One of the things I love most about the NHL Playoffs is that things move along so swiftly. There is only one day off in between games throughout the series, with only one two-day break; the NBA on the other hand can routinely be seen with multiple days off in between games. If anyone has watched both sports it would be hard to imagine why NBA players need more rest than NHL players. Like clockwork, the second round of the NHL Playoffs is starting Thursday night, only a day after the final first round games ended. It starts with one tilt between Vancouver, who is coming off an emotional win and only one day off, and Nashville. There are plenty of story-lines to follow in the second round. There is the rematch of Boston and Philadelphia; you may remember that the Flyers won that series despite being down 3-0 in the series, and 3-0 in the final game. There is also a rematch between San Jose and Detroit; San Jose ousted the Red Wings in the second round last year, supposedly expelling their playoff demons and proving Detroit is on the decline. However, San Jose ended up being swept in the next round and Detroit looks as strong as ever, sweeping through the first round without their second-best forward. There is also an interesting series between Southeast Division foes Washington and Tampa. Will the Lightning force the Capitals to revert back to their high scoring ways and give up on their excellent defensive play that got them through the first round in five? And the first series to get under way features the Presidents Trophy winning Canucks, heavily favored heading into these playoffs, against a Nashville team who is playing beyond the first round for the first time in franchise history. After going 7-1 in my first round predictions, I will try and continue the hot streak. Buckle up and enjoy! Eastern Conference #1 Washington Capitals vs. #5 Tampa Bay Lightning A year removed from being the highest scoring team in the league, Washington has changed their M.O. and is now a formidable defensive squad. In the first round they allowed only 29.6 shots per game in the first round despite playing two overtime games, and killed off 95% of their penalties. Both teams are deep offensively, with a comparable amount of stars (Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom vs. Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier), and second-tier forwards (Laich, Knuble, Arnott vs. Gagne, Malone, Downie). But Washington has an enormous edge defensively, as seen by Tampa allowing 36.7 shots per game. If Wideman and Green return healthy, Washington's defense is as deep as anyone else in the league right now, while Tampa has a few serviceable veterans and youngster Victor Hedman. Tampa looks to have the goaltending edge, but it is much closer than you would think as Neuvirth (1.38 GAA, .946 SV%) has been just as good as Roloson (1.77 GAA, .949 SV%) during these playoffs. The difference would be Roloson’s playoff experience and the fact that he is 6-0 in elimination games. I think that streak ends at some point this series, as I foresee the Capitals in seven. #2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #3 Boston Bruins As alluded to at the beginning, this is a rematch of last year's second round tilt that saw Philly come back from a 3-0 deficit in the series, becoming only the third team in NHL history to do so. Each roster is nearly identical to last year's so there will be an equal amount of confidence (Flyers) and vengeance (Bruins) in this series. Philly opted to part with Simon Gagne in the offseason, and oddly enough the team's postseason turnaround coincided with his return from injury in Game 4 of that series. Boston bolstered their third line at the trade deadline, acquiring Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley. Michael Ryder was their linemate vs. Montreal and they had a big impact on the series (6 goals, 14 points) and must do so for Boston to have a chance at overcoming a very balanced Flyers attack. Philadelphia's offensive stars carried the load in the first round, with Daniel Briere leading with six points, while Claude Giroux had nine points. One hurdle they must overcome is Jeff Carter's absence; it is unknown how long he is out with a knee injury. Luckily they boast solid secondary scoring options in Hartnell, Leino, their solid captain Mike Richards and a breakout performance from James van Riemsdyk (4 goals). The Flyers boast an undeniable edge on defense with the return of Chris Pronger to the league's best 6-man blueline group. Boston's defense has played very physically, which matches the Flyers’ style of play just fine. The Philly defense has to play up to their capabilities to overcome a giant disadvantage in net. Brian Boucher will start, but with three goalies getting starts in the first round, who knows which goalie will finish. Tim Thomas, the leading Vezina candidate, played brilliantly all season long and may have to steal this series. I don't think he can steal four games though, I am going with the Flyers in seven. Western Conference #1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #5 Nashville Predators This series, on paper, screams for Vancouver to run away in a short series. Nashville doesn't have too many bonafide offensive threats, so Ryan Kesler doesn't have to exert as much energy on the defensive side of his game like he did vs. Toews. And perhaps Nashville will just be happy to have finally escaped the first round for the first time ever. Or maybe the Predators' top defensive duo of captain Shea Weber (a first-time Norris finalist) and alternate captain Ryan Suter will provide the shutdown combo necessary to keep the Sedin twins off the score sheet for games at a time. Henrik failed to score against Chicago and ended up a -4, and that has to change if the Canucks plan on playing into late-May and early-June. Nashville employs a tight-checking team defense that will provide a bit of a road block for Vancouver, but I think the Canucks’ depth up front (they received three goals from their fourth line) will be too much to handle. The fact that they made it through Chicago with only one goal from Mikael Samuelsson and none from Mason Raymond speaks to their offensive capabilities and depth. Their defense, particularly Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa, has been real solid in front of Roberto Luongo. Luongo was equally good and bad in the first round, so the question will be if he can be more consistent mentally after finally beating his nemesis the Hawks. Because on the other side of the ice is Pekka Rinne, also a Vezina finalist, and a terrific goalie who is capable of stealing games for his squad. I think Vancouver comes into this series extremely confident and will have their swagger back, Canucks in five. #2 San Jose Sharks vs. #3 Detroit Red Wings The sting from last season’s playoff exit should be fresh in the minds of Detroit players, as San Jose clipped them in the second round in five games. Detroit, though bringing back a nearly identical unit, looked a lot better in the first round this year than they did at any point last year. As evidence, look at their fourth game victory against Phoenix in which they scored six times without Henrik Zetterberg (who didn’t play at all in the series) and Johan Franzen (who was banged up during the series). Both look to be good to go Friday night. Defensively Detroit has had issues this year beyond the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom and sturdy Niklas Kronwall. Brian Rafalski can contribute offensively, but numbers show he turns the puck over way more than he takes it away, while the other three defenders are prone to brain cramps. Jimmy Howard has also not looked as good in net as he did last year, until the playoffs started of course (2.50 GAA, .915 SV%, both better than his regular season numbers). Across the ice from Howard is Antti Niemi, last year’s Stanley Cup-winning goalie who has been as up and down as can be this spring. Despite being yanked twice, the Sharks are sticking with him, and he has had some good bounce-back games. The fact that he is prone to horrible outings (3.99 GAA, .863 SV%) has to worry a Sharks team that is pretty thin on the blueline past Boyle, Murray and Vlasic. What they lack of defense they make up for offensively, as they boast three lines capable of scoring multiple times led by three very good centers in Thornton, Couture and Pavelski. The Sharks had eight forwards with at least four points in the first round, and they may have to average four goals a game to beat a very focused Detroit team, who may very well get four points a night out of the magician Pavel Datsyuk. Looking for payback, and to perhaps send Lidstrom out on top, look for Detroit in six. Nick is RealGM's NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan