I completely lost track of time and missed writing about the second round which completed last night.

Las Vegas beat Colorado 4-2. I thought this one would go seven games but something fell apart inside Colorado. Looked like the killer instinct came through only for Vegas.

NY Islanders beat Boston 4-2. Another series I thought was going seven games, the Islanders successfully smothered Boston. Outside of their killer first line, Boston doesn’t have as much offensive options. Islanders played to that weakness and is a good indicator that Barry Trotz out coached Bruce Cassidy.

Tampa Bay beat Carolina 4-1. This was a solid beating. Carolina came in with a lot of wind in their sails and Tampa didn’t think much of it. I was thinking six game series and Tampa was in no mood. They are riding a serious Defending Stanley Cup Champions wave that doesn’t look like it’s going to stop.

Montreal beat Winnipeg 4-0. Montreal is the Cinderella story of the season and crushing Winnipeg sends the message: everyone stop underestimating us. With the only sweep of this round, Montreal gets the biggest break between games. It’s also sorely needed, the team played an insane amount of games to end the regular season and into a late start, rapid fire post-season schedule for the North division.

We now have the final four.

I’m rooting for the Islanders. It’s been a long time since they’ve won the Cup and it’s the most local team to me. A Canadian team hasn’t won in ages either, so the underdog story for them is the strongest. No one thought they would make it through the first round against Toronto but here they are. So they say the same thing about beating Vegas. It certainly won’t be easy, but I think Montreal has a good chance. With a good amount of time to rest and prepare, Montreal will be ready. Vegas can’t let their guard down or they are going to get into trouble. I can see this going 6 games.

In comparison, the Islanders are better matched up against Tampa Bay. This series should be incredibly intense. I know Trotz is going to come up with every game plan imaginable for this series and he’s going to need that extra edge to get his team the win. This will not be an easy round for either team. At least 6 games, I wouldn’t be surprised to go 7.

I’d say the betting odds are for a Vegas/Tampa Bay Finals but as of now I’m leaning towards Vegas/Islanders.