Wednesday, April 21, 2004

Well, since I made playoff predictions last round, I may as well make some more. After all, I was a pretty solid 6 for 8 last round.

So here are my NHL Play-off Round 2 Predictions:

Calgary vs Detroit: There's no fuckin' way I'm cheering for the Flames in this series. And while picking them to win doesn't mean I have to cheer for them, I'm not doing that either. Gauthier's hurt. Simon is hurt. And the Red Wings are the Red Wings. Kiprusoff won't win two series in a row for the Flames. Detroit in 6.

Colorado vs. San Jose: This one will be close. The Avs obviously have a ton of firepower - Forsberg had 8 points in the first round, for example. They've also got Svatos, who's come out of nowhere to add even more offence. They don't have Kariya though. On the Sharks side of things, they have a bunch of unknown scorers like Ekman and Cheechoo. I'm calling goaltending even too. This one's a toss-up, but I say Colorado in 7.

Montreal vs. Tampa Bay: The Lightning have so many offensive options its not funny - and it's not even St. Louis leading the way right now, it's Freddy Modin. Khabibulin has been absolutely lights-out in net - a 0.72 GAA?? 3 shutouts? Wow. On the other hand, the Habs looked good coming back against the Bruins and Theodore's among the league's best. They're also on a roll with the big comeback series win. Even with so many factors pointing in T-Bays favour, I'm going to go way out on a limb again with the Canadiens. Montreal in 6.

Toronto vs. Philadelphia: Ed Belfour has been the best goalie in these playoffs, maybe along with Khabibulin. But Belfour beat a hell of a hockey team and he did it almost all on his own. Philly surprised me getting by New Jersey with relative ease, but I just never can trust the Flyers. They can self destruct at any moment. I'm going with the Leafs, strictly because I don't think anyone can beat Ed Belfour. Toronto in 5.

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