And the Quest for the Cup Begins...

Charlie Klein

In just a few days time, the symptoms of cup crazy will erupt in 16 cities across North America. One of my favorite sporting events year in and year out, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are sure to be incredible this year. For my money Lord Stanley's Cup is the most beautiful trophy in professional sports, easily outclassing the Lombardi and World Series Trophies (the NBA Finals trophy looks like a rec league piece compared to it).

So who will hoist Lord Stanley's above their head? Will it be Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals? Or will it be Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks? Sidney Crosby perhaps? Or will it be someone we had no idea could win it? That's the beauty of a single elimination tournament baby! Let's begin with the match ups in the Eastern Conference.

1. Washington Capitals

vs.

8. Montreal Canadiens

Of the many intriguing matchups, the Caps Habs series pits one team with an incredible history with one out to create some of it's own. The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups and have largely been given credit for giving birth to everything great that we know in hockey. Players like Maurice "Pocket Rocket" Richard, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, Guy LaFleur, Jacques LeMaire, among many others. However, none of those players are on the current Habs roster. And that is why I fully expect the Washington Capitals to make short work of the Habs in this series.

Having already written at length about the Capitals this year, I do not need to spend too much time explain why I think they will advance. I'll just give you a few names. You may have heard them somewhere before. Alexander Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Alexander Semin, Mike Knuble, and Jose Theodore. Those are my six reasons why the Capitals will win this series. The one wild card in this series is if either goaltender for the Habs comes to play and gets hot. If Halak or Price play other-worldly, the Habs have a shot. But I doubt that. It will be interesting to see how Theodore handles his return to Montreal, the place where it all started all those years and trades ago. What a story it would be if he led the Capitals to a cup.

WINNER: Capitals in five games.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Ottawa Senators

Both teams in this series are immensely talented. There's no doubt about that. But one team has Sidney Crosby, and the other does not. Unfortunately for the Senators, they are not that team. If Alexei Kovalev would have been healthy it would have made for an interesting storyline. The Senators do still have Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, but Ottawa's top scorers do not compare with the Penguins'. Additionally, Marc-Andre Fleury has the playoff experience necessary to take the Penguins into the next round.

WINNER: Penguins in six.

3. Buffalo Sabres

6. Boston Bruins

For me, this series comes down to which team's Vezina Trophy candidate shows up for this series. My money is on Ryan Miller continuing his fantastic season in this year's playoffs. While I do like some of Boston's forwards, none of them have the talent level required to score with enough regularity to beat Ryan Miller over the course of a best of seven series. That being said, Buffalo's forwards do not do much for me either, as there is no 30 goal scorer among the bunch. Ultimately I do not think that Buffalo's offensive shortcomings will prevent them from advancing.

WINNER: Sabres in six.

2. New Jersey Devils

7. Philadelphia Flyers

Written off by yours truly at the beginning of the season, the New Jersey Devils have quietly ascended to the top three of the Eastern Conference. Goaltender Martin Brodeur continues to prove that while the times may change his stellar play in net doesn't. Like Jay-Z, Brodeur is still dropping hit performance after hit performance as he gets into his late 30s. The Devils have finally added a big goal scorer in Ilya Kovalchuk for the stretch run and the vital offense he provides could be the key to this series. 

The Flyers have displayed all of the grit and determination necessary to make a run in the playoffs as the season wound down. However, they lack the go-to goalie that is absolutely necessary to win in April and May. Brian Boucher, as Rasheed Wallace likes to say, just does not cut the check. 

For good measure, I will include this video:

Couldn't write a piece about the Devils without making a Seinfeld reference, could I? Gotta support the team.

WINNER: Devils in five.