First-round match-ups sure to be exciting first step towards the Cup

The loyal readers of this column probably noticed its absence from the paper last week. Due to the April Fools Day issue, it is in fact true that this reporter got a much-needed week off. The NHL players, on the other hand, did not, as they closed out the season on Sunday.

Since the last edition, 14 teams have been given the boot, leaving the remaining 16 with a chance to hoist the cup in two months. This will, more than likely, be the last professional hockey any of us will see for a while due to the impending collective bargaining disagreement. That said, prepare yourselves for what figures to be the best Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent memory. Here's how Inside the NHL envisions the first round going down, starting in the east.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by my MVP-choice Martin St. Louis, have earned the number one seed in the East with a great stretch drive. Their first foe is the eighth-seed New York Islanders, a team that has had surprising success against the Bolts in their four meetings this season (3-1-0).

The Islanders just don't have what it takes, however, to unseat these Floridian giants. The largest deficiency for the Isles has to be 22 year-old goalie Rick Dipietro, an untested and fairly unimpressive net-minder. Lightning advance in five.

The Boston Bruins had an impressive last few weeks of the season, and were rewarded for their success with the Northeast Division crown and the second playoff position that came with it. Standing in their way of the second round, however, are the Canadians from Montreal.

This figures to be a great series, mostly because it's hard to have much confidence in a team that has been known to flounder in the postseason. We're talking about the Bruins here, of course. One thing that they have going for them, though, is rookie goalie sensation Andrew Raycroft, my choice for the Rookie of the Year award. Perhaps not having the horrific playoff memories that comes with being a Boston veteran will serve this newcomer well.

Nevertheless, it's hard to shake the idea that the Red Sox curse has somehow traveled across town to the FleetCenter -- Canadians in seven (assuming defenseman Sheldon Souray is fully healed from his "upper-body injury" for the series and that Boston's Joe Thornton -- also ailing from a cryptic non-specific injury -- is not 100 percent.)

Introductions won't be necessary in the Philadelphia Flyers-New Jersey Devils series -- both teams have been jockeying for position in the Atlantic Division all season long and have played each other six times (Flyers lead 3-2-1). In the end, only one point separated these two teams in the final standings -- a point that cost the Devils the home-ice advantage that the Flyers will now enjoy.

If Scott Stevens remains sidelined with his post-concussion syndrome for the playoffs, the Devils could have problems, but goalie controversy in Philadelphia (shaky Robert Esche got the nod over recently-acquired Sean Burke) might prove to be an insurmountable distraction. Devils in seven.

The four-five series in the east pits Canada's capital city (Ottawa) against its largest city (Toronto). This truly is a toss-up, so for the sake of brevity, I'll base my decision on the utter disgust I feel towards Toronto Maple Leaf goalie Ed Belfour (for reasons I can't get into here) -- the young and strong Ottawa Senators beat the elderly and feeble Maple Leafs in six.

In the west, the number one seed Detroit Red Wings will beat the Nashville Predators in five games. Sure, Nashville has been the surprise second-half team in the west, but the Red Wings are just too good and too deep. If this prediction turns out to blow up in my face, I will be consoled by two facts: Hockeytown's morbid octopus-throwing tradition will be cut short and the Wings' league-leading $77.8 million payroll will have not been enough to beat Nashville's $23.2 million squad.

The San Jose Sharks, entering the playoffs after finishing the regular season with over 100 points for the first time in franchise history, are set to face the seventh seed St. Louis Blues. The regular season record between these two teams is tied at 2-2-0, but I don't see the Sharks' magic running out this early. Sharks take it in five games.

The Vancouver Canucks sans Todd Bertuzzi are beatable and I think the well-coached Calgary Flames could do it in this three vs. six match-up. Even the young Mikka Kiprusoff is more reliable in between the posts than Vancouver's Dan Cloutier. Calgary will need all seven.

The last series on my list will perhaps be the best-fought -- the Colorado Avalanche versus the Dallas Stars. Be disappointed if this series doesn't go the distance. Even though Belfour used to play for the Stars, a combination of factors (Alex Tanguay's injury, Paul Kariya's injury, my red-hot hate for Teemu Selanne, and the vote of no-confidence goalie David Aebischer received when the team picked up Tommy Salo last month) forces me to give the slight advantage to the Stars, in seven games.

There's nothing better than playoff hockey, and this year's first-round match-ups seem to be especially intriguing.