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   VS. 

ROUND 2
2. WASHINGTON CAPITALS VS. 4. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

JOSH BREWSTER

Alexander Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby. You can expect the NHL to promote this matchup heavily. It’s a blessing, really, that there was a war of words between the two parties earlier in the season, which reached a crescendo upon Ovechkin’s 50th goal of the season, which elicited a “thumbs-down” response from Sid the Kid. It’s great stuff, and it’s built for television, these two young stars pairing off. Will we see a Joe Thornton/Ryan Getzlaf-like brawl?

The fractures in Washington’s defense will be exploited by the Penguins in round two. Early on against the Rangers, Norris nominee Mike Green, and Tom Poti, Milan Jurcina and Jon Erskine were exposed as a bit soft, while the Rangers rambled to a 3-1 series lead before the Caps’ impressive comeback.

The Penguins feature a few guys who I think will tip the series, and it’s not Crosby, or Evgeni Malkin. Matt Cooke has become a super-pest, while Chris Kunitz made waves with his hit on Kimmo Timonen in round one, and Bill Guerin dumped Braydon Coburn of the Flyers in the same series. Something tells me that the Capitals will be distracted in this series worse than in round one. Something tells me that the big goals of this series will be coming from the sticks of one or two of these three Penguins.

In the nets, Simeon Varlamov did a good job against the offense-challenged Rangers. Don’t be surprised if he flames out against the powerful Penguins, and Jose Theodore has to be restored in the Capitals’ net. Marc-Andre Fleury was solid vs Philly (.922SV%; 15 goals allowed in 6 games), as he was in last season’s Cup Final.

PICK: PITTSBURGH in 5

DENNIS BERNSTEIN

The Capitals’ savior in their first round series, Simeon Varlamov, will be facing Pittsburgh cannons not New York pop guns this round. Instead of being asked to fend off a Dubinsky or a Callahan, the names on the backs of the jersey this time around are Malkin and Crosby. Though the Capitals dominated the season series (3-0-1), you can't forget that Washington was life and death against a far inferior Rangers team for three games and were outplayed most of Game 7 at home. Though the Caps have my vote for the Hart in Alex Ovechkin, they’re 7-7 in the post season over two seasons. Pittsburgh’s six game triumph over the Flyers has the Pens feeling that they can emerge from the East in back to back years.

PICK: PITTSBURGH in 6

LEON RAFNER

At last the battle of the NHL Superstars. The outcome may depend more on the resilience of playoff rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov to survive the the offensive onslaught of the Pens' Sid the Kid and Evgeni Malkin than on the playmaking by scoring sensation Alexander Ovechkin. Pens Goatender Marc-Andre Fleury has been okay too, but this series is going to be about offense. The Pens showed what they’ve got to put away the Flyers, while the Caps stumbling play had them almost blown out of the series by the lesser talented Rangers. Expect wild end to end play, some sloppy defense, and an exciting series between two well-matched teams.

PICK: PITTSBURGH in 7

CHARLES SMITH

If the NHL knew anything about how to promote their sport, your television would be flooded with promos of Sid the Kid vs. Alexander the Great. There would be banners, painted bus benches, billboards and sky-writing. This promises to be the type of high octane series which can make non hockey fans into casual hockey fans, and casual fans into die-hard fans. This series could actually lay a foundation for the future of the sport. This is modern day Gretzy/Lemieux or Magic/Bird. Wayne and Mario of course never met in a playoff series, but Larry Bird and Magic Johnson met in three memorable NBA Finals. This is the stuff of dreams. The hockey Gods have delivered the ultimate marquee matchup. Promoting this is beyond being a no-brainer. Hello, Mr. Bettman? Paging Gary Bettman; Mr. Bettman, if you are out there, can you please report to the lost and found and retrieve your common sense? Thank you. Did I mention Evgeni Malkin and Ovechkin are MVP finalists? This series will be talked about long after Sid, Evgeni and Alex are all retired. Don't miss it. Penguins march on.

PICK: PITTSBURGH in 6

SCHEDULE:

SERIES J        TIME (ET)      #2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh        Network

Saturday, May 2, 2009       1 p.m.  Pittsburgh at Washington       NBC, CBC, RDS

Monday, May 4, 2009        7 p.m.  Pittsburgh at Washington       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Wednesday, May 6, 2009   7 p.m.  Washington at Pittsburgh       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

Friday, May 8, 2009           7 p.m.  Washington at Pittsburgh       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

*Saturday, May 9, 2009     7 p.m.  Pittsburgh at Washington       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

*Monday, May 11, 2009     TBD    Washington at Pittsburgh       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

*Wednesday, May 13, 2009   7 p.m.  Pittsburgh at Washington       VERSUS, CBC, RDS

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