I've been impressed with the way that the Boston Bruins have stepped up their play in the playoffs and beat the Buffalo Sabres in the last round. So, now the Bruins will play the Philadelphia Flyers in the semi-finals, and if they can win, they'll play either the Montreal Canadiens or the Pittsburgh Penguins. Oh, this Bruins fan will be happy in either case. The Canadiens are the traditional rivals of the Bruins, and competition between these two teams is always great. However, a Boston-Pittsburgh series would also be fabulous, now that Marc Savard has returned to the Boston lineup after his head injury from Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. I can't decide which I'd rather have! Traditional rivalry and potentially easier match up with Montreal or the controversy with Pittsburgh?

Oh, and by the way....it's Tuukka Time!

While Boston did dispatch Buffalo in round one, they beat a flawed team that relied too much on goaltending and not enough on putting the puck in the net. The Thomas Vanek injury derailed Buffalo more than anything else, including Rask.

In the meantime, the Flyers overcame a retooled New Jersey lineup that had firepower thanks to the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk. They have solid blueliners, and Boston struggles to score goals. Philadelphia will crash the net and make Boston play physically, which will impede their forwards. Savard's return may be a wild card, but I don't see Boston going any further.

As for the other series...let's be honest on two fronts: 1) Montreal used all their juice getting back past Washington, and 2) Jaroslav Halak is not going to be an impenetrable wall again and carry the Habs should they fall behind 3-1 to the defending champs. Pittsburgh is a seasoned team with plenty of experience and four lines of talent.

From where I sit, it looks like a battle of Pennsylvania in the Eastern Conference Finals...Pens over the Habs in five, and Philadelphia over Boston in six.