Bruins Winter Classic Jersey Leak?

On the right is a picture of Tim Thomas and one of the Boston Bruins ice girls or Carrie Milbank of NHL.com as one commentor pointed out (any confirmation is greatly appreciated). Notice anything askew? No, it's not Thomas' new watch, it's the jersey. Poising the question, is this the Boston Bruins 2010 Winter Classic jersey?

If so, here's a few pro's and con's of the jersey that the Bruins will don when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park on New Year's Day.

Pro's

• Very reminscent of the photo's from the early Johnny Bucyk era and jersey sold on Willie O'Ree appreciation day. Everyone loves the Chief and diversity.
• The sleeve patterns don't stray too far away from the Bruins current scheme. Same goes for the shoulders.
• The jersey numbering and letter will most likely be white with black outlining, which should look absolutely awesome.
• Incorporates all of the Boston Bruins normal colors, with what looks to be some added brown on the spokes of the 'B'.

Con's

• This 'B' is far too cartoon-ish for a serious Bruins fan.
• Doesn't this look an awful lot like the old Providence throwback jerseys?
• We know that the Bruins were trying to go for a Pittsburgh look with the powder blue, something that would incorporate older colors but still be very popular among the fans, so maybe our expectations were a bit over the top for the (possible) end result.

Overall, this jersey gets a thumbs up from me if this will be the one worn by the Bruins on New Year's Day. Despite the fact that it may not be this one, or this one, or this one (thank Eddie Shore), it'll still be better than whatever the Flyers could possibly put together looking at their jersey history. Bright orange? Not a good look unless you're working the tarmac at Logan Airport.

10 Worst Contracts In The NHL

August, as always has been a quiet month in the National Hockey League. While some are participating in Olympic training camps for their respective countries, others sit at home and unwind with their friends and family. For Boston forward Phil Kessel, the waiting game continues as he's still without a contract as the Bruins are just 39 days away from taking to the ice for their first game of the 2009-10 season. While it's rumored that Kessel's asking price is preventing the 21 year old from being signed, it's a good time to look at the ten worst contracts currently active in the NHL.

10) Michael Nylander (Washington Capitals) - For many B's die-hards, Michael Nylander is known as the other half of the Bruins trade deadline acquisitions from the 2003-04 season (the other being Sergei Gonchar) and was the Bruins best offensive presence in their seven game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. In what appeared to be typical shrewd-Bruins-front-office, the B's made no effort to keep the center and let him walk.

After the lock-out concluded, Nylander became a Ranger and put together two solid seasons in Manhattan where he scored 162 points in 160 games, only to jet off to Washington on a four-year deal that paid him 19.5 million dollars over the next four seasons. Nylander has been unable to stay healthy and has found himself a healthy scratch and in Caps coach Bruce Boudreau's doghouse.

Nylander's -19 and dissatisfying 70 points in 112 games for the Capitals truly show how far this Swedish superstar has fallen. With a 4.875 million dollar cap hit through 2010-11, it's likely that Nylander could be in a buy-out situation and jet off to the KHL for a tax-free paycheck and playing time, something he can't find in the nation's capital.

9) Ryan Smyth (Los Angeles Kings) - To be fair to the purple-and-black that reside in California, this signing wasn't the doings of Kings GM Dean Lombardi. However, when Ryan Smyth was signed to a five-year, 31+ million dollar contract by the Colorado Avalanche the eyebrows of NHL fans were collectively raised and for good reason. The question marks behind throwing over an annual salary north of six million dollars for a player who'd only cracked 70+ points one time in his 12 year career seemed to give off the notion that the Av's were in trouble. That was undoubtedly the case and Smyth produced just 40 goals in total throughout his two seasons in Denver.

In a cap space clearing move for a rebuilding club, Colorado sent the sensitive winger out of town where Smyth is hoping to regain his scoring touch in scorer's-friendly Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings. He's likely to be playing with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and is looking to reach the 70 point plateau. If he is to continue to falter, his 6.25 million cap hit through the 2011-12 could cripple the Kings development into a solid contender.

