Round 2 of the playoffs was by far the best hockey I have seen in a long time. Three of the 4 series went down to the bitter end and were settled in 7 games. The fourth series went 6 games, but like the other series was also very close.
Here is the breakdown of my Round 2 predictions and the actual results.
Series: Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4)
My prediction: Red Wings in 7.
What actually happened: Red Wings in 7.
Thoughts: You can’t get much closer than this. Most of the games were within 1 goal, but the Red Wings did win by 3 goals in Game 4 and Game 5. Regardless, I was right about this one going 7 games. Feelin’ pretty smug…
Series: Vancouver Canucks (2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (3)
My Prediction: Blackhawks pull UPSET in 6.
What actually happened: Blackhawks pull UPSET in 6.
Thoughts: Oh yeah! There are some games in this series where the Blackhawks looked lethargic–namely Games 3 and 4 in Chicago. But in Game 2 they were dynamite. The Hawks had their ups and downs in the series, but when they did good, they did really good. Their big guns like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews came through, but so did depth players like Adam Burish and Dustin Byfuglien. And the fact that the scored 7 goals against Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo is pretty amazing,. I also correctly predicted that this would be settled in 6 games. The smugness continues!
Series: Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (4)
My Prediction: Bruins in 5.
What actually happened: Carolina UPSET in 7.
Thoughts: I guess the Hurricanes are a better team than I give them credit for. But what the hell happened to the Bruins? They were the best in the East, and self-destructed a la the Sharks. I’m kind of disappointed, because I would have loved a Bruins vs. Penguins conference finals. I’m a little less smug, now…
Series: Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3)
My Prediction: Penguins UPSET in 6.
What actually happened: Penguins UPSET in 7.
Thoughts: The Penguins-Capitals series by far was the best of the playoffs so far, and might prove to be the best series of the playoffs, period. The first 6 games were close, and both Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin were awesome. Pittsburgh’s 6-2 win in Game 7 was the only real decisive victory in the series.
This round, 3 of my 4 predictions were correct, as far as series winners go. That’s another 75% for me–same as last round, where I correctly picked 6 of 8.