Round 2 Predictions

Posted by admin on 24th, 2008

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After the first round i find myself only just above 50% in my predictions. Here’s how I did for round 1:

East:
Montreal Canadiens - correct
Pittsburgh Penguins - correct
Washington Capitals - incorrect (but they were close)
New Jersey Devils - incorrect

West:
Detroit Red Wings - correct - I predicted a sweep, so i was far off.
Calgary Flames - incorrect - it went to 7 though.
Colorado Avalanche - correct
Dallas Stars - correct (i nailed this one)

So, for round 2 we have:

Montreal Canadiens - Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers only just scraped past the Washington Capitals, and pretty much fell apart the minute the Capitals put any offensive pressure on. They wont last long under the Canadiens attack.

Pittsburgh Penguins - New York Rangers
The Penguins dominated their first round opponent, but the Rangers wont be anywhere as easy. I believe this game will come down to M.A. Fleury Vs Henrik Lundqvist, and I simply don’t feel M.A.F. has what it takes to be the victor.

Detroit Red Wings - Colorado Avalanche
Detroit have just come off a long series with the Nashville Predators, and appeared to falter a number of times during that series. The Wings special teams were also a lot worse than they should have been. The Avalanche on the other hand are motivated and have their good players healthy again. I think special teams and netminders will decide who win this series.

San Jose Sharks - Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars showed dominance in their round against the Anaheim Ducks. They outplayed, outskilled and out-believed them in all areas of the ice in all but 1 of the games. They also have shaked the monkey off their back as far as expectations of these playoffs - pass the first round. The Stars have nothing to lose now, and everything to gain, so expect to see them give the Sharks all they have. The Sharks have 1 good offensive line, and it’s been their checking line… the Stars however have 3 solid scoring lines, all which scored 8-7-6 goals per line respectively in round 1. Special Teams will play a big role here, and the Sharks may be in danger if the Stars get Sergei Zubov back on the blue line. Turco Vs Nabokov, Zubov Vs Campbell are the 2 key matchups here.
Washington Capitals - incorrect (but they were close)
New Jersey Devils - incorrect

So, the predictions:

Montreal Canadiens in 5 games
New York Rangers in 6 games
Colorado Avalanche in 6 games
Dallas Stars in 6 games