The exciting conclusion to the first round of the NHL playoffs has come and gone, and the second round is about to heat up. This week we will be taking a look and predicting the outcome of those series’ using NHL ’08 game as  our barometer.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

We will be starting with the series involving the number one seed in the East, and 26-time Stanley Cup Champion, Montreal and their first round opponent Philadelphia.

Montreal was pushed to the limit in the first round by a Boston team that lacked a potent offense. They eventually took it to them on their home ice in game 7 but it was still a little too close for comfort for the Habs. Carey Price, the rookie sensation net minder, was either stellar or shaky in the pipes through the series. Alexi Kovalev was magical as he took his play up a notch and maintained his perfect record in playoff game sevens..

The Flyers hard fought series against the Capitals also went the distance in round 1. Fast paced action and solid goaltending helped Philly advance. Daniel Briere has made a name for himself in the playoffs this year for sure.  The Flyers, at times, made leading MVP candidate Alex Ovechkin disappear in their first round series..

For my view on this series I think both teams are probably a little banged up from their first round encounters, and neither got the much needed rest in the playoffs they needed. Montreal showed they have trouble putting teams away in the last round, and that may give Philly a chance to hang in this one. I still see the Canadiens advancing to the conference finals in 6 games however. Role players will step up for the Habs, and the potent power play and speed of the guys in red will be a little too much to handle in the Liberty Bell City.

Playing the series out with NHL ’08 has it mostly the same. The Flyers win 2 games, but fail to put forth good efforts north of the border. Biron was amazing in net for the Flyers, and had a shut out and gave up just one goal respectively in their wins. Montreal got some pucks past him on deflections though and the game didn’t take into account the Flyers attempts to possibly try to disrupt Price’s game by crashing the net as they did to Huet in round 1.

This series saw the offensive talent for Philly go silent at times, and just as in real life the power play of the Canadiens was able to click at around 28% for the round. Combined with the slow defense of Hatcher, the Habs were able to dump and chase to obtain possession and chip in some goals from the 3rd and 4th lines

NHL 08 Prediction: Montreal in 6.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers

The other series pits the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers, two teams that are no strangers to each other. Pittsburgh won their first round easily against Ottawa, excising the demons of last year’s early exit. The Blue Shirts made relatively short work out of their rival the New Jersey Devils, with Sean Avery making headlines with his questionable antics in front of future hall of fame goalie Martin Broduer. Jagr stepped up his game, and the signings of Drury and Gomez proved worthwhile as they were able to ride their hot goalie and dispose of the struggling Devils.

Both teams had a layoff, with the Pens taking off 9 days between games. Rust may play a factor in this series. I see great goaltending and superstar talent shining through in this series. Penguins take it in 6 in my mind, losing 2 games in Madison Square Garden, but staying strong at home in the Igloo. The difference to me will come down to defense. Still the Penguins should be able to clean up their own end a little better, and keep Marc-Andre Fleury from seeing too much rubber.

NHL 08 sees it different as Henrik Lundqvist was amazing and made up for any lack of talent in his team’s defensive corps. Jagr and Shannahan tormented the Pens defense and even though Malkin and Hossa pitched in for the Pens they lacked other offense at times. The game didn’t seem to respect the ratings of forwards Ryan Malone and Pascal Dupuis and each went scoreless in the series, hurting their line mates for certain.

In the end the Rangers took the series in 6, and sent Sid the Kid packing yet again. Michal Rozsival had the game winner against his old mates in double overtime of the clinching game, using a screen in front from former Pen Martin Straka.

So the conference finals are set on one side of the bracket. Next we will see what is going to go down out in the West. Then we will be down to the final 4 teams and into the month of May.

NHL 08 Prediction: Rangers in 6