The online betting experts are going to have to admit that there were a lot of surprises in the first round of the NHL playoffs. While the betting sites knew that the Boston Bruins were having problems, no one expected the defending champs to be knocked off in the first round by the Washington Capitals. The loss of the Vancouver Canucks in the first round was interesting but not unexpected. Let's look towards the second round and see what surprises await as the NHL playoffs move forward. Los Angeles Kings vs St. Louis Blues The Los Angeles Kings were a long shot coming into the playoffs. Click here to see the odds on the Kings winning the Stanley Cup. The thing that the Kings benefited from is that it got to play the Vancouver Canucks, who have been persistent playoff failures. The St. Louis Blues are a much different kind of animal and the Kings will have their problems. The Blues play strong defense and have good goaltending. The Kings have problems scoring goals. The Blues have no problems scoring goals in the playoffs. None of this bodes well for Los Angeles. Pick: Blues in six Nashville Predators vs Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes feasted on the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks have no defense and suspect goaltending. A sportsbook review of the Coyotes play in the first round shows a gritty team that physically beat up the Chicago Blackhawks on the way to knocking Chicago out of the playoffs. The Nashville Predators are a mirror image of the Coyotes with one significant exception, the Predators can score goals. This will be an extremely physical series that will go the distance. In the end, the thing that pushes the Nashville Predators into the Western Conference finals is the fact that the Predators have more natural goal scorers than the Coyotes. Pick: Predators in seven Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers When the playoffs started, very few people would have put the Washington Capitals at the same level as the New York Rangers. But after the Capitals knocked off the defending champion Boston Bruins in the first round and the Rangers had to go seven games to beat the Ottawa Senators, things have changed. NHL fans in New York see a lot of similarities between this Rangers team and the team from 1994. The one glaring thing missing is a Mark Messier kind of leader. But this is still a good hockey team and it should be in the conference finals. Pick: Rangers in six New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers
