My calls from round one... and a look at round two...

#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Ottawa

My call - On paper, this one should be a blowout… in reality, the Pens struggle a bit before putting away the Senators in six.

Man… I nailed this one… :-)


#2 New Jersey vs. #7 Philadelphia

My call - This one will be a battle, the goaltending questions are just too large for me to pick the Flyers here… Devils in five.

I am happily wrong, wrong, wrong here… The Devils era may appear to be done. At least I was right in the number of games… My reverse psychology trick worked! :-)

#1 San Jose vs. #8 Colorado

My call - I want to call an upset here… I just can’t… Sharks in six.

The Sharks took a winding road to this series victory, but I got this one dead on.

#4 Phoenix vs. #5 Detroit

My call - Why not? Gotta call one upset, even though I’m picking the higher seed, this will be perceived as an upset… Coyotes in seven.

I didn’t expect Phoenix to get hammered so hard in game seven. Good gutty performance from both teams, the Wings seem to be peaking at the right time…

#1 Washington vs. #8 Montreal

My call - On paper, this one should be a blowout. In reality, it is a blowout… Capitals in a sweep.

Wow… whatta upset, I was incredibly wrong. Sorry Hab fans! Although I will take credit for calling Halak channeling Ken Dryden in the last two games… If he keeps this up, the Habs may go deep. Let the Washington circular firing squad commence!

#3 Buffalo vs. #6 Boston

My call - This has the makings of a classic goaltender duel… if Rask plays well, Boston stays close, but ultimately it’s the Sabres in six.

Rask did play well, well enough to steal the series for Boston in six. I have underestimated Boston all year, I won’t make that mistake again.

#3 Vancouver vs. #6 Los Angeles

My call - What a tough series to call… This will be a learning experience for the Kings, Canucks in five.

OK… it took Vancouver six… setting up a rematch with Chicago. Goaltending wasn’t as important as I thought it would be in this series…

#2 Chicago vs. #7 Nashville

My call - I do believe this is the year the Predators finally win a game on the road in the playoffs. I also believe this series will be a helluva lot closer than anyone expects. My heart says the Predators in six… but my head says the ‘Hawks in seven. I'm going with my heart here, if the Preds have a chance to win it at home, they will.

I should know better… never bet with your heart. I did get the road win call right…


Not one of my better jobs in the first round… three correct winners, two of them right on the mark with the correct number of games… let’s see if I can do better in the conference semi’s.

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One series gets going tonight…

#1 San Jose vs. #5 Detroit – Two teams with expectations. I think home ice advantage may not be a big thing in this series, and it may turn into a bad thing if San Jose falls behind early. The Shark fan base is fragile and may turn if the Sharks struggle out of the gate. Detroit is getting a look about them… game seven in the desert was a classic Red Wing dismantling of an undermanned Coyotes team. The Red Wings probably take an advantage from their injury woes during the regular season as most of the lineup has spent some time on IR, they may be a little more rested this season.

My Call - This series is San Jose’s worst nightmare… I see the Wings getting a split in the Shark Tank and winning it in six.

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Thanks to our guests on SlapShot Radio last night… Dan Rusinowski, Dave Goucher and Mark Spizzirri. The podcast is posted at www.slapshotradio.com

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COMING UP ON THIS WEEKS SLAPSHOT RADIO…

For the most updated guest information go to the SlapShot Radio website. You can check out our podcasts at SlapShotRadio.com.

Last Night – The Podcast is posted. Our playoff reports continued with insiders from across the NHL, we featured Dan Rusinowski from San Jose, Dave Goucher from Boston and Mark Spizzirri from Detroit. SlapShot Radio, Live every Wednesday at 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR and online at www.slapshotradio.com.

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