Playoffs in the East offer a much different perspective than the West. The teams are riddled with newcomers and most are lacking any sort of consistency. For most of these predictions, I can see either team winning.

Washington vs. Montreal: Is there a reason to predict this? Washington, the best team in the league, comes in with the Leagues best player, best offense, and a not too shabby defense. Montreal comes in looking rather bleak and with no toughness to compete with the Capitals. Get your brooms out Washington, Caps in 4.

New Jersey vs. Philadelphia: New Jersey is clearly the stronger team, but Philly went 5-1 against the division rival in the regular season. Brodeur enters the game hungry for another cup along with offensive stud Kovalchuk. Philly is a rather weak team, who barely squeaked into these playoffs, which is why I'm going with the Devils in a hard-fought, six game series.

Buffalo vs. Boston: Buffalo rides in with Olympic star, Ryan Miller between the pipes. Boston carries, rookie, Tuukka Rask, who hasn't seen much action this year but bears a very strong record. This will likely be a low scoring series with Buffalo on top due to a very inconsistent Bruins team. Buffalo in 5.

Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh: This seems to be a more interesting match up than it appears. The Pens have not been consistent all year and Fleury seems to be lacking compared to the years past. Ottawa is in the exact same boat, but a healthy Alfredsson strengthens this team. I'm thinking there will be a lot of offensive between Crosby and Alfredsson, but the Pens experience carries them past the Sens in 6 games.