The Elite Eight

Round two of the playoffs kicks off tonight with Philadelphia visiting Montreal and Detroit is home to their bitter rivals the Colorado Avalanche. After an exciting first round I hope the rest of the playoffs can meet those standards.
Lets start with the Philly and Treal series. Montreal is a fast and talented hockey club that thrives on the powerplay. They have a smart defence core and with Carey Price in net they'll be a difficult team to beat. Although it took longer than they had hoped to dispose of the Bruins they showed the way the Canadiens can play by pounding Boston 5-0 in game seven. The Flyers are going to be riding some momentum after their game seven overtime victory. They also have some fast and talented forwards that take advantage of other team's mistakes. The team that wins is the team with the best goaltending. Martin Biron has been playing terrific and Carey Price showed the hockey world his tremendous composure in round one. Should make for end to end action with some big saves. The downfall of the Flyers is their undisciplined penalties and slow defence. I think the Canadiens will run all over their defence and expose their slowness. The physicality the Flyers bring to the game may be enough to throw the Canadiens off their game. I'm gonna take the underdog on this one. I like the style of play the Flyers have and I think Montreal is going to be feeling the aftermath of their seven game series with Boston.
Philadelphia in 6.
Now to one of the biggest rivalries in hockey history. Colorado vs Detroit.
Detroit found their stride after blowing a 2-0 series lead. With Chris Osgood playing like he did back in '98 the Wings are soaring high. This series should be action packed as well with lots of end to end action. Colorado has went back to the future with their line-up and there are still a few players on their roster that were involved in the big rivalry. Detroit also still has players who can remember playing in those games. Colorado is a young team with great veteran leadership. Jose Theodore looks to have found his form and Colorado found their scoring touch against a very tight defensive Minnesota club. It will be a battle of the goal scorers, but the real battle is going to be between the pipes. Detroit has more of a veteran line-up that knows how to score goals and knows how to win. Coach Mike Babcock will have to get his troops ready to play from the drop of the puck in this series. I think the Wings are just too skilled and experienced to be knocked off by the Avalanche. Home ice will be huge in this series.
Red Wings in 6.

For those who don't remember the bitter rivalry check out the video!