I’m a genius. Let’s move on to round 2

Who knew? It seems that I’m an NHL playoff prediction machine. 8 for 8. 100%. El Perfecto. I didn’t get the number of games right, but that’s just a detail.

Now, some of you will say that Shaky was also perfect in his predictions, but, since he posted after me, it’s clear that he simply copied me. Or, maybe he and I were separated at birth.

Now, bragging time is over. It’s time to move on to round 2. Regardless of my superb predicting talent, I have to admit that the 2nd round will be difficult to predict. I will, however, give it a shot.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Detroit v. San Jose

The Wings may have had a relatively easy time in the first round, they have a much bigger challenge ahead of them. San Jose is one of the only teams that has really benefited from their trade deadline acquisitions (Guerin and Rivet). They really impressed me in the first round and play a tough, physical, game.

Detroit, on the other, may be the best “system” team in the 2007 playoffs, By that, I mean that all four lines play their respective roles to perfection and they can easily shut down the opposing offense.

The wild card element in this series is Hasek. If he stays healthy and on his game, Detroit has a great chance to win. If his groin lets him down, the Wings will go down. I think he’ll be fine.

Wings in 7


Anaheim v. Vancouver

Last night, I was really happy that the Sedin sisters woke up in time for game 7 and it was great to see good ‘ol Linden come through in the clutch. Also, the win made me 8 for 8 for my first round predictions (did I say that already?).

Although the Canucks played a great game and closed out the series on a high note, I think things will go downhill from here. Unfortunately, they are not producing enough offense to move on past the second round. The fact that Markus Naslund has disappeared doesn’t help. At this stage, they could replace him with Mats and things would improve.

As for Anaheim, I do think that they peaked earlier in the season, but they are still a better balanced team that Vancouver right now. They are strong up front and have the best defense in the world (on paper, at least).

Luongo can only save the Canucks for so long.

Ducks in 6


EASTERN CONFERENCE

Buffalo v. New York Rangers

This, for me, will be a great series to watch. As I said in my first round post, I really think that the Rangers are a better team than their regular season record indicates. Oddly enough, they seem to have been re-energized by the presence of Sean Avery, aka The Mouth.

For Buffalo, this will be a “make it or break it” series. The Rangers are going to come out hitting, hard. Last year, Buffalo lost most of their better players to injury and they have to prove that they can take the heat in the playoffs. If they can’t deal with the physical aspect of the game, they will not make it through this series.

I think that they learned from last year.

Sabres in 6


New Jersey v. Ottawa

In my first round post, I said this: “I think the Sens will actually break the curse this year.” After what I saw in the first round, I am more confident than ever in that prediction.

IMHO, the Sens were probably the most impressive team in the first round. They came out really hard and never let up for even one period. Unlike last year, they show absolutely no signs of a meltdown.

Now, I don’t want to discount the Devils. Any team with Martin Brodeur is almost automatically a contender. He may have seemed semi-human in the first two games of the first series, but he later showed that he is still a freak that is only built to stop pucks.

In the end, this will be an incredibly tight series. The outcome will depend on Ottawa’s ability to get to Brodeur and for Ray Emery to stay solid. They will and he will.

Senators in 7