The Great Eastern Playoff Prediction Game - Make your picks

The official rules:

Prior to the commencement of the first round of the playoffs, pick a winner of each series AND the number of games the series will go. You receive one point for predicting the series winner and a bonus point for predicting the correct number of games. For shear entertainment value (and mockery for being wrong) please add 1 or 2 sentences after each series explaining your pick. Please do not write "War and Peace", 1 or 2 sentences will do. The game will continue through each round of the playoffs and a winner will be crowned after either 1) The Stanley Cup Final or 2) whenever the leader is mathematically unable to be caught (there are no Superdelagates in my game to complicate things). The winner will receive.......well..... bragging rights I suppose. Entries must be in by Wednesday, April 9th @ 7pm to be valid.

I will lead it off below as an example.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 6, too much talent for the overachieving and admirable Bruins to overcome. Thomas steals one game

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 7, Sens come back to life, but it's not enough. NBC's slobbering Sidney lovefest gets to continue another round.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 6, I've seen this movie several times before and the ending never changes. Philly Flops

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 7, While my hockey "brain" tells me Rangers in 6, I believe the entire basis of any Devils team is built for playoff hockey, not regular season hockey. Brodeur and not a Scandinavian StayPuff imposter is "king"

1. Habs in 5. Much like you said BG, except I only see Boston winning one home game. The Habs puck carriers rip Julienball to peaces.

2. Ottawa in 6. The shock of the playoffs. Crosby/Malkin get shutdown by an underrated physical Sens team. Heatley and Spezz have a huge series.

3. Caps in 7. Ovechkin seems to play better under more pressure. Look for a big series from Richards, Carter, Ov, Huet and Green.

4. Devils in 5. Yeah, I said it. Elias comes through big. Marty dominates.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 4, Boston is toast. They can't compete with the speed.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 4, Ottawa is toast. With el capitan on the sideline, heatley can score a few but can't compete with Pitt's terrible trio

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 5. Can't stop the fever.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 5. Rangers collapse underneath all the expectations that they will win the cup this year. Parise practices shooting on the empty net and the Devils start winning by a margin of 2 goals!

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - 6 Habs - The Bruins try to out-muscle the habs but realize they are too slow to even get near them.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - 7 Ottawa - The Pens slow useless defense gets beat by Ottawa's big three when they finally wake up.


3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - 6 Caps - Ovechkin makes Marty Biron look like Antero Nittymaki.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - 6 Devils - The Devils saved all their offense for the playoffs and dominate Lundqvist causing Jagr to cry all the way to Russia.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Montreal in 7. Bruins go in the tank early, but discover underdog strength and mount comeback before coming out flat in game 7 with the home crowd in Montreal guilting the refs into several homer calls.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 4. Ottawa continues the backslide and makes Fluery look like the next Brodeur. Pens smoke Ottawa with killer offense and special teams. Hossa catches fire and Sykora shows us that he still has tons of offense.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Philly in 7. Philly tries to manhandle the Caps, but AO carries the offense. Biron amazes everyone with never before seen confidence and pulls out a squeaker in game 7.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - NOT GONNA DO IT - bad luck. Tense games, all but 1 or 2 decided by 1 goal. Game 2 is the deciding factor in the series. Avery goes too far at some point and gets to sit courtesy of Colin Campbell. Gionta awakens from his slumber?

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Montreal in 6 ! Canadiens have too much offense!

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pitt in 5 ~ Unfortunately we have to deal with Crosby for another round, but un the plus side we see Ovechkin beat the crap out of him in round 2!

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Washington in 5 ~ Streak will carry them right through the first much like the devils in '06.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 7 ~ although gun to my head Im taking the Rangers. I just dont see the Devils producing enough offense to beat the Queen of NY!! Prove me wrong boys!!

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. Too much offense from the Habs, not too mention Boston is a little banged up offensively.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5. Ottawa sucks. Alfie is hurt. Fisher is hurt. They've been terrible in the New Year. Goaltending and Defense have both been shaky and will be eaten alive by Crosby, Malkin and Co. Doesn't help either that MAF has stepped up big time.

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Philadelphia in 6. I don't understand the Washington love affair here. I see too many people picking them to go far in the playoffs. They finished up with a schedule consisting of their lowly Southeaster brethren while Philly played the tough Atlantic Division to finish off their campaign. I love AO, but Viktor Kozlov? Unproven youngsters Alex Semin and Nick Backstrom? A shaky defense? I'll take my chances on the tougher team.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 7. This is just a gut feeling as I'm basically going off of nothing besides my confidence in Brodeur. But for the Devils to win the offense has to step up, namely Captain Langenbrunner who has been more like Captain Crunch in recent weeks. Martin, White, and Oduya have to step up their games even further.

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. Montreal's PP is lethal and Boston won't come up with enough offense. Boston steals one in Game 4

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 6. It's amazing what has happen to the Sens. I'm expecting Sykora to have a big series then disappear the rest of the way


(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 4. I'll take a shot here.. Huet has been nothing but spectacular for Wash and I don't trust Phillys goaltending one bit.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 6. That's my homer side talking.. Marty needs to steal every win and Langenbrunner needs to spark this offense.. As an outsider i would prob pick the Rags in 6 b/c of our inability on offense.. I'm stickin with our Devs

1. Montreal - Boston: Boston 0 & 8 against Montreal this season, makes them sweat. Montreal in 7.

2. Pitt - Ottawa: No Alfredson? Pens in 5.

3. Washington - Philly: Caps in 7, No. Briere? Caps in 6.

4. Devils - Rangers: PP/PK Hands a win to the Rangers in 6.

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. If Montreal was playing anyone else I would say that the Habs would lose because I don't think Price is unflappable as I keep hearing, but Boston has no chance. Montreal will exit in round #2. Book it.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5. No Fisher + No Alfreddson + Gerber/Emery = LOSERS. Enough said.

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 6. Huet has been amazaing, Biron looks like he is coming around at the right time with 2 shutouts in the last week, but Ovechkin will win this series and carry his team to Round 2, like he has been carrying them since Christmas. His legs will give out from carrying everybody in Round #2.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Brodeur in 6. That last win helps with the confidence, but I still feel uneasy it could go either way. I want NJ to win, but who knows.

1. MTL sweeps the B's.
2. Pitt take Sens in 3.
3. Caps explode the Gays in 4.
4. Devils and Rangers produce a micro-singularity with infinite possibilities resulting in a fractured space time continuum. In my timeline, the Devils win in 7. But it may not be how you all view how it plays out...

I predict I'll have a heart attack.

I predict I'll have a heart attack.

You are the new Carolina... welcome to the 2nd season again. The hockey gods love an underdog.

Montreal vs. Boston - Habs in 5. When's the last time Boston beat this team in the playoffs? Montreal is their nemesis.

Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa - Pens in 6. No Alfie, suspect goaltending. Sens are done. Lucky if it goes six.

Washington vs. Philadelphia - Caps in 7. Beware of a letdown, Washington.

Devils vs. Rangers - Rangers in 5. Two teams, opposite directions down the stretch.

Habs(1) v.s Boston(8). Bruins get one maybe two but, the Habs without Koivu are still much deeper. Habs in 6.

Pens(2) v.s Sens(7) The Sens will tighten up on defense and make things intresting. This will still be a short series Pens in 5.

Caps(3) v.s Flyers(6) The Caps are on fire and Flyers can only cool them off so much.
Philly would have a much better chance with Gagne and Briere. Caps in 7.

Devils(4) v.s Rags. It bothers me that the Devils didn't put the game away yesterday.
In my mind we didn't put a dent in NYR's confidence against us by winning in the SO.
This goes the distance but, not our way Rangers in 7!:shakehead

BTW is anybody going to do the west too?

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5. They dominated Boston this year and seem to be rolling just at the right time.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Ottawa in 6. The expectations are very high for the Pens and I am not sure that they can live up to them. Everyone believes that the Sens will rollover and play dead. I believe that some of the savvy veterans will step-up big time and the playoff experience will show.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7. This will be a hard fought series, but the Caps are on such a roll they will be hard to stop. They remind me of the 1987-1998 Devils team.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Rags in 6. My heart wants to go with the Devils, my head just says I would be crazy to. I have never seen a team struggle more than this one to score a single goal. Thankfully, the Rags are no high power offense. I just think they have a little bit more firepower that will allow them to persevere (including Drury who thrives in the playoffs). I love Sutter as coach, but he is in his first NHL postseason and there must be a learning curve. The nail in the coffin is that we have struggled as of late (even in some of the games we won) and the Rags have been playing very well. I hope I am wrong, but I doubt it.

