Round two, part two

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. San Jose Sharks (5)

Way back in 1994, the San Jose Sharks were making their first-ever playoff appearance, and they shocked the favoured Red Wings, winning the seven-game series. The Wings won the only other playoff meeting between these two teams, and 12 years later, we finally get the rubber match.

The Red Wings have talked a lot about their improved grit. They now roll guys like Kyle Calder and Todd Bertuzzi out to wear down the opposing defensemen. That’s in addition to grinders like Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, and crease-crashers Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom (day-to-day with an eye injury). Mix in high-end talent from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, an all-world defense corps, and one of the best goaltenders the league’s ever seen, and the Wings start to look very formidable.

But the Sharks are not to be outdone. They have last season’s points and goals leaders in Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo. Young sniper Milan Michalek enjoyed a coming out of sorts in the first round (four goals in five games), and captain Patrick Marleau leads the way with 43 points in his last 45 playoff games. The Sharks don’t have a Nicklas Lidstrom on defense, but they run a tight ship, and the forwards love to help out.

Speaking of Lidstrom, he will likely draw the Thornton line as his checking assignment, leaving Marleau’s line to try their best to run roughshod in the offensive zone.

Both the Wings’ Dominik Hasek and the Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov are known for their temperament, but the Sharks have a failsafe in goal with Vesa Toskala should Nabokov falter.

And if you thought Calgary’s fans gave the Flames a boost at home, wait till the Wings get a load of the fans at the HP Pavilion. All signs point to Sharks in six.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs. Ottawa Senators (4)

Ottawa dispatched Pittsburgh with relative ease in the first round, showing more grit than we’ve come to expect from the Senators. And everyone in Ottawa is feeling good about Ray Emery in goal. These grittier Senators will once again have their hands full with the always gritty Devils.

New Jersey overcame early adversity to knock off Tampa Bay in the first round. The Bolts got to Martin Brodeur early in the series, but Brodeur found his groove, and shut the door in three consecutive wins. As always, everything the Devils want to do comes down to Brodeur. Despite having no real offensive depth after Scott Gomez, Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta and Zach Parise, the Devils continually find ways to score, and give Brodeur the lead. From there, it’s usually academic.

The Devils do have a hole in their defense. Brian Rafalski picked up seven points in the first round, but the Devils have relied heavily on rookies Andy Greene and John Oduya. Ottawa will have to find ways to exploit the youngsters, which may mean juggling lines to get their big guns away from the Devils’ checking unit. Ten Ottawa forwards played in all five of their first round games, and they all recorded at least two points. They will have to continue with that kind of scoring balance to get past the Devils.

One area of note: Ottawa’s big guns Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were both minus-2 in the first round. The Devils play a strong transition game, and will look to exploit Spezza and Heatley’s defensive weakness.

Almost entirely because Emery left practice with an injury earlier in the week: Devils in seven.