NO. 7 WASHINGTON VS. NO. 1NEW YORK RANGERS
First-round results: Washington defeated Boston in seven games, Rangers defeated Ottawa in seven games.
Game 1: Today, 1 p.m.
SPOTLIGHT ON
Braden Holtby — Can the Caps rookie netminder upset another top seed? His play was largely responsible for Washington knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champion Bruins in the first round.
STORYLINE
The Caps are proving you don’t have to be good all year. You just have to be playing your best hockey at the right time of the year. They have beaten the Rangers in two playoff series since 2009.
Scoring leaders
Washington
Alex Ovechkin 7 GP, 2G, 3A
Nicklas Backstrom 6 1-3-4
Brooks Laich 7 1-3-4
Goalie – Braden Holtby 4-3, 2.00 GAA, .940 SP
Rangers
Brad Richards 7 2-3 5
Anton Stralman 7 2-2 4
Ryan Callahan 7 2-2 4
Goalie
Henrik Lundqvist 4-3, 1.70 GAA, .940 SP
POST PICK: Washington in six games.
NO. 6 NEW JERSEY VS. NO. 5 PHILADELPHIA
First round results: Devils defeated Florida in seven games, Flyers defeate Pittsburgh in six games.
Game 1: Sunday, 1 p.m.
SPOTLIGHT ON
Claude Giroux — The Flyers forward would win the Conn Smythe Trophy if the voting were held after the first round. But it’s not, and he figures to get plenty of checking attention in this series.
STORYLINE
The Flyers’ offense looked unstoppable in the first round against Pittsburgh, overcoming the shaky goaltending of Ilya Bryzgalov, who will need to be a lot better in this series.
Scoring leaders
New Jersey
Travis Zajac 7 GP 3G, 3A, 6 pts.
Ilya Kovalchuk 7 3-2 5
David Clarkson 7 0-5 5
Goalie
Martin Brodeur
4-2, 2.06 GAA, .920 SP
Philadelphia
Claude Giroux 6 6-8 14
Daniel Briere 6 5-3 8
Jakub Voracek 6 2-5 7
Goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov 4-2, 3.89 GAA, .870 SP
POST PICK – Flyers in five games.
NO. 8 LOS ANGELES VS. NO. 2 ST. LOUIS
First round results: Los Angeles defeated Vancouver in five games, St. Louis defeated San Jose in five games.
Game 1: Tonight, 5:30 p.m.
SPOTLIGHT ON
Brian Elliott – The former Avs goalie has been sensational all year for the Blues. He, along with Craig Anderson and Jose Theodore, are three former Avs goalies who helped their teams to the playoffs.
STORYLINE
Might not be much goal-scoring in this series. St. Louis plays a stifling defense and Quick has been outstanding for the Kings all year.
Scoring leaders
Los Angeles
Dustin Brown 5 4-1 5
Anze Kopitar 5 1-3 4
Justin Williams 5 0-4 4
Goalie
Jonathan Quick
4-1, 1.59 GAA, .950 SP
St. Louis
Andy McDonald 5 4-4 8
Patrik Berglund 5 3-4 7
Carlo Colaiacovo 4 0-3 3
Goalie – Brian Elliott 3-0, 1.37 GAA, .950 SP
POST PICK – St. Louis in seven games.
Adrian Dater, The Denver Post
