Hockey 2011-2012

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Originally Posted by smc

Just for the fun of it, and to give my hockey-fan friends on this site something to make fun of me for later on, I am going to go out on a limb and make predictions about the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Los Angeles will beat Vancouver in six games -- a big UPSET and a huge blow to my imaginary NHL in which Los Angeles doesn't even have a team.

St. Louis will beat San Jose in five games.

Phoenix will prevail over Chicago in six games, despite -- again -- that there shouldn't even be a hockey team in Arizona.

Detroit will beat Nashville in seven games.

Ottawa will make the New York Rangers work much harder than anyone expects, but the Rangers will advance after six games.

Florida (another place that shouldn't have a hockey team) will beat the New Jersey Devils in six games.

Pittsburgh will defeat Philadelphia. It will take seven games, and there will be several Penguin players who are physically unable to advance to Round 2.

The Boston Bruins will beat Washington in six games.

Okay, let's see how fucked up these prediction are ... in a couple of weeks!

The way the playoffs have been going so far(weirdest one I've seen in quite a few years!), there wouldn't be any reason to make fun of you! There are so many potential upsets already in motion, so it's really a crapshoot as to who will win!

I know that all the series (except one) are still ongoing, but I'm still going to weigh in with your predictions.

1. LA/Vancouver: You're close with this one. LA has a 3-1 lead, and with the way Quick as been playing, Vancouver will be hard pressed to win the last 3 games. That being said, nothing is impossible(Philly proved that in the 2010 playoffs) but it will be very difficult for Vancouver.

2. St. Louis/San Jose: San Jose has a 1-0 lead after 2 periods of tonight's game, but are still down 3-1 in games. Even if San Jose wins tonight, I agree with your prediction that St. Louis will win, just that it will take 6 games.

3. Phoenix/Chicago: Phoenix will win, especially now that Hossa has been taken out of the lineup. Torres received a 25 game suspension, but I don't think that will affect Phoenix. I think that Phoenix will finish the Hawks in 5. And I also agree with you 100% that Phoenix shouldn't have a team.

4. Detroit/Nashville: You were totally wrong with this one. Nashville beat Detroit 4-1, and the major reason for that was the spectacular play of Pekka Rinne! As with Phoenix, I don't want to see Nashville go very far(one of the reasons is that I don't believe they should have been allowed to have that player rejoin them for the playoffs...I can't recall his name at the moment). I also think that Shea Weber should have been suspended for a game for his bush-league stunt against Zetterburg.

5. Ottawa/New York: I agree that this will probably be the tightest contest of all. They are tied 2-2 in games, and Ottawa is currently ahead 1-0 with about 13 minutes left in the third period. I think that (unfortunately) Ottawa will win this in 6 games.

6. New Jersey/Florida: Much to the chagrin of dauls, I have to agree with your prediction. Florida just shutout New Jersey tonight, and now hold a 3-2 game lead. Florida (unfortunately) in 6 games.

7. Pittsburgh/Philadelphia: If you had told me after the first 3 games that it would be a 7-gamer with Pittsburgh winning, I'd look at you as if you'd lost your mind. However, the past two games have shown a drastic change in momentum. Philadelphia is no longer getting all the calls in their favour(and are getting more calls against them now), and Fleury is not quite the sieve he was, and Pittsburgh is playing with a lot more confidence. I do believe that if any team can come back in any of the first round series, it will be the Penguins. I agree with your prediction.

8. Boston/Washington: I can't honestly say who'll win this one. Neither team has totally blown the other out of the water. That being said, I'm going to pick Washington in 7 just because their goaltender has stolen a couple of games for them so far, and that reminds me of the "Halak run" for Montreal a couple of seasons ago.

One thing I will mention about the playoffs so far is that there have been some entertaining games, but there have also been far too many dirty plays. They need to put a stop to it, and hopefully the Torres suspension is a sign of things to come.