Crosby, Ovechkin Highlight Second Round

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Round Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs begins Thursday night in Vancouver.  The Canucks will host Chicago in one of four second round series. Two of the other three best-of-seven affairs begin on Friday night as Detroit hosts Anaheim and Boston entertains Carolina. The league's marquis matchup, featuring forwards Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin and Sidney Crosby, between Washington and Pittsburgh, begins on Saturday afternoon in our nation's capital. Ovechkin and Malkin join the Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk as Hart Trophy finalists named Wednesday. One of the three will ultimately be named as the NHL's MVP for the regular season.

Notes: The latest date that a second round game can end is May 14th...but a potential exists of three Game Seven's taking place on May 14th (only the Pittsburgh-Washington series has a Game Seven that would be played on a different date, May 13th)...Vancouver has home ice in their series with Chicago based on earning the three-seed, a result of being a division champion (Northwest). The Blackhawks actually finished the regular season with a better point total...Joel Quenneville's team had 104 while Alain Vigneault's squad collected 100...it's misleading that the league claims to "re-seed" after the first round...Carolina Hurricanes' netminder Cam Ward has yet to lose a playoff series in his young career (2006 Cup winner as a rookie...missed playoffs in '07, '08)...he's also 3-0 in Game Seven's...just ask Martin Brodeur ;)...keep in mind, Washington enforcer Donald Brashear still has five games left in his six-game suspension for elbowing the Rangers' Blair Betts in Game Six of the Capitals' series against New York...perhaps something the Penguins can take advantage of after bowing in three-of-their-four head-to-head meetings with Washington in the regular season...the Caps are in the second round for the first time since 1998 when they fell to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals...Washington has only advanced from the second round twice in team history (1990, 1998).

TPC'S RECORD PICKING THE 2009 POSTSEASON (20-8)...RECORD PICKING THE FIRST ROUND SERIES (5-3)