Hello again! Well, there’s no denying it, that second round was pretty rough. With that said, I’m not proud of my 1-3 record, so I feel the need to explain some of the lessons that I’ve learned in my review of last round’s predictions. Like before, last round’s predictions in the [].
- [Capitals in 7]. This is one where I definitely learned a lesson about not going with my gut. Though the Caps looked a lot better on paper, and had beaten a much weaker Rangers team fairly easily, Tampa beat a much better team, had momentum coming in, and had a much better goalie between the pipes. With that being said, I don’t see how anyone could have predicted the sweep.
- [Bruins in 6]. Well, I’m glad I properly predicted Philadelphia’s demise. But I’ll say it again, who was predicting the sweep there?
- [Predators in 7]. Okay, this was a pretty dumb pick, and I kind of knew it at the time, but the thought of being one of the only ones to take Nashville after a potential Canucks collapse was just too tempting. And though it wasn’t always pretty, the Canucks depth was just too much for the Predators to handle. Great series though.
- [Detroit in 6]. Well the first three games of that series kind of ruined that prediction. But the comeback was highly impressive, and after taking game 6 I really thought the Wings were gonna stomp into San Jose and grab game 7. But the Sharks woke up just in time, and they took it…whatcha gonna do?
And now, round 3. Onwards!
Eastern Conference
Boston (3) vs. Tampa Bay (5)
You’d think after picking against them twice, I would have learned my lesson in not going with Tampa Bay. But call me crazy, I’m about to make it three rounds in a row. Taking previous lessons learned into account, Boston is just the better team. Tim Thomas outshines Dwayne Roloson, David Krejci outshines Sean Bergenheim, and Zdeno Chara outshines Eric Brewer. And after faltering against Montreal, Boston really seemed to find their physical play against Philly, and that’s a way that if played well, can grind the Bolts down to dust. And while both defence corps will hold very strong against two teams with good offence, the depth of the Bruins just speaks volumes. Oh, and the most important part? My gut, which I didn’t follow nearly well enough last round, says that Boston will take this one. But hey, it’s really anyone’s series, and Tampa just might well be that team that refuses to lose this year.
The Pick: Bruins in 7
Western Conference
Vancouver (1) vs. San Jose (2)
I don’t think anyone could have asked for a better Conference finals. The other night, right before San Jose’s game 7, I posted a couple blanket predictions I’ve made all playoffs/second round long on twitter (@cookes_corner). I said that:
- The champion would come from the west
- The winner of Detroit/San Jose would win the cup
- If Detroit won game 6, they would take game 7.
Well, obviously I was wrong on the third one, but I’m still going to stand by the first two for as long as I can. Both these teams are very similar – they have great depth, and high profile forwards that have both shown up and been completely off the radar in a variety of games during the playoff run. They have a good defence, with both vets and young guys, that isn’t going to score a lot, but (for the most part), won’t give up a lot of goals. The biggest difference between these teams is in arguably the most important position – in net. Do you take a Stanley Cup winner or an Olympic gold medal winner? Based on the first two rounds, I think it’s pretty obvious. Though he has great regular seasons, Roberto Luongo just gets shaky in the playoffs. Yes he wins games, makes big saves and all that jazz, but the confidence just never seems to be quite there. And he’s not the pillar of confidence that a lot of teams count on in the playoffs. Antti Niemi, who had a good but not great regular season, has been on fire in the playoffs, and completely shut the door on the Red Wings last series. Whatever happens, this series will come down to goaltending.
The Pick: Sharks in 6.
