I’ll be keeping an eye on tonight’s Dallas/Vancouver game (the last one in the first round from the only series to go seven games) because it will directly determine who the Sharks play in round two.

Basically, with Detroit taking care of the Flames yesterday, if Dallas Vancouver wins tonight the Sharks play The Red Wings in round two; otherwise they get Anaheim. Neither team is likely to make round two particularly easy on San Jose, but I think I’d prefer to play Detroit and let Vancouver have a crack at eliminating the Ducks. As strong as Detroit is, they gave Calgary a chance to win or at least make the series more interesting than it was so I think the Sharks can exploit some of that. The Ducks/Sharks games in the regular season were exciting but I felt too often that the Sharks came up short against them and I’d prefer to have an extra round for Ron Wilson to iron out some of the Power Play issues they had against Nashville before we have to face the hated SoCal squad. Plus, assuming the Sharks can get past Detroit and the Ducks can handle Vancouver, how great would the conference finals be if it were Sharks vs. Ducks?

Meanwhile over in the East it’s going to be Ottawa vs. New Jersey and the Rangers against the Sabres. Interestingly, if Vancouver can’t pull it together tonight that will make the Senators the only Canadian team left in the hunt for the Cup. The Sens handled the Penguins pretty adroitly but then again, the Pens weren’t even supposed to make the Playoffs this year. The dangerous Lightning proved that you can beat Martin Brodeur (they scored 14 goals against him in six games) but it seems like their netminding wasn’t up to the task (Holmqvist’s 18 goals allowed is tied for the most in the playoffs). The question there is going to be if perennial playoff busts Ottawa can ride their momentum through the Garden State. They certainly outplayed Pittsburgh, but it probably would have meant a meltdown of epic proportions for them to not come out on top in that series. New Jersey is likely to be their first legitimate challenge.

As for the NY matchup, it’s kind of tough to say. I’m inclined to give the advantage to the Sabres despite the Rangers’ strong sweep of Atlanta… mostly because the 4-0 series final doesn’t really do justice to how badly the Thrashers played. Not that the Rangers were slouches, but as with Ottawa, this is probably going to be the first real round of playoff hockey they have to face and I suspect that Buffalo is pretty hungry to move forward.

At least for now I’m thinking San Jose vs. Anaheim and Buffalo vs. New Jersey in round three. In the west, anything else will be a huge disappointment and in the east it really could go any direction. But honestly, as much as I want the Sharks to take home the Stanley Cup, I think that any Ducks/Sharks matchup will be more or less the series to watch in all of the playoffs. As long as they outlast the Ducks, I’ll at least be content—if not completely satisfied.