8) Chris Drury (New York Rangers) - When the New York Rangers stole away the Sabres captain and vocal leader, the move seemed to be a good one for the blueshirts in their attempt to add veteran depth to complement players such as Jagr, Shanahan and Lundqvist but simply put, this has not been 35,250,000 dollars well spent. Despite Drury's career highs in both goals and points in his final year with the Buffalo Sabres, that success has not transpired into success with the Rangers.

In 2006-07, Chris Drury was simply a force for the Presidents Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres. His 37 goals, 17 of which scored on the powerplay, which are both career highs to this day and leadership propelled the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, only to lose yet again but this time to the Ottawa Senators. Undoubtedly, the Sabres captain was considered among the top free agents available on July 1st, 2007.

However, what he's brought to the Rangers has been simply disappointing compared to what was expected. In two seasons on Pennsylvania Plaza, Drury has posted a total of just 114 points in 163 games for the Rangers with a -11. Drury's lack of anything offensively comes as a surprise when considering he's led the Rangers in shifts per game and has averaged 3:45 minutes of time on ice on the powerplay in two years in Manhattan.

Drury's current cap hit is at 7.050 million dollars a season and will not be coming off New York's checkbook until the conclusion of the 2011-12 NHL season. Was Drury the best captain 32-million dollars could buy for a perennial bubble-team? Glen Sather apparently thinks so.

7) Jeff Finger (Toronto Maple Leafs) - If this wasn't a desperate measure to keep the fans from completely giving up on the 2008-09 Maple Leafs then I'm not sure what would be? Oh yeah, it'd be actually signing Jeff Finger to this contract.

Heading into the free agency frenzy of 2008, Jeff Finger was coming off a solid season for the Colorado Avalanche where he put up 19 points in 72 games and finished with a +12 from the blue-line. Finger, never really the puck-mover made his living getting down and dirty for the Av's, his 121 hits were tops for the 2007-08 club and his 117 blocked shots were good for fourth on the club. Despite these impressive defensive stats, the coffee mugs of Leafs Nation had to without-question shatter on their living room floors when they saw that Jeff Finger was now a member of the blue and white with a four-year contract worth 14 million dollars.

The Finger era in Toronto began in 2008-09, as the 29-year old Michigan native scored 23 points and finished with a -7 on a horrid goaltended team in Ontario. With a contract deeming Finger virtually immovable and the Leafs additions of Exelby, Beauchemin and Komisarek to their blue-line the necessity of Finger simply does not exist. Finger isn't set to come off the Leafs books until 2012, making his contract one of the worst in the National Hockey League.

6) Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim Ducks) - What do Michael Ryder, Brad Boyes, Ales Hemsky and Johan Franzen all have in common? They all make less money than Joffrey Lupul. What do these players also have in common with Joffrey Lupul? They all finished with more points than him in 2008-09. Joffrey Lupul provides great secondary scoring on any club, and that's not really a topic for discussion, but is his production really worthy of 4.25 million dollars a year until 2013?

That question is answered by a simple no considering he's career high in points came in 2005-06 with the Ducks (53). However, in what has seemingly become Flyers-ritual, Lupul was awarded with a monstrous contract well above his market value in order to keep the Alberta native in Philly.

Lupul was sent back to Anaheim in a deal where the Flyers acquired Chris Pronger (only to give him a ridiculous contract as well) and is now officially on the Ducks cap until the conclusion of the 2012-13 NHL season. With guys like Bobby Ryan, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu up for new contracts at the end of this upcoming season, Lupul's contract could hinder the Ducks from being able to re-sign their expected-to-be key players.

5) Wade Redden (New York Rangers) - If I were to ever meet Wade Redden, I'd probably ask him how it feels to be the sixth highest paid defensemen in the NHL.

After all, I'm quite sure the answer would be simple considering he's doing close to nothing and earning a 6,500,000 dollar salary from here until 2014. Redden's performance in his first year with the Rangers was simply dismal, his 28 points and -5 weren't even as embarrassing as his team-defenseman high 40 giveaways.

And we thought Ottawa screwed up when they opted to re-sign Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara in the 2006 off-season. Leave it to Glen Sather to once again prove why the Rangers will be forever basking in the glory of the 1994 Stanley Cup, because it ain't comin' back to Manhattan anytime soon with these wildly gross and reckless over-payments of players.

4) Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers) - In your mind, this signing looks to be a phenomenal one for the Flyers, you know why? Because you have the thought of Briere's performance with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres embedded in your mind because, well, it was simply a thrill to witness.

When the Quebec native signed an 8-year deal worth 52 million dollars, the idea that the Flyers were on their way to becoming an elite team in the Eastern Conference grew. In 2007-08, Briere didn't disappoint the Flyer faithful as he put up 72 points in 79 games, 37 of which coming on the powerplay. Briere also carried much of the Flyers offense towards their push towards the Conference Finals where he scored 16 points in 17 games.

Injuries struck the 31-year old in 2008-09, as he was held to just 25 points in 29 games. However, it's not the injuries that make this signing so poor, it's the fact that Briere's no-movement clause and annual cap-hit of 6.5 million dollars from now until 2015 really stifles the Flyers ability to add anyone to their roster without having to move a star of equal or greater value. Especially if the Flyers are to continue to develop strong youth players within their organization (Carter, Richards and Giroux to name a few).

3) Brian Campbell (Chicago Blackhawks) - There's no debating that Chicago needed a top defensemen, but a top defensemen for eight years?

Often longer contracts mean smaller cap hits, making the idea of an eight year contract somewhat, loosely plausible. However, Campbell's 7.1 million dollar cap hit is doing nothing but hurting the 'Hawks for years to come. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Jack Skille, Andrew Ladd and Adam Burish being the top names for players up for new contracts following the 2009-10 season, the idea of Campbell's cap-hit for years to come is simply nauseating for any Chicago fan.

The difficulties are created within the idea that Chicago won't move Hossa after signing him to a 12 year deal and Cristobal Huet is unlikely to get dealt considering there's no one within the Blackhawks system ready to take over as the number one goaltender. When factoring this in, the likelihood of the Blackhawks being able to keep Kane and Toews for years to come grows unlikely. Along with that, the idea of unloading Campbell's contract and getting anything of equal value in return is just as unlikely.

For the Blackhawks, it appears that 2009-10 is either Stanley Cup or bust.

2) Scott Gomez (Montreal Canadiens) - Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most overrated players in the National Hockey League, Scott Gomez.

Continuing with the Glen Sather trend, the idea of Scott Gomez making 51,500,000 over the next eight years almost seems laughable. Here's a player who thrived under a defensive-trap system and was coming off a season where he registered his lowest point total since the end of the league's work stoppage. However, this didn't stop the Rangers front office from over-paying for the crafty powerplay specialist.

Gomez didn't fail to not disappoint during his tenure with the Rangers before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite Gomez's 40+ assists and 16 goals in both seasons with the Rangers, the stats don't even come close to fitting the price-tag Gomez is marked for until 2014.

Can Gomez be the number one center the Canadiens need or will it be another year of mediocrity in hockey's most demanding city? I'm thinking it'll be the latter of the two.

1) Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) - Just when you thought the Islanders couldn't be more upsetting to their fans. The signing of Rick DiPietro to a fifteen, yes fifteen year contract is enough to make the stomaches of even the most faithful Isles fans turn.

Taken with the number one overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft by New York (over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik) the hope for DiPietro was that he was going to be the savior for the Islanders franchise and return them to a competitive level in the Eastern Conference. To say things haven't gone as planned would be an understatement.

DiPietro may be 67+ million dollars richer and has another 12 years of guaranteed money, but he's simply doing nothing to help the Islanders as of right now and possibly for the foreseeable future. With the signing of Marty Biron and Dwayne Roloson, it appears that Rick DiPietro will once again be out for the season for the Isles will a knee injury.

Congratulations Garth, your god awful signing of DiPietro will more than likely, actually strike that, will undoubtedly outlive your tenure as Islanders general manager, but your impact to the club for years to come will unfortunately haunt Long Island, or perhaps Kansas City.

Stealing The B's Thunder: Montreal To Have Outdoor Game?

