Division winners licking their chops awaiting their matchups: QMJHL second-round preview

The QMJHL first-round series featured a number of teams who took their opponents lightly – and got burned.

The Rimouski Océanic, Moncton Wildcats and P.E.I. Rocket were knocked out of the playoffs thanks to major upsets from the Gatineau Olympiques, Victoriaville Tigres and Val-d’Or Foreurs. No series went the full seven games in the first round, with each series win decisive.

With that being said, the three division leaders in the QMJHL are now licking their chops for their second-round matchups. Will they learn from the first-round punch-outs? All games begin Friday night.

(8) Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (40-24-1-3, .618 point pct.) vs. (5) Quebec Remparts (42-21-3-2, .654)

Odds favour: Quebec 54 per cent. Most statistically likely outcome: Quebec in 7. Mike's prediction: Quebec in 6.

Rouyn-Noranda, on the strength of the line of Sven Andrighetto (5-7-12 in five games), Jean-Sebastien Dea (seven points ) and Nikita Kucherov (nine), dispatched the Drummondville Voltigeurs in five games. Quebec finished off Chicoutimi in six and was led by the return of Mikhail Grigorenko, who is tied with Andrighetto for the playoff lead.

These two teams tied the season series with two wins apiece. The series is a 2-3-2 format, which could hinge on Quebec’s less-than-stellar road record if the Huskies could get a split at Colisée Pepsi, but the presence of Grigorenko should overcome that.

The goaltending matchup should give the Remparts a sure edge. Ottawa Senators sixth-rounder François Brassard should win that battle over the rookie Alexandre Belanger. Brassard lost in spectacular fashion last season and is ready to bounce back with a vengeance over the Remparts’ second-round cough-up of a 3-0 series lead last season to Halifax. The Huskies scored 42 more goals this season, but also gave up 57 more goals.

Expect the Remparts to take this one, but they’ll need to return home to do it.

(10) Val-d'Or Foreurs (35-27-0-6, .559) vs. (3) Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (41-19-2-6, .662).

Odds favour: Blainville-Boisbriand 67%. Most statistically likely outcome: Blainville-Boisbriand in 5. Mike’s prediction: Blainville-Boisbriand in 5.

Both teams had no trouble scoring or holding the fort down in their first-round series, where the Armada downed the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in five and the Foreurs took out the Rocket in six. Both teams scored at a nearly identical pace in the regular season, with Val-d’Or outscoring Blainville-Boisbriand 274-272 in the regular season.

The Foreurs rely on the two-headed monster of Memorial Cup champion Anton Zlobin (29-62-91 in the regular season) and 2013 draft-eligible forward Anthony Mantha (6-5-11 in round one). The Foreurs also had Cédrick Henley and Brandon Hynes scoring at a point-a-game pace in the first round. Experienced coach Mario Durocher can help behind the bench.

The Armada are led by their speedy attack, with Christopher Clapperton and Tommy Giroux leading the way in round one. The Armada love the trap and slowing the game down, though, and then picking it up with a terrific transition game. The team is built from the net out, with Étienne Marcoux in goal and Detroit Red Wings prospect Xavier Ouellet leading a fine-tuned defence.

Defence wins championships. Considering the Armada let in 72 fewer goals than Val-d'Or did in the regular season, they have to have the edge.

(11) Victoriaville Tigres (32-27-3-6, .537) vs. (2) Baie-Comeau Drakkar (44-19-2-3, .684)

Odds favour: Baie-Comeau 73%. Most statistically likely outcome: Baie-Comeau in 5.Mike’s prediction: Baie-Comeau in 6.

Last season, the Drakkar stunned the Tigres in the first round, sending the highly-touted Victoriaville team packing after just four games in the first round. The tides have turned, and a well-stacked Drakkar squad takes on the underdog Tigres in the second round.

Victoriaville was outshot in every game against the Moncton Wildcats, but was won in five games thanks to some excellent strategy and planning from coach Yanick Jean, key saves from Brandon Whitney and a well-staffed defence thanks to dressing eight defencemen and only two 10 forwards. The great shadow job by Carl-Antoine Delisle on Wildcats forward Dmitrij Jaskin worked wonders too.

The Drakkar barely got their hands dirty against the expansion Sherbrooke Phoenix, winning each game by at least three goals in a four-game sweep.

The Tigres have had to scrape for every win so far this playoff, and we can expect that to continue. However, the Drakkar, with Petr Straka, rookie of the year Valentin Zykov and Raphael Bussières leading the attack, force Jean to re-evaluate. He can’t focus on just one forward to get the Drakkar off their game. He surely has some tricks up his sleeve though, and Whitney will always be there as he was in the Moncton series.

Baie-Comeau was the second seed for a reason and dominated the season series against Victoriaville, winning 5-of-6. They scored more, prevented more, and are a killer road team. The Drakkar take this series going away.

(13) Gatineau Olympiques (29-34-1-4, .463) vs. (1) Halifax Mooseheads (58-6-3-1, .882)

Odds favour: Halifax 96%. Most statistically likely outcome: Halifax in 4. Mike’s prediction: Halifax in 4.

The mind games Olympiques coach Benoît Groulx played on the Rimouski Océanic in the first round won’t work here, and he knows it. Groulx will need to keep his mouth shut and out-coach the Mooseheads' Dominique Ducharme for Gatineau to have any chance at all. Last season, you might have been able to catch then rookie-coach Ducharme in an occasional game or so, but not this season, as the Mooseheads have put together one of the best records in the history of the QMJHL.

Halifax has just too many weapons, from Jonathan Drouin to Nathan MacKinnon to Martin Frk to Stefan Fournier to Stephen MacAulay to Darcy Ashley to Matthew Boudreau to... well you get the point. General manager Cam Russell built for this year through the 2010 and '11 drafts and it's paid off.

Gatineau has Martin Reway, Émile Poirier and Los Angeles Kings sixth-rounder Tomas Hyka, if he wakes up from his season-long slumber. Olympiques netminder Robert Steeves had a great first round series, but he will have nightmares after this one is all over.

The Mooseheads scored 25 goals in four games against Saint John and surrendered only four. They have only lost twice on home ice all season. 'Nuff said.

Mike Sanderson is a QMJHL correspondent for Buzzing The Net.