I am happy to say that I was 5 for 8 with 2 perfect series called with my first round predictions finishing second among the HiD writing staff. Only fellow HID writer Mitin Patel out predicted me going 6 for 8 with 2 perfect series. I am sad to say that the Habs are out and they won’t get their rematch with the Capitals. I am even sadder about the fact that my wife kicked my butt with her first round predictions going 6 for 8 with an astounding 4 perfect series. Needless to say I need to pick it up if I am going to regain my hockey dominance in the household. Round 2 begins tonight, and we have some very interesting match ups heading in, here are my predictions.
BRUINS VS FLYERS
Does anybody really care who wins this series? I know I don’t. Personally, I hope this series goes to seven games and both team obliterate each other. These two teams faced off last year and the Flyers came out on top after going down 3-0 in the series. The Bruins will remember this well and will try to show the Flyers that the same thing won’t happen this year by going at them hard. The thing is, the Flyers are built in a very similar way to the Bruins so you know they will hit back and I surely won’t be surprised if this series gets out of hand at one point or another. What’s the big difference in these two teams? Goaltending, even though Thomas was not at his best against the Habs he still was one of the best goalies this season. Also if Thomas does falter, Rask is more than capable of stealing games. The Flyers on the other hand barely beat the Sabres in round one mostly due to goaltending. The Flyers have already used all three of their goalies and still have not established who their number one is. This combined with fatigue will be their downfall in the series. Prediction: Bruins in seven
CAPITALS VS LIGHTNING
Ok, so I got a little carried away when I predicted that the Lightning would beat the Penguins in five, at least they still won the series. Now it’s time to see what Guy Boucher’s troops can do against the Capitals. One thing I noticed from the Lightning in round one is that they are really weak on the back end and this causes them to rely heavily on Roloson. Unlike the Penguins, the Capitals have their stars in the line-up and they are going to have a field day with the Lightning’s defense. Washington faced a much better defensive core in the Rangers and a very solid goaltender in Lundqvist and they still managed to win that series in five. If both teams go end to end and play fire wagon hockey Tampa might win a couple but Washington’s improved defensive play this season will probably prevent that from happening. Prediction: Capitals in five
CANUCKS VS PREDATORS
The Predators were one of the teams that proved me wrong in the first round and after watching them play I came to realize that they have a well balanced line-up. They also have a huge goalie in Rinne that is not too shabby either. The good news for the Predators, they finally made it to round 2. The bad news, they are facing the Canucks, you might say wait a minute, Vancouver almost lost their series after going up 3-0. True, but they did not lose. For whatever reason Luongo struggles against Chicago in the playoffs but he was finally able to overcome them in this year’s overtime victory. Luongo should have his strongest series to date against the Predators and that will make a very dangerous Canucks team even more dangerous. Nashville will give them a good fight but in the end this should be a favourable match up for Vancouver. Prediction: Canucks in six
SHARKS VS RED WINGS
This will probably be the most exciting series of the second round. You have two teams that are very well balanced and can score goals with all of their lines. Detroit has the edge with experience and San Jose has the edge in youth. Will Detroit’s age catch up to them? I don’t think so, keep in mind that these guys are athletes at the end of the day and if they were not able to keep up they would be the first ones to know it. Detroit was by far the most impressive team of the first round and they did it minus Zetterberg. The Sharks may have the edge in game one considering that the wings haven’t played in quite some time but Detroit will get reengaged quickly and make the Sharks lives a living hell. The biggest question mark for San Jose is Niemi, one game he is great and the next not so much. If the Sharks hope to win they can’t afford for Niemi to continue this pattern. My guess is that Howard will outplay Niemi and the Wings will keep on trucking. Prediction: Red Wings in seven
Comments
round 2
a lil too late to make my picks. Oficially done school...for four days lol. Here's my round 2 predictions.
Wings in 7
Canucks in 5
Philly in 6
Caps in 6
Habs is my religion
My predictions
I won't bother writing an article this time around, wait for the next round, too depressed by the heart-breaking loss suffered by the Canadiens. But here are my predictions:
Boston-Philadelphia: Flyers in six - Bruins are probably tired, more so than the flyers as the series was emotionally taxing as well. Though Thomas is good, had good numbers, he showed tons of weak points against the Habs and if a depleted Habs can take the Bruins to seven OT, imagine Flyers with much more depth than the Bruins.
Tampa-Washington: Washington in six - No brainer, Capitals just have a much better lineup than Tampa does. Tampa's defensive weakness will come into spotlight in this series. If Washington's goaltending holds up, they may be out of this sooner than six even.
Detroit - San Jose: Detroit in seven - There's no stopping the Red Wings this year. The only real team they may end up facing is Vancouver and that's it.
Vancouver - Nashville: Vancouver in six - You said it Gary, Luongo is now going to shine in the playoffs. He has just lifted a huge weight off his chest by finally beating the Black Hawks. There's always a team that has your number, and Chicago had Luongo's. But now, Luongo should take them to the conference final with ease, what happens there, that's another story.
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