The best series of the second round

Without a doubt the second round of the playoffs has been awesome. All four series have great story lines and have had even better games. But what series has been the best so far? The easy answer is Pittsburgh-Washington, but anyone who knows me knows I rarely go for the easy answer. Here are my rankings, mid-round:

1) Detroit v. Anaheim: This series has just about everything. The last two Stanley Cup champs, a trio of potential Hall of Famers on each team (Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom for Detroit; Selanne, S. Niedermayer, Pronger for Anaheim) and a fascinating goaltending matchup between Chris Osgood, trying to redeem himself after a poor regular season and Jonas Hiller the super sophomore who stole the starting job in Anaheim.
And through three games the action on the ice has lived up to the hype. Detroit won Game 1 in the last minute, Anaheim won Game 2 in TRIPLE overtime and Game 3 could easily have gone to an extra session if referee Brad Watson hadn't been quick on the whistle.
Plus, poolwise, this series has the added intrigue of possibly causing another flood of red ink as none of the poolies have the eighth-seeded Ducks advancing to the third round.

2) Ovechkin v. Crosby: Although there may be another 40 or so players involved, all the attention has gone to the two superstars. The tit-for-tat hat tricks in Game 2 were amazing and both players have exceeded expectations. Like the Detroit-Anaheim series all three games have been one-goal affairs, with one going to OT, but I don't think the games have been played with the same edge as the Ducks-Wings.
The Penguins have been the better team in two of the three games, but were an overtime goal away from being down 0-3. It should be a great finish and Saturday's Game 5 will get great ratings on CBC.

3) Carolina v. Boston: Perhaps the most underrated series in the second round. The Boston Bruins came into the series as the big favourite and looked like they would waltz into the conference final with a dominant Game 1, but since then the Hurricanes have been doing all the dancing. Carolina is a neat story. They fired their coach mid-season and replaced him with their former bench boss. Their goaltender, Cam Ward, has never lost a playoff series. They play an exciting fast-paced offensive game. They have the best candidate for this year's John Druce award for relative no-name who has a great playoff: Jussi Jokinen (the GOOD Jokinen) has two game-winning and one game tying goal so far in the post-season.
This series has been forced to go head-to-head with the Washington-Pittsburgh games this week, so it's flying under the radar. But if you have the chance, check it out.
Also, like the Anaheim-Detroit series this one has the potential to have some real pool sheet carnage (unless your name is Philip Ling).

4) Chicago v. Vancouver: Although it's fourth in my rankings this has still been a great series. The Blackhawks amazing comeback in Game 1, only to have the Canucks go on to win. The Blackhawks amazing comeback in Game 2, and able to make it last. The Canucks building an early lead in Game 3, and everyone expecting the Hawks to comeback . . . but it never materialized.
The Canucks decision to play the trap in Game 3 takes some points away from the excitement factor. Also, unlike the other series there has yet to be any overtime (or even any one-goal games for that matter).
Still, given the Canadian content this has been the highest rated series on CBC so far and that's not likely to change over the next few days.

The only real loser in the second round has been poolie Mike Barber who figured "the second round is the best round to miss" and took off to Europe on holidays. . . .