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Hockey Night in Canada's Kelly Hrudey gives his take on the NHL's second round matchups. Eastern Conference (1) Ottawa
52-21-8-1, 113 pts VS (4) Philadelphia 45-20-13-4, 107 pts
The Flyers have three great lines and a good goaltender. As much as I like Ottawa this is a big test for them. What the Flyers have been missing in the past has been they didn't recgonize what level they had to play to succeed in the playoffs. Ken Hitchcock has taught them to be ready every night for a battle. Ottawa plays terrific team defence and are capable of scoring a lot of goals. As a unit, every shift, the Senators may be the best team in the league. Prediction:
Ottawa in seven (2) New Jersey 46-20-10-6, 108 pts VS (3) Tampa Bay 36-25-16-5, 93 pts This one is going to surprise people, but I think Tampa Bay is going to win. Tampa has a lot of offence, goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin is playing extremely well right now and the playoffs are about upsets. This is the one I choose. I don't see a lot of weakness in the Devils, except sometimes they have
trouble scoring. Other than Dan Boyle, the Lightning don't have a lot of offence from
their defence so they'll be relying on their top line of Lecavalier, St.
Louis and Prospal to keep playing well. Prediction:
Tampa Bay in six. Western Conference 1) Dallas 46-17-15-4, 111 pts VS (7) Anaheim 40-27-9-6, 95 pts This series is going to test Anaheim in the physical part of the game. They've proven during the regular season and against Detroit that they can play with anybody in league. But they haven't been challenged physically like the Stars will challenge them. J.S. Giguere is the Ducks' strength and they have enough scoring up front, with Kariya, Oates, Sykora and Rucchin, to carry them. Other than Ozolinsh, they don't generate a lot of offence from their defence. The Stars are deep at every position and they don't have any real weaknesses.
The goaltender match-up is as good as you'll find in the NHL right now,
and both have something to prove which will make it more interesting. (4) Vancouver 45-23-13-1, 104 pts VS (6) Minnesota 42-29-10-1, 95 pts I think this series will be a lot tougher than people anticipate. Minnesota wll give Vancouver the same fight they gave Colorado. The Wild can really frustrate the Canucks when they play. Minnesota's weakness is, in general, that the ability of their defencemen isn't the highest in the league. But as a team they play well defensively. They have a very good transition game and they have more offence and team speed then people give them credit -- which is why they were sleepers against Colorado. The Canucks play with a real passion for the game, they play with speed and they're very well coached. I think Vancouver will be less nervous for the start of this series,
but as it goes along their patience will be tested because Minnesota will
give them all they can handle. Prediction: Vancouver in six
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