I'm a little late on this, in part because the NHL decided it was a GREAT idea to finish round 1 and IMMEDIATELY start round two...the next day. I honestly almost think that NBC is forcing the NHL to have as many weekend games as possible so they can national broadcast them for better ratings...you know, rather than preempting the great shows on NBC on weeknights, like...um... Does anyone actually watch NBC anymore?
Anyway, I'm getting off track. Keep on reading for my round two predictions!
A little side note, I wrote all these predictions before seeing anything about last night's Boston-Montreal game one, so my picks were upsullied by that information.
| ATLANTIC DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP |
| #1 Boston | VS | #3 Montreal |
A couple more Original 6 teams going at it like badgers. I have to give credit to Marc Bergevin for playing the psychic on this one. At the trade deadline, he decided that they would need a Bruin killer for the playoffs, and went and swiped Thomas Vanek from the Isles. I'm not sure if he KNEW any path to the cup would go through Boston, or only hoped it. So as far as the matchup, on paper these teams are really not even a close match. Boston has just got a team built for the playoffs, while Montreal is the young upstart. Boston has a lot of tough, gritty (and regularly dirty) players to compliment it's scorers...Not to mention great goaltending and the statistically best goaltender in the Playoffs. Conversely, Montreal has the x-factor of youth, and a decided advantage at speed. For Montreal to steal this series, Carey Price will have to find a way to outplay Tuuka Rask, and Montreal will need to get much better scoring production and utilize their speed and skating advantage. So, just because it's the Cup,
Montreal in 7
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| METROPOLITAN DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP |
| #1 Pittsburgh | VS | #2 New York Rangers |
As far as storied histories go, this was probably not the super heated matchup the NHL was looking for with this format. There's not much history here at all, but that won't prevent there from being some absolutely AMAZING skill hockey in this series. Another blown chance by NBC to win some fans. But let's stay on track. New York and Pittsburgh have looked pretty similar this offseason, both winning their first round series with limited help from their star players. New York has a supposed disadvantage for playing so many games in so few days, but it's all local and they'll come out sharper than Pittsburgh in this one. The key matchup in this one will be Fleury vs Lunqvist. The teams matchup up well in my opinion as far as skaters, but there will be a lot of skilled hockey in this one. New York is the more confident looking team right now, having never seemed in danger of losing the first round series like the Penguins. Home ice also probably won't matter too much in this one.
Pittsburgh in 7
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Meanwhile, over in the Western Conference...
| CENTRAL DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP |
| #3 Chicago | VS | #4 Minnesota |
Well, I'm surprised on this one. I think I missed both of these picks. I was really expecting St. Louis to make a run and Colorado to be the big surprise. I think I secretly also wanted to see some new teams in the west, rather than Los Angeles and Chicago...again. So this matchup isn't even fair on paper. I think just about everyone is picking Chicago to win this. They have the experience, the leadership, the coaching...all in their favor. However, Minnesota does have one thing that Chicago doesn't: A playoff hero. It took a 2nd goal of the game from Nino Neiderreider in overtime, as well as being his second ever playoff goal, to put away Colorado. I can name about 5-6 active players on the Wild, which means they are probably oozing with playoff hero-like players. Still, there has to be something said about the fact that they are so outmatched, and that this isn't a disney movie. If Minnesota wins this one, I will pick them to win the west.
Chicago in 6
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| PACIFIC DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP |
| #1 Anaheim | VS | #3 Los Angeles |
Everyone has been writing Anaheim off in this matchup. I don't really get that. Los Angeles got hot 'at the right time,' but the fact is that they are in Anaheim's division...which Anaheim won. Which means they had to go through LA. Look, I understand that the kings are a 'built to be playoff team,' and that they have seemingly more security in goal. But I can't pick them to win. Anaheim is missing some folks, but they're a legit team, and have the storyline with Selanne...and used to be the Mighty Ducks, literally. LA came back from being down 3 games to 0 against the choke artist Sharks, and now they're everyone's pick in the west? Screw that. They're clicking, but remember all their scoring problems in the regular season? I don't feel like that's changed, and for once, I'd love to see the corsi or fenwick or whatever. I get the feeling SJ played below average and LA played above in those last 4 games. It's not going to be an easy road by any means, but I really feel like Los Angeles is going to get caught looking past Anaheim, and I don't think they can come back in 2 straight series.
Anaheim in 6
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