DISCUSSION - NHL Playoffs Predictions thread. Predict each series, etc.
 

DISCUSSION - NHL Playoffs Predictions thread. Predict each series, etc.

Please post your playoff predictions in this thread.

Avs/Flyers final.

Don't wanna see it. But it'll probaly happen.

Vezina is a regular season trophy, you can't honestly think that Cloutier deserves it.

Vancouver over Detroit. You can't honestly be serious. Cloutier can't hold a candle to Legace's goaltending.

prediction. dallas knocks out couver in 6 because

better goaltending

Until the playoffs seeds are set, I'll make no predictions.

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yeah wtf, wait till the matchups are finalized


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That's why I just did the finals. Since the Avs and Flyers are already in the playoffs definatly.

as weird and as much as I hate to admit it, I think the Bruins are gonna beat Dallas in 4 games in the finals this year :'(

<font color=seablue><i>The hell? :foc:

That's assuming the Blues or the Preds don't give up a spot to the Oilers, who are looking like they may still make it (doubtful) and if Calgary keeps playing the way they are, they can slip still. Wait until Monday, when the teams are ranked - then I will make my predictions.

All I know is the Avs are going far, Detroit may not last, and I predict the dark horse to be Tampa Bay...:y:</i></font>

Bruins run shit mother****ers

not gonna happen with Joe out Cheeba

With the Flyers winning and ending the 22 year drought in Philly!

Let's Go Flyers!

I'll be definitley make my predictions on monday. just a sneak preview into them though. The words "Canucks" and "Bruins" will not be mentioned in the second round.

Flyers in the finals, Bah! they will prob lose in the first round to a younger team with a smaller payroll.

Alrighty. Here's Gertner's First Round playoff locks.

West

1.Detroit vs 8. Nashville- Detroit in 6
Vokoun will steal a couple games, but Detroit will be too powerful in the end

2. San Jose vs 7.St.Louis- San Jose in 7
Gonna go with the sharks in a close one.

3. Canuckleheads vs 6. Calgary- Canuckleheads in 6
God, I hope Calgary wins, but I just don't see it here.

4. Colorado vs 5. Dallas- Dallas in 5
I see the Avs tanking it. Plus Turco is alot better than Aebischer.

East

1. Tampa Bay vs 8. NYLanders- Tampa in 4
No proven goalie, didn't improve a team at all that wasn't good last year. Easy win.

2. Boston vs 7. Montreal- Boston in 6
If this were any other team, I'd say Boston gets upset, but since it's Montreal, Boston wins

3. Phili vs 6. New Jersey- New Jersey in 5
Phili is a fraud. Esche and Burke will not win you a playoff series

4. Toronto vs 5. Ottawa- Toronto in 5
Here's the problem with Ottawa. They always add tough players, but their tough players aren't really skilled, like Toronto's are. The Sens continue to miss the point of adding toughness. Plus Lalime has been shaking recently, and against a good scoring team such as T.O, this could be trouble. For the Leafs sake I hope their D holds up. Please God hold up. Leafs in 5.

My playoff pics

-Detroit def. Nashville
-St. Louis def. San Jose
-Dallas def. Colorado
-Vancouver def. Calgary

-Tampa Bay def. NYI
-Toronto def. Ottawa
-New Jersey def. Philadelphia
-Boston def. Montreal

Here's how I see the playoffs going down Round #1

West:
Det v. Nash (Det. in 6)
Vokoun will scare early but the experience of Det will take over
San Jo V. St.L (San in 6)
St.L will tank again.
Van. V. Cal (Van in 6)
Kiprusoff will keep Cal in it, but Van is Hot hot hot
Col. V. Dal (Dal in 5)
Last year of Granato in Denver (Dal is too solid, and Col are slumpin)

East: (big upsets I see !)
TB v. NYI (NYI in 6)
NYI has the series, and can grind on a small TB
Phi. v. Nj (Nj in 7)
Marty will have some fun!
Bos V. Mon (Mon in 6)
Just a feeling I have
Ott v. Tor (To. in 7) <--- damn tough series
Too bad this matchup will probably make them easy targets for round 2.