Cant we do the west predictions also?


Eastern Conference

(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins ........ Canadiens in 4 Montreal too much for boston.

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators........ Penguins in 6 Penguins too healthiER than Ottawa

(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers........ Capitals in 5 Flyers suck! Enough said. LOL

(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers..........Devils in 6 Of course this pick is with my heart, but I believe we CAN beat them, will we? we shall see!



Western Conference

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators.........Red Wings in 4 Again Detroit too much for Nashville

(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames...........Flames in 6 (upset pick) Flames surprise and upset the HOT sharks.

(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche...........Wild in 7 Series could go either way...went with home ice.

(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars.............. Ducks in 6 Ducks are looking like cup contenders... stars wont make it easy but ducks might go back to finals!

You are the new Carolina... welcome to the 2nd season again. The hockey gods love an underdog.

We've been here many a time. We're just not used to people expecting anything out of us. Especially with 3 of our top 5 d out of the lineup.

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. Boston has no chance in this series. Montreal is too much for them, but Carey Price shows a little playoff inexperience in this series.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 6. Ottawa is stumbling into the playoffs as the #7 seed. They dont have Alfredsson or Fisher and their goaltending is terrible.

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 6. Huet has been very good for the Caps but Ovechkin alone will win them this series.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 7. I want the Devils to win, badly. I'll be at every home game, and I dont wanna see the Rags celebrating anytime soon. Its a toss up. It'll all come down to game 7.


************************************************** ******

I guess ill add the west just for fun.


(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville: Red Wings in five


(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary: Sharks in six


(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado Wild in six


(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas Stars in seven

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5, Bruins suck.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 5, without Afredsson that team is lost.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7, This may be closer than anyone thinks, Phily has a very good depth and size. If they can shut down Ovechkin, or get on the power play, the Caps will be in trouble.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6, this is the optimist prediction. All the regular season games we lost because of a bad call, funny bounce, or simply bad luck. The law of averages should give us at least 4 of those games back.

I join you guys too!

EAST

Montreal - Boston: Bruins in 6. I don't know why, but I have a feeling, that Boston will be this year's surprise team in the playoffs. I think that Julien will solve the Habs problem for the Bruins and they accomplish quite a miracle against Montreal.
Pittsburgh - Ottawa: Pens in 7. It could go either way, but too many injuries for the Sens, but maybe Emery will do something against the kids. Still, the offense of the Pens is just too strong for them.
Washington - Philadelphia: Philly in 6. Washington has no playoffs experience, and that will cost them a lot. Huet and the Ovechkin show will steal a game or two, but that's it for them.
New Jersey - New York: Rangers in 6. Well put it simply, they owned us this year and it seems like Gomez is flying in the games against us. My heart says Devs in 7, but that is quite unlikely. However, if we win the game on Wednesday that would be awesome, because since I follow the Devils' season (since 2002) they never lost a series, when they won the first game. So after a successful 1st game there could be hope!

WEST

Red Wings in 5
San Jose in 6
Minnesota in 6
Ducks in 6

BTW is anybody going to do the west too?

Someone can start a Western Prediction Game thread too. I just wanted to focus on an Eastern hockey game, also didnt want to take responsibility for adding up so many points and possibilities that I needed to use Excel. :naughty:

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Montreal in 5- Bruins suck

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 6- Crosby, Malkin, Hossa= Dominate

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Washington in 4- Ovechkin is a beast

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6- Brodeur will control this series

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5. Montreal owns the season series 8-0 and about 3 of those games have actually been close. Boston steals a game if Bergeron makes it back into the lineup.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Sens in 6. I assume Ottawa will come out banging and Pburgh isn't going to win games with Criesby diving all over the ice for 3 periods (and maybe OT)

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7. Despite their momentum it's never easy having to play in Philly this time of year. Home ice helps.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Rangers in 6. There will be defensive lineup changes, our offense is shoddy at best, we still blew a 2 goal lead yesterday although we dominated the first period and I don't see us improving that much in the post-season.

devils in 5

habs in 5

ottowa in 7

wash in 6

1. Habs vs. Bruins - Habs in 6
2. Pens vs. Sens - Pens in 5
3. Caps vs. Flyers - Caps in 5
4. No Prediction

sorry did not pontificate


devils in 5
rangers are a low scoring team and i feel broduer is playing best of his career; i think gomez is slightly injured and is a little scared of white and vish(has anyone noticed he as fumble at our blue line more than usual, gomez is not a fearless player that was always my complaint of him, rangers while have good young defenseman do not posess a shut down guy and look for staal,girardi or backman to make a key mistake some point, henrik will not be as hot as usual.

habs in 5
Boston if fully healthy may have had a chance, but i think they are too banged up and will not hold

ottowa in 7
pittsburgh still needs to outscore opponents to win although ottowas defense is not what it was, i think pittsburgh still has a lousy defense and there is lots of pressure on the shoulders of young players #1 seed does not always work out as devils fans have experienced

wash in 6

i am basing this on the fact that washington is nasty right now and dominated the devils badly in their past 2 or 3 games, look out for washington in the playoffs they may just come out of the east.

Rangers in 6! I do admire how a lot of Devil fans here pick the Rangers with their heads, then change their mind last minute! Drury will score at least two big goals.

Montreal 7 Boston is very underrated and they have Bergeron coming back. And I wonder about Carey Price in goal. But their PP and speed will be enough for one round.

Washington 6 That is one hot team right now and I think they have a big run in them. I like Phill's offense, but Biron is way too shaky. At least 2 Washington wins in OT.

Pittsburgh 5 Gary Roberts is returning soon. This team is not losing after the way they got schooled last year. Ottawa's D will be overwhelmed.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 7

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Flyers in 6

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Rangers in 5 :cry:

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5. Bruins can't keep up with a rolling Montreal team. Julien gets *****-slapped as he deserves.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Ottawa in 7. Pens are still young, and Ottawa has nothing to lose right now since nobody expects them to do anything. They came too close last year to lay an egg. They'll rally without their leader.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7. The NHL is ready for AO, and this will be his showcase. Philly's PP could be the difference here, but I think the Caps roll continues throughout Round 1.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6. The regular season showed how close these games can be, and in a series with close games and no shootouts, I'll take Marty EVERY TIME. Our offense was almost as anemic as theirs.

For the West, I don't care. As long as Detroit gets beat somewhere, I'll be happy.

montreal in 5. Montreal will probably split in boston and i dont see boston winning a game in montreal. I hope im wrong though

pens in 7. Going to be a tougher series than most think. Crosby has a big game 7.

Flyers in 6. I hope not. But i need one upset.

Devils in 5. Eh didnt want to pick but i will never pick vs the devils. Plus im going to games 1 and hopefully if theres a game 5, unless the devils sweep of course. We got to hold one 3rd period lead. Also we haven't scored more than 2 goals in 17 gams vs lundqvist. We need atleast 3 twice this series if we hope to advance.

Montreal over Boston in 5 but I would not rule out the only sweep in the East in the 1st Round at the hands of the Habs.

I am taking the Ottawa Senators and their miserable inconsistencies and issues in a stunning upset over the high flying offensive power house of the Pittsburgh Pens. Several reasons: 1) Fleury Sucks. 2) Volchenkov is a physical presence. Ottawa as a whole is bigger and I think Spezza and Heatly are going to step it up and they will get good tending from the tandem. Ottawa in 6.

Philadelphia over Washington. I am pulling for the Cap and would love to see them win this series and the cinderella story continue. I think the Flyers have a strong series, make a statement and move on to Round 2. Ovechkin is still not contained and has a 5 goal series. Flyers in 7.


