At the time of this writing, the Sharks have a 2nd period 3-2 lead on the Flames.  So I can't write about the West because I'm about ready to fall asleep.  Couple beers while watching Flyers/Caps - and the intensity of that game (and hell, I'm not a fan of either team!!!) and I'm done in.

But I can't stop from writing some quick notes.

Canadiens/Flyers

1.  Flyers - This team is hard to figure.  Two weeks left in the regular season, they looked dead in the water.  They surge right at the end, locking up a spot, but drawing Washington - a tough draw because of Ovechkin and the Caps youth.  Then they go and dominate game one, but lose.  Now after a draining OT game 7, they get the Habs.  But here's the thing - the Habs were pushed around a little by Boston.  Philly plays that same nasty, mean style of hockey...and have better scoring.  Richards is imposing his will on other teams - Briere I thought was nearly invisible tonight until the end of the game though.  Anyway - no more tangents - the Flyers physical game, and skilled forwards represent a big time challenge to the Canadiens.  The Habs must get their physical nature cranked up to play toe-to-toe with the Flyers.

2.  Flyers - I'm also beginning to wonder if this team has a deep run in them.  You'd think that the way this series went that they were ripe for the picking.  But they don't quit - they just keep on coming on.  Lose the first game, win the second.  Get a 3-1 series lead, then lose two in a row.  Biron is untested in net, and has an atrocious record on the 2nd night of back to back games, and tonight he was great.  Simply great.

3.  Habs - a regular season series sweep of this team won't have any impact them - after all, they swept Boston, too.  So I doubt their regular season success will play any role in their planning or discussions. 

4.  Habs - where's that power play?  After being the best in the regular season, Boston shut them down.  The Habs PK was solid, but they have to get more production from the PP if they want to go to the conference finals. 

5.  Both teams - now that untested goalies Price and Biron have withstood the test of winning a playoff series, they get to face a new level of tension.  The Flyers are a crash-the-net team - every chance they get they'll throw bodies in front of Price.  Biron acquitted himself well against the likes of Ovechkin, and the Flyers defense did a great job.  Price had a bad game, but rebounded for a game 7 shutout win. 

Who gets the edge?  I am beginning to wonder - as I said - if Philly doesn't have some fate in their tank.  Home ice doesn't matter much to Philly - they didn't have it in beating (I can't call it an upset) the Caps.  The pressure in Montreal will build - and although the Habs withstood it in the first series, it gets far tougher now.  I think Montreal has a better line up top to bottom, but I'm now wondering if Boston exposed enough flaws for Philly to exploit.  So, going against the grain and perhaps my better judgment: Philly in seven.

I was a Caps fan tonight.  Not because I was actively rooting against Philly (although to be fair I hate the Flyers) but because I wanted to see the Caps rather than the Rangers.  The upcoming Pens/Rangers series is going to be a phenomenal one, I can almost guarantee that.  The regular season was a wash, although the Rangers won all their games in the Garden - but like with the Habs/Flyers, the Pens didn't beat Ottawa in the regular season, either.  Different team, different time, different chemistry - but the fact is that the regular season means nothing now.  Or at least it doesn't mean much.

1.  Rangers - Jaromir Jagr is going to be stoked for this series.  He's never played his old team in the playoffs.  He's obviously enjoying the game right now, and his physical skills are still in the upper echelon of talent in the NHL.  He's going to be a force, and will do his utmost to put the team on his shoulders and help carry them past the Pens.

2.  Rangers - Lundqvist is dominant at home, and was against the Atlantic division in general.  He's going to have to be on top of his game, because the Pens throw a hell of a lot more offense at you than the Devils did.  So while he had an excellent opening round, the level of difficulty in this series is far, far higher.  The Devils play a conservative game, hoping that defense and goaltending keep them in games.  The Pens don't. 

3.  Pens - Sid, Geno & Marc-Andre.  The boys are going to have to be at the top of their game in this series.  New York is not Ottawa - the Pens are not facing a dysfunctional team collapsing from within this time.  They are facing a tough, menacing foe, so the kids are going to have to be more than alright.  The kids are going to have to prove that their top-notch skills are equally as visible and dangerous in the playoffs.  Star power drives this team - and the lack of star power will doom it.

4.  Pens - defense.  Few people consider the Pens blue line to be top-notch.  And maybe its not - but then again the Rangers defense is in that same boat.  The Pens play an active defense, using positions and stick skills to defend.  They don't have a well-known big hitter, nor do they have a well-known shut-down tandem.  Their defense is really a nice blend of different talents and personas, and all will put to the test in this series. 

Both teams will probably play the first period of game one close to the vest - punch/counter-punch kind of period.  The feeling out period won't last beyond the first twenty, though - they know each other too well.  They know personnel, strengths, weaknesses, players to exploit and more.  They know tendencies and leanings.  So there won't be much of that "getting to you know" play - as I said, twenty minutes ought to do it.  The Pens will have to weather a first-period storm and cloud of uncertainty.  After so many days off and so much rest, how they respond to the speed and pressure o####ame will be critical.  The Rangers have had some rest, too, and figure to be equally rusty in that first period. 

This is the one opponent that as a Pens fan scared me.  The Rangers are firing on all cylinders.  They have the talent necessary to beat the Pens, and Lundqvist is capable of stealing games and pitching shut-outs, even against top offensive players that the Pens have.  They are a tight bunch, playing solid, confident hockey, and they know that they can beat the Pens.  It's my opinion that the Rangers and Pens are playing the best hockey in the East right now, and so this series figures to be a long, difficult one.  I think that the Pens have more weapons, and Marc-Andre Fleury seems to have put his past playoff failures behind him.  Jagr is still great, but old, as is many more of the Rangers top players.  The youth and recovery times of the younger players will be a factor in what ought to be a long series.  So I think it breaks down like this: the Pens win 2 at home, one at MSG, and the Rangers win 2 at home, and one in Pittsburgh...leading to a Pens home ice game 7.  The Arena will be loud and energetic, and that home ice is the one intangible that the Pens have over the Rangers.  So: Pens.  In seven.

I hope.