Let me preface this piece by saying I hate the Montreal Canadiens. Let me preface that preface by saying I've learned that hating the Montreal Canadiens is like riding the biggest rollercoaster at (Original) Six Flags. One week, they're the cousin whose pants you hide in the tree during vacation just to see him get mad, but you'll help him because he's family. The next week they're the brother who decides to reveal your secret fascination with Hello Kitty products to a girl you fancy on the first date, causing you to curse his name and buy voodoo dolls in his honor.

This one though, this one hits a nerve.

Rumor's are growing that tomorrow when the NHL schedule is released, it'll be revealed that the Montreal Canadiens will take on the Washington Capitals at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, former home of the now extinct Montreal Expos on November 28th. Surely you jest, right? If the NHL really decides to take the spotlight of the outdoor game away from Boston, Montreal's biggest rival, by awarding the Habs an outdoor game to close out their centennial celebration, I for one, will probably require a bucket to vomit in.

The Montreal Canadiens centennial season, or apparently never-ending centennial season is going to continue into the 2009-10 season? Seriously? I guess the All-Star Game and NHL Draft weren't enough to appease the Habs faithful, now you're going to give them an outdoor game before the 2010 Winter Classic? I firmly believe that we've all had enough of this Montreal 100 season brouhaha. It's bad enough we had to watch Mike Komisarek become an All-Star thanks to the Habs voting scam, it's bad enough we had to see the Habs wear their red, white, and blue prison uniforms this season and to make this short (like the Habs newest top line) and to the point: The fans of the other 29 teams in the NHL have had enough.

Congratulations on being 100 years old Montreal, you guys really deserve it.

That doesn't make much sense, does it? Neither does rewarding Montreal an outdoor game after they've been rewarded with every other fan attraction possible for a team who finished in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and underachieved throughout the entire season. Legacy and longevity doesn't mean anything when you look at the Habs recent fortunes. They've boo'd their own goalie, chanted the name of the coach they ran out of town when the team faltered to win with a new coach, have gone 1-8 in their last nine playoff games, and currently have a plethora of question marks heading into the 2009-10 season.

They invade Boston three times a year and in the playoffs with their whistles, bells, face-paintings, and signs in French. Despite the Bruins recent success against the Habs, truth is that they've broke the hearts of Boston fans time and time again and now could be in line to steal the thunder away from Boston and the Winter Classic with an outdoor game of their own that could ultimately seat more people. If Bettman realizes the success he and the marketing department of the NHL have had with these outdoor games, he'll make the right choice (and make Boston a slightly less angry city) and limit it to just one game per year and keep Montreal out of this.

Honestly, when it boils down to it, no one outside the province of Quebec cares how old the Montreal Canadiens are.

Flyers At Fenway On New Year's Day?

Simply put, it's the worst kept secret in the National Hockey League. The Winter Classic on January 1st 2010 will be played at America's Most Beloved Ballpark and home to the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park. We already know the Bruins are set to play (obviously) as the home team but the B's opponent has been rumored and been a topic for discussion for months now. Currently, the newest rumor gaining legs is the idea that the Philadelphia Flyers will be skating against the black and gold on News Year Day.

At first, we thought it would surely be the Montreal Canadiens, the Bruins most bitter rivals since their introduction into the NHL, but we learned soon after that NBC and the NHL would like to keep the Winter Classic showcasing the American clubs. By simply looking at a map we'll realize that Montreal and Toronto are not in the race.

Surely, it'll be an Original Six team, right? It won't be Chicago or Detroit, they just played a game against each other at Wrigley so who's left? Insert the New York Rangers. Oh that's a classic, the iconic Boston versus New York rivalry that takes place on the Fenway Park diamond only this time the Red Sox and Yankees aren't involved. The history of the two clubs, talent level and television markets would surely go for this, right? The NHL's possibly planning to have a game at Yankee Stadium in the coming year (or two) and there's no way the Islanders are selling that out, so cross the New York Rangers off the list.

The options are dwindling by the minute. Then we learned about the Washington Capitals, an option that sort of left B's fans puzzling "Do we have a rivalry with Washington? I know they're good, but we only play them four times a year?". The thought of Ovechkin and the Caps coming to Fenway hit a nerve with some Bruins fans, feeling that this would give the NHL an excuse to spotlight Ovechkin more than the Bruins and the idea of a game at Fenway Park. No offence to Ovie, but he is quite the show stealer.