Devils over Rangers in 6. I think Marty stands on his head and I think Parise and Elias show why they are on the top line. The Devils have a lot of soldiers who have gone deep in the post season and battled through wars. They are team built for the playoffs. I see a series full of close games. I see 2-1 and 3-2 wins. In the end the Devils to the shock of NOBODY moves on to Round 2. Devils are bigger. Devils have the better goaltending (although Lundqvist is world class). Devils have the home advantage. Devils have the more proven playoff warriors. The last game fgave the Devils a lot of confidence. Neither team has a physical presence that any opposing player would fear on the blueline. This is a goaltenders series as to who can keep the puck out of the net. This will not be a high scoirng series. Marty finally steals one for us.

1. Habs over Bahston in 5 - The bruins black/yellow, and yellow is the color of pee.
2. Sens over Pens in 7 - Penguins aren't mean animals.
3. Caps over Flyers in 6 - Alexander the great.
4. Devs over Rags in 6 - Say hello to Queen Henrik.

Montreal over Boston in 5 but I would not rule out the only sweep in the East in the 1st Round at the hands of the Habs.

I am taking the Ottawa Senators and their miserable inconsistencies and issues in a stunning upset over the high flying offensive power house of the Pittsburgh Pens. Several reasons: 1) Fleury Sucks. 2) Volchenkov is a physical presence. Ottawa as a whole is bigger and I think Spezza and Heatly are going to step it up and they will get good tending from the tandem. Ottawa in 6.

Philadelphia over Washington. I am pulling for the Cap and would love to see them win this series and the cinderella story continue. I think the Flyers have a strong series, make a statement and move on to Round 2. Ovechkin is still not contained and has a 5 goal series. Flyers in 7.


Devils over Rangers in 6. I think Marty stands on his head and I think Parise and Elias show why they are on the top line. The Devils have a lot of soldiers who have gone deep in the post season and battled through wars. They are team built for the playoffs. I see a series full of close games. I see 2-1 and 3-2 wins. In the end the Devils to the shock of NOBODY moves on to Round 2. Devils are bigger. Devils have the better goaltending (although Lundqvist is world class). Devils have the home advantage. Devils have the more proven playoff warriors. The last game fgave the Devils a lot of confidence. Neither team has a physical presence that any opposing player would fear on the blueline. This is a goaltenders series as to who can keep the puck out of the net. This will not be a high scoirng series. Marty finally steals one for us.


hes been stealing for us for years.

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hes been stealing for us for years.


There is a difference between playing well and stealing a Cup for us. 2003 was the closest thing we had to him stealing a Cup for us but he did not outplay Giguere.

This year we are only as good as Marty will allow us to be. It is in his hands our fate.

Devils(4) v.s Rags. It bothers me that the Devils didn't put the game away yesterday.In my mind we didn't put a dent in NYR's confidence against us by winning in the SO.This goes the distance but, not our way Rangers in 7!:shakehead

We are not the Mets where the cross town rivals come into our building and **** on us in an elimination game. the Devils have to much pride to let that happen. It would be different if the Rangers were so overwhelmingly better then the Devils but they are not, if at all. The Devils will not lose to the Rangers in their own building if they win 3 other games against them. If the Rangers win this series it will be in 6.

Maggie the Monkey Picked New Jersey to win!!!!

Maggie the Monkey Picked New Jersey to win!!!!
:laugh: was watching, so did Pang.

They are team built for the playoffs.

We are? :amazed:

We are? :amazed:

Yes. The Devils have a bigger team. They have a good penalty kill and good defensive forwards.

The only thing they lack is a good PP. And I do agree that it is more important to have a good PP now in the NHL postseason when it has become more of a special teams game then ever before.

But we are built for the playoffs. We also have a ton of players who have gone the distance and played through wars and spilled blood in the post season.

The Devils have clutch and timely scoring like Langenbrunner and Elias. They have Drury. Look nobody is saying we are overwhelmingly better then the Rangers. I just do not see how people think the Rangers are so overwhelmingly better then us.

Both teams are built for the playoffs but I think we are a bit more. who on the Rangers blueline has adundant playoff experience?

Salvador and Rachunek have been to the Conference Finals. White has won two Cups. Vish has been to a Cup.

Habs over Bruins in a sweep: I hate picking sweeps, but this is a mismatch. I think we'd take the Bruins in 5, so since the Habs are better...

Pens over Sens in 5: Unless they're playing for coke instead of the Cup, the Sens are in big trouble.

Flyers over Caps in 6: Gotta pick an upset somewhere. I don't know why. But a one player team against a bunch of chippy ****s could = problems.

Not going to pick the Rangers/Devils series. Don't think it's good form.

Wings over Preds in 6. Preds aren't that bad and have taken 3 out of 8 from the Wings.

Sharks over Flames in 6. This is going to be a chippy mess.

Avs over Wild in 6. Wild gotta prove something to me after their embarassing performance last season against the Ducks.

Ducks over Stars in 5. Richards trade was zero sum, makes it a disaster. The Ducks won last season for a reason and it's gonna take getting their own medicine to beat them.

The Devils have a bigger team.

But we seem to get pushed around a lot. Too much if you ask me. Zajac, Zubrus & Vishnevski are big, but are hardly intimidating and don't use their size to their advantage.


They have a good penalty kill

Well it's 13th out of 30, that's kind of average/middle of the pack. And we're horrible on the 5 on 3.

The Devils have clutch and timely scoring like Langenbrunner and Elias.

Well, they're not as clutch as we'd all like, especially Langenbrunner. Those days are long gone.

Not sure what to expect with Elias but as we have seen for the last 2 season, he will be a non-factor for much of the time and disappear over the course of several games.

who on the Rangers blueline has adundant playoff experience?

Other than Colin White, who exactly do we have with abundant playoff experience? Sorry, but I don't have faith in Rachunek & Salvador.


We used to be built for the playoffs, when we could roll either 4, 3 or even 2 solid lines, to go along with our stellar defense & superb goaltending.

But those days are long gone now.


We can't even get 1 scoring line going & have an excess of mediocre defenesman.

But we seem to get pushed around a lot. Too much if you ask me. Zajac, Zubrus & Vishnevski are big, but are hardly intimidating and use their size to their advantage.

Pushed around by who? And sorry but Zubrus definetly uses his size, thats probably his best asset. A Vishevski hit can be intimidating come playoff time.


Well it's 13th out of 30, that's kind of average/middle of the pack. And we're horrible on the 5 on 3.

Most teams are average to poor on the 5 on 3. Kinda gets like that when your down two men. What you expect 80%?:shakehead



Well, they're not as clutch as we'd all like, especially Langenbrunner. Those days are long gone.

Not sure what to expect with Elias but as we have seen for the last 2 season, he will be a non-factor for much of the time and disappear over the course of several games.

I see that you have selective memory. I guess then that you don't remember Langenbrunners goal in Game 2 against Ottawa? That's not clutch? Can't say anything good about the Devils?:shakehead

Not too mention Elias had a decent playoff last year and a superb one two years agon. He's not far removed from that

Other than Colin White, who exactly do we have with abundant playoff experience? Sorry, but I don't have faith in Rachunek & Salvador.

Paul Martin's 3 playoffs? More experienced that Staal, Girardi, Roszival, Tyutin, Backman. Come on now Muttley you're really starting to sound like a Rangers fan and/or stupid.

But we seem to get pushed around a lot. Too much if you ask me. Zajac, Zubrus & Vishnevski are big, but are hardly intimidating and use their size to their advantage.




Well it's 13th out of 30, that's kind of average/middle of the pack. And we're horrible on the 5 on 3.



Well, they're not as clutch as we'd all like, especially Langenbrunner. Those days are long gone.

Not sure what to expect with Elias but as we have seen for the last 2 season, he will be a non-factor for much of the time and disappear over the course of several games.



Other than Colin White, who exactly do we have with abundant playoff experience? Sorry, but I don't have faith in Rachunek & Salvador.


I do not necessarily disagree but I can say the same thing for the Rangers. My only beef is people are talking about the Rangers as if they are the Habs dynasty suddenly. They won less games then us and still beat us 7 times. And by the way for the all negative posters..if we beat the Rangers 7 times identical to the way they beat us this season then you know darn well that you would be saying that we got outplayed a lot and won by shootout several times.

The Rangers dominated in the Win/Loss column but not the games.

