It took 6 games but the Philadelphia Flyers knocked off everyone’s favorites to win the Stanley Cup: Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although Crosby missed the majority of the season, the hype that the NHL placed on their golden boy – and meal ticket – spread not only hockey writers and fans, but also the betting world. Las Vegas had the Penguins as the odds on favorite to win the cup when the playoff gates opened, but Claude Giroux and the Flyers had other plans.

Vancouver Canucks (1^st) vs Los Angeles Kings (8^th)

The Vancouver Canucks suffered one of the worst collapses in Stanley Cup Final history when the Boston Bruins made a mockery of them down the stretch in 2011. This year is ‘cup or bust’ as the Canucks won the President’s Trophy for the leagues top team for the second year in a row. The key to the Canucks’ playoff run will be for their stars to not disappear when it matters. Daniel Sedin will not be in the lineup for game 1 due to a concussion, but their roster is deep with offensive weapons. No one knows when Sedin will be back but Canucks fans are looking for another long run. The deadline deal adding Zach Kassian to the roster for some grit could prove to be what the Canucks were missing from last year when they were bullied off of pucks in the final. Goaltender Roberto Luongo will also be on a tight leash as Cory Schneider has emerged as a great 2^nd option for the Canucks.

The Los Angeles Kings were one of the worst teams in the league offensively, even after reuniting Jeff Carter with Mike Richards, former line mates and best friends from their days in Philadelphia. Jonathon Quick may have been good enough to win the Vezina this year and will need to be outstanding if the Kings want to give Vancouver a run for their money. If the Kings’ stars can wake-up and score some goals, Vancouver could be in trouble. Kopitar, Brown, Carter and Richards need to score goals to beat the Canucks powerhouse, but if the regular season is any indicator, it probably won’t happen.

Prediction: Vancouver wins in 6

St Louis Blues (2^nd) vs San Jose Sharks (7^th)

The St Louis Blues had an incredible turn around this season after Ken Hitchcock took over behind the bench. Although this shouldn’t come as a surprise., this team is the definition of complete All 4 lines are offensively talented and have bought into the Hitchcock team defense style of play. They also have the best goalie duo in the league with Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot. The only thing this team is missing is top end star power and game breakers. Although all 4 lines are strong, none of them have an absolute superstar. But this shouldn’t be a problem in this series.

The San Jose Sharks find themselves as underdogs in the first round for the first time in many years. Aging stars and lack of high end young players in their system has the team declining in the standings and an early bounce from the playoffs may have the city crying for a rebuild. Logan Couture is a rising star in the league but Joe Thornton is known for disappearing in the playoffs. Dismal goaltending has plagued the team all year and, in my eyes, they just don’t stack up against the four full lines of the Blues. Getting Martin Havlat back late in the season was a huge plus, and he will be key if the Sharks are to make an upset.

Prediction: Blues win in 5 games

Phoenix Coyotes (3^rd) vs Chicago Blackhawks (6^th)

The Phoenix Coyotes won their division based on tight play, surprisingly good goaltending from Mike Smith and team defense. They don’t play a flashy type of hockey, but they seem to get the job done in the regular season. However, they have had trouble converting season success to playoff success. When other teams are bringing it to the next level, the Coyotes seem to be left in the dust. Without any star power other than Keith Yandle on the back end, there doesn’t seem to be another gear for the Coyotes to elevate their game and win a playoff series.

The Chicago Blackhawks are 2 years removed from their Stanley Cup victory and were favorites in the off-season to win the cup this year. A dismal season resulting from less than stellar goaltending and injuries has them finishing in 6^th place. However don’t count these Blackhawks out. Getting captain Jonathon Toews back in the lineup for the playoffs is a huge bonus. This highly talented team has the experience and depth to give any team a run over a 7 game series. Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane elevate their games in the playoffs and the star power may prove to be too much for the Coyotes to handle.

My Prediciton: Chicago wins in 6

Nashville Predators (4^th) vs Detroit Red Wings (5^th)

Like in the east, I am most looking forward to the 4 and 5 matchup in the west. The Predators told the world, and pending UFA defensemen Ryan Suter and Shea Weber, that they are serious. They’ve bolstered their lineup with a seasoned D-man (Hal Gill) and a talented tough guy (Paul Gaustad), and brought back their best offensive weapon (Alex Radulov) from the KHL. With Pekka Rinne in net, one of the leagues best goalies, this star-studded lineup is great from top to bottom. The Kostytsin brothers can elevate their game if interested and this Nashville team can run up the score, even though they are a defense first team under the coaching of Barry Trotz.

The problem is the Detroit Red Wings are the Detroit Red Wings. Top end talent in Datsyuk and Zetterberg, a world class future first ballot Hall Of Famer Nick Lidstrom, and every line is filled with home grown talent that is the product of one of the best farm systems in sports. The Red Wings are always in the mix and they don’t take any nights off. Jimmy Howard has grown into a great starting goalie and this team, like the Predators, doesn’t have many, if any, weaknesses. This series is going to be a long battle and is sure to be one of the better series of the Playoffs, if not just the opening round.

My Prediction: Red Wings in 7

New York Rangers (1^st) vs. Ottawa Senators (8^th)

The New York Rangers just finished off their best season in years finishing on top of the Eastern Conference. Leading the way through the season was their ace starting goaltender Hendrik Lundqvist - possibly the best goalie in the world right now. He finished the season with an astonishing .930 Save Percentage and a miniscule 1.96 Goals Against Average. The Rangers have top end talent and a great mix of toughness and grit throughout their lineup.

