NEW JERSEY VS. TORONTO BUFFALO VS. PITTSBURGH COLORADO VS. LOS ANGELES DALLAS VS. ST. LOUIS

NHL SERIES BREAKDOWN Carolina Hurricanes vs. New Jersey Devils ESPN analyst Bill Clement breaks down the first-round series between the Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils. EDGE 5-on-5 The Devils are far deeper in every position. They have balance and depth up front. They have toughness and skill on the blue line. Carolina can't match New Jersey's size down the middle with Bobby Holik and Jason Arnott, or the scoring of Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. Jeff O'Neill will have to be huge in this series to give Carolina a chance. He has an incredible burden offensively to shoulder. The Devils have a big advantage. EDGE Carolina power play vs. New Jersey penalty kill If the Hurricanes have any chance, it has to be with their power play. It finished the season strong and ranked eighth overall. The problem is the Devils are one of the most disciplined teams and don't take a lot of penalties -- the second fewest in the NHL this season to Philadelphia. The key for Carolina is the play of Sandis Ozolinsh. He is the X-factor on Carolina's power play. He must provide offense without giving up short-handed goals. The Devils are hungry offensively when they are short-handed, especially John Madden. EDGE New Jersey power play vs. Carolina penalty kill This will be one of the great matchups because the Devils finished No. 1 overall on the power play and Carolina No. 2 on the penalty kill. Arturs Irbe must be at his best because penalty killing is useless without great goaltending. The problem for Irbe will be seeing through the screens from guys like Randy McKay and Holik. EDGE Goaltending Martin Brodeur has quietly had another extraordinary season and rarely has a bad outing. Irbe was both great and below average down the stretch. What teams are looking for is consistency with no bad goals. And this is where Brodeur has the edge. EDGE Coaching Paul Maurice is an underrated coach. And Larry Robinson is the defending Stanley Cup champion. Robinson just has to make sure his players play hard, and it should be enough. Maurice needs to coach his butt off to get any edge any way he can, and that's so difficult against the Devils, who are so balanced and strong every shift of every game. Even if Maurice outcoached Robinson in the series, it still wouldn't be enough. EDGE Intangibles The Devils not only are the defending champs, but they are on a huge roll entering the playoffs and are hungry to repeat. EDGE Prediction - Devils in 4 I can't count the reasons; there are too many. First, it's No. 1 vs. No. 8. And No. 1, the Devils, should be No. 1 in the East. Bill Clement is a hockey analyst for ESPN. He played 11 seasons in the NHL as a center and won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers.

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