BEST SERIES: OTTvTO
Most 1 sided: COLvDAL
first round MVP: KOIVU
first round bust: Khabibulin

Detroit def. Nashville (7 games)
San Jose def. St. Louis (5 games)
Colorado def. Dallas (6 games)
Calgary def. Vancouver (7 games) :-\ Kiper's gonna carry calgary far this year

Tampa Bay def. NYI (5 games)
Ottawa def. Toronto (6 games)
New Jersey def. Philadelphia (4 games) Philly's goalies aren't play off goalies
Montreal def Boston (6 games) if it was any other team that boston was playing I would pick them to go very far... Montreal always beats them for some reason though.

Heres whast gonna happen

A bunch of white guys with mullets are gonna score a ton of goals and win the Stanely Cup

Barry Melrose told me

I just don't see Ottawa being much of a factor. They aren't built for the playoffs. I just don't want to see the Leafs run into Devils or the Flyers.

I saw a few games between OTT and PHI that sure resembled playoff type games, not for the fighting, but the all-round tough checking and hard nose play. OTTAWA has alot to offer, and they collectively have playoff experience from last year, when I think they were less capable of handling playoff hockey. OTTAWA also has offensive depth and blueline strenght. It will be hard for TO to stop all that talent, esp. on special teams. I am not saying OTTAWA wins, as can be seen by my comments. TO's vets should come up with enough efforts to win in the end, but OTTAWA will put much miles on those aging LEAF legs. IMO

Det over Nas (5 games)
Preds will win one of the first two games, but lose the rest.

San over Stl (6 games)
Not expecting much out of this series

Cal over Van (7 games)
*shrug*

Col over Dal (5 games)
Col will win a couple of OT games.


TB over NYI (7 games)
NY will lose the first 3, try to rally back, take it to game 7 only to lose.

Tor over Ott (6 games)
Toronto's entire roster gets injured only to have the coach single handedly defeat the Sens in 6.

Phi over NJ (7 games)
Phi will win a very tight series, probably OT in game 7.

Montreal over Bos (6 games)
Montreal will go strong into the 2nd round, possibly further.


Det vs Tor in the finals.

T-Bay over Isles in 7

Habs over Bruins in 7

Devils over Flyers in 6

Leafs over Sens in 6

Wings over Preds in 4

Sharks over Blues in 6

Canucks over Flames in 6

Avs over Stars in 7

Isles have a decent team. Dipietro can get hot and carry the team, as we've seen with the Ducks last year, that can happen. Tampa doesn't have much playoff experience and they dont have a clear #1 goalie. Plus I like Peca being able to shut down St. Louis. If that happens Tampa is finished.

The Penguins win it all this year
















(Circa 1991)

MOTHERF'CKER!!!!

The preds scored in the first 16 seconds of the freakin game!!

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whooooooooooo go nucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I think the Leafs/Sens matchup will be the best. So much hatred for each other.

<font color=seablue><i>Since we're doing a hockey pool at work, I might as well add my two cents to the playoff picture. Of course, this is the first round so there will tend to be surprises:

Tampa Bay over NYI in 5 games

Montreal over Boston in 6 games

New Jersey over Philly in 6 games

Ottawa over Toronto in 7 games

Detroit over Nashville in 5 games (but this easily could be my only pick for a sweep since Nashville played playoff hockey the past six weeks and are tired).

San Jose over St.Loo in 6 games

Calgary over Vancouver in 7 games (as an Oiler fan, I am ashamed to admit that I will cheer for Calgary).

Colorado over Dallas in 6 games</i></font>

Wow, I pretty much stunk with my round one predictions, only hitting half the winners with only 2 series going the way I saw. Worse than that, My round 1 bust was probably the MVP and my 1-sided would have been closer if I picked the other team to win. That doesn't bode well for me on further round predictions, but it wouldn't be fun without doing them. So, here's how I see the second round shaping up.

