Rivalries will make East games intense

The Stanley Cup playoffs are always fun, and generally, the Western Conference seems to have more intense games than its counterparts in the Eastern Conference.

Matt Bishop

However, I don’t think that’s the case this year, as there are rivalries up and down the board on the East side. These four first-round series will have the intensity of a conference final. Here’s what’s going to happen:

No. 1 Boston vs. No. 8 Montreal

Oh yes, this will be good.

As the top gun in the East, Boston will be looking for revenge against a Canadiens team that many predicted would win the Northeast Division. Instead, Montreal struggled and squeaked into the playoffs on a tiebreaker. What’s great about this series is that Montreal has eliminated Boston from the playoffs three of the last four times the Bruins have appeared, including two seven-game wins in 2004 and 2008 and a huge upset in 2002, when the Habs took down No. 1 Boston in six games.

The rivalry between these two teams is as intense as it comes. Montreal is probably one of the more dangerous No. 8 seeds in a while. But I think Boston is going to be motivated for revenge here.

Boston in 6

No. 2 Washington vs. No. 7 New York Rangers

Holy moly, will this be awesome! This series matches the game’s most dynamic player, Alexander Ovechkin, and one of hockey’s best goaltenders, Henrik Lundqvist. Watching these two go at it will be great.

After a dismal February, the Rangers turned it on in March and April and finished the season with three straight wins.

The big question here is going to be whether Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore can make big saves when the team needs him to. Ovechkin and crew will have moderate success against Lundqvist, but Theodore will have to shut down the offensively challenged Rangers to win. I don’t think that will be much of a problem.

Washington in 5

No. 3 New Jersey vs. No. 6 Carolina

When thinking about this series, my first thought was, “Man, these two teams always play each other in the playoffs.” Further review proved this to be true, as Carolina has met New Jersey in each of its last three playoff appearances (2001, 2002, 2006), winning 2-of-3 series from the Devils in that span.

But again, this is the ugly sibling of the Eastern Conference playoffs. You could say New Jersey is boring, and almost nobody knows Carolina has a hockey team. I guess there’s a rivalry because they’ve played so much? That is pretty much the only redeeming quality I can find out of this series. Oh, and if Carolina wins, I’ll laugh when Martin Brodeur throws a fit.

Carolina in 7

No. 4 Pittsburgh vs. No. 5 Philadelphia

This is by far the biggest series the East has. Do you remember last season’s Eastern Conference final? Evgeni Malkin gets laid out, is slow getting back, gets a lead pass and scores a goal on a breakaway slapshot. That defined the series, one the Penguins won 4-1 to advance to the Stanley Cup final.

This should be an epic series. We know the Penguins have the firepower with Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but the Flyers bring Jeff Carter, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards to the table.

In net, it looks like Martin Biron for Philadelphia and Marc-Andre Fleury for the Pens. We know both teams can score goals. This series will be decided by which goaltender can make enough big plays for his team.

Philadelphia in 7