In the event that one or two of you out there is curious about the underlying numbers for the eight-remaining teams in the NHL playoffs, I went ahead and compiled each team's even-strength possession data (via Score-Adjusted Fenwick%) since January 1, 2014.
Your red teams, obviously, have home-ice advantage. Naturally, I'm expecting a total blowout in the Minnesota/Chicago series -- the Wild are a better team than the Avs, but there's a low bar to clear there. The best series, one would think, could well be between Pittsburgh and New York. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are absolutely dynamite, but the Rangers -- top-to-bottom -- really are a great hockey team.
Montreal and Boston is what it is. It's a weaker team playing a stronger team, but at least a weaker team with some historical success against their longtime rival. Plus, Carey Price is all-world, so you can't really rule out an upset.
Anaheim and LA? Even with home-ice, I think the Kings are the favorite here.
I'll have more on these match-ups in the next couple of days. For now, just a quick and clean reference point for you guys to have.