The Rangers are a good team. I will say that 8 days a week. But I am not sold on them being so much better then us. They have scored the timely goal against us this year. That is one thing we have not been able to do against them and 11 shutouts is an overall concern when it comes to our ability to score in timely fashion as in the past. I realize this. i see all the flaws and issues. But even after all of that we still are a 4th seed have a lower goals against, a Hart caliber Goalie, a big team, a good PK and only 8 less goals then the explosive NY Burnside Rangers. And Langenbrunner and Elias are just as clutch as Drury. I do not care if they failed to show it against the Rags. they have as recent as last season and before.

The Devils are not winning the Cup this year we all know that Our feelings could change after Round 1 but right now we are all in agreement on that. At least we should be. But for any Devils fan to go with the Rangers simply because they think they are the better team is picking them for the wrong reasons.

The Devils also have miles and miles and miles of more blueline experience then the Rags. That is not even worthwhile of an arguement. White, Martin, Vish, Rachunek, Salvador.

you're really starting to sound like a Rangers fan and/or stupid.

Redundant - (re·dun·dant) - adjective - Characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas. Repetitive.

East:
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 4
(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Ottawa in 5
(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 4
(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 6


West:
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville: Nashville in 6
(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary: Calgary in 7
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado Wild in 4
(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas Dallas in 6

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5. Montreal owns the season series 8-0 and about 3 of those games have actually been close. Boston steals a game if Bergeron makes it back into the lineup.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Sens in 6. I assume Ottawa will come out banging and Pburgh isn't going to win games with Criesby diving all over the ice for 3 periods (and maybe OT)

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7. Despite their momentum it's never easy having to play in Philly this time of year. Home ice helps.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Rangers in 6. There will be defensive lineup changes, our offense is shoddy at best, we still blew a 2 goal lead yesterday although we dominated the first period and I don't see us improving that much in the post-season.

I know it's only the East, but I wanna do the West too just so my predictions are out there. ;)

1 Detroit vs. 8 Nashville - Detroit in 6. If Nashville gets good goaltending they could steal the series and Detroit has surprisingly struggled a bit lately offensively, but Nashville is no Edmonton.
2 San Jose vs. 7 Calgary -San Jose in 7. The reason I say this goes to 7 games is simply because when I look back at Marty's start to last seasons playoffs, I could see Nabby possibly having a rough game or two before picking it up. Calgary will fight tooth and nail, but it won't be enough.
3 Minnesota vs. 6 Colorado - Colorado in 6. Theodore is back in old form, he has playoff experience and Colorado acquired the pieces to the puzzle that might make it work for them. This is all assuming Forsberg stays healthy and the D can contain Gaborik, Rolston Bouchard and co.
4 Anaheim vs. 5 - Ducks in 4. This is my only sweep pick of the playoffs, Dallas has played rather terrible lately, the Ducks have a majority of their team from last season on the ice now, the curse of Marty Turco continues.

May i say something bad about the rangers?

last night when the game was on the line

the devils had 4 out of 5 homegrown players on the ice

the rangers had none

despite being beaten by the rangers consistantly this season history has proven mercenary teams usually do not fare well in the NHL or any league for that matter

this years devils team has lots wrong with it, however i have a strange feeling about this years' team that they are going to do something this year, maybe not win it all but i think t hey are going to do much better than expected in playoffs

i have been watching this team for 26 years so i feel i have a good gut when it comes to them

i think this team is more suited for the playoffs than the past few seasons, guys like mottau/rupp/clarkson/ are true lunch pal guys and gritty i hope i am right

1. Montreal vs 8. Boston-Bruins in 7 (I agree about Montreal's speed but i just have a gut feeling, Habs are to young.)

2. Pittsburgh vs. 7. Ottawa- Pens in 6 (Goaltending will be key, and i think Fleury is better then Emery/Gerber tandom.)

3. Washington vs. 6. Philly-Caps in 5 (Caps like someone said continue there run)

4. Devs vs. 5. Rangers-Devils in 5 ( That last win is a big confidence boost)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West

1. Detroit vs. 8. Nashville-Preds in 6 (Wings do there old flop in playoffs)

2. San Jose vs. 7. Calgary-Sharks in 4 (Sharks are coming out of the west)

3. Minnesota vs. 6. Colorado-Wild in 7 (Should be best matchup in west)

4. Anaheim vs. 5. Dallas- Stars in 6 (Dallas i belive will make it to the West finals only to lose to SJ)

One Bump.

In case some havent seen that want to be involved.

i really do want the devs to take the series and go as far as they possibly could, but i dont see it happening. id say rags in 6.

what i do hope that happens is if the devils must lose, is that they lose in grand enough fashion that lou MUST address the positions the correct way. no more of this "devil" type of player dropped in. need scoring, get someone who can do it and pay him what he deserves. have suspect defense, get a defenseman whos the business. im actually a little more anxious to see what lou does this off season than i am for the playoffs. maybe its just because i know if/when they lose to the rags...ill wanna beat myself with my own shoes.

Where are all the Rangers in 4 posters? Too afraid to expose yourself to ridicule? :sarcasm:

Anyway, here are my picks:

East:
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 4. A speedy Habs team against a Boston team that backed into the playoffs. I expect Lou to be right - Julienball doesn't work in the playoffs.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5. I might have picked Ottawa in this series if they had Alfredsson. But they don't. Their goaltending has also been terrible this year.

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 6. Caps are on a roll, and Philly has Biron in net.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 7. Before game 82 of the season, I said I'd wait to see who had home ice before making a prediction in the series. I have to stand by that. Rangers have more talent, but the Devils are built for the playoffs.


West (just to get it out there):
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville: Detroit in 5. Tempting to pick another Detroit chokejob, but they are just so much better than Nashville.

(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary: Calgary in 6. Calgary is another team that is built for the playoffs. San Jose will only go as far as Thornton takes them... which has never been far.

(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado: Colorado in 6. The Avs are much better than their record indicates. They acquired Forsberg and Foote at the deadline and Sakic is healthy now. Last run for the Avs veterans.

(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas: Anaheim in 6. The Ducks major weakness is lack of scoring. But Dallas isn't exactly a scoring machine either - plus their best player (Zubov) should miss the first round.

Montreal - Boston: Montreal in 6

Pittsburgh - Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5

Washington - Philadelphia: Philadelphia in 7

New Jersey - New York: New Jersey in 6

i really do want the devs to take the series and go as far as they possibly could, but i dont see it happening. id say rags in 6.

what i do hope that happens is if the devils must lose, is that they lose in grand enough fashion that lou MUST address the positions the correct way. no more of this "devil" type of player dropped in. need scoring, get someone who can do it and pay him what he deserves. have suspect defense, get a defenseman whos the business. im actually a little more anxious to see what lou does this off season than i am for the playoffs. maybe its just because i know if/when they lose to the rags...ill wanna beat myself with my own shoes.


Huh? You want Lou to abandon the strategy that allowed us the win 3 Cups and multiple division titles??

Let's face it, they are playing a new system. They need players that can play this aggressive forecheck without tiring. They need to part way with some plodders and get more Clarkson/Zubrus/Rupp AKA size and some more skill to compliment the finishers.

Madden has shown his willingness to play this system.

With that being said, Devils in five.

Brodeur >>> Lundqvist

Defense >>> Even

Kip Wingers >>> Even

Centers ---- Rangers

Intristics --- Devils

Special teams --- Rangers

Revenge Factor--- Devils

The Devils must break the Rangers boring trap and they will.

Have read the boards for a while..thought I'd join in..a bit older than you guys but hey..beats the alternitive

Mont v Boston...Habs in 5...the Price is right

Pitt V Ott.....Pitt is 6...The Sens are a mess

Wash v Philly....Caps in 6 Huet and AOV way too much for the Flyers to handle

Devs V Rags.. Double overtime game 7...Elias swoops behind the net...pass to the point..........Mottau!!! Mottau!!! Mottau!!!!


Out west....

Det v Nash....Wings in 5...too much for Ellis to handle

San J v Calgary...Sharks in 6..They are coming out of the west..Cambell is that good

Minn v Colo.. ...Avs in 7....the vets get it done one last time and Stasny star grows

Ana V Dallas...Ducks in 5...Was anyone else surprized how much grey Scotty N had in his beard maybe Lou does age people(So tells my buddy who worked for them)


GO DEVS!!!!!

Have read the boards for a while..thought I'd join in..a bit older than you guys but hey..beats the alternitive


How do you know you are a bit older? We've got some real ancient guys here.

Montreal vs Boston - Montreal in 5

Pittsburgh vs Ottawa - Pittsburgh in 6

Washington vs Philadelphia - Washington in 6

New Jersey vs New York - New Jersey in 7

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 6. I think somehow the B's will at least win 2.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Sens in 7. This is mostly wishful thinking on my part, cause I really want to see that team fail. Not that it matters, even if Pens are out of the playoffs, we will still have to hear about Crosby during every other team's telecast.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 6. Personally, I don't care either way who wins this one.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6. I'm not gonna say that is my heart talking and my head says Rags. I just don't think they have the edge over us that most others seem to. I think this is a very even match up, and we have the heart and soul players that know how to turn it up during the post season. Please don't prove me wrong, please don't prove me wrong, please don't prove me wrong!

Huh? You want Lou to abandon the strategy that allowed us the win 3 Cups and multiple division titles??

no, thats reading a bit too far into it. i want lou to make the team more competitive again in this new nhl so that once again they can once again win multiple cups/titles/kudos etc. the roster needs a shakeup and a more offensive, stronger, bigger one at that. oh and a number 1 dman isnt too much else to ask for is it:D.

You are the new Carolina... welcome to the 2nd season again. The hockey gods love an underdog.

Who's the underdog? Everyone and their brother is picking the Caps.

The Devils must break the Rangers boring trap and they will.

Look who's talking! The pioneers of the trap!

Look who's talking! The pioneers of the trap!

You're thinking of the Sweds. They pioneered the trap. It was adapted by the Montreal Canadiens, and brought over and adapted by Jacques Lemaire full time when he coached the Devils. The Rangers play a similar but not identical style. It only differs in player positions but still almost the exact same philsophy.

Half of the league has adapted this style but all vary to a degree on positioning.

i really do want the devs to take the series and go as far as they possibly could, but i dont see it happening. id say rags in 6.

what i do hope that happens is if the devils must lose, is that they lose in grand enough fashion that lou MUST address the positions the correct way. no more of this "devil" type of player dropped in. need scoring, get someone who can do it and pay him what he deserves. have suspect defense, get a defenseman whos the business. im actually a little more anxious to see what lou does this off season than i am for the playoffs. maybe its just because i know if/when they lose to the rags...ill wanna beat myself with my own shoes.

absolutely agree with you here but i have said since all the matchups were set, rangers in 5

wow, 64 posts on a devils board and well about 60 picks for the Devils and 4 for the Rangers, go figure.

now ill give you an honest reason why I think the NYR will win in 5 games.
The NJD have scored 9 goals in 8 games vs NY this year, why will this change?
Throw out the shootouts that the Rangers won, the NJD have never lead
a single time after 60 min of hockey NO wins or OT wins, shootouts could go either way. Now the NYR have a Goalie who can match Marty save for save and they have Drury, Gomez and Jagr. Brian Gionta sure looks different without Gomez there...
being honest I say Rangers in 5.

How do you know you are a bit older? We've got some real ancient guys here.

Cause I was at Opening Night against Pittsburgh back in 1982.....and drove there (btw sat in Sec 110..Ticket was 19.50) and i thought that was steep.......can anybody else say that lol..will be in Sec 230 Row 2 Friday...Not only were we the Row of the Game Sunday we had the Winner of the Lincoln...what a row.besides the fact that my legs dont fit in..its all good!

Cause I was at Opening Night against Pittsburgh back in 1982.....and drove there (btw sat in Sec 110..Ticket was 19.50) and i thought that was steep.......can anybody else say that lol..will be in Sec 230 Row 2 Friday...Not only were we the Row of the Game Sunday we had the Winner of the Lincoln...what a row.besides the fact that my legs dont fit in..its all good!

Ahh sadly I could never afford to go to the games when I was in NJ. But I remember when gas was 32 cents a gallon.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 6. Koivu's absence makes this one closer than it would otherwise have been.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Ottawa in 7. A playoff-tested team gets up off the carpet and sends home a very hot and very talented squad with less second-season experience.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 6. Both teams have some down-the-stretch momentum, but Ovie and the Caps are rolling faster right now.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6. Queen Henrietta plays better than she did during The Sweep, but, as usual, Marty's better. Three other factors fuel NJ: the giant collective chip on the team's shoulder from beating the Rags just once in the regular season; the absence of the shootout and home-ice advantage.

Interesting... results from NHL.com panel surveys.

UNITED STATES PANELISTS
QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS

Here is who U.S. panelists think will win each Quarter Final series:

Eastern Conference
Montreal Canadiens (88%), Pittsburgh Penguins (84%), Washington Capitals (73%) and New Jersey Devils (58%)

Western Conference
Detroit Red Wings (89%), San Jose Sharks (84%),
Minnesota Wild (53%) and Anaheim Ducks (73%)


__________________________________________________ ______ U.S. Panelists
Length of Series

Montreal in 5 Games (46%)
Pittsburgh in 6 Games (36%)
Washington in 6 Games (31%)
New Jersey in 6 or 7 Gms (Both 22%)
Detroit in 5 Games (44%)
San Jose in 6 Games (35%)
Minnesota in 6 Games (24%)
Anaheim in 6 Games (31%)
CANADIAN PANELISTS
QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS

Here is who Canadian panelists think will win each Quarter Final series:

Eastern Conference
Montreal Canadiens (95%), Pittsburgh Penguins (81%), Washington Capitals (78%) and New Jersey Devils (64%)

Western Conference
Detroit Red Wings (90%), San Jose Sharks (73%),
Colorado Avalanche (52%) and Anaheim Ducks (77%)

__________________________________________________ ______ Canadian Panelists
Length of Series

Montreal in 5 Games (51%)
Pittsburgh in 6 Games (42%)
Washington in 6 Games (32%)
New Jersey in 6 Games (28%)
Detroit in 5 Games (45%)
San Jose in 6 Games (30%)
Colorado in 6 Games (25%)
Anaheim in 6 Games (34%)
INTERNATIONAL PANELISTS
QUARTER FINAL PREDICTIONS

Here is who International panelists think will win each Quarter Final series:

Eastern Conference
Montreal Canadiens (88%), Pittsburgh Penguins (72%), Washington Capitals (64%) and New Jersey Devils (52%)

Western Conference
Detroit Red Wings (89%), San Jose Sharks (68%),
Colorado Avalanche (61%) and Anaheim Ducks (69%) International
Length of Series

Montreal in 5 Games (48%)
Pittsburgh in 6 Games (35%)
Washington in 6 Games (27%)
New Jersey in 6 Games (23%)
Detroit in 5 Games (43%)
San Jose in 6 Games (35%)
Colorado in 6 Games (27%)
Anaheim in 7 Games (27%)

Habs in 4 - No contest, too many injuries for Boston and a horrible historical record against Montreal.

Pens in 5 - Injuries to 2 key players, shaky goaltending and defence that didn't play like they did last year means a short post season for Ottawa.

Flyers in 6 - Ovechkin and the Caps are on a roll, but the Flyers are the toughest team in the east and can wear down the Caps scorers. Flyers have better 3rd-4th lines which will make the difference in the long run.

Devils in 7 - Could just as easily be Rangers in 7, but there's no way I'm picking them. Talked to death on these forums so i'll keep it short. We have Brodeur, they don't. Advantage NJ.

Red Wings in 5 - The wings should sweep this series, but with their history of 1st round jitters I'll say 5. Nashville is a good team but this is too much of a mismatch.

Sharks in 5 - I like the Flames, but Kipper's hardly been himself this year. If he plays well this could go to 7 games, but I'm thinking he won't.

Wild in 6 - This series is all about Theodore. Without a great performance from him Colorado doesn't stand a chance. The Avalanche have some serious offensive power across 3 lines but it's inconsistent while Minnesota has lost some defencemen to injury. Hardest series to predict of the 1st round.

Ducks in 7 - Should be a very close series. Both goalies will likely be very good and keep the scores low. I see a lot of overtimes happening in this series. Anaheim's size should prevail in the end.


I try not to be a homer in these kinds of things but I truly believe that NJ/NY will be the best series of the first round.
I'm really looking forward to it.

