The Hurricanes and Flyers are already battling in the second round, while the Sabres will face the Canadiens. Adam Proteau predicts who will win each series.
Eight NHL teams remain in the playoffs as we predict the winners of each second-round series in the Eastern Conference.
The Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres looked terrific in the first round, and they're now four wins away or fewer from the Eastern final.
The Hurricanes and Flyers began their series with a 3-0 Carolina win Saturday, while the Canadiens will play a Sabres squad that handily beat the Boston Bruins in Round 1.
This writer went 2-2 in our Eastern predictions, as well as 2-2 in our Western picks. Not our best start, but not horrendous.
Never forget, these predictions are educated guesstimates, as we're not guaranteeing any result. Here are our second-round Eastern picks:
Carolina Hurricanes (M1) Vs. Philadelphia Flyers (M3)
Season series: Hurricanes 3-1
Why Carolina will win: The Hurricanes were nearly flawless against the Ottawa Senators in the first round. At no time in the series did Ottawa have a lead on Carolina.
The Canes got the goaltending they needed from Frederik Andersen, who has a .961 save percentage, 0.90 GAA and two shutouts after the first-round sweep and Game 1 against Philadelphia.
The offense, while mediocre at 2.80 goals-for per game, was more than enough for them to win.
The Hurricanes did have regular-season weaknesses. Their penalty kill wasn't spectacular at 80.5 percent. But other than a poor stretch from mid-December to early January, Carolina was more consistent than any Eastern team, and they only trailed the Colorado Avalanche in the overall standings.
We're seeing their consistency again in the playoffs, so Philadelphia won't win this series or really make it close.
Why Philadelphia will win: Perhaps if Philly's young skaters get under the skin of Andersen, and coach Rod Brind'Amour goes to Brandon Bussi in net, then they could have a chance. Bussi has no NHL playoff experience, and he could be rattled by the pressure of the moment.
Even if that happens, the Flyers will still have to be solid on defense and give goalie Dan Vladar a chance to keep the team in games. Philadelphia is tied for the second-best goals-against average in the playoffs, at 2.00, trailing only the Hurricanes.
They're the underdogs, like they were in the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Having less pressure may help them make things interesting.
Prediction: Hurricanes in five games
Buffalo Sabres (A1) Vs. Montreal Canadiens (A3)
Season series: tied 2-2
Why Buffalo will win: The Sabres beat a Bruins team with its share of proud veterans, so you shouldn't under-sell Buffalo's first-round results.
The Sabres have been outstanding since just before GM Kevyn Adams was fired in mid-December, and nothing about their first round has disabused us of the notion they're capable of a deep playoff run.
The Sabres averaged 3.33 goals-for against Boston, about a goal per game more than the Habs averaged against the Tampa Bay Lightning. That said, it remains to be seen whether it will be as hard to score on Jakub Dobes as it was on Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.
Buffalo's clear weakness is its power play, which converted only one of 24 man-advantages against Boston. That 4.2 percent success rate was the worst of any first-round playoff team, and special teams can be the difference between winning and losing a series.
Otherwise, the Sabres will be a formidable opponent for the Canadiens.
Why Montreal will win: By one crucial metric, the Canadiens shouldn't still be playing in these playoffs.
They averaged only 2.29 goals-for in their series against the Lightning – and the five teams that averaged fewer goals have been eliminated. Even three teams that averaged more goals were sent home.
In addition, Montreal leaned on Dobes more than a team should have when it comes to a 24-year-old with only 10 playoff games of experience. But we all should know that the history of the Habs includes more than one young goalie figuring it out when the games matter most and carving out a special place for themselves in franchise history.
So, we'll be frank here: we're going with a hunch and picking the Canadiens to win this series. We're projecting big things for Dobes in particular.
He posted a .923 save percentage against the Bolts, which have more high-end players than Buffalo does. Dobes could thrive at least as much against the Sabres as he did for the last couple of weeks.
Montreal is very much a young team still nailing down its identity. But sometimes, a magical run can happen for a young team. And that's what we're predicting for this year's Habs.
The Canadiens probably won't win a Cup this season, but great days are ahead for this organization, and a deeper playoff run this year will still be productive for Montreal in the big picture.
Prediction: Canadiens in six games
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