Well, the first round is over, and what a first round it was! Here's a quick recap of this ever-exciting first round:

Bruins - Canadiens: The Bruins taught a hockey lesson to a weak Montreal team. Milan Lucic got in their heads, and his right hand ended square in Komisarek's face. Montreal had no chance, even if they had more shots on goal. Look at where the shots came from, and their quality; this shows why the Canadiens were never in. By the way, the Montreal crowd killed Carey Price, who took the blame for a poor defensive, a very average offense, and a coach who didn't take advantage of home ice.

Caps - Rangers: A very good series. The Rangers came out strong, Theodore pretty much gave them the first game, and it looked as if the Rangers would have an easy road to the Semifinals. Until the Caps picked it up, really picked it up, and a young man named Varmalov stepped up. This took the whole 7 games, but the Caps dominated the last three. Expect that roll to continue against Pittsburgh in the Semis.

Penguins - Flyers: The Pens were not intimidated by the Flyers, and their top guns answered the call very well. Fleury also played very good. What the Flyers did not have in this series is one or two dominating players. This series could have gone either way, but Pittsburgh bested Philly. The Pens will face those one, two or even three dominating players in the Semis.

Hurricanes - Devils: As most expert predicted, this game went down in 7 games. What most experts predicted was a New Jersey wins, but most experts did not take into considerations the last 1:20 of the third period of the seventh game. Leading 3-2 with 80 seconds left in the third, it looked as if the Devils were on their way to the Semis. Wrong. A nice play at the blue line to keep the puck in Jersey's zone, a nice pass east to west, and the game was tied and overtime was just around the corner. Then some guy named Eric Staal shocked the whole state of New Jersey scoring with less than 40 seconds left, thus eliminating the Devils. Very intense and exciting series.

Sharks - Ducks: What this series did, is showed everybody the difference between a team built for playoff hockey, and a team built for regular season hockey. The Ducks and Sharks came out hammering each other, but the experience, grit and determination saw the Ducks beating the Sharks. The Sharks ruled the NHL during the regular season, but an exit in the first round must have San Jose's management re-thinking how they want to build their team for next year.

Blackhawks - Flames: It was a first taste of playoff hockey for most Hawks' players, and they were playing a very seasoned team in playoff hockey. It did not matter. The Hawks came out and played physical, they did not get down on themselves after allowing a goal, and the kids showed everybody in the league that they are serious, and if they're going to be beaten, you will have to work very hard for it. Khabibulin played great, once again frustrating the Calgary players on a regular basis. Chicago could still be playing hockey in mid-may if they played like they did the first 5 games.

Canucks - Blues: The Canucks played very good hockey against the Blues. Luongo, as usual, played excellent and the Canucks send the Blues packing in 4 games. Will the long break hurt them? What most people don't know about the Canucks is that they have a very well balanced team, great depth, and they love the physical play. The Blues tried very hard, and came close a few times, but in the end, Vancouver was too strong for St. Louis.

Red Wings - Blue Jackets: Detroit sweeping the Blue Jackets was not a surprise. Columbus, for the first time in their franchise history, were in the playoffs. This is great news, but the bad news were: they had to play Detroit. The Wings are a very experienced team in the playoffs and they showed it in the Quarterfinals with an easy sweep. Columbus simply were not a threat to the Wings. But the Jackets' management should be happy: the team made the playoffs, and they will build on that. The Semifinals are just around the corner, and if it's anything like the first round, we're in for treat! Check out our picks for the Semis and tell us what you think!