Thursday, April 20,2006
The picks are trickling in.

I haven’t been following hockey that closely this year, so I could very well be out to lunch on a few of these picks. Here they are though.

Western Conference

Detroit (1) vs. Edmonton (8) - Edmonton is overmatched here, and even though this isn’t viewed as a battle of the goaltenders, I have to give a huge edge to Detroit. This might be the only series that doesn’t go 6 or 7 games. My pick: Detroit

Dallas(2) vs. Colorado (7) - Playoffs are often about goaltending, and Colorado doesn’t have it. Not to say that Dallas is strong in net, but Jose Theodore has had an absolute nightmare of a season, and will be anxious to put it behind him. Despite the lack of shootouts in the playoffs, I’m picking Dallas

Calgary (3) vs. Anahiem (6) - Remember what I said about goaltending? I tend to pick the team with the hottest goalies, and Calgary’s got the best in the business minding the store for them. Look for Iginla to bring his A game to improve the Flames’ offence as well. I have to pick Calgary

Nashville (4) vs. San Jose (5) - I’ve been openly critical of the schedule being so heavily balanced in favour of intra-divisional matchups. Nashville was a beneficiary of playing in a weak division. Never mind the tear that the Sharks have been on since Joe Thornton arrived in town. Toss in an injured starting goaltender, and most people agree that San Jose will win this one.

Eastern Conference

Ottawa (1) vs. Tampa Bay (8) - What a difference a couple of years can make. Tampa barely squeaked into the playoffs because of a lack of goaltending. Ottawa has the kind of firepower that can take teams apart. They’re missing their starter, which makes them ripe for upset, but I still think Ottawa will come out on top.

Carolina (2) vs Montreal (7) - The Andrei Markov factor will be in full effect. Cristobal Huet has been given a bit of a rest leading up to the playoffs, and Carolina is probably coming in pretty confident after winning all the games in the season series with a pretty hefty goal differential. They won’t have Jose Theodore to shoot pucks by though. If Huet is the real deal, this will be a hard fought series. I have to pick Montreal Did you really think I’d pick Carolina?

New Jersey (3) vs. New York Rangers (6) - Winners of their last 11 games, the Devils have been one of the hottest teams in the league since the break. I don’t think they’ll just roll over the Rangers, but I do think they’ll be able to win it. Stealing home ice advantage is a boost too. Gotta go with New Jersey.

Buffalo (4) vs. Philadelphia (5) - I’ve heard it said that you should never bet against the evil Swede Peter Forsberg, so I’m picking Philadelphia.

So, get your picks in, and I’ll add you to the pool. I hope to have more participation again this year, so if you haven’t put your name in before, give it a go this year.

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Copyright (c) 2001 Greg Mitchell