EASTERN CONFERENCE
Capitals (1) vs. Toronto (8)
My prediction: Capitals in 5
RESULT: Capitals in 6
Post-Series Thoughts: The Leafs put up a good fight, actually. They were pretty resilient in this series, and showed that they have a bright future under Babcock. But the Caps were just too strong. They are firing on all cylinders and outside of a few random breakdowns, they owned this series. The 2 games the Leafs won weren't as close as they seemed. They were both high scoring games but they were OT wins that could have gone either way. I think the Caps will go deep this year.
Pre-Series Thoughts: Give Mike Babcock credit for getting the Leafs this far in a shorter time than expected. They've played well down the stretch (for the most part). But they just can't hang with the Caps. I think they MIGHT steal one game, but I expect this to be a short series.
Canadiens (2) vs. NY Rangers (7)
My prediction: Canadiens in 6
RESULT: Rangers in 6
Post-Series: I think the main reason the Rangers won this is because Kenrik looked back to form, despite his regular season dip. I also think the Canadiens underachieved and the Rangers overachieved a bit.
Pre-Series Thoughts: I've gone back and forth on this one, but I just think Henrik has been a let down this year (I feel that he's always been overrated, but had a definitely down year) and I just think the Habs are stronger throughout their lineup.
Penguins (3) vs Blue Jackets (4)
My prediction: Blue Jackets in 6
RESULT: Penguins in 5
Post-Series Thoughts: The Jackets were just outmanned by a superior squad. I really expected more out of them, but they just looked on their heels most of this series.
Pre-Series Thoughts: On paper, Pittsburgh is the stronger team, and the Jackets limped into the playoffs with a pretty sad record to end the season. But if Bob plays up to his earlier-season form and Tortorella has them ready, I think the Jackets could go deep this year.
Ottawa (5) vs. Boston (6)
My prediction: Boston in 6
RESULT: Ottawa in 6
Post-Series Thoughts: Ottawa really showed up in this series, and Boston looked out of sorts the whole time. I'm not sure what it was...they just looked disjointed for much of this series. And their injured defense certainly didn't help. Kudos to Ottawa for a fantastic series.
Pre-Series Thoughts: Boston is just a much stronger team. I'd call this a 4 game series, but the Bruins' blue line is pretty banged up. But their special teams will be a huge difference, and they're just stronger overall.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Blackhawks (1) vs. Predators (8)
My prediction: Blackhawks in 7
RESULT: Predators in 4
Post-Series Thoughts: Wow I got this one wrong. After looking so good in the regular season, the Hawks fell apart. They were stifled by the Preds' defense, and weren't really ever in this series. Toews was a complete no show. Great job by Nashville.
Pre-Series Thoughts: Nasvhille has arguably the best defense in the NHL. But the Blackhawks are looking back to form after a let down last year. I think the series will go deep, but expect the Hawks to prevail.
Ducks (2) vs. Flames (7)
My prediction: Ducks in 6
RESULT: Ducks in 4
Post-Series Thoughts: So, it turned out Elliott didn't play as well as he did down the stretch, and even then the Flames were just overwhelmed by a better team.
Pre-Series Thoughts: The Ducks are just a much stronger team. The only reason I think it goes to 6 is because of how well Elliott played down the stretch. I just don't think that will be enough.
Wild (3) vs. Blues (5)
My prediction: Wild in 6
RESULT: Blues in 5
Post-Series Thoughts: Man, the Blues showed up to play. And this series came down to goaltending, largely. The Wild looked tired at times, but basically Allen outplayed Dubnyk. Which shocked me, and a lot of other people. But kudos to the Blues for making it happen.
Pre-Series Thoughts: I'm not even sure this one will go this long. The Blues have a solid lineup, but Budreau is the difference here. I'd argue he's the best coach in the NHL currently, and I think this series will show why (not that he needs it to; he's pretty much already proven it in countless ways).
Oilers (4) vs. Sharks (6)
My prediction: Oilers in 7
RESULT: Oilers in 6
Post-Series Thoughts: The Oilers just played a great series, as I expected, and overwhelmed the Sharks even more than I expected. I think they'll go deep. There are just no major weak areas of their game right now.
Pre-Series Thoughts: The Oilers are firing on all cylinders, and it's time for their superstars to step up. I expect McDavid to be a major factor in this series. He's been made out to be a superstar, but until you win some playoff series, you're just another player with potential.
