If We Started On Monday...
If the playoffs started on Monday, I'd probably watch the Bruins v. Montreal battle. Classic hockey at it's best. You have two of the most storied teams in the league that are backed by two of the hottest goalies in the league this year. I think the playoffs will be a war of attrition for these two. Can Carey Price escape his past playoff demons and continue this year's success? Can Tim Thomas keep up the consistency that he has maintained throughout the whole year? Let look at some of the numbers, specifically the goals against. This was my favorite number because it sets that standard that your team needs to strive for in order to win. If you allow your team to win game 90% of games that they score more than 2 goals, this puts the game in the offense's hands.
So Price. He was fabulous at the beginning of March. Most of his games he allowed three or less goals, which is recipe for success as evidenced from his 5 game win-streak. But more recently he's started to crack more often. He can definitely rebound after a few bad games, but watch out for some streakiness in the playoffs. I can see him having one or two bad games in a row, and believe that his team will need to bail him out. But I also expect him to steal two games in every series.
Thomas is definitely the most consistent goalie this year. He's had a GAA below 2.00 for the entire season, which has alluded so many goalies this season in particular. Like Price, his hot streak looks like it will start to cool off soon. But this may not be such a bad thing for Boston. Most goalies will typically rebound in 2-3 weeks so he should probably heat up right when it counts (semi-finals or game 6/7 of the first round).
If these two goalies go head-to-head, expect the senior Timmy T. to take the round. He might be a bit old school (which may be why I love him so much), but in the end, he knows the most important rule of hockey. Stop the puck.