However, due in large part to the poor ratings on NBC during Ovechkin and the Capitals Eastern Conference Quarterfinals match-up against the New York Rangers the NHL on NBC has decided to go with someone besides the Caps. The next option in line, the Philadelphia Flyers, intrigues Bruins and NHL fans for quite a few reasons.

These teams may not be in the same division, but there's still a large share of bad blood between the two franchises. The base of the hatred stems from that fateful Saturday matinee against the Flyers on October 27th, 2007. In the first period of a scoreless game, Patrice Bergeron was leveled into the boards on a more-than-questionable hit by Flyers blue-liner Randy Jones. The Bruins went on to lose the game and Bergeron for the next 72 games of the regular season and entire playoffs. However, the rivalry didn't end after that contest.

Later in the year, when the teams met in the City of Brotherly Love (irony), Flyers forward and Sideshow-Bob-look-a-like Scott Hartnell decided he wanted to continue the Flyers team motive of board-and-run when he boarded Bruins defensemen Andrew Alberts, giving Alberts a concussion and ending his season prematurely. He followed that up with an attempt at boarding Bruins captain Zdeno Chara when an agitated Aaron Ward took matters into his own hands with some vigilante justice against the Flyers.

At the end of 2007-08, it was the Bruins who had the last laugh as they went 3-1-0 against the Broad Street Bullies including two over-time thrillers. The hatred between this team's has continued into the 2008-09 season where all four match-ups between the two Eastern Conference contenders was filled with hard hits, penalties and fisticuffs.

As a fan of thriving franchises in the NHL, these two teams match-up perfectly for the contest. Both teams can hit, score and make exceptionally great plays. Both clubs are back to competing at a high-level and are trying to return to the glory they brought to their cities in the 1970's. This may not be Clarke vs. Orr, or the Big Bad Bruins vs. the Broad Street Bullies, but this is as close as we're going to get if Montreal's not coming to Boston.

The What If's Of Round One

For teams like the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils, it's another year of disappointing first round exits. For the Sharks and Flyers, it was a step back in their movement towards a Stanley Cup when considering their playoff success last year. Then you have teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues it was a step in the right direction, as their years of development and trips in last place are seeming to pay off as they found themselves in the playoffs. However, for the losers, they can't help but ask "What if...?"

Eastern Conference

David Putty may be on the New Jersey Devils side, but for the second year in a row, Marty and company were sent packing in the 1st round. What if right winger Jamie Langenbrunner didn't miss 3 crucial games of the series with a lower body injury? The Captain posted 3 points in 4 games, despite the Devils only winning 1 of the 4 games he played in. What if the Devils powerplay played up to their potential and did better than the pathetic 3-25 they ended with?

The Philadelphia Flyers may believe they have the "toughest fans in hockey" (they even make t-shirt's that say it) but it couldn't stop them from losing their series to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice in 6 games. The biggest what if for the Flyers has to be what if leading goal scorer Jeff Carter actually showed up? Carter had just 1 goal with a -1 in the 6 game series, compare that to his 46 goals in the regular season. What if Captain Mike Richards wasn't playing through 2 injured shoulders? Despite his injury, the 24 year old Richards put up 5 points, making us wonder what he could have done if he were at 100%.

John Tortorella was the driving force behind the re-emergence of the New York Rangers, but one bottle throwing incident later the Rangers were sent home on a disgusting Sergei Federov wrist-shot. As Ranger fans pack up their rally towels into their closet along with their Mark Messier jersey, they have a few questions they should ponder. What if Henrik Lundqivst played less than 70 games during the regular season, would he have been better? That argument could be easily shut down as he's played over 70 games in 3 straight Regardless of Henrik, what if John Tortorella didn't throw the bottle at the crowd that was heckling him? The Rangers coach was suspended for Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, a game they could have arguably won had they had their head coach behind the bench. The fact that Sean Avery showed everyone else on the Rangers roster up with his high level of intensity in his play after being benched is a knock to the entire Rangers rosters heart.