Lightning v. Canadiens
Tampa is rested, but probably too well rested. Morning skates every second day and a round of golf in the hot Florida sunshine will make the ice seem really cold and hard. Not to mention the legs are gonna feel heavy from the rest, not good for a speed team. Montreal became stronger as the series with Boston progressed, and I see them carrying it into the second round. Khabibulin was great in the first round, but nothing like a day at the spa to take your mind off hockey.
Winner : Montreal in 6

Flyers v. Maple Leafs
There are two possibilities here, Belfour can steal a few games and make a show of it, or he doesn't finish the series. I am leaning towards the latter, as the Leafs crease should be as crowded as the Tokyo subway. Toronto will be going from a team that desperately wants to out muscle them to a team that is just tough. It's going to be hard for TO's D to handle all that time and pressure. TO didn't build momentum into the next round, they outlasted a team that eventually broke down. This one is a bitter pill, because it means Ott. really did have the last laugh.
Winner : Philly in 5

Red Wings v. Flames
I do see Kiprusoff out playing Cujo and although Iginla will be practically wearing a Hatcher jersey, he'll still put up a bunch of points (perhaps even taking the playoff lead). However, Detroit should be able to stop a half-a-line team for a few games, and will score in bunches. This one should be a see-saw battle. I don't see any getting momentum, more just the most desperate team outplaying the other each and every game. Detroit will think it's Deja Vu in another uniform: hot goalie with a hard hitting team, and it'll begin to wear. Fortunately, they won't feel the effect until next round.
Winner : Detroit in 7

Sharks v. Avalanche
Two rested teams, both who handily dispatched their round one opponents a week ago. The problem is for San Jo is that this young team have yet to play playoff hockey, they just played a bunch of games against the Blues. While Colorado actually performed to dominate against the Stars. San Jo has all the confidence and none of the pressure, but I see it coming down hill fast.
Winner : Colorado in 6

Best Series: Detroit v. Calgary
Most 1-sided: Philly v. TO (mostly thanks to OTT)
Round MVP: FORSBERG (IGINLA would have, if his team could win)
Round Bust: LEETCH


Remember if you don't like the picks, I'm batting under .500 so I'm probably wrong.

those weren't bad perdictions :o

ANYWAYS ROUND TWO

Calgary Def Detroit in 5 games
San Jose Def Colorado in 7 games
Philly Def Toronto in 6 games
Montreal Def T-bay in 7 games

I would perfer Toronto to beat philly cause one canadian team winning the cup = canada winning the cup :) Philly is just to strong of a team minus the goalies :o

and 6 and o on giving blow jobs :cool:

<font color=seagreen><i>Before I head onto the second round...let's see how I did in the first round </i></font>:

Tampa Bay over NYI in 5 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Dead on...:y:</i></font>

Montreal over Boston in 6 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Okay, got the team right but off by one game...</i></font>

New Jersey over Philly in 6 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Okay, I screwed this one up but meh, Philly is a better team...</i></font>

Ottawa over Toronto in 7 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-This one I got wrong as well, but got the number of games right so plus plus :lol:</i></font>

Detroit over Nashville in 5 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Off by ONE game...:rant:</i></font>

San Jose over St.Loo in 6 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Another case of got the team right but not games...</i></font>

Calgary over Vancouver in 7 games
<font color=seagreen><i>Too right :D</i></font>

Colorado over Dallas in 6 games
<font color=seagreen><i>-Another correct pick, just missed the games...</font>

<font color=seablue>So 6 right and 2 wrong...*does happy dance* Now onto the next round:

1) Detroit over Calgary in 5 games (IF this one goes the distance, I'd take Calgary but I have to admit that the Wings will own them).

2) San Jose over Colorado in 6 games (a darkhorse for the Cup).

3) Montreal over Tampa Bay in 7 games (I want a Canadian team in the next round).

4) Philly over Toronto in 6 games (The Leafs had a horseshoe and his name is Belfour, but it's time for the Leafs to go away).</i></font>

Wow, I'm on quite a roll...all downhill. Only one of my 2nd round picks came through. I should stop right now, but hey I can't do any worse in the semis. Not enough games. :lol:

Who'd a thought in the begging of the season the two most talked about contenders were out in the second round. Worse, Kariya played one game while Selanne was put on the 4th line. Didn't see that one when they brokered the deal with the Avs. And for all the controversy, Hasek, Joseph nor Legacy could't deliver the Wings to the promise land. How about both being knocked out of teams projected to be on the outside of the playoff race. The East went more predictable road, and it looks more like the usual, one conference has upsets while the other has the favorites ride hot to the finals. I hope for a great final, but the powers are tilted in one direction now.

Here's how I see the semis unfolding.