I thought i would bump this just to get it back near the top here...

wow, my predictions suck :(

Devils vs. Rangers - Rangers in 5. Two teams, opposite directions down the stretch.

Hmm... unfortunately....

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5. Montreal owns the season series 8-0 and about 3 of those games have actually been close. Boston steals a game if Bergeron makes it back into the lineup.

WRONG- but right winner
2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Sens in 6. I assume Ottawa will come out banging and Pburgh isn't going to win games with Criesby diving all over the ice for 3 periods (and maybe OT)

WAYYYYYY WRONG
3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7. Despite their momentum it's never easy having to play in Philly this time of year. Home ice helps.

WRONG though it should have been right.
4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Rangers in 6. There will be defensive lineup changes, our offense is shoddy at best, we still blew a 2 goal lead yesterday although we dominated the first period and I don't see us improving that much in the post-season.WRONG- But only off by a game.


I know it's only the East, but I wanna do the West too just so my predictions are out there. ;)

1 Detroit vs. 8 Nashville - Detroit in 6. If Nashville gets good goaltending they could steal the series and Detroit has surprisingly struggled a bit lately offensively, but Nashville is no Edmonton. Right.
2 San Jose vs. 7 Calgary -San Jose in 7. The reason I say this goes to 7 games is simply because when I look back at Marty's start to last seasons playoffs, I could see Nabby possibly having a rough game or two before picking it up. Calgary will fight tooth and nail, but it won't be enough. TBD
3 Minnesota vs. 6 Colorado - Colorado in 6. Theodore is back in old form, he has playoff experience and Colorado acquired the pieces to the puzzle that might make it work for them. This is all assuming Forsberg stays healthy and the D can contain Gaborik, Rolston Bouchard and co. Right

4 Anaheim vs. 5 - Ducks in 4. This is my only sweep pick of the playoffs, Dallas has played rather terrible lately, the Ducks have a majority of their team from last season on the ice now, the curse of Marty Turco continues. WRONG

New matchups for the East:

1. Montreal vs 6. Filthadelphia - Habs in 7 - Unlike the Caps, Montreal has a defensive game and although they have a rookie goalie, they have the same high-flying type of offense that Washington has. But hey, maybe Filthy beats 2 Habs goalies in a row. :sarcasm:

2. Pittsburgh vs 5. New York - New York in 6 - Watch out Pittsburgh, it's a trap! Defense wins. I'm also willing to predict that we will see Conklin play in this series.

I dont feel like doing the math and posting the leaders tonight, but will do so shortly (I know I'm NOT up high in the rankings. :( )

When making your 2nd round picks, also include your Western predictions this time too now that the number of series has been culled so to speak.

New matchups for the East:


2. Pittsburgh vs 5. New York - New York in 6 - Watch out Pittsburgh, it's a trap! Defense wins.


Because this NEVER gets old....... ohhhhhhhh.... the beautiful irony.

http://www.federalreview.com/uploaded_images/itsatrap-756180.jpg

Habs over Bruins in a sweep: I hate picking sweeps, but this is a mismatch. I think we'd take the Bruins in 5, so since the Habs are better...

at least I picked the right team, but missed by as much as possible.

Pens over Sens in 5: Unless they're playing for coke instead of the Cup, the Sens are in big trouble.

pretty close

Flyers over Caps in 6: Gotta pick an upset somewhere. I don't know why. But a one player team against a bunch of chippy ****s could = problems.

missed by one again

Not going to pick the Rangers/Devils series. Don't think it's good form.

would have been Rangers in 6, but it's not like it counts afterwards

Wings over Preds in 6. Preds aren't that bad and have taken 3 out of 8 from the Wings.

nailed it

Sharks over Flames in 6. This is going to be a chippy mess.

could miss this one by one

Avs over Wild in 6. Wild gotta prove something to me after their embarassing performance last season against the Ducks.

nailed it, things are going pretty well

Ducks over Stars in 5. Richards trade was zero sum, makes it a disaster. The Ducks won last season for a reason and it's gonna take getting their own medicine to beat them.

and then it all goes downhill


I went 6 for 8 last first round, so I got a chance to go 7 of 8 here. But, I went 6 for 6 afterwards before losing on the Sens in the Finals. So, that'll be tough to repeat.

I would like to see a Pittsburgh sweep, but they don't match up well vs a trapping team like the Rangers. This series is a big problen for Bettman, his beloved Rags vs his poster child Crosby.
He may not get sleep for 10 days.

Montreal should rout Philly, hopefully since I want to continue to say 1975 at Flyers @ Devils games.

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. Too much offense from the Habs, not too mention Boston is a little banged up offensively.

Ehh. Whatever. I got the Habs right at least.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5. Ottawa sucks. Alfie is hurt. Fisher is hurt. They've been terrible in the New Year. Goaltending and Defense have both been shaky and will be eaten alive by Crosby, Malkin and Co. Doesn't help either that MAF has stepped up big time.

I didnt have the balls to pick Pens in a sweep, but I had a good feeling it was gonna happen. Ottawa really does suck

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Philadelphia in 6. I don't understand the Washington love affair here. I see too many people picking them to go far in the playoffs. They finished up with a schedule consisting of their lowly Southeaster brethren while Philly played the tough Atlantic Division to finish off their campaign. I love AO, but Viktor Kozlov? Unproven youngsters Alex Semin and Nick Backstrom? A shaky defense? I'll take my chances on the tougher team.

Almost spot on. Philly's the better squad

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 7. This is just a gut feeling as I'm basically going off of nothing besides my confidence in Brodeur. But for the Devils to win the offense has to step up, namely Captain Langenbrunner who has been more like Captain Crunch in recent weeks. Martin, White, and Oduya have to step up their games even further.

Booooooo.

Eastern Conference

Quarterfinals
1. Montreal Canadiens vs 8. Boston Bruins: Canadiens in 5
2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 7. Ottawa Senators: Penguins in 7
3. Washington Capitalsvs 6. Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers in 6
4. New Jersey Devils vs 5. New York Rangers: Rangers in 5 :cry:

Semifinals
1. Montreal Canadiens vs 6. Philadelphia Flyers: Canadiens in 5
2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs 5. New York Rangers: Rangers in 6

Finals
1. Montreal Canadiens vs 5. New York Rangers: Rangers in 7



Western Conference

Quarterfinals
1. Detroit Red Wings vs 8. Nashville Predators: Red Wings in 6
2. San Jose Sharks vs 7. Calgary Flames: Sharks in 7
3. Minnesota Wild vs 6. Colorado Avalanche: Avalanche in 6
4. Anaheim Ducks vs 5. Dallas Stars: Stars in 7

Semifinals
1. Detroit Red Wings vs 6. Colorado Avalanche: Red Wings in 7
2. San Jose Sharks vs 5. Dallas Stars: Sharks in 6

Finals
1. Detroit Red Wings vs 2. San Jose Sharks: Sharks in 5

Stanley Cup Finals

2. San Jose Sharks vs 5. New York Rangers: Sharks in 6

well assuming the sharks hold on i was 8 for 8 in round one (obviously didnt predict the # of games in all of them but predicted all the winners).............so lets see how i do in round 2 :yo:

montreal in 5. Montreal will probably split in boston and i dont see boston winning a game in montreal. I hope im wrong though

pens in 7. Going to be a tougher series than most think. Crosby has a big game 7.

Flyers in 6. I hope not. But i need one upset.

Devils in 5. Eh didnt want to pick but i will never pick vs the devils. Plus im going to games 1 and hopefully if theres a game 5, unless the devils sweep of course. We got to hold one 3rd period lead. Also we haven't scored more than 2 goals in 17 gams vs lundqvist. We need atleast 3 twice this series if we hope to advance.


3 points for me.

round 2 points should double....

pens in 6. Rangers will lose at msg and get booed off the ice.

montreal in 5. Philly sucks.

Penguins in 7 ~ The rangers trap errrr defense, keeps them in this series, but Pitt pulls through.

Habs in 5 ~ Fleyers cant hang.

Sharks in 6 ~ Got the monkey off their back beating Calgary.

RedWings in 7 ~ Battle to the end!!

