2004 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS Second Round Picks
#1 Tampa Bay vs. #7 Montreal
Tampa Bay in 5
The Montreal Canadians have only one top offensive line that can score consistently. The line is made up of forwards Alexei Kovalev and Richard Zednik and center Saku Koivu. However, that won't be enough to counteract the explosive and balanced attack of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay should be able to use their speed to stop the Canadians' top line and get behind their defense to deposit multiple pucks into the net. The Lightning defense also does an effective job of moving the puck to the forwards and getting shots on net during the power play and 5 on 5. Offensive players on the Lightning to watch are Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Cory Stillman, Fredrick Modin and Ruslan Fedotenko. For Montrel to have a chance in this series, they will need to get offensive production from its other lines other than its top line. If that does not happen this will be a short series.
#2 San Jose vs. #4 Colorado
San Jose in 5
While the Avalanche have many of the NHL's top players such as Forsberg, Sakic, and Hejduk, they also have some of the league's top penalized players in Matthew Barnaby and Chris Gratton. The Sharks have home ice, a better penalty kill, a more experienced goaltender in Nabokov, more speed, and more depth on defense. Not too mention, the Sharks are younger, and appear to be the better coached club with Ron Wilson at the helm. They have more disciplined players who don't retalaliate and play as a team.
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