EAST:

Tampa Bay v. Philadelphia
I thought Tampa Bay would be too rested after the first round, and they might as well took a vacation coming from the second. Philly is the bigger, tougher which is traditionally viewed as being more capable of winning playoff hockey. I don't like teams that go from hot weather to hard ice in the playoffs, but the Lightning have a roll going that can't be ignored.
Lightning in 5

Series MVP: Khabibulin -- a 0.964 save percentage in the playoffs is unreal. The only reasons why goalies like Kiprusoff, Belfour, Joseph were even talked about was that the bolts played so few games.
Series goat: Bobby Clarke -- trading away a veteran D-man like Weinrich and then having to play forwards on defense is a serious misread on the depth of the team. Someone of Clarke's experience should know how long and hard it is to get to the cup.

West:

San Jose v. Calgary
I made the mistake about underestimating both of these teams, so if it were up to me, neither would win (j/k). Calgary is playing textbook playoff hockey, and boy would they be the darlings of the media if this were the regular season. Down the stretch they were the team that needed to clutch and grab their way to the playoffs and now they play the good old fashion playoff hockey. That said, the Sharks have made it look easy for a while. I thought that they had a break playing an disinterested Blues team, but to handle a hot Avs in showed that they have some playoff run ahead of them. The big showdown is in goal, and I've heard Kipper being touted as this years Giguere, I'm guessing he's more like this seasons Roloson or Fernandez.
Sharks in 6

Series MVP: Nabokov : When it comes to a goaltending duel, I'll pick the one that wins. Nabokov will show why he was the goalie the Sharks decided to keep.
Series goat: None : You cannot fault any Flame or Shark when both were never picked to get this far. Perhaps the rest of the Western Conference should relax with a cold one and watch how teams that still want to play handle their games.

Best Series: WEST

Seems like I'm getting longer winded the worse my picks get...but actually, I just have nothing else to do.

3 out of 8. :lol:

I rule.

Flames over Sharks in 6
Lightning over Flyers in 5

Flames in 4
Philly in 7

-Flames in 6

-Flyers in 7 (Tampa has proven a lot to me in these playoffs, but I still think their lack of playoff experience will come back to bite them).

Sharks in 7
Flyers in 6

I want Tampa to go all the way, but I just don't see it :$

Whoever wins, I don't mind, I like all 4 teams :love:

<font color=lightgreen><i>Wow, not bad again for the second round :cool: In my friends hockey pool, where we choose the winners and get points for games and whatnot, I'm a point out of the winner's spot so I must be doing something right :shifty:

Okay, the next round of picking and no, it's not based on the games so far.

East Conference - Tampa in 6. Philly has brute force (look at last night's game for proof of that) but they don't have St.Louis, Stillman et al. The skill will outwin over the brute force.

West Conference - Calgary in 6. San Jose is good, but Calgary is the team to beat right now (in the west that is).</i></font>

All things point to the Flames winning the cup. Hot Goalie, hottest player, coach that the team believes in, a hot 3 series winning sniper, and a team that knocked off all 3 division leaders. It surely is Calgary's year. WooHoo!~ but wait... um
NJ over Ana
Det over Car
Dal over Buf
Det over Wash
etc.
Wow, this is starting to look really familiar.

I am feeling Tampa Bay over Calgary in 4

Series MVP: Cullimore / Richards
I think Cullimore will be solid on the blue line and should win the series but Richards will get the points and points scream Conn Smythe.
I really think that Kiprusoff would win if Calgary could make a series of it, but I don't see it happening.
An honorable mention would go to John Tortorella if he could get into another heated rant, but I don't see Darryl Sutter opening his Yap! Tortorella might have to get a good grip on Harvey's sharp tongue though.

Well, I've been wrong so far, so I guess we can hope that trend continues, but this is how I see it going.

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i'm cheering for calgary but i'll say tbay in six
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Flames in 6.


p.s. I've been BRUTAL this year in predicting playoff series'. :'(

<font color=lightgreen><i>Well I have been pretty good at predicting who is winning what so I am going to go with the majority I have heard and predict...

Flames in 6...</i></font>

Flames in 5

Well, I finally got something right. Picked the team and the MVP. I'm not too disappointed with the results, as I love the way the bolts play. I know that there are a tonne of nhl final links, but this one is the one I predicted so here's where my comments lie.

I only picked calgary the whole playoffs cause Guest #1 always picked against them :D

:love:

Smart Strategy... Hope it made you lots of money. :y:

:rofl:

:shifty: