04-06-2008, 10:45 PM
I was going to wait until tomorrow before making my predictions, but what the hell, here they are. I'm not too confident they'll pan out as well as last year, when i was 14/15 (i picked the Sens to beat the Ducks).
1. Montreal vs. 8. Boston
2. Pittsburgh vs. 7. Ottawa
3. Washington vs. 6. Philadelphia
4. New Jersey vs. 5. NY Rangers
1. Detroit vs. 8. Nashville
2. San Jose vs. 7. Calgary
3. Minnesota vs. 6. Colorado
4. Anaheim vs. 5. Dallas
Unlike last year though, i'm not very confident in those picks. The Alfredsson & Fisher injuries were a deciding factor in the PIT/OTT series for me, not to mention the Sens goaltending situation going up against Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Gonchar, Sykora & company.
Washington has all the momentum going into the playoffs...i actually saw a stat on tv today that since Bruce Bodreau stepped behind the bench in November, the Caps have 81 points, trailing only Detroit & San Jose, who have 83 & 82 respectively. Still, i'm just going with a hunch in Philly.
San Jose should beat Calgary, but if Kipper can get hot & the Flames can shut down Thornton, i wouldn't be surprised at all if the Flames came out on top.
Minnesota have a great team, but i like the way Colorado is playing. Peter Forsberg is going to be a force, and Joe Sakic looks like he's getting back in form.
Anaheim/Dallas will be an interesting series...i thought Dallas was a favorite, especially after the deadline, but they have struggled the last few weeks, although they have been better the last 4 games. Dallas are my favorite team in the West, so i'll be rooting for them, but i think Anaheim will just be too much. Hopefully Richards & Riberio will be good to go (both have missed the last 3 games), the Sergei Zubov injury leaves a huge hole.
1. Montreal vs. 8. Boston
2. Pittsburgh vs. 7. Ottawa
3. Washington vs. 6. Philadelphia
4. New Jersey vs. 5. NY Rangers
1. Detroit vs. 8. Nashville
2. San Jose vs. 7. Calgary
3. Minnesota vs. 6. Colorado
4. Anaheim vs. 5. Dallas
Unlike last year though, i'm not very confident in those picks. The Alfredsson & Fisher injuries were a deciding factor in the PIT/OTT series for me, not to mention the Sens goaltending situation going up against Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Gonchar, Sykora & company.
Washington has all the momentum going into the playoffs...i actually saw a stat on tv today that since Bruce Bodreau stepped behind the bench in November, the Caps have 81 points, trailing only Detroit & San Jose, who have 83 & 82 respectively. Still, i'm just going with a hunch in Philly.
San Jose should beat Calgary, but if Kipper can get hot & the Flames can shut down Thornton, i wouldn't be surprised at all if the Flames came out on top.
Minnesota have a great team, but i like the way Colorado is playing. Peter Forsberg is going to be a force, and Joe Sakic looks like he's getting back in form.
Anaheim/Dallas will be an interesting series...i thought Dallas was a favorite, especially after the deadline, but they have struggled the last few weeks, although they have been better the last 4 games. Dallas are my favorite team in the West, so i'll be rooting for them, but i think Anaheim will just be too much. Hopefully Richards & Riberio will be good to go (both have missed the last 3 games), the Sergei Zubov injury leaves a huge hole.