by Erik Erlendsson | @Erik_Erlendsson | Like us on Facebook
April 24, 2017

The thrilling first round of the playoffs ended on Sunday night, 12 days after it started.

Along the way there were a record 18 overtime games, plenty of highly entertaining affairs and just as many close games. There were low-scoring games decided by one goal and high-scoring games decided by one goal. There were very few blow outs.

And for the first time since 2001, none of the eight series featured a deciding Game 7.

Some interesting notes about the first round, from Elias Sports Bureau – Twenty-eight of the 42 games were decided by one goal (66.7 percent) while 33 were decided by two goals after an empty-net goal (78.6 percent). … Seventeen of the 42 games saw the winning team overcome a deficit of at least one goal, nine of them were multi-goal comebacks. There were also eight teams that rallied from behind when trailing in the third period.

So now that the first period is behind, the second round gets underway on April 26. Here’s a look ahead to the conference semifinals, including my predictions.

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Conference semifinals previews

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

No. 2 Ottawa Senators vs WC 1 New York Rangers

How they got here: Ottawa defeated Boston in six games, New York defeated Montreal in six games

About the Senators: The neutral zone system instituted by Ottawa looks familiar to Lightning fans as head coach Guy Boucher runs the same system as Tampa Bay ran during his time with the Lightning. It’s a slow-down style meant to frustrate and force the opposing team in to make undisciplined mistakes and allow the Senators to quickly transition the other way. It tends to lead to low-scoring affairs, which is exactly how the first-round series against Boston went with four of the six games combining for five or fewer goals. In Game 1, Ottawa held the Bruins without a shot on goal in the second period.

Who starred in the first round: Defenseman Erik Karlsson, who admitted playing the series with hairline fractures in his heel, was on another level in the first round series. Though he did not score a goal and tied for the team-lead with six assists, it was his ability to take over games with his mobility and vision while averaging more than 30 minutes per game that pushed his teammates to follow his lead.

Who needs to step up in the second round: Kyle Turris led the Senators with 27 goals during the regular season but was held to just one goal and two points in the six-game series and was a minus-3 while averaging 19:34 of ice time per game while on the top line.

About the Rangers: New York is a wild card team in name only after finishing with more than 100 points. They can skate and have depth through the forward lines with seven different forwards contributing goals in the opening round against Montreal and four forwards with three or more points, led by Mika Zibanejad.

Who starred in the first round: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was stellar in the opening round victory against Montreal, posting a .947 save percentage and 1.70 goals against average. He set the tone in the opening game of the series with a 31-save shutout and followed that up with 54-save effort despite an overtime loss in Game 2.

Who has to step up in the second round: J.T. Miller appeared in all 82 games during the regular season, finishing second on the team with 56 points and fourth with 22 goals. In the six-game series against Montreal, Miller had just one assist and seven shots on goal.

Prediction:Rangers in six

Metropolitan Division

No. 1 Washington Capitals vs No. 2 Pittsburgh Penguins

How they got here: Washington defeated Toronto in six games, Pittsburgh defeated Columbus in five games

About the Capitals: The pressure on the Capitals in these playoffs is immense. Washington has never advanced past the second round in the Alex Ovechkin era, a fact that has haunted the Capitals for a decade despite all the regular season success, which includes three President’s Trophies. Being pushed to the limits in the opening round against Toronto – all six games were decided by one goal and five games went to overtime – conjured up those same questions when the Leafs took an early 2-1 series lead. Now the question is whether being pushed in the first round will serve as a motivator or a hindrance in the next round against the Penguins.

Who starred in the first round: Tom Wilson was a first-round pick, but he was not selected for his goal-scoring ability. The hard-nosed, play-on-the-edge forward brings energy and physicality to the table. But in the three games against the Leafs, Wilson had the overtime winner in Game 1 and then in Game 4 not only cleared a goal off his own line, scored twice that allowed Washington to tie the series.

Who needs to step up in the second round: Brett Connolly proved a key member of the third line for Washington during the regular season, scoring a career-high 15 goals and a plus-22 rating in 66 games. But during the series against the Leafs Connolly found his way in to the dog house, failing to register a point in six games while seeing an average of 8:58 of ice time, nearly three minutes less than any other player.

About the Penguins: The defending champions had a much easier-than-expected time with Columbus in the opening round, knocking off the Blue Jackets in five games. Pittsburgh showed the depth and scoring balance that led then to a Stanley Cup title last season with six different players scoring at least two goals, led by rookie Jake Guentzel who had five. The forwards are the strength of the Penguins and they will need that to continue with top defenseman Kris Letang absent, which puts a big dent in Pittsburgh’s blue line.

