NHL Conference Finals Predictions

I feel like the NHL Nostradamus. The first round I was 7 out of 8 with 4 perfect predictions. Let's see how I did with my Round 2 predictions.

 

Boston vs. Carolina - My Prediction: 'Canes in 7. And look what happened. The Carolina Hurricanes won in 7 games. This series was rife with controversy as the guy who scored the overtime winner in Game 7 probably shouldn't have even been playing because he sucker-punched Aaron Ward earlier in the series. But an OT Game 7 falls right in line with my prediction of "I think this is a long, hard-fought series"

Washington vs. Pittsburgh- My Prediction: Penguins in 6. Off by a game. This series was everything that the NHL wanted and more. One game, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby EACH had a hat trick. EACH! Amazing. But in the end, the Pittsburgh offense was too much for the rookie goalie

Detroit vs. Anaheim - My Prediction: Red Wings in 6. Well, I said that you never know in the battle of the last two Stanley Cup champions. And after Anaheim staved off elimination in Game 6 which would have made my prediction perfect, Detroit came back and won Game 7 behind a controversial goal. What a series this was, though: five of the games were decided by one goal including Game 2 in triple overtime.

Vancouver vs. Chicago - My Prediction: Canucks in 7.  My one wrong pick in this round. I had no clue on this one. I tossed a coin up in the air. I should have known better. The Canucks had been there before...but that was the problem. They had never won those big series. This was no exception. Chicago is back in a big way this season.

 

So I was 3 out of 4 in this round, with 1 perfect pick and two off by one game. Overall so far this playoffs, I'm 10 for 12, with 5 perfect picks, and three off by one game. That's pretty sick. So you should definitely take the follow picks and go to Vegas. Or not...

 

Pittsburgh vs. Carolina - I think this series will be a lot of fun. You have two really fast, really energetic team with really good offenses and young goalies who have been here before. The question before this series starts will be can the 'Canes stop Crosby and Malkin? But can the Penguins stop Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen? The Hurricanes have been doubted every series they've played this year which has become a common theme with this squad. Carolina's biggest problem? They've been miserable on the power play, scoring just five times in 48 chances so far in the 2009 playoffs. To counter the offense Sid the Kid gives the Pens as well as their powerplay which is starting to come into form, Carolina will need to counter on the powerplay or their run to the Cup will end. Penguins in 6 

Detroit vs. Chicago - This series reminds me a lot of watching the Bulls vs. Celtics in this year's NBA playoffs. You had a team in the Bulls that were young and up-and-coming with a bunch of guys who hadn't been to the playoffs before and a team in the Celtics who had won the title the year before, had a ton of veterans, but needed to step up their game to the next level to win. Here you have another Chicago team coming back to the playoffs. If you remember back to New Years Day (I know, the memories may be a little fuzzy), these two teams played at Wrigley Field for the Winter Classic. In that game, the Red Wings beat up on the younger 'Hakws team. In the games that mattered between these two teams (before the meaningless set to end the regular season), the Red Wings won 4 out of 6, with two games ending in shootouts. I expect the same thing to happen in this series, with a few OT games between these Original Six squads, but like the Bulls, the 'Hawks won't have enough to seal the deal. Red Wings in 6.