| Series |
Ken Smyth |
Paul Krill |
Mike Lee |
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| TB vs CBJ |
Lightning win 4-1. They’ve
been waiting for this since January. Jackets Coach John Tortorella will do his
best and his team beefed up at the deadline but they are way overmatched. |
Lightning win 4-1.
The Lignthing have been this year’s juggernaut and it’s tough to
envision anyone stopping them. |
Lightning win 4-2. This one is
the series everyone expects to 4 games tops. Look for the Blue Jackets to
surprise a few folks and win at least one on the road. |
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| BOS vs TOR |
Bruins win 4-2. The match-up
the East Coast people are blathering about. I see Boston outmuscling the Leafs
in six games, followed by rumblings in Toronto to fire Coach Babcock. I’d
love to see the B’s go home, though. |
Bruins win 4-2.
The Bruins have been really good this year. (Not much of an analysis, I know.)
I think they’ll move on. Sorry, Patrick Marleau. |
Leafs win 4-3.
This will be the most interesting series of the first round because it's sure
to go 7 games and will be a physical spectacle. Look for Zdeno Chara to be
suspended at least one game. |
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| WAS vs CAR |
Caps win 4-2.
Carolina has been a nice story but Alex Ovechkin ends it here. |
Caps win 4-2. Gotta go with the
defending champs here. And we sure don’t want to see much, if any, of that
lame Canes’ post-game celebration, do we? |
Canes win 4-2.
This is my upset special. The defending Sanley Cup Champs under achieve and the
hockey world won't even notice. |
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| NYI vs PIT |
Isles win 4-3. This could be
the best series in the East. Islanders and Coach Barry Trotz are out to prove
something and the Pens have been carried by Sidney Crosby. |
Pens win 4-2.
I’m just not a believer in the Isles. I think Pittsburgh, with its
championship experience, will win this one. |
Pens win 4-1. AS much as I hate
to see any Pittsburgh team advance in anything, the Isles cinderalla season
comes to an end early, and Crosby won't even be the hero. |
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| NAS vs DAL |
Preds win 4-2
Predators are getting serious, Dallas’ defense is still not up to playoff
level. |
Preds win 4-3. My gut feeling
is the Preds have been the better team in recent years and will eke out a
series win in this round. |
Preds win 4-2. The
Stars were too inconsistent this season, and the Predators are peaking at the
right time. |
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| WPG vs STL |
Blues win 4-3
Blues are hot and the Jets are cold. Winnipeg has been stumbling along the
second half and their scorers are cold. St Louis caught fire and they’re
riding a hot goaltender. |
Jets win 4-2. The
Jets, not the Knights, should have represented the Western Conference in the
Cup Final last year and I think they’ll pull through in this round. |
Jets win 4-1. The Blues were
hot once they transistioned goaltenders, but the league is figuring them out.
IT was a nice run while it lasted, but the Jets look like they're for real this
season. |
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| CGY vs COL |
Flames win 4-2
Calgary isn’t done yet and the Av’s are basically a one-line team.
I’d make this a five game series but I’ll give the Avalanche an extra
win. |
Flames win 4-1.
The Flames team I saw a couple weeks ago was scoring on the Sharks at will for
several minutes. This should be an easy series for them. |
Flames win 4-2. Not mush to say
here. The Flames will continue to look like they're the real deal, but that
only lasts a round. The Avalanche just don't have the pieces to get past
Calgary in the first round. |
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| SJ vs VGK |
Sharks win 4-3. Two weeks ago
I’d say Vegas in THREE games since the Sharks were having a tough time
finding their butts, much less the team bus to the arena. Are Fleury and Martin
Jones healthy? Can the Sharks stop giving away a free goal in the first five
minutes? Can Vegas put together 3rd and 4th lines that can skate and hold the
puck? And which injuries are being kept quiet on both teams? Home ice advantage
for game 7 should be an edge for the Sharks. Next question is whether they can
hold in games 1 and 2 to get to 7. |
Sharks win 4-3.
This is a tough one, because the Sharks are fresh from losing nine out of 10
games and the goaltending has remained cringe-worthy. But the Knights
haven’t been playing great, either, and did supply the Sharks’ lone
win in those 10 games. |
Sharks win 4-2.
This series could go either way, and the Sharks play down the stretch make this
one favor the Knights, but SJ finds a way to pull this one out. Vegas has
superior team speed, but Erick Karlsson keeps them in check...so long as he
stays healthy. |
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