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By HOWARD BERGER

TORONTO (Apr. 29) — With the San Jose Sharks a first-round playoff casualty, nine out of ten “experts” that made Stanley Cup predictions two weeks ago must now claim a new Western Conference favorite. Having been among the multitudes that picked San Jose to survive the wild West, I’ve defected to the corner of the lone Canadian entry still standing — the Vancouver Canucks. I saw enough of Roberto Luongo in the opening round sweep of St. Louis to determine that no conference opponent will defeat the Canucks four times in seven games. That task will be left to the Boston Bruins during the Stanley Cup final, and the Beantowners will prevail.

I fared quite well with my opening-round predictions in this corner – going 6-and-2. I was wrong about the Sharks and the Philadelphia Flyers, both of whom I picked to advance. But, I correctly called the other six match-ups, nailing the New York-Washington series [Capitals in 7] and the Calgary-Chicago set [Blackhawks in 6]. And, I remain steadfast in my pre-playoff contention here that Boston will end its 37-year Cup famine. Though Montreal didn’t put up much of a fuss in the opening round, the young, big, fast, deep, and defensively-sound Bruins eviscerated the Canadiens as they are a threat to do against any opponent this spring. The biggest obstacle facing Vancouver and Boston to start the conference semifinals is rust. Both clubs will have been idle for more than a week when the puck drops on the next series, providing Chicago and Carolina an opportunity to jump in front. But, the Canucks and Bruins will settle down in plenty of time to qualify for the conference championships in two week’s time.

Having been to Vancouver, Calgary, Raleigh and Newark in the opening round, my second-round coverage for THE FAN-590 will begin in Washington for Games 1 and 2 of the Capitals/Penguins series. I’ll then hop down to Raleigh for Boston at Carolina Game 3, before quickly jetting to Chicago for Game 4 of the Blackhawks and Canucks. Nothing in this wonderful vocation of mine quite measures up to bouncing around from city to city in the playoffs. The series-deciding match at New Jersey on Tuesday night ranks among the most memorable post-season games I’ve attended in almost 21 years at the radio station. The stunned silence at the Prudential Center when Eric Staal fired the winning goal past Martin Brodeur with 31.7 seconds left in regulation time was something to behold. It was so deathly quiet that I could hear the delirious Carolina players whooping it up on the bench — clear across the ice from, arguably, the highest press box location in the NHL. Fans of the Hurricanes will have a couple more opportunities to exalt, but their heroes will not upset the Bruins.

My second-round Stanley Cup predictions:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

BOSTON vs. Carolina [Bruins in 6]

WASHINGTON vs. Pittsburgh [Penguins in 6]

WESTERN CONFERENCE

DETROIT vs. Anaheim [Ducks in 6]

VANCOUVER vs. Chicago [Canucks in 5]

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