Eastern Conference 

(1) Montreal -300 vs. (8) Boston - Montreal came out of nowhere this season to capture the top place in the Eastern Conference. What is more impressive is that they traded away their All-Star goaltender Cristobal Huet to Washington at the trade deadline and went with rookie Carey Price, who proved to be the real deal in net. Boston is also lacking playoff experience with its last playoff appearance coming in 2004. The Bruins were the lowest scoring team that qualified for the playoffs this season in the Eastern Conference and struggled down the stretch with a mediocre 4-6 record. Montreal reminds me of the Carolina team that won the Stanley Cup in 2005-06 and I believe they will go as far as young Carey Price takes them. They have an advantage on offense and defense and especially special teams as they lead the league in Power Play efficiency at 24.2. They’ll likely drop a game or two but I look for Montreal to advance to the second round. Montreal in Five. Recommendation: Montreal -300

(2) Pittsburgh -210 vs. (7) Ottawa - The Pittsburgh Penguins blew their chance at the No. 1 overall seed in the East after losing to Philadelphia Sunday. Having said that, this Pittsburgh team is built for a long playoff run and this is my choice to come out of the Eastern Conference as champions. With Evgeni Malkin, Petr Sykora, Ryan Malone and Sidney Crosby all scoring over 20 goals this season, this is the one team that I can say is better than Ottawa offensively. The Senators struggled mightily in their last ten games of the season going 3-7 and will be without Captain Daniel Alfredsson for the entire first round of the playoffs. The Senators gave more goals against this season than any team that made the playoffs and the Penguins are the one team that can knock the defending Eastern Conference champions out in the first round. The Penguins sweep in four. Recommendation: Pittsburgh -210

(3) Washington -110 vs. (6) Philadelphia - Looking back on my early season NHL Preview, I predicted the Capitals to be one of the most improved teams and possibly sneak into the playoffs. They obviously blew away my expectations. I like Washington’s offense with Alexander Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Sergei Fedorov over Philadelphia’s and I also will take Cristobal Huet in net over the Martin Biron/Antero Nittymaki platoon. The Caps were also the hottest team in the league to close out the regular season, winning nine out of their last ten to claim the Southeast Division. Philadelphia made tremendous strides this season in finishing sixth. This after a dead last finish in the Eastern Conference a year ago. The key factor here is goaltending. In limited duty, the Caps’ Cristobal Huet posted an 11-2 record with a 1.63 goals against average and a save percentage of .936. That attribute alone has me taking Washington to win the series in seven games. Recommendation: Washington -110

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) NY Rangers +110 - It’s always been my theory to not bet against Martin Brodeur in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but this year I’m going to do it. I feel the Rangers have an equally as effective goaltender in Henrik Lundqvist and more offensive pop than the Devils. New Jersey and New York were two of the best defensive teams in the Eastern Conference and this series has all of the makings of some low scoring affairs. The Rangers’ offense features some hefty weapons in Scott Gomez, playoff hero Chris Drury, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka and Brendan Shanahan and that should allow for them to advance. Rangers in six games. Recommendation: NY Rangers +110

Western Conference

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville +450 - The Nashville Predators were one of the Cinderella stories of the season after losing a plethora of key players because then owner Craig Leopold forced GM David Poile to bring the roster down to the Salary Cap floor. The Preds have played extremely well against Detroit this season going 3-3-2. This is one of those playoff situations where the Predators were clawing and grinding every game until the end of the season while Detroit seemed to put their play on cruise control the last month of the season due in part to its stellar record. This is a situation where Nashville has the opportunity to jump out early and catch the Red Wings napping. I’m going to side with the team that has been in must win situations for the better part of two months. The price is right as we back Nashville. Recommendation: Nashville +450

(2) San Jose -400 vs. (7) Calgary - In my mind San Jose is the best team in the Western Conference. They were the NHL’s top road team with a record of 27-14 – better than Detroit’s. San Jose has been absolutely amazing to watch since mid-February, not losing a game in regulation from the 20th until the final two games of the season – both of which were meaningless with the playoff scenarios wrapped up. Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has been outstanding all season for the Sharks with a 2.15 goals against average and a save percentage of .909. The Flames are a one trick pony on offense with Jarome Iginla leading the way with 50 goals. Beyond that, their secondary scoring has limited capabilities. I feel the Sharks are poised to make a Stanley Cup run and should win the series in no more than five games. Recommendation: San Jose -400

(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado +120 - This Colorado Avalanche team is built for a playoff run with Joe Sakic, Adam Foote and Peter Forsberg leading the way. Those are the names that you know, but Colorado’s best player this season has been Paul Stastny, who led Colorado with 69 points. The Avalanche were also underrated defensively, giving up only one more goal than their opponent, the defensive-minded Minnesota Wild. I believe that the acquisitions of Foote and Forsberg are enough to get this team into the second round of the playoffs. Beyond Marian Gaborik and Brian Rolston, who had 45 and 30 goals, respectively, there is not much else on this Wild team that scares you offensively. I’m more than willing to back the more balanced team in this series. Colorado wins in six. Recommendation: Colorado +120

(4) Anaheim -180 vs. (5) Dallas - Anaheim, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, hosts a struggling Dallas team. The Stars finished the regular season 3-7 and as we often times see turning it on for the playoffs does not always come easy. The run that the Stars finished on was the worst record for Western Conference teams in the playoffs. The Ducks have the depth on defense to get by with Chris Pronger returning from his suspension and Scott Niedermayer coming out of retirement mid-season. The main reason why the Stars struggled is due to the injury to all-star defenseman Sergei Zubov. Zubov had sports hernia surgery this week in the latest of a series of issues that kept him out of the lineup since January 19. I do not believe that the Stars can beat Anaheim in a seven-game series without Zubov present. Take the Ducks to win in six. Recommendation: Anaheim -180

For more NHL betting analysis from Jared Klein, go to www.sportsmemo.com.