Pens vs Rangers - Pens in 6
Habs vs Flyers - Flyers in 6

Red Wings vs Avalanche - Wings in 5
Sharks vs Stars - Sharks in 7

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Habs in 5, Bruins suck.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 5, without Afredsson that team is lost.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Caps in 7, This may be closer than anyone thinks, Phily has a very good depth and size. If they can shut down Ovechkin, or get on the power play, the Caps will be in trouble.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - Devils in 6, this is the optimist prediction. All the regular season games we lost because of a bad call, funny bounce, or simply bad luck. The law of averages should give us at least 4 of those games back.

Well I got the first one right, didn't think it would go 7 games. Got the second one too, but the Pens really killed them more than I thought. I knew the Caps/Flyers game would be close, but guess the Flyers were tougher. Homer guess for the last one. So 2 points for me. Do I get an extra point for predicting the 7 games in Caps vs Flyers even though the Caps lost?


Pens vs Rangers - Pens in 5, Rangers are going to get steamrolled
Habs vs Flyers - Flyers in 7, Tough fight but the Flyers are tougher

Red Wings vs Avalanche - Wings in 5. Kind of an uneven match.
Sharks vs Stars - Stars in 7, could go either way.

New matchups for the East:

1. Montreal vs 6. Filthadelphia - Habs in 7 - Unlike the Caps, Montreal has a defensive game and although they have a rookie goalie, they have the same high-flying type of offense that Washington has. But hey, maybe Filthy beats 2 Habs goalies in a row. :sarcasm:

2. Pittsburgh vs 5. New York - New York in 6 - Watch out Pittsburgh, it's a trap! Defense wins. I'm also willing to predict that we will see Conklin play in this series.

now that the West is set:

1. Detroit vs 6. Colorado - Avs in 6 - I believe Colorado has the upset power in this series, and I also have a feeling this series may revive what was essentially a dying rivalry. Detroit is the better team, but the Avs are playing like they want to win and Detroit seemed like they were just going through the motions against Nashville.

2. San Jose vs 5. Dallas - Dallas in 7 - I got a feeling this is going to be a long one, but Dallas proved they can come up big although they did have a little trouble closing out the Ducks. Sharks haven't sold me, although last night was a little impressive.

(1) Montreal vs. (8) Boston: Montreal in 5. Boston has no chance in this series. Montreal is too much for them, but Carey Price shows a little playoff inexperience in this series.

(2) Pittsburgh vs. (7) Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 6. Ottawa is stumbling into the playoffs as the #7 seed. They dont have Alfredsson or Fisher and their goaltending is terrible.

(3) Washington vs. (6) Philadelphia: Caps in 6. Huet has been very good for the Caps but Ovechkin alone will win them this series.

(4) New Jersey vs. (5) New York Rangers: Devils in 7. I want the Devils to win, badly. I'll be at every home game, and I dont wanna see the Rags celebrating anytime soon. Its a toss up. It'll all come down to game 7.


************************************************** ******

I guess ill add the west just for fun.


(1) Detroit vs. (8) Nashville: Red Wings in five


(2) San Jose vs. (7) Calgary: Sharks in six


(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Colorado Wild in six


(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Dallas Stars in seven


2 right in the east, and 3 right in the west. 5/8





Pens vs Rangers - Pens in 7. Please Pittsburgh, pull it out in game 7!

Habs vs Flyers - Montreal in 7. Montreal showed a lot of weak play in round one, we'll see it continue at important points in the series, and the flygirls will take advantage. But Montreal pulls out game 7 at home, AGAIN.


************************************************** *************


Red Wings vs Avalanche - Wings in 6. yay rafalski. :)

Sharks vs Stars - Stars in 6. this could go either way, but I was very impressed with the Stars in round one.

Habs in Six

Pens in six

Detroit in 5

Dallas in 7

Penguins in 7
Canadiens in 6

Red Wings in 6 - This series is the best chance of an upset, though
San Jose in 7

1. Habs in 5. Much like you said BG, except I only see Boston winning one home game. The Habs puck carriers rip Julienball to peaces.

2. Ottawa in 6. The shock of the playoffs. Crosby/Malkin get shutdown by an underrated physical Sens team. Heatley and Spezz have a huge series.

3. Caps in 7. Ovechkin seems to play better under more pressure. Look for a big series from Richards, Carter, Ov, Huet and Green.

4. Devils in 5. Yeah, I said it. Elias comes through big. Marty dominates.

Boy I sucked it up. #3 was close I guess.

Rags @ Pens: Pens in 6. Offense, offense, offense. Shoot high and Pens win. Malkin, Croz and Fleury come up big.

Flyers @ Habs: Habs in 7. Tough to call, two very good skating set of forwards. Habs have an equally fast defense, Flyers defense skates in mud.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Montreal in 7. Bruins go in the tank early, but discover underdog strength and mount comeback before coming out flat in game 7 with the home crowd in Montreal guilting the refs into several homer calls.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 4. Ottawa continues the backslide and makes Fluery look like the next Brodeur. Pens smoke Ottawa with killer offense and special teams. Hossa catches fire and Sykora shows us that he still has tons of offense.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Philly in 7. Philly tries to manhandle the Caps, but AO carries the offense. Biron amazes everyone with never before seen confidence and pulls out a squeaker in game 7.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - NOT GONNA DO IT - bad luck. Tense games, all but 1 or 2 decided by 1 goal. Game 2 is the deciding factor in the series. Avery goes too far at some point and gets to sit courtesy of Colin Campbell. Gionta awakens from his slumber?

Well, I think I pretty much nailed it. :naughty: All except for the Avery getting suspended (he should have).

(revisionist history at work)

Amazing Kreskin anyone?
:sarcasm:

Well, I think I pretty much nailed it. :naughty: All except for the Avery getting suspended (he should have).

(revisionist history at work)

Amazing Kreskin anyone?
:sarcasm:

Geez RG. Are you a god? :sarcasm: Those are literally spot on predictions, well done.

Quite amazing indeed.... I'm both interested in and terrified of your Pens-Rags prediction now....

:)

Geez RG. Are you a god? :sarcasm: Those are literally spot on predictions, well done.

hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? CHEATER. :biglaugh:


:bes jealous:

hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? CHEATER. :biglaugh:


:bes jealous:

Haha nope, I didn't even bother to look. Thats funny.

hindsight is 20/20 isn't it? CHEATER. :biglaugh:


:bes jealous:

:laugh:

Yeah... editing is a powerful tool. :sarcasm:

Original picks were as far off as possible!

Montral in 5, Ottawa in 6, Washington 6 I think were the calls.

New matchups for the East:

1. Montreal vs 6. Filthadelphia - Habs in 7 - Unlike the Caps, Montreal has a defensive game and although they have a rookie goalie, they have the same high-flying type of offense that Washington has. But hey, maybe Filthy beats 2 Habs goalies in a row. :sarcasm: WRONG

2. Pittsburgh vs 5. New York - New York in 6 - Watch out Pittsburgh, it's a trap! Defense wins. I'm also willing to predict that we will see Conklin play in this series. WRONG

now that the West is set:

1. Detroit vs 6. Colorado - Avs in 6 - I believe Colorado has the upset power in this series, and I also have a feeling this series may revive what was essentially a dying rivalry. Detroit is the better team, but the Avs are playing like they want to win and Detroit seemed like they were just going through the motions against Nashville. WAY WRONG

2. San Jose vs 5. Dallas - Dallas in 7 - I got a feeling this is going to be a long one, but Dallas proved they can come up big although they did have a little trouble closing out the Ducks. Sharks haven't sold me, although last night was a little impressive. TBD

2. Pittsburgh vs 6. Filthadelphia - Floppers in 6 - When you consider both teams have steamrolled the opposition this round it almost makes it harder to pick, but at the end of the day I have to believe that Filthy has been playing better hockey. I also feel as though Philly's talent is more spaced out and not chunked into one line (especially on the PP) and Biron has truly been impressive. Fleury is solid but the Rangers, statistically speaking, are no offensive juggernaut.

Pens vs Rangers - Pens in 5, Rangers are going to get steamrolled
Habs vs Flyers - Flyers in 7, Tough fight but the Flyers are tougher

Red Wings vs Avalanche - Wings in 5. Kind of an uneven match.
Sharks vs Stars - Stars in 7, could go either way.

Got the Pens exactly right, the Flyers won in less games and I knew the Red Wings were gonna kill the Avs

If my prediction is right, Stars in 7 still.

