Eastern Conference Predictions 2
by Bo Siemsen

Pittsb. Penguins vs. New York Rangers

1ST ROUND :
(Penguins)
The Penguins managed to sneak by the Washington Capitals after 7 games. It wasn't all pretty - at times the Penguins were outplayed, but they still managed to squeeze out 4 wins ... mainly thanks to Marios magic scoring and a number of veteran heroics from the likes of Zamuner, Keane and Fitgerald.


(Rangers)
The Rangers went through the Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games to get to the 2nd round. The Bolts took game 1 and after that the Ranger swept them off the ice. Top performances from Paul Kariya, Brian Rafalski, Andrew Cassels and Ziggy Palffy.


STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
The Penguins will welcome back Eric Boguniecki, but Tom Fitgerald is still injured. The Penguins will once again lean heavily on the scoring of Mario Lemieux and Ron Francis ... hoping for a bit of spice from their usual veteran heroics. In general in this matchup the Penguins have an advantage in terms of size, defence and experience/leadership.

The Rangers is a lot quicker and more skilled than the Pittsburgh Penguins. That is once again what they will try to win with. They did in the first round against the bigger slower Bolts ... they will be hoping for more of the same in the second round.

KEY TO THE SERIES
The Penguins will have to be effective defensively against the more skilled and attack-minded Rangers. If they can slow down the game they have a chance to win ... if not they will most likely not be able to match the Rangers over a 7-game series.

PREDICTION
The Rangers is the better team. But the Penguins have the best player in the series (Mario). But as a team the Rangers should be better Prediction - Rangers in 5

 


Buffalo Sabres vs. Montr. Canadiens

1ST ROUND :
(Sabres)
The Sabres won their series 4-1 against the Ottawa Senators. The Sabres were in control throughout and especially Dominic Hasek was on top of his game (1.37 GAA and .951 Save%) and veteran scorer Luc Robitaille showed that he still knows how to score (3 goals 3 assists) with a 5-game point streak.

(Canadiens)
The Canadiens were shut out twice and hammered 5-1 in game 6 ... but still managed to win the series in 7 games. The top players from Montreal turned in good performances - Patrik Elias had 8 point and a +7 rating, Sean Burke was solid with 2.04 GAA and Rob Blake had 5 points and a +4 rating. The Habs nearly lost the series thanks to the 3rd line ... Linden, Harvey, Pandolfo finished the series a -13 combined.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
The Sabres have Dominic Hasek at his supreme best. In the other end of the ice the Sabres must continue to be effective in front of the net. The Sabres go into the 2nd round with the best powerplaypercentage (22.2) and a perfect penalty-killing percentage of 100.

The Canadiens are bigger, stronger, tougher, more skilled, better defensively and more experience than the Buffalo Sabres. That's pretty significant.

KEY TO THE SERIES
The Canadiens have to solve Hasek quickly. In the first round tghey strugglied to solve Belfour - but they managed it ... and won the series.

PREDICTION
Hasek can't repeat that first round performance. Canadiens in 6