ESPN: Canadiens in Five

With the second round series between the Canadiens and Flyers set to begin tomorrow, experts are beginning to come out with their predictions for the series. Scott Burnside of ESPN, who incorrectly predicted the Capitals would beat the Flyers in the first round, has gone on record with his choice of the Canadiens winning the series in five games. He argues that the Canadiens will be too fast for the Flyers to handle, and that 20 year old Montreal goaltender Carey Price, who looked pretty average during some sequences against the Bruins, will rise to the challenge and stop the Flyers attack.

On paper, the Canadiens are certainly the better team, but I find it hard to justify them winning this series 4-1. There is no way the Flyers only manage one win against the Canadiens when an inferior team like the Boston Bruins was able to push the Habs to seven games. I think this is another example of the national media not giving the Flyers the respect they deserve. They have proven that they fight hard and won't get blown out.

I will post more predictions made by "experts" as they come out, and I will also make my own predictions for the second round later tonight.