2. Pittsburgh vs 6. Filthadelphia - Floppers in 6 - When you consider both teams have steamrolled the opposition this round it almost makes it harder to pick, but at the end of the day I have to believe that Filthy has been playing better hockey. I also feel as though Philly's talent is more spaced out and not chunked into one line (especially on the PP) and Biron has truly been impressive. Fleury is solid but the Rangers, statistically speaking, are no offensive juggernaut.

since it has now been determined:

1. Detroit vs 5. Dallas - Wings in 6 - I could see Dallas jumping out to an early lead in this series because I think the extra time off is only going to cool off the Wings and guys like Franzen. But I also think the Red Wings offense is far too powerful although Dallas' defense and style might stymie them a bit from putting in 8 like Colorado let them. Even in a 6 game series, I think this one may be the highlight of the playoffs after a relatively dull 2nd round.

Pens vs Rangers - Pens in 6
Habs vs Flyers - Flyers in 6

Red Wings vs Avalanche - Wings in 5
Sharks vs Stars - Sharks in 7

Pens vs Flyers - Flyers in 6
Wings vs Stars - Stars in 6

I am going to ride the Penguins bus until the wheels fall off... Which might be real soon. Anyway...

Penguins in 6, celebrating in front of the Filthy fans.

Red Wings in 5, love the heart of the Stars and all, but c'mon.

Pens in 7, the bad karma by Philly fans vs Crosby will come back to haunt them.

Wings in 6

Penguins in 7
Wings in 6

Penguins in 5. Stars in 7.

Penguins win cup in 7.

Stars in 6

Philly in 7

Penguins in 5, Redwings in 4.

Redwings win the cup in 6.

I'm going by the strategy that a different team has lost the Stanley Cup for the past 18 years. (18 years 18 different losers) Pittsburgh is the only team left of the 4 who hasn't lost yet, it's their turn.

:Doing best impression of NYR fan:

Refs in 7.

stars in 7
flyers in 7

Pens in 6.

Stars in 6.

pens in 5
stars in 7

In the east, I'll be cheering for the road team every game. That way the fans go home miserable.

In the west, don't care. I guess Detroit since I despise Modano.

pens in 5
stars in 7

Yep.

Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas over Pittsburgh in 6

Dallas seems to be doing everything the hard way, which kind of reminds me of the 2000 & 2003 Devils. ;)

Yep.

Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas over Pittsburgh in 6

Dallas seems to be doing everything the hard way, which kind of reminds me of the 2000 & 2003 Devils. ;)

I can live with Dallas winning the Cup. Although I feel like I owe Pittsburgh one for beating up on the Rags, so I guess I'll root for them. But at the end of the day, my hard rooting went out the window the minute Hossa scored in ot. :D

I can live with Dallas winning the Cup. Although I feel like I owe Pittsburgh one for beating up on the Rags, so I guess I'll root for them. But at the end of the day, my hard rooting went out the window the minute Hossa scored in ot. :D

Dallas winning this year would set us to win next year... :sarcasm: We'll have to hire Mike Miller to call the game so he can say "And the stanley cup has fallen from the stars!!!!"

Sorry, Dallas is not talented enough this season to beat Wings.

Flyers and Penguins are a good matchup.

I'll say :

Penguins in 7 games vs the Flyers
Redwings in 6 games vs the Stars.

Dallas reminds me a bit of the 03 Devils/Sens matchup where the one team was vastly more talented than the other but the underdog managed to win. Not too mention the similarities in captain who lay out big hits. :D Stars in 7

The other one I'll go, Pens in 6 because I hate Philly. But Philly has impressed me in the playoffs nevertheless.

Sorry, Dallas is not talented enough this season to beat Wings.


Now if this were always true, the Wings would have won the last 12 Stanley Cups. :sarcasm:

Now if this were always true, the Wings would have won the last 12 Stanley Cups. :sarcasm:

and how many did they win in the last 12?

They are almost always stacked, but this year they got our Rafalski too.

They are gonna get a cup. I just know it.

1 Montreal vs. 8 Boston - Montreal in 7. Bruins go in the tank early, but discover underdog strength and mount comeback before coming out flat in game 7 with the home crowd in Montreal guilting the refs into several homer calls.

2 Pittsburgh vs. 7 Ottawa - Pens in 4. Ottawa continues the backslide and makes Fluery look like the next Brodeur. Pens smoke Ottawa with killer offense and special teams. Hossa catches fire and Sykora shows us that he still has tons of offense.

3 Washington vs. 6 Philadelphia - Philly in 7. Philly tries to manhandle the Caps, but AO carries the offense. Biron amazes everyone with never before seen confidence and pulls out a squeaker in game 7.

4 Devils vs. 5 Rangers - NOT GONNA DO IT - bad luck. Tense games, all but 1 or 2 decided by 1 goal. Game 2 is the deciding factor in the series. Avery goes too far at some point and gets to sit courtesy of Colin Campbell. Gionta awakens from his slumber?

did you edit these to make em look good?

pens in 5. Detriot in 7

Penguins in Six
Stars in Seven

did you edit these to make em look good?

Reading the thread is your friend.. and so I am so, yes, he did.

Reading the thread is your friend.. and so I am so, yes, he did.

Good thing you're being Mr. Nice Guy....I wouldn't have been!

Pens in 7
Detroit in 7

Pens in 6.....Wings is 7( who says goaltending wins the cup..osgood couldnt start for my mens league team)

and I hate to agree with Rags fans cause we sure as hell never get a call since Jim Schoenfeld invitation to Don Koharski to join him for coffee and a certain pastry at Dunkin Donuts but If Sid the Kid was in the summer olympics Greg Louganis wouldn't have his gold medals.

Pens in 6

Stars in 7

Good thing you're being Mr. Nice Guy....I wouldn't have been!

Caught me in a moment of weakness I guess ;)

2. Pittsburgh vs 6. Filthadelphia - Floppers in 6 - When you consider both teams have steamrolled the opposition this round it almost makes it harder to pick, but at the end of the day I have to believe that Filthy has been playing better hockey. I also feel as though Philly's talent is more spaced out and not chunked into one line (especially on the PP) and Biron has truly been impressive. Fleury is solid but the Rangers, statistically speaking, are no offensive juggernaut. WRONG

since it has now been determined:

1. Detroit vs 5. Dallas - Wings in 6 - I could see Dallas jumping out to an early lead in this series because I think the extra time off is only going to cool off the Wings and guys like Franzen. But I also think the Red Wings offense is far too powerful although Dallas' defense and style might stymie them a bit from putting in 8 like Colorado let them. Even in a 6 game series, I think this one may be the highlight of the playoffs after a relatively dull 2nd round.RIGHT! :amazed:

1. Detroit vs. 2. Pittsburgh - Wings in 5. - Although I'm purposely doing this to jinx the Wings, I do think the Pens inexperience might catch up with them. Ozzy has been as good as it gets and MAF hasn't even come close to seeing guys with skill like this in Led Zetterberg and Datsyuk.

Pens in 5.

Malkin simply lights up the Oz...

Brashear eats some Swedish balls for crashing into Fleury... :sarcasm:

I am going to ride the Penguins bus until the wheels fall off... Which might be real soon. Anyway...

Penguins in 6, celebrating in front of the Filthy fans.

Red Wings in 5, love the heart of the Stars and all, but c'mon.

Well, almost got it right, just number of games reversed. Gonna keep riding those Penguin coattails...

Penguins in 6

I wil also go with the Pens in six.

I'm staying with the Pens...and going with Pens in 6!

I'll take the Wings in six. The pens are done, they haven't faced one really good team yet in the playoffs.

I'll take the Wings in six. The pens are done, they haven't faced one really good team yet in the playoffs.

The Wings haven't faced any really good teams either.....the Stars were the only team that tried to give them a run for their money, and even then it wasn't all that challenging.

Penguins in 7

Wings in 6.

The Wings haven't faced any really good teams either.....the Stars were the only team that tried to give them a run for their money, and even then it wasn't all that challenging.

Dallas would have beat the Pens though, better D and better goaltending.

Great blog from an outsider's prospective on the Finals match-up:

http://www.hockeyprimetime.com/blake-benzel/an-outsiders-stanley-cup-preview