games on his own yet, facing weaker teams than Turco. Osgood's gaudy playoff stats are a little misleading, and perhaps dated, given that he allowed just a single goal in his first three playoff appearances, then surrendered nine in his last four.
That's still nothing to sneeze at, but a 2.25 GAA in his past four games is a long way from the 1.52 GAA that "Ozzy" lays claim to dating back to the start of the playoffs.
Should things go south, remember, the Wings have the luxury of a capable back-up in Dominik Hasek.
Offensively, Detroit has been sparked by the play of Johan Franzen, leading all playoff goal scorers with 12, and the journey is only half over. But honestly, that's more than half of what he produced in 72 regular season games.
Good for Johan, but does anyone REALLY expect Franzen to finish the play-offs with 24 goals?
If you don't, then expect his play to drop off against a Dallas team that is exponentially better on the defensive side of the ledger than the Predators and Avalanche were in the first two rounds.
Both teams are rolling four lines, but how can you argue with a team that boasts Mike Modano as a third-line centre? Dallas also looks far more confident now following the return of stud blueliner Sergei Zubov than they did through the first seven games of the postseason without him.
Stars captain Brenden Morrow is drawing comparisons to Mark Messier, which is clearly a stretch, but the fact that he's even getting mentioned in the same breath should tell you something about his value to the cause. Dallas has been my pick from the get-go, and I still believe this is their year.
Stars in 6
Eastern Conference
Pittsburgh (2) vs. Philadelphia (6)
Perhaps it's Canadian hockey arrogance to consider a three decade long interstate rivalry to be of any less significance than an inter-provincial rivalry of the same vintage, like the one in Alberta.
But if arrogance is to blame, then let’s not be surprised when the Flyers attempt to turn this series into an ugly one. These are the Philadelphia Flyers for crying out loud, playing against a team of dazzling danglers that are just begging to get pushed around.
So far, it appears that might be the only way to stop this Penguin team that seems to have forgotten how to lose, but bullying within the parameters of the NHL rulebook will be critical to the Flyers success in Round 3.
The Pens have scored a powerplay goal in eight of their nine playoff games and they've scored fewer than three goals in a game but twice.
Attempts to stop the two-headed monster (has McGuire copyrighted that word yet? I hope not.) of Crosby and Malkin up the middle have proven futile to this point, but the Flyers are the deepest team of the four conference finalists when it comes to a combination of sandpaper and style, boasting nine forwards with at least three playoff goals. Marty Biron was good in the opening round, and the playoff newcomer got a whole lot better in Round 2, out-dueling a man that was drawing comparisons to Patrick Roy. Marc-Andre Fleury continues to prove his detractors wrong, and it's hard to argue with his 1.76 GAA, but he's rarely been pressured into performing in a tight game. Six of Pittsburgh's eight wins have come by two goals or more.
Pens in 7
Big Dude's record to date: 7-5