Entering the Stanley Cup playoffs, a majority of ESPN's hockey minds picked Boston, Philadelphia or New Jersey to emerge from the Eastern Conference. So much for that. Now that the conference pretty much has been turned on its ear, we asked four ESPN analysts the question:

Now who will come out of the East?

Barry Melrose

Ottawa Senators They are the most solid team coming out of the East. They are getting scoring from three lines. They have a big defense that is pretty mobile. They are getting great goaltending from Patrick Lalime and good special teams. All their best players are playing well right now -- Daniel Alfredsson, Radek Bonk, Martin Havlat, Shawn McEachern. They showed up and played physical against a bigger Philadelphia team. They showed they can play any style. Every other team in the East has some liabilities. I really like the way Ottawa is playing.

Bill Clement

Carolina Hurricanes The well-rested 'Canes have the most balance and speed. They're much quicker than Montreal Canadiens, especially on the back end. But a big factor will be if Canadiens forward Richard Zednik returns for this round, and I don't think that he will. So, I think the Hurricanes will eat up Montreal. I believe the Ottawa Senators will beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina will beat Ottawa. With the exception of Montreal, the big question mark for all of these teams is goaltending.

Darren Pang

Montreal Canadiens I'm picking Ottawa over Toronto in one East semifinal. The Maple Leafs play a very undisciplined style. Ottawa's power play will make them pay. The Senators' defensemen have a great deal of mobility. Wade Redden has gone through a championship already, playing for Team Canada in the Olympics, and Chris Phillips has really come on. I like Ottawa's system and head coach Jacques Martin's terrific attention to detail. Along with assistant coach Roger Neilson, Martin has had time to break down Toronto. In the other series, I pick Montreal against Carolina. Kevin Weekes' inexperience, compared to how Jose Theodore has played in his last two games, will be the difference. I like the Canadiens' quick forwards, who can get the puck in deep. And their faceoffs have been outstanding. Assistant coach Guy Carbonneau really does a great job helping out Michel Therrien's system. Then I pick Montreal over Ottawa in the Eastern Conference finals based on the play of Theodore.

Brian Engblom

Ottawa Senators I like the Senators' goaltending with Patrick Lalime. They are also highly motivated after losing to Toronto in the playoffs the last two years. I also think they have enough scoring to get to the Cup finals. They are getting offense from several sources. Plus, they don't usually need many goals to win because they use an effective, tight-checking style. Ottawa has the best chance.