What a 100th year celebration for the Montreal Canadiens, in case you didn't know, it was their 100th season. It was rarely talked about (note the sarcasm.). In fact, it was actually their 99th season for those who are curious, but that's a discussion for another day. What if the Montreal Canadiens had a healthy Andrei Markov? In my opinion, that still wouldn't have mattered. The Bruins went 4-0-1 against Montreal with Markov in the line-up. The biggest what if in my opinion was, what if Carey Price was as good as everyone billed him as? The simple answer is, he's just not that good. He's looking a lot more like the next Andrew Raycroft rather than the next Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy with his head-case like attitude and inconsistency.

Western Conference

Yet another year where the San Jose Sharks come into the NHL Playoffs as favorites in the West, and yet another year of disappointment. The team added Anaheim Ducks forward Travis Moen, who went pointless in the 6 game series with a -4 as he got ousted by his former team. What if Joe Thornton decided to show up for more than just Game 5? Excluding Game 5, Jumbo Joe had 0 goals and just 2 assists in the other 5 games, continuing to gain his reputation of being a playoff choke artist. Also, what if the Anaheim Ducks had gone with J.S Giguere as their goaltender? Jonas Hiller absolutely stole the series, the 27 year old Swiss goaltender went 4-1-1 with a 1.65 GAA and 2 shut-outs in the 1st round.

How is Mike Keenan still the coach of the Calgary Flames? The team sputtered in Game 6 against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves out in the 1st round for the 4th year in a row. Rumor has it that Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff has a bit of a "problem", whether that's drugs or alcohol isn't really talked about, but at the same time, you can't blame his struggles on a drug rumor. However, what if Kipper didn't play in 76 of the Flames games this season? I don't care if you're Patrick freakin' Roy, that's an absurd amount of games to play and still be effective in the playoffs. It was clear that Miikka was spent, his play spoke for itself as he finished the series with a 3.52 GAA. Also, what if the Flames didn't trade for Olli Jokinen? Jokinen played well in the series, but it's a very possible theory that the Flames lost more depth than they gained when they traded for Olli.

Despite losing half of their salary cap to injuries, the St. Louis Blues salvaged their way into the 6th seed in the Western Conference led by head-coach Andy Murray. The biggest what if of course is, what if the St. Louis Blues were a healthy team? They were without top defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost LW Paul Kariya in the 1st month of the regular season. Another question Blues fan could ask was, what if the Blues stayed in the 8th seed and faced San Jose? Roberto Luongo proved to be impossible to beat for the Canucks, but if the Blues had drawn San Jose in the 1st round, one could make the argument that the Blues could have pushed the Sharks to 6 or 7 games, and win.

Perhaps there was no team happier to be in the playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite their spectacular season anchored by rookie goaltender Steve Mason, the Jackets fell in 4 games to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Nobody really expected them to take the series, but their lack of a hard-fought 6-7 game series was somewhat of a letdown. However, what if Rick Nash scored more than 1 goal in the 4 game sweep? Nash's only goal came in Game 4's 6-5 loss, certainly a disappointing series for the Columbus Captain. Despite their loss, all is not lost for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason is a Vezina finalist at just 20 years old and the future is definitely bright for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

2009 NHL Playoffs: Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Predictions

In the Eastern Conference, it was the year of the Bruins. Bruins stood atop of almost every offensive and goaltending catergory in the NHL and even Coach Claude Julien is considered the odds on favorite to win the Jack Adams Award. This year in the East also gave fans of teams like the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens severe heart attacks as their teams fell in and out of the playoff race as the season went on, but all three find themselves in the dance. It was also a year of disappointment as the Florida Panthers became so close to capturing their first playoff berth in 8 years, only to be denied by a Montreal overtime loss.

(1) Boston Bruins vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens - Seriously, what would the NHL Playoffs be without a Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens showdown? The Bruins come in as the East's top seed, led by Norris-favorite Zdeno Chara and the best offense in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Habs late season push has to be credited to the revival of the powerplay in Montreal. However, the Habs are without leader of the powerplay Andrei Markov, who's sidelined with a knee injury and Mathieu Schneider is playing through what was at one point considered a season ending shoulder injury. With Montreal putting their three best offensive players on the same line (Tanguay-Koivu-Kovalev) their offense will surely lack depth and the inconsistent goaltending of Carey Price will ultimately make them unable to get the job done. Prediction: Bruins win in 5.

