Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
With the NHL playoffs upon us, the hotstove shares their 1st round upset picks.
Todd Cordell
I'm going to go with the Senators over the Habs.
I went a little more in-depth with my reasoning in my Eastern Conference predictions post, but I'll briefly summarize: Montreal scored the fewest goals out of all teams in the playoffs, and even if Max Pacioretty is 100% - and I doubt he is - I'm still not crazy about their forward core.
Ottawa is coming in hot, they're the better possession team, and they score more goals. I like their chances.
James Tanner I like the Penguins over the Rangers. I don't think the Pens are as bad as they've seemed nor do I think the Rangers are as good as they seem.
The only reason I'll say that this might not actually happen is that Letang won't play and Yandle will. The Pens are in a good spot with Malkin and Crosby playing a team that probably isn't as good as it's point total suggests.
Actually, I'll say this: Despite their records, if the Pens had Letang I'd say they should actually be favorites. Without Letang, it'll be an upset.
Adam French Monteal against Ottawa is a difficult series to call and is probably the favourite for an expected "upset." For me though, I would say the Wild against the Blues is a very real potential "upset." The Wild have been practically unstoppable since the Space Jam level steroids they were injected with the appearance of Dubnyk. While they didn't get the expected offense all year that they were figuring would emerge with a top-6 of Koivu, Parise, Vanek, Pominville, Granlund and Niederreiter. They still have the potential to be lethal offensively. With the Blues, it really comes down to goaltending. Elliot has been fine. Allen has been fine. I don't think "fine" can cut it. It never seem to have for the Blues in previous playoffs.
The stage is set and expected for this to be the year the Blues strike deep into the playoffs and shed their "Sharks" misery. The Wild pose a serious problem to this endeavor and are my pick to make a nasty shocker. I hope that isn't the case though...because I love Tarasenko.
Tim Chiasson I'm taking Ottawa over Montreal.
The Senators have absolutely nothing to lose. They have no pressure and all the momentum from their improbable run to even get to the playoffs. I've been waiting for Hammond to fall on his face for a while but he just keeps playing great. If Ottawa can keep putting pucks in the net like they have since the trade deadline and Hammond keeps rolling I think they can dump the Canadiens in the first round.
A stronger possession game than Montreal is going to give them a chance so all they have to do is figure out how to beat Price for a few games and they're golden, even if the Habs have a seven game home ice advantage.
Maybe I'm biased, though, because I want to catch some Steven Stamkos playoff hockey in the second round.
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