Surprise!

Well, it looks like I totally underestimated the Stars, and completely overestimated the Habs. At least the Sharks didn't go quietly. For a while there, it looked like they might just pull of a miracle! The Habs on the other hand played well in game 7 of the first round, and were pretty much useless for the rest of the playoffs. Price was brilliant enough in the first round to help them barely squeak past Boston (a team they should have destroyed), but was really not on his game against Philly, it almost makes me wonder if he was playing hurt. Even if he wasn't, he is an amazing goaltender, and I hope this series hasn't destroyed his confidence. Habs fans can take comfort in the fact that most critics didn't even expect their team to make the playoffs this year.

I can't say that Pittsburgh blasting past New York was much of a surprise, though I honestly thought Colorado would take at least one game from the wings.

Here are my predictions for the next round:

Pittsburgh vs. Philly.

Well it looks like Brière made the right decision about which team was more likely to win the Stanley Cup, unfortunately for him he will go no further. Martin Biron's performance against a team as deep as Montreal was quite the accomplishment, but there's no getting around the fact that Pittsburgh is not a hockey team, they're a firing squad! Now that Hossa appears to have shaken his playoff curse, he has added to a team that can easily be compared to the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s. Pens in five.

Detroit vs Dallas.

Once again we have the perpetual underdogs from Dallas against yet another juggernaut team. Dallas has beaten the odds before, but the wings, like the Penguins, are positively monstrous. I don't think the stars can pull it off. I hate the wings, but they're just too strong. Unless Philly can pull off a miracle, Detroit will get a taste of their own medicine though in the finals. Wings in seven.