On the other side of the table we have the Cinderella season of the Ottawa Senators. Most people, including myself, had the Senators looking closer to first overall draft pick than being in the playoffs. Led by a breakout season by sophomore sensation Erik Karlsson (19G, 59A, 78P), this young lineup fought every minute of every game and was among the top teams in 3^rd period goals and comeback victories. Jason Spezza having a career year didn’t hurt, and neither did consistent goaltending from Craig Anderson.

The Sens played the Rangers tough all year. This youthful team was 3-1 against New York under the guidance of Coach Paul MacLean, a native of Antigonish, NS. However, on paper it would seem that the Sens just don’t match up to the Rangers in any category. While the Sens have some explosive offensive power in their top 2 lines, their depth is a big concern and could ultimately be their undoing this year. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do make an incredible upset. I think this series is going to be closer than the 1^st vs 8^th numbers suggest.

Prediction: Rangers win in 6

Boston Bruins (2^nd) vs Washington Capitals (7^th)

The defending Stanley Cup Champions have the task of dealing with one of the NHL’s biggest stars Alex Ovechkin. Although Ovechkin had a dismal season by his standards, he can still dazzle a crowd at any moment. The Capitals also will be getting one of their best offensive weapons back in Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom, the Capitals top Center, has missed 3 months of action but should not be taken lightly. Moreover, the Caps come into these Playoffs with no pressure to win. Perhaps not being in the spotlight will allow them to play their game and deal with the depth of the defending cup Champions.

Boston is possibly one of the deepest teams in the league. However they are missing a key component to their top line in Nathan Horton, who is suffering the side affects of his 2^nd concussion in under 9 months. The bruising winger was a key component to the Bruins Stanley Cup run last year until he was caught with a late hit that resulted in his first NHL concussion. The Bruins aren’t without weapons however, with Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand having career highs in almost every category, and lets not forget about the unique mixture of size, toughness, and skill in Milan Lucic. Goaltending will be completely lopsided as well. Two-time Vezina winning, and last years Conn Smyth winner, Tim Thomas will be between the pipes for the Bruins, while the Caps have the young and unproven goalie Braden Holtby. Aside from the goalies, Idon’t think Washington has it in them to deal with the size and 4 great lines that Boston will throw at them over a 7 game series. This alone will contain Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin to a certain degree.

Prediction: Boston Bruins in 5 games

Florida Panthers (3^rd) vs New Jersey Devils (6^th)

The Florida Panthers were the top team in the worst division in hockey. The fact that they won the division guaranteed them a top 3 finish. A rule that will probably be looked at in the new CBA talks in the off season. They were able to string together a half decent team through free agency, bringing in players like Thomas Fleischman and Chris Versteeg. Both players flourished with top 6 minutes, but disappeared at times. Jose Theodore performed well enough between the pipes but has proven time and time again that he isn’t a top starting goalie in the NHL. Their depth is a problem, but they can move the puck up the ice well with offensively minded defensemen, like Brian Campbell.

Across the faceoff dot is an offensively gifted team that plays great team defense and has maybe arguably the best goalie of all time in Martin Brodeur. This star studded lineup is highlighteds by one of the games best pure goal scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk, who signed the richest contract in NHL history. But it doesn’t stop there, other talent like Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and rookie Adam Henrique mean that Florida is going to have its hands full on every shift.

Prediction: New Jersey in 5 games

Penguins (4^th) vs Flyers (5^th)

This series is by far the most hyped of the opening round. Division rivals and original expansion cousins clash once again in the post season, and these teams absolutely hate one another. The Pittsburgh Penguins battled through many injuries again all season, and still ended up with the NHL’s most potent offense. What is amazing is that they did it while missing a key component for most of their season. Has anyone heard of Sidney Crosby? In Crosby’s absence Evgeni Malkin rose to the occasion, just like he did last time Crosby was out, and won another Art Ross trophy. However this year he was able to score 50 goals for the first time in his career. This veteran team still has a large amount of players from their Stanley Cup winning team, and is looking to bring that experience to the series.

Many thought the Flyers wouldn’t be here after trading cornerstones Jeff Carter and Mike Richards in the offseason after a disappointing sweep at the hands of the Bruins in round 2 of the 2011 playoffs. However, the youthful squad – who led the NHL in games played by rookies – has had some great success. Led by Claude Giroux’s career year and the emergence of goofy power forward Scott Hartnell, this Flyers team looks to stop their cross state rivals in their tracks, - like they did all season. The Flyers have a tough task as most professional writers and even Las Vegas has the Penguins to win the cup. This series will come down to depth of lines and goaltending. The Flyers possibly have better more depth with guys like Max Talbot, Sean Couturier and Matt Read, but no one knows which Ilya Bryzgalov will show up. Will he  be the NHL’s first star of March, or will he be the “no confidence, lost in the woods” Bryz from the first half of the season. One thing is for sure, this series has the makings of one for the record books.

Prediction: Flyers in 7

For the first time in a few years, the NHL doesn’t have a clear cut rookie of the year, and no one is going to know for sure who takes the prize until their name is called this summer in Las Vegas, which is a bit odd for this award. The majority of the Calders handed out – from the first recipient Carl Voss in 1933 to last years winner Jeff Skinner – have gone to a player that was a clear cut winner.