The first round of the NHL playoffs concluded in dramatic and stunning fashion last night, as the Montreal Canadiens won their third straight game to overcome a 3-1 series deficit to the top-seeded Washington Capitals and move on to the second round. Just like that, it begins all over again, as San Jose and Detroit open their first-round series in California.

Grading the first round

We made our first round picks on the day the playoffs began. Andrew finished five-for-eight, acutely picking up on Jaroslav Halak’s potential to cause the Capitals shame (though he did pick the Caps in six) and saw Phoenix-Detroit going to seven games (though he picked the ‘Yotes). Joe was also five-for-eight, nailing the Chicago-Nashville series (Blackhawks in six) but picking the Caps to sweep the Canadiens.

Moving on to the semifinals

Who knows if it is the first time this has ever happened, but the second round of the playoffs will have one of each eight seeds. In the West, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 5 advanced, while in the East it was Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 8. The West saw the best four teams move on to the next round, while in the East the conference crown is up for grabs, as three of the four series were upsets.

Eastern Conference

4. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 8. Montreal Canadiens

What else can you say about Jaroslav Halak? The man stopped 131 of the final 134 shots the Capitals fired his way, dramatically turning the tables on Alex Ovechkin, who earlier in the series said the Caps had gotten in Halak’s head.

One would be short-sighted to say that Halak was the sole reason the Canadiens advanced. In reality, the Canadiens supplemented his performance by forcing the Capitals to play on the perimeter in the offensive zone. Most of Washington’s shots came from the outside, and Montreal did not allow Washington to make the tic-tac-toe cross-ice passes that play a major part in their offensive success. The Canadiens also got timely goal scoring from its group of forwards, and took advantage of their power play chances to notch key tallies.

The Penguins are the Penguins, on the other hand. Ottawa gave them a bit of a test in the first round, as Pittsburgh needed six games and a three-goal comeback in Game 6 to keep it from going seven. Sidney Crosby had a whopping 14 points in those six games. The Penguins aren’t without weakness, though. Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in the first round, as he has for most of the year, and the team as a whole doesn’t seem to be clicking on all cylinders. Hard to see Crosby letting them lose, though.

Andrew: Penguins in six

Joe: Penguins in six

6. Boston Bruins vs. 7. Philadelphia Flyers

This is a pretty unlikely matchup, but will likely provide for a long, physical series typical of classic playoff hockey. It’s hard to believe the Flyers and Bruins haven’t played each other in the playoffs since 1978, but odds are it won’t take long to develop a great deal of animosity.

Both teams rode steady goaltending, strong defense and timely scoring to first-round upsets. For Boston, Tuukka Rask outplayed Ryan Miller, Mark Recchi continued to defy his age and Zdeno Chara played nearly half of each game and made an impact on both offense and defense despite playing with a broken nose.

The Flyers were nearly a mirror image. Brian Boucher outplayed Martin Brodeur, Claude Giroux stepped up despite his (lack of) age and Chris Pronger controlled the pace of play for every second he was on the ice.

The Bruins were the second-worst offensive team in the regular season, while the Flyers are missing two of their top point producers

This series will be a long one, and the already injury-plagued Flyers will likely sustain more casualties. Simon Gagne could be back as early as Game 3, though, and the Flyers have already shown they can win while missing key guys. On the Bruins’ side, Marc Savard will return after an extended absence, but it remains to be seen how quickly he can regain his hockey legs. With Pronger, Chara, Dan Carcillo, Milan Lucic and two franchises with tough reputations, expect a war.

Andrew: Flyers in six

Joe: Flyers in seven

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks vs. 5. Detroit Red Wings

The Sharks did what the Capitals could not in the first round: Overcome an opposing goalie performing at an otherworldly level. Colorado goalie Craig Anderson (and an own-goal from Dan Boyle) were really the only reasons the Avalanche stretched this out to six games, as the Sharks came at the Avalanche in waves repeatedly.

Detroit was the technical underdog against Phoenix, but with their wealth of playoff experience they were able to overcome the youthful Coyotes., albeit in seven games.

It’s fairly obvious Detroit is not the same team as the one that made back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in the previous two seasons. They have a talented rookie goalie in Jimmy Howard, but he was inconsistent in the first round. Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom are there still; a number of valuable role players are not, though, and that appears to be the difference.

San Jose will always face questions of whether they can win in the playoffs until they, well, win in the playoffs. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley light it up in the regular season annually, but come playoff time have come up small. Thornton especially is under the microscope in this series. Fortunately for the Sharks, they appear to have more depth than in years past. Joe Pavelski and Devin Setoguchi led the way against the Avalanche. For San Jose to win this series, it will need to be Thornton, Marleau and Heatley

Andrew: Sharks in seven

Joe: Red Wings in seven

2. Chicago Blackhawks vs. 3. Vancouver Canucks

In the semifinals last year, the Blackhawks beat the Canucks in six games, getting in the head of Roberto Luongo and advancing to the Western Conference finals. These two teams have history, and bad history at that. This series will likely be bloody and highly contested; expect it to go the distance.

The Blackhawks survived a challenge from the Nashville Predators, dispatching them in six games. After last season’s surprising run, Chicago went out and signed Marian Hossa in hopes of putting the team over the top. So far they haven’t disappointed. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have proven capable of rising to the challenge in the playoffs, and the Blackhawks as a whole are a deep, gritty bunch.

Vancouver is much improved since last season’s flameout. Henrik Sedin led the NHL in points in the regular season, and along with brother/linemate Daniel Sedin, have finally given the Canucks a two-way attack to go along with Luongo and their strong defense. The Canucks beat the Los Angeles Kings in six games, an often wild series that saw the Canucks basically incapable of stopping the Kings’ power play. If they struggle to do the same against the Blackhawks, they probably won’t survive.

The Canucks no doubt are looking for revenge from last season’s embarrassing exit. With the Sedins finally showing up in the playoffs and leading the way, we think they will even the score.

Andrew: Canucks in seven

Joe: Canucks in seven