What starred in the first round: Evgeni Malkin missed the final few weeks of the regular season due to injury. But he returned for the start of the playoffs and led the Penguins in scoring with 11 points and nine assists and tied for the team lead with a plus-7 rating.

Who has to step up in the second round: Nick Bonino was one of the unsung heroes of the Penguins run to the Stanley Cup last year with 18 points, tied for third on the team. He also had two game-winning goals, including an overtime winner in the Final against San Jose and tied for the team lead with a plus-9 rating. Against Columbus, Bonino had one goal on seven shots and was even while averaging over 15 minutes per game.

Prediction:Capitals in seven

Western Conference

Central Division

No. 3 St. Louis Blues vs WC 2 Nashville Predators

How they got here: St. Louis defeated Minnesota in five games, Nashville defeated Chicago in four games

About the Blues: St. Louis fired head coach Ken Hithcock late in the regular season, traded top defenseman Keven Shattenkirk to Washington at the trade deadline and had goaltending issues just past the midway point of the season. So naturally they find themselves in the second round of the postseason for the second consecutive year with a deep group of forwards and a deep core of defenseman, even with the absence of Shattenkirk.

Who starred in the first round: Goaltender Jake Allen stole the series for the Blues against the Wild. He stymied Minnesota the entire series, allowing two or fewer goals in four of the five games and posting a 51-save performance in the opening game. Allen allowed a total of eight goals and finished with 1.47 goals against average and .956 save percentage.

Who needs to step up in the second round: David Perron scored finished fourth on the team with 18 goals and fifth with 46 points. Against Minnesota, Perron had just one assist while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per game.

About the Predators: Nashville pulled off the biggest upset by far, dispatching of the top seed in the Western Conference in a surprising sweep. The Predators have speed, tenacity and can score in a variety of ways. Nashville was the only team to have three defenseman reach double digits in goals during the regular season and the defense chipped in with three goals in the four-game series. But Nashville also had five different players score two or more goals in the four games.

Who starred in the first round: Goaltender Pekka Rinne has had his issues in previous playoffs during his tenure as the No. 1 goaltender as he’s goals against average has been below 2.57 just once in five previous playoff appearances. But against the Blackhawks, Rinne posted consecutive shutouts to open the series and finished with a 0.70 GAA and .976 save percentage.

Who has to step up in the second round: James Neal is a top-line power forward and a proven playoff performer with three career game-winning goals among his 19 career playoff goals. In the first round against Chicago, Neal had just one assist even while averaging two shots per game.

Prediction:Predators in six

Pacific Division

No. 1 Anaheim Ducks vs No. 2 Edmonton Oilers

How they got here: Anaheim defeated Calgary in four games, Edmonton defeated San Jose in six games

About the Ducks: Anaheim finished the season on a roll and that continued on to the first round of the postseason, sweeping past the Flames. The Ducks like to play a heavy game, finishing off checks and trying to wear opponents down. With a strong group of defenseman – even with Cam Fowler missing the first round due to injury – the Ducks can control the game from the back end while the forward group is deep with Ryan Getzlaf, Richard Rakell and Corey Perry leading the way.

Who starred in the first round: Getlaf was the Ducks best player in the opening round, leading Anaheim with three goals and five points. The team’s No. 1 center played liked it after a strong finish to the regular season, ending the year third in the league with 58 assists.

Who needs to step up in the second round: Ryan Kesler is a shutdown center and a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward. He handles the tough assignments and kills penalties. But he scored 22 goals and finished second on the Ducks with 58 points. He’ll likely draw Connor McDavid during the series, but Anaheim needs more than just one assist out of Kesler, which is what he had in the first round against Calgary.

About the Oilers: Edmonton proved to be more than the McDavid show in knocking out the defending Western Conference champion Sharks in the opening round. McDavid, the only 100-point performer during the season, may have led the Oilers with four points but his second goal was an empty netter in the clinching game. But because Edmonton found offense from eight others, the Oilers were able to move on to the second round for the first time since 2006. Head coach Todd McLellan said a number of players were battling the flu in the first round, which means Edmont should be stronger in the next round.

What starred in the first round: Cam Talbot was a bit of an unknown as a No. 1 playoff goaltender but proved his mettle against San Jose. He posted consecutive shutouts in Games 2 and 3 and despite getting pulled after giving up five goals in Game 4, finished the series with a 2.03 goals against average and .927 save percentage.

Who has to step up in the second round: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was virtually a non-factgor against San Jose, failing to collect a point in the series while averaging nearly 18 minutes per game, even while leading the team with 17 shots on goal during the series. Assuming Kesler goes head-to-head with McDavid’s line most of the series and can neutralize them, the Oilers will need Nugent-Hopkins to step up his game.

Prediction:Ducks in six

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