• Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes

Streaking: Think that, after watching Michael Ryder torch it for four goals and three assists in the Bruins' first-round sweep, Montreal regretted allowing him to go to Boston as a free agent last summer? Think Carolina is having second thoughts about bringing back winger Erik Cole at the trade deadline after he failed to get a point in Round 1 against New Jersey? (Maybe not, but Cole has to contribute if Carolina hopes to survive.)

Difference-makers: Bruins left winger Milan Lucic hits like a runaway bus and can alter the course of a game with his hands or his fists. Center Eric Staal is Carolina's go-to guy and, not surprisingly, scored the winner in the final minute of Game 7 against the Devils.

Special teams: Neither of Boston's specialty units was challenged in Round 1, as the power play went 4 for16, and the penalty-killers snuffed all eight Montreal power-play chances. Carolina's power play was awful against New Jersey, scoring on just 6.9 percent of its opportunities, but the penalty-killers had an 88.9 success rate.

Intangibles: After not playing since April 22, will the Bruins be rested or rusty? If it's the latter, and Carolina steals a victory at the TD Banknorth Garden early in the series, the Bruins might wish they had been forced to break a sweat once or twice against Montreal.

Who will win: Bruins in six.

• Detroit Red Wings vs. Anaheim Ducks

Streaking: Detroit winger Johan Franzen is called The Mule, but there's a lot of thoroughbred in him, too. He had points in each of the Red Wings' four first-round games against Columbus. Anaheim center Ryan Getzlaf nearly matched that, making it onto the scoresheet in five of the Ducks' final six games against San Jose.

Difference-makers: Both lineups are loaded with them. Some who put up relatively modest numbers in the opening round, like Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk and Ducks right winger Teemu Selanne, could break out in a big way at any time.

Special teams:Detroit's penalty-killing was as bad in Round 1 (76.9 percent) as it was in the regular season. If that doesn't change -- and there's no reason to think it will -- the Red Wings had better limit the number of chances Anaheim gets with the extra man. Of course, given that Detroit's power play is scoring on 31.8 percent of its chances, the Ducks might want to hold down their penalties, too.

Intangibles: Now that they've knocked off the No. 1 seed in the West (San Jose), the Ducks won't sneak up on Detroit, but that won't prevent them from giving the Red Wings a challenge, especially physically, far greater than anything the Wings faced in Round 1.

Who will win: Red Wings in seven.

• Vancouver Canucks at Chicago Blackhawks

Streaking:Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo stopped all but five of the 131 shots St. Louis threw at him in the Canucks' first-round sweep. Aside from leading the NHL in goals-against average (1.15) and save percentage (.962), he didn't do much. His Chicago counterpart, Nikolai Khabibulin, rejected 62 of 64 shots while winning Games 5 and 6 against Calgary.

Difference-makers:Chicago captain Jonathan Toews is being compared to Bryan Trottier because of his solid overall game. Rule of thumb: When a guy who turned 21 yesterday is being discussed in the same sentence as a Hall of Famer, he's a pretty fair player. The brother act of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, meanwhile, gives the Canucks a nice tag-team in the offensive end.

Special teams: Chicago's power play (29.2 percent) was a major asset against Calgary, but the Canucks killed 23 of the Blues' 24 tries with the man-advantage. The Blackhawks' penalty-killing (88.9 percent) could make things tough for Vancouver's power play (22.2 percent), too.

Intangibles: The Blackhawks are young and enthusiastic and seemingly immune to the pressures of the playoffs. If that doesn't change, they're a very real threat to reach the conference final.

Who will win: Canucks in six.

Note: All dates are in May except for Game 1 of Vancouver-Chicago, which is in April

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