Eastern Conference

The two most physical series—yes, one of them includes the Flyers—will also be the longest

Playoffgoaltending ranked 1 (best) to 16 (worst)

1 Canadiens vs. 8Bruins
Expect Montreal's skilled forwards to overwhelm Boston at times. The Bruins'only hope is for mammoth defenseman Zdeno Chara (right) to do it all: shut downAlex Kovalev (left), score and help defuse the Canadiens' highly potent powerplay. It's too much to ask.

THE PICK
Canadiens in six

7
14

2 Penguins vs. 7Senators
When Pittsburgh was hit by injuries, Evgeni Malkin (left) and his matesrallied—now the Penguins are a deeper team for it. In Ottawa the absence ofinjured forwards Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher will be too much for superbplaymaker Jason Spezza (right) to overcome.

THE PICK
Penguins in five

12
16

3 Capitals vs. 6Flyers
This could be the nastiest series of the entire playoffs. Philadelphia, with6'5", 220-pound defenseman Braydon Coburn (right), will try to intimidateWashington forwards Nicklas Backstrom (left) and Alex Ovechkin; Caps leaderOvie, though, is not easily intimidated.

THE PICK
Capitals in seven

11
13

4 Devils vs. 5Rangers
Another slugfest. Both teams battle hard for goals, and New York's suddenlybalanced offense—watch third-liners Chris Drury (right) and Ryan Callahan—couldwear down New Jersey checkers such as John Madden (left). Will Devilsgamebreaker Zach Parise get loose?

THE PICK
Rangers in seven

1
5

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GLENN JAMES/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (CANADIENS)

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ANDY MEAD/ICON SMI (BRUINS)

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LOU CAPOZZOLA (PENGUINS)

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BILL WIPPERT/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (SENATORS)

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LOU CAPOZZOLA (CAPITALS)

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LOU CAPOZZOLA (FLYERS)

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MIKE STOBE/NHLI/GETTY IMAGES (DEVILS)

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LOU CAPOZZOLA (RANGERS)

NINE ILLUSTRATIONS