Less than 24 hours after the Washington Capitals proved that I am not sniffing glue or huffing unleaded gas (if you read my earlier predictions, I said that the Capitals weren't that good and were going to exit early) it's time for the second round.

The first round had some of the best and most entertaining hockey I've seen in years. Seven of the eight series went to at least six games and the only one that didn't (Philadelphia beat New Jersey in five) was a pretty big upset. Montreal beat Washington 2-1 in the final game of the first round and that was incredibly exciting. If you really thought that Washington was as good as their Regular Season record, you could almost call it the Miracle On Ice: The Squeakquel. I'm not really a fan of either team and even I jumped out of my easy chair and did a couple of fist pumps as the buzzer sounded. (And if you've read any of my blogs, I get out of my easy chair as often as Sarah Palin says something coherent.) I was happy about the outcome for two reasons. One, another Canadian team has advanced (I still would like another look at that high sticking call the Canadiens took in the last minute and a half, they didn't show a very good replay. I don't think CBC wants to stir the conspiracy pot for some reason), and two, the over-rated Ovechkin gets bounced. It has not been a good year for him (by his standards) after getting blown out by Canada in the Olympics and failing to win the Art Ross or the Rocket Richard trophies. Although I am a fan of Ovechkin, I don't think anybody is as exciting as he is to watch, he is not a team player, and a great system will beat his style more often than not provided they also get the goaltending, and Halak was brilliant. In the desperate dying moments of game 7, there was Ovechkin, head down, trying to crash his way to the net. I'd be pissed if I was a teammate. I certainly don't feel sorry for him though. He now has about five months off to spend some of his $10 Mill annual salary.

As far as my predictions from round one, I was 3 for 4 in the West (I still think Chicago was lucky to advance after Nashville basically gave game 5 away), and in the East I was 1 for 4 (only right about Pittsburgh). In my defense, since the West plays very few games against the East and I rarely watched any games that did not involve the Canucks, well, do the math and you'll figure out that I have no clue what I'm talking about as far as the Eastern teams go. Although I think Gerry Cheevers and Bobby Clarke must've played well for the Flyers and Bruins to advance. (They're still playing aren't they?)

Now for round two, I think it's pretty reasonable to say that there are five teams with a legitimate shot at winning the Cup. All four teams in the West and Pittsburgh. The West is really tough to pick, good thing I'm an expert.

Detroit(5) vs San Jose(1): Detroit is certainly peaking at the right time and will be very tough to beat. San Jose is notorious for choking in the playoffs but it's important to remember that they are not the same team as they were in the past. GM Doug Wilson made some significant changes in the offseason and this team is better than previous ones. They also were the best home team in the league in the regular season and they have home ice advantage. Should be a great series. Detroit in 7.

Vancouver (3) vs Chicago (2): This will likely be the series to watch in the second round. These two teams hate each other. Vancouver has been targeting Chicago since they shook hands with them last Spring after the Hawks beat them in six games. It's a better, faster, much more offensive Canucks team, but I think Chicago is better too. While the Canucks are weaker on the back end, Chicago doesn't have a goalie. If Vancouver's defense can get through the series without an injury to one of their top four, and maybe the refs protect Luongo a little bit with a couple of goalie interference calls, Vancouver will win this series in six and the size of the Canucks bandwagon will immediately double.

Over in the East, who the Hell knows. It's time for my annual coin flip.

Montreal (8) vs Pittsburgh (4): The obvious choice would be the Penguins. They play a better team game and have a better system. Also better goaltending. If Montreal is going to stay in this series, Halak will probably have to play four brilliant games. That's simply too much to ask. Pittsburgh in 5.

Philadelphia (7) vs Boston (6): Okay, seriously now. I have no idea. Heads - Boston. Tails - the Flyers. (drum roll...) Heads it is. Boston in 7. You might not want to put too much money on that one.