Bruins vs. Devils: There could be a few surprises

The Boston Bruins roller coaster of a season ended last week, to the sigh of relief of Bruins fans everywhere.

The team started off the year as the best in the East. But then the Ottawa Senators passed them. Then the Philadelphia Flyers. Then the New Jersey Devils. And so on, until they clinched the seventh seed in their final game against the Buffalo Sabres with an 8-5 barn burner.

That means the Bruins' first round playoff match will be against the playoff ready Martin Brodeur and his Devils. The series looks like a giveaway to the Devils because of their playoff history, Brodeur's Olympic gold medal and Stanely Cup rings, and a coach who's actually coached NHL games before.

The Bruins have none of these. What the Bruins do have is an understanding of how a low seed can pop off the higher one, a lesson taught to them by last year's Montreal Canadiens. And if the season series between the two teams is any indication (which it usually isn't), Boston might be in better shape than previously thought. The series went in the Devils favor with a 1-2-1 record for Boston, but every game was a one-goal affair.

The big decision for the Bruins is who they are going to go with in the net to face the mighty Brodeur. Jeff Hackett has been out of the picture for the last few weeks as he rests a broken finger, leaving Steve Shields to take over who has been playing just fine. In fact, he's been playing so fine that Hackett might be out of a starter's position when he gets back.

It would be the right call if O'Connell gives the job to Shields instead of Hackett. A large part of playing well in the playoffs is confidence going in, especially confidence in your goalie. Shields has played very well down the stretch, and it would behoove O'Connell to go with the hot hand instead of resting his team's playoff chances on a cold goalie who hasn't touched a puck in weeks.

But the last game against the lowly Sabres really brought home this team's weaknesses. When Shields let in two goals on seven shots and was subsequently pulled, backup Steve Thomas did not fare too much better, letting in three goals in 18 shots.

It is good to see speedy sniper Sergei Samsonov back on the ice, he finished the game with a goal and an assist in his first game back. Boston is going to need to watch its own end very carefully with the Devils, the type of team that loves to pounce on mistakes.

The 1-1 tie between New Jersey and Boston last week was a good sign, though, proving that Boston can play a tight defensive game if need be. But defense starts in net, and the game was a tie only because Shields stopped 28 of 29 shots. If he plays like he played in Buffalo, woe to the Bruins.

The other good series in the East is going to be between the Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. These two teams love to play tough, tight playoff games, and they especially love to throw lots of elbows. Toronto coach Pat Quinn is a great playoff performer, and we do not even need to mention the resume of revitalized Toronto goalie Ed Belfour.

So what does Philly have to bring against the Leafs? Well, they do have Tony Amonte, who has lit the lamp more times than turn-of-the-century lamplighter. In recent years, the Flyers have had serious goal scoring issues, a problem that a goal-scoring Amonte can solve.

Their next problem is goaltender Roman Chechmanek, who last year had a bit of a tiff with his teammates when he yelled at them for not scoring enough goals. But the team says that bygones are bygones, and that there is no bad blood between teammates. We will see how far that goodwill goes when the first signs of struggle comes to the team.

The series that wins the best chance of being a blowout goes to the Ottawa Senators vs. New York Islanders matchup. True, the Senators have never exactly been known as playoff performers. But the Islanders are not the Toronto Maple Leafs -- a team that Ottawa loses to every single year -- and the Sens are much, much improved. They boast the best record in the NHL, an awesome goalie in Patrick Lalime, and some serious firepower.

Depth might hurt Ottawa because of its low salary, but that shortfall should be made up by the fact that the Islanders are going into the playoffs with Garth Snow as the starting goalie. Never heard of him? Surprise, surprise. Snow is a journeyman, and has played well for stretches of time. But he could not be considered a go-to goalie, bouncing around the league like a rubber ball, playing in only one playoff series along the way -- going 8-4 for Philadelphia in 1997.

So expect the worst for an Isles team that has not played well in recent weeks.