Vancouver Canucks (1) v (5) Nashville Predators
Nashville are maybe the suprise team into these Conference Semi Finals, nullifying the Ducks and getting though with a game to spare. It is the first time in franchise history that the Predators have got this far so they are heading out into the unknown for them.
Rinne will need to play better than he did in the first round that is for sure.His GAA for the series against the Ducks was 3.29, almost a goal a game higher than what he acheived during the regular season. The Predators don't have many recognisable goal threats going forward so defence is going to be key as well as team scoring. They will need contributions from all lines if they are going to give the Canucks any sort of challenge in this series.
Vancouver will be coming off the euphoria of finally getting past Chicago in the playoffs having been knocked out by them the last 2 years. They are also coming off a gruelling 7 game series and have had less time to prepare than Nashville. If the Preds can get the jump on them and take advantage of some weary bodies and minds then maybe they can work themselves into a position to win the series.
I think they will come up against a Canucks team with something to prove. Vancouver won't want to make the same mistakes they did against the Blackhawks and will be up for this challenge more than ever. Their names took a battering after nearly seeing a 3-0 series lead slip and the likes of Luongo especially will want to put people straight.
Expect the Predators to battle hard each game but the Canucks clearly have the better talented players and should come through this. My series prediction is 4-1 Canucks
San Jose Sharks (2) v (3) Detroit Redwings
This time last year Detroit headed into the 2nd round to face the Sharks after coming off a 7 game series against the Coyotes and were drained. They didn't compete and San Jose took a comfortable 4-1 win. This time around they will have had the luxury of almost 10 days off without a game by the time game 1 comes around. Is this a good thing or bad thing? There will be some questions as to whether they will be rusty in the opening games but the break has allowed time for both Franzen and Zetterberg to try and get themselves back fit for the series. Zetterberg didn't feature in the 4-0 whitewash of the Coyotes so he has had plenty of time to recover from a knee injury that has seen him missing since the last week of the season. Franzen took a hard hit from Doan in game 2 and is trying to shake off a lower body injury.
San Jose came through their 1st round matchup with the LA Kings 4-2, playing out a series that had more twists than a Formula 1 race track. Even though it didn't get to 7 games it was still gruelling contest that saw 3 of the games that the Sharks won going to overtime. They didn't get great netminding through the series, conceding 20 goals in the 6 games. They will need to tighten up if they are to defeat the Redwings. Scoring was a problem for them in a couple of games due to the outstanding Quick in the Kings net but in other games they got hatfuls. They certainly weren't shy of putting the puck on net anyway amassing 52 shots in 1 game alone. The Sharks certainly have the firepower in their ranks to beat Detroit in this series so one of the keys is going to be how Jimmy Howard copes with his 2nd visit to the 2nd round. Consistancy from the Sharks is going to be another key. If they can play a high tempo game and keep getting high amounts of shots on goal it will benefit them immensely. Detroit will be wanting to control the puck and build their attacks methodically as they have done all season.
A very tight series to call again, I think this could go down to whether the Redwings can steal one of the first 2 games on away ice. If they can, i can see them going through.
My prediction 4-2 Redwings.
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