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Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round 2 Predictions + Round 1 Predictions Recap |
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Below were my picks for the first round. I thought I was being bold, but after seeing who others have picked, my selections may be as outlandish as I first thought. Seeing how it all transpired, I clearly wasn't that bold in round one.
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals :
Tampa Bay over New Jersey in 6 games
Boston over Toronto in 7 games
Washington over Columbus in 7 games
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia in 6 games
Western Conference Quarterfinals :
Nashville over Colorado in 5 games
Winnipeg over Minnesota in 6 games
Los Angeles over Las Vegas in 6 games
San Jose over Anaheim in 7 games
I went 7 for 8 in the first round, totally whiffing on Vegas. Got Boston and Pittsburgh series completely accurate in terms of games played. Missed broadly in terms of number of games played in the Sharks series. Overshot by one game in the Lightning, Capitals and Jets wins and undershot by one in the Predators victory.
Full Second Round Schedule
Here are my predictions. Originally, I had San Jose over LA. Here, I replace the Kings with the Golden Knights, but still have the Sharks advancing. I will revisit my conference finals predictions of Boston over Washington and Winnipeg over San Jose after this round.
Eastern Conference Semifinals :
Boston over Tampa Bay in 7 games
Washington over Pittsburgh in 6 games
Western Conference Semifinals :
Winnipeg over Nashville in 7 games
San Jose over Las Vegas in 6 games
Brief analysis of each series
Boston vs. Tampa
This matchup looked to be a fait accompli for the past several months. A Lightning and Bruins series could be an Eastern Conference Finals rather than a divisional final and conference semis. Tampa limped to the finish a bit while Boston failed to take advantage of the opportunity afforded to win the division and conference. Both teams are well acquainted with each other, so few surprises should exist. Top-end talent is on display all over the ice, from goal line out, Stamkos, Kucherov, Point, Hedman, Vasilveskiy are a few names for the Lightning with Marchand, Pastrnak, Bergeron, Chara and Rask for Boston. Those names not mentioned may be the ones that take over a series. For Tampa, look at Gourde, and for Boston, DeBrusk, who came up big in Game 7 against the Maple Leafs. Boston almost blew a 3-1 series lead and looked shaky at times against Toronto while Tampa was in control nearly all of the time against New Jersey. The Finnish goalie barely outplays the Russian netminder, as Boston wins it in overtime on a goal by Rick Nash, exorcising some of the demons from his days in New York and poor first round this year. Bruins in 7
Washington vs. Pittsburgh
The teams meet for the 10th – and third straight - time in the post-season. Pittsburgh jumped to 2-0 and 3-1 series but Washington rallied to win two in a row to force a Game Seven. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots to propel Pittsburgh to a 2-0 win on their way to the Cup. Crosby and Malkin against Ovechkin and Backstrom. But that is not the full story by far, as both teams have a lot of weapons, which is why they finished third and ninth in league scoring. As divisional rivals, there will be few surprises in the series, as each team knows what the other likes to do as well as any weaknesses that might exist. Like many playoff series, matchups will make the difference, as Washington will want to get their top-four out against the Penguins' top-two lines, while Pittsburgh will be able to match either of their top-two defensive pairings against the Caps’ top line. Malkin and Carl Hagelin will miss at least Game 1 with their respective injuries, which may be a major factor in deciding the outcome. Even if Ovi is shut down, Kuznetsov should have a big series and look for Oshie to put his disappointing season behind him and Lars Ellen be a difference maker to help the Capitals to the conference finals for the first time since 1997-98. Capitals in 6
Nashville vs. Winnipeg
The Predators are the experienced playoff team in this matchup, as the Jets have no history in this current iteration in Winnipeg and hadn’t won a playoff series in 31 years until defeating Minnesota in the first round. Despite that lack of success, the Jets are no push over, as we saw against the Wild. Depth up front and on the blueline coupled with a top-tier goalie make the Jets a tough out. Nashville just held off Winnipeg to win the division and is playoff tested after their run to the Cup Finals last season. Filip Forsberg was excellent against Colorado, spurring the Nashville offense, while Pekka Rinne was good not great. The Predators’ blueline is a major weapon and for the Jets to advance, their third line will need to be difference makers. Look for Mathieu Perrault and Bryan Little to outscore their bigger name teammates while Kevin Fiala makes up for missing last year’s run with a big series. The nation learns Connor Hellebuyck’s name as he outplays Rinne to win the series. Jets in 7
Las Vegas vs. San Jose
Both teams enter this round on a major role, sweeping their respective opponents in the first round. The Golden Knights rose the stellar netminding from Marc-Andre Fleury (.977 save percentage) and solid play from their relatively no-name blueline to wipe away the Kings. Martin Jones looked like the goalie who backstopped the Sharks to the Cup Finals two years ago in the whitewash of the Ducks. Each squad can roll several lines capable of scoring and it’s possible San Jose has Joe Thornton (knee) some time during this series. For the Knights, everyone knows the big line, was but players like Tuch and Haula helped Vegas advance in the first round and will play key roles against the Sharks. For San Jose, Hertl is the difference maker up front, aided by Sorensen, Meier and Boedker while Braun supplements from the blue line. This should be a fun series to watch, with both teams taking the body, so expect lots of hard-hitting. Logan Couture comes up big to spur the Sharks tontehir second Western Conference Finals in three years. Sharks in 6
For New York, the interest level is two-fold. First, we will know at least around where the Rangers' second pick in the first round is, as they own both Boston and Tampa's pick in that round and one of those two will be going home. Second, I understand rooting for the Lightning, since if Tampa wins the Cup this year, the Rangers get their first round pick next season as well.
Would I be shocked if I was wrong in all four series? Not in the slightest. As I wrote in my playoff preview blog, predicting the playoffs is at times a futile exercise and that remains true even after round one. As we know, a Cup run is a battle of attribution with injuries playing a major role. Every year, some unsung hero steps up to help lead his team to an unexpected win in either a game or series. This season should be no different. Nothing beats sudden death overtime hockey, especially when your team is not one of the two on the ice because you can just watch as a fan rather than living and dying with each rush up the ice. Settle in and watch the contests in the best time of year in what should be a tremendous second round.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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