SI.com's Jon A. Dolezar gives his picks for the first round of the 2003 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
	No. 1 Ottawa vs. No. 8 N.Y. Islanders Both teams have benefitted from the blockbuster trade they pulled on at the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The Senators got the second overall pick -- which they used on future star Jason Spezza -- as well as defensemen Zdeno Chara and forward Bill Muckalt, while the Islanders received Alexei Yashin. Though Yashin has continued his enigmatic ways on Long Island, he rejuvenated the Isles' franchise and has been a key part of them making the playoffs the past two season. In Chara, the Sens got the rugged defenseman they lacked in past playoff disappointments. The lowdown: The Sens' skating ability will test Isles blueliners Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson and Janne Niinimaa, who will need to keep their feet moving to avoid obstruction penalties. Also tested will be the ability of Yashin squeeze Carol Alt to withstand the chorus of boos he'll receive at the Corel Centre. Senators in five
	No. 2 New Jersey vs. No. 7 Boston Last year the Devils and Bruins both made first-round exits, New Jersey from the sixth seed and Boston from the top spot. The hallmark of the Devils has been their consistency, while the B's were perhaps the most enigmatic team in the NHL this season. The Bruins' health in goal is a huge question mark, with would-be No. 1 Jeff Hackett recovering from a broken finger. The Beantown boys need huge contributions from Glen Murray, Sergei Samsonov and Joe Thornton to have any shot at pulling an upset. The lowdown: Brodeur vs. Hackett would be a mismatch, but a Brodeur vs. Steve Shields would send me scrambling for a thesaurus to search for a new definition of a one-sided positional matchup. Bruins head coach/GM Mike O'Connell might want to see if Thornton or Murray can strap on the goalie pads between their regular shifts. Devils in five
	No. 3 Tampa Bay vs. No. 6 Washington Call this the Rodney Dangerfield series, because these teams are getting no love. Much as the Southeast Division champion Hurricanes garnered little respect last year, few expect the Lightning or Capitals to do much damage after the first round. But with Nikolai Khabibulin and Olaf Kolzig in their respective nets, either team could put together an upset-filled run to the Stanley Cup Finals like the 'Canes did last spring. The lowdown: The passing ability and speed of the youthful Lightning will pose problems for the Capitals' molasses-slow rearguards. Unless Jaromir Jagr finds a Penguin-like prodigious points pace, Washington won't have enough to tear down the Bulin Wall. Lightning in seven
	No. 4 Philadelphia vs. No. 5 Toronto Roman Cechmanek and Ed Belfour are known as much for getting rattled in the postseason as they are for stopping pucks. But the Eagle has 76 more playoff wins and 3,256 more postseason saves than the man his teammates call Chemo -- that's CHAY-mo, not KEE-mo, as in chemotherapy. Group therapy is exactly what the Flyers needed after Cechmanek melted down in the first round last season, causing a big riff in the dressing room when he practically begged to come out after falling down 3-0 in Game 4. Another brilliant regular season took care of the in-house grumbling, but which Cechmanek will show up for the playoffs? The lowdown: Philadelphia and Toronto were both ultra-agressive in filling their few holes around the trade deadline. As much as Tony Amonte and Owen Nolan contributed down the stretch, it could be the play of veteran role players Claude Lapointe and Phil Housley that determines this series. Well, on second thought, it will be the last goaltender standing -- perhaps quite literally -- after the opposition tries to continually run and rattle these notoriously skittish backstops. Maple Leafs in seven
	No. 1 Dallas vs. No. 8 Edmonton It's not quite the Red Wings against the Avalanche, but the Stars and Oilers are set to do battle for the sixth time in the past seven postseasons. And having played in three of those series with Edmonton, Bill Guerin will get to experience this intense rivalry from the other side once he returns from his thigh injury. The lowdown: A healthy Stars team would be a candidate to sweep the Oilers, but with Guerin out for at least two games, and Pierre Turgeon and Phillips Boucher also battling injuries, Dallas will have a fight on its hands. Marty Turco will be making his postseason debut, but he played in four Frozen Fours while at Michigan, winning two national championships, so he knows a little bit about pressure games. Stars in six
	No. 2 Detroit vs. No. 7 Anaheim The Red Wings finished 47 points ahead of the Mighty Ducks a year ago, and this wouldn't have been much of a series then. But Anaheim's roster rejuvenation resulted in a remarkable 26-point improvement this season. Adam Oates and Petr Sykora helped what was a woeful power play, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere put together a second impressive season in a row. Detroit, meanwhile, slipped only six points despite missing captain Steve Yzerman for most of the season and slowly breaking in a veteran, Cup-seeking goaltender for the second consecutive year. The lowdown: The Wings pretty much just need to focus on Steve Thomas and then the Paul Kariya-Oates-Sykora line, because the Ducks weren't getting goals from many other sources down the stretch. Sergei Fedorov and Henrik Zetterberg should get plenty of opportunities to use their speed on odd-man rushes since Anaheim blueliner Sandis Ozolinsh is so turnover-prone on his frequent offensive forays. Red Wings in six
	No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 6 Minnesota On talent alone, this series would be a laugher. But that shows how much hard work and team play can go, because the Wild are competitive nearly every night. The Avs hope Peter Forsberg can continue the incredible run he began last postseason and carried through to an awesome 2002-03 regular season. Though Colorado has a huge advantage in playoff experience among its players, Minnesota head coach Jacques Lemaire, general manager Doug Risebrough and assistant coach Mario Tremblay have a combined 18 Stanley Cup rings, mostly from their time with the late-70s Habs. The lowdown: The Avs just have too much depth to throw at the Wild, though Minnesota's skating ability and forechecking should eek out a few games. Patrick Roy tilts this series heavily in Colorado's favor, considering he has 14,628 more minutes of playoff experience than the tandem of Manny Fernandez and Dwayne Roloson. In fact, Roy alone (240 games) has more playoff experience than the entire Wild roster (227). Avalanche in six
	No. 4 Vancouver vs. No. 5 St. Louis The Canucks and Blues are virtual mirror images of each other. Vancouver has Todd Bertuzzi; St. Louis has Keith Tkachuk. Vancouver has Brendan Morrison; St. Louis has Doug Weight. Vancouver has Markus Naslund; St. Louis has Pavol Demitra. We'll spare you the boredom of continuing this down the entire 23-man rosters, but trust us, the teams are pretty similar -- right down to intense coaches Marc Crawford and Joel Quenneville (who apprenticed under Crawford in Colorado). The Canucks' biggest advantage in this series will be their speed, while the Blues' will be their depth on the blue line. For St. Louis to pull the mild upset, it needs big series out of Al MacInnis, Barret Jackman and Chris Pronger on both ends of the ice. The lowdown: Who will let in a 100-foot slapper first, Dan Cloutier or Chris Osgood? The series could hang in the balance of which goaltender allows fewer bad goals. St. Louis was a mess defensively at the end of the regular season, and unless Chris Pronger finds his form quickly, he'll soon have five more months to rehab his wrist and knee injuries before training camp opens in September. Canucks in six