Eastern Conference (The OK conference)
New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
The Rangers were the top team in the East pretty much the
whole season, even when Hendrik Lunquist missed some serious time with an
injury. They are a much better team going into the playoffs this year than they
were last year when they made their run to the Stanley Cups finals. The Penguins?
Not so much. They barely made it
and have had some injuries to key players, Like Evgeni Malkin and Kris
Letang. The Penguins have done little in
the playoffs the last five years. Don’t expect them to do much this year
either. Rangers in 6.
Montreal vs Ottawa
Montreal was one of the top teams in the East all season
long Carey Price will likely be a Hart finalist. The Senators were in a deep hole as recently
as January until goaltender Andrew Hammond came to the rescue. The Senators come into the playoffs in fire
and again, I just don’t think the Habs are that much better than then. Senators in 6.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Detroit (sucks) Red Wings
Tampa Bay lead the league in scoring and was second in goal
differential. Detroit somehow managed to
keep their playoff streak alive as some of their younger players finally
stepped up and produced. But who will
start in goal for them. It doesn’t
matter. They hit the golf course by May
1st. Lightening in 6 (Sorry
McKee).
Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders
These two teams tied with 101 points in the regular season
but the Caps secured home ice on the tie breaker. Alexander Ovechkin bounced back from a subpar
season last year to lead the league on goals. The Islanders are fun to watch but struggled a
bit the last ten games or so. I’m bucking
the trend and going with the Islanders in seven.
Western Conference (The good conference)
Anaheim Ducks vs Winnipeg Jets
The Ducks were the best of the west all season long. Good goaltending, solid defense and a lot of
scoring will help you win a lot of games.
The Jets have a very talented team and have been on the cusp of the
playoffs the last few years. Jets fans
will be going nuts at home games, but they might only have two of them. The Ducks are good and deep. Ducks in 5.
Vancouver Canucks vs Calgary Flames
The Canucks had a good season, minus the traded Ryan Kesler,
as the Sedin twins put up their normal numbers and Ryan Miller played solid, if
not spectacular, in goal. The Flames
made the playoffs? Really? The Flames finished third in their division
even though they had the fewest points of the eight teams that qualified in the
West. They overachieved all season long
and were supposed to lose out to the Kings, but the Kings forgot to win and the
Flames forgot to lose. They were
supposed to be rebuilding. They will be
done quickly. Vancouver in 6.
St. Louis Blues v Minnesota Wild
The Blues finished strong to nap the top spot in the
Central, the best division in hockey, which sent five teams to the
playoffs. They caught Nashville and kept
ahead of the Hawks and their reward is the Wild, who have been the best of the
West the last two months since they traded for Devan Dubnyk. Who will start in goal for the Blues, Brian
Elliot who struggled down the stretch (costing me a fantasy hockey
championship) or Jake Allen, who has little playoff experience? This most will be a fun series to watch. Blues in 7.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators
The Predators lead the division most of the season but only
garnered two points in their last six games.
The Blackhawks ended the season with four straight losses, which cost
them home ice in this series. Patrick
Kane is expected back from his shoulder injury, which is great news for the
Hawks who have struggled to score the last month of the season. You don’t want to be struggling to score when
you are up against Pekka Rinne. As long
as Corey Crawford plays well, this is the Hawks series to win. Hawks in 7.
Here’s the predictions from my panel of experts. I like how the only thing we agree on is the Hawks and Blues (we are all either Hawks or Blues fans).| Series | Mike | Jax | Jarrett | Bob |
| Rangers vs Penguins | Rangers in 6 | Rangers in 6 | Rangers in 5 | Rangers in 5 |
| Canadians vs Senators | Senators in 6 | Canadians in 6 | Canadians in 5 | Canadians in 7 |
| Lightning vs Red Wings | Lightning in 6 | Red Wings in 7 | Lightning in 7 | Lightning in 5 |
| Capitals vs Islanders | Islanders in 7 | Islanders in 6 | Islanders in 7 | Capitals in 6 |
| Ducks vs Jets | Ducks in 5 | Jets in 6 | Ducks in 6 | Ducks in 4 |
| Canucks vs Flames | Canucks in 6 | Canucks in 6 | Flames in 7 | Canucks in 6 |
| Blues vs Wild | Blues in 7 | Blues in 7 | Blues in 7 | Blues in 6 |
| Blackhawks vs Predators | Hawks in 7 | Hawks in 6 | Hawks in 6 | Hawks in 5 |
Check in again after the first round to see how we did and to see the second round preview.
