SI.com's Jon A. Dolezar weighs in with his predictions for the second round of the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Eastern Conference
(1) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (7) Montreal Canadiens
Let's hear it for the little guys. Art Ross Trophy winner Martin St. Louis is also the favorite for the Hart Trophy, but the Canadiens' little fellas aren't half bad, either. A potential matchup between St. Louis and Habs captain Saku Koivu would be intriguing because their lines were among the best units in the first round. Koivu, Alexei Kovalev and Richard Zednik burned the slow Bruins defensemen with their speed, but St. Louis, Brad Richards and Fredrik Modin have the wheels to keep up with the Habs' top line. This series will also allow St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier to play some postseason hockey in their hometown, as both hail from Montreal suburbs. Even though the teams split the season series this year, Tampa Bay has played well at Montreal of late, going 7-5 there in the past six seasons. The Canadiens' speed will make it a fun series to watch, but the Lightning have too much depth for the Habs to handle.
Tampa Bay Lightning in five
(2) Philadelphia Flyers vs. (4) Toronto Maple Leafs
These teams played a seven-game war in the first round last season, with the Flyers finally overwhelming the exhausted Maple Leafs 6-1 in Game 7. With how well Ed Belfour is playing, the Flyers may be lucky to get six goals in the series. Then again, Robert Esche just got done outplaying Martin Brodeur in the first round, proving that matching up against living legends doesn't faze him. The Maple Leafs need Mats Sundin to be 100 percent in order to compete with the Flyers' size, because without Sundin, Keith Primeau and Michal Handzus will run roughshod over the Leafs. If Esche can play at anywhere near the level he did in the first round, the Flyers will find themselves in the East finals after another grueling seven-game series.
Philadelphia Flyers in seven
Western Conference
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Calgary Flames
This script will look familiar to fans in Hockeytown. The heavily favored, more talented Red Wings taking the ice against a physical, trapping team which relies on one offensive line and its butterfly goaltender. Miikka Kiprusoff's incredible positioning and brilliant rebound control in the first round were reminiscent of Jean-Sebastien Giguere's Conn Smythe-winning performance from last year's playoffs. Tomas Vokoun gave the Wings fits for two games in the first round, and Kipper could do the same for a few games in the conference semis. Jarome Iginla was the most dominant player in the first round -- and he very well could win a series by himself -- but the Wings have the physical defensemen (Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios) to punish Iggy in ways that the Canucks couldn't. Even if Iginla and Kiprusoff are both great for the entire series, Detroit's star-laden lineup knows how to win tough series, and one of its multitude of stars will step up in crunch time.
Detroit Red Wings in seven
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (4) Colorado Avalanche
The Sharks and Avs played an enjoyable seven-game series in the 2002 West semifinals, with Colorado rallying from a 3-2 deficit to knock off upstart San Jose. David Aebischer looked very poised in his first postseason series, but he got a ton of help in front of him keeping the Stars' big bodies out of the slot thanks to aggressive play by Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Karlis Skrastins and Bob Boughner. San Jose doesn't have the same size as Dallas, but the Sharks' speed could be a concern, since burners such as Patrick Marleau, Nils Ekman and Alex Korolyuk could pose problems on odd-man rushes. Peter Forsberg looks completely recovered from his injury-plagued season, so Kyle McLaren and Scott Hannan will have tough tasks of hanging with the world's most complete player. Even though Aebischer is still gaining seasoning in the net, the pieces around him are too good not to reach the Western Conference finals for the seventh time in nine years.
Colorado Avalanche in six