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (7) New York Rangers - Perhaps one of the most intriguing series in the NHL Playoffs is the battle between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. The Rangers have proved to be a worthy adversary for every team they face since the trading deadline. For Washington, the juggernaut that is Alexander Ovechkin is coming off yet another MVP-like season and has one of the NHL's best supporting casts with Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green and Alexander Semin skating alongside him. The biggest question mark for the Capitals will be in net, Jose Theodore. Theodore has lacked the consistency he had throughout his tenure in Colorado and is by far less superior to Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Prediction: Rangers win in 7.

(3) New Jersey Devils vs. (6) Carolina Hurricanes - Is this not the most boring series in the entire playoffs? Combine the Devils sleep-inducing defensive trap style of play and the over all bland team that is Carolina Hurricanes and what do you have? This series. The mystery for the New Jersey Devils is which Martin Brodeur will show up? Will it be the Marty of old Devils fans know and love or the Marty who's struggled since returning from his bicep injury. The Hurricanes have been on a tear since acquiring Erik Cole from the Oilers, and Cole has responded well to his return to Raleigh, posting 15 points in 17 games with the 'Canes. Prediction: Hurricanes win in 6.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Philadelphia Flyers - The interstate rivals meet again in a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. There's no doubting that these two teams hate one another, as the battle for Pennsylvania continues in the 1st round. The Penguins are on fire since the hiring of Dan Bylsma behind the bench while Sidney Crosby has found his stride just in time for the playoffs. With the offensive additions of Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, and add in Russian sensation Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins have surely regained the offensive strength they had during last years Playoff run. Meanwhile, across the state in Philly, the Flyers late seasons struggles due to lack of strong goaltending left them in the fifth seed and without home ice advantage, something they fought for all season long. Prediction: Penguins win in 7.

Ideal Match-ups: Eastern Conference

Currently, there's 10 teams in the race for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Unfortunately for 2 of them, there's only 8 spots. With the Bruins, Devils, Caps and Flyers virtually being locks for playing beyond April 12th that leaves 6 teams vying for 4 spots. With 27 days remaining in the NHL season and a break in action for 26 teams tonight it's a good time to see what our ideal match-ups for the 1st round will be in the East.

Boston Bruins (1 seed) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (8 seed) - This match-up would undoubtedly leave Bruins fans salivating. The Bruins swept the season series against Cam Ward and the 'Canes. This series would either give the Bruins an easy 1st round sweep or 5 game series win or could turn out to be a grueling 6 or possibly even 7 game series. Considering both teams high-powered offensive style of play this series would definitely be entertaining for a 1 vs. 8 match-up. Prediction: Bruins win in 5.

New Jersey Devils (2 seed) vs. New York Rangers (7 seed) - Why wouldn't like this? It'd be the rematch of last seasons 1st round match-up between the Rangers and Devils. All eyes would surely be on Sean Avery and Martin Broduer, who got into a battle during last years series which led to the "Avery Rule" being implemented into the NHL, disallowing players from deliberately screening the goalie away from the play. Prediction: Devils win in 7.

Washington Capitals (3 seed) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (6 seed) - A showdown of NHL cover boys: Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby. The young duos of Semin and Ovechkin vs. Crosby and Malkin would definitely bring in the ratings and coverage the NHL could use to start off the playoffs. Although the Malkin vs. Ovechkin rivalry has been 'put to rest', one couldn't help but think a 7 game series would reawaken the feud. Prediction: Capitals win in 6.

Philadelphia Flyers (4 seed) vs. Montreal Canadiens (5 seed) - A rematch of last year's 2nd round match-up where the Flyers took down the Habs in 5 games. The Habs are currently in a tough spot but have been playing better under new coach and GM Bob Gainey. Prediction: Canadiens win in 6.

This would set the table for a Bruins vs. Canadiens conference semi-finals match-up and a Devils vs. Capitals semi-final. These two match-ups would certainly be two tilts for the ages. And frankly, I don't want to hazard a guess on what could happen in these series given the talent of all 4 squads.