Well I was riding pretty high after hitting 7 of 8 in the first round predictions and then everything kind of went to shit. In all honesty though, I’m perfectly happy with this because I was disgusted with myself for having picked both Boston and Colorado to advance and hahahaha I am very glad to have been wrong.
Here’s how we did in the 2nd round. Then we’ll go ahead and predict both the Eastern and Western Conference Finals AND the Stanley Cup Final.
J.J. – 1 of 4 (0 perfect)
Jamie – 3 of 4 (1 perfect)
Mike – 2 of 4 (1 perfect)
Rob – 3 of 4 (1 perfect)
Peter 2 of 4 (1 perfect)
Sara 3 of 4 (2 perfect)
Prashanth – 3 of 4 (1 perfect)
Josh – 2 of 4 (1 perfect)
Even if the 2 perfect predictions hadn’t broken the tie, I’d have named Sara the winner of this round because she was the only one who correctly predicted the Stars would beat the Avs (and she got let down by Philly).
Best Prediction from the First Round:
No tiebreaker on this one. I’m giving it to both Prashanth and Sara for nailing the Bolts in 5 predictions and backing up their predictions with “Boston sucks” and “I hate Boston”.
That’s just excellent Work.
Eastern Conference
Tampa Bay (2) vs NY Islanders (7)
Took the Bolts:
Prashanth (5) – The Isles’ kryptonite will be playing an actually good team
Josh (6) – What happens when an unstoppable force meets…..no, Tampa’s just too strong and too deep and even Trotz can’t stop them
J.J. (5) – I think goaltending lets the Isles down.
Rob (6) – The Isles are playing so well right now but in the end Tampa just has more talent and the better goalie
Took the Isles:
Peter (7) – I think the Tampa is the better team, but the Islanders haven’t been in a Stanley Cup Final since I was 6 years old, so I’m going with nostalgia
Sara (6) – I still enjoy seeing Tampa sad, and the NHL will be annoyed if they have to pretend the Isles are exciting.
Mike (7) – The Bolts are on fire, but the Islanders are the wet blanket of the NHL.
Jamie Z. (7) – I’ve stayed consistent with Trotz and his crew, so I can’t waiver now. I think the Isles are a defensive nightmare for opposing teams and will have just enough to grind this series out.
Western Conference
Las Vegas (1) vs Dallas (3)
Took the Knights:
Peter (5) – Vegas is really good
Prashanth (6) – Give the people what they want
J.J. (6) – Dallas is all over the place and soon that place will be outside the bubble.
Jamie Z. (6) – Dallas has been on one heck of a roller coaster ride throughout these playoffs, but I’m going to side with goaltending in this series. I don’t think Bowness has two reliable options right now, but Vegas certainly does.
Took the Stars:
Sara (7) – I believed in them last round so I guess I’m with them again.
Rob (6) – I have written Dallas off twice and they have proven me wrong so if you cannot beat em, join em
Mike (7) – Dallas is going to take the swagger from eliminating Colorado all the way to the Finals.
Josh (7) – Stars offense has come alive in the startup and taking down Colorado was huge, Vegas does the goalie hokie pokie and gets burnt for it
Stanley Cup Final
TBD
Prashanth (6): Tampa over Vegas in 5 – The Cup Final everyone wants ends early as the Bolts juggernaut continues
J.J.: Tampa over Vegas in 6 – Vegas takes their spot as the greatest also-rans.
Sara: Isle over Stars in 6 – I can’t root for Corey Perry over Barry Trotz, that’s too far even for my pot-stirring selection strategy.
Jamie Z.: Vegas over Isles in 6 – The Isles were a fun story during these playoffs, but Lehner gets his revenge against his old team. The Knights take just three short years to hoist their first Cup.
Rob: Tampa over Dallas in 5 -This is the year finally for the first team Yzerman built
Peter: Isles over Vegas in 6 – [no comment]
Mike: Isles over Dallas in 6 – Fittingly, a weird team wins this weird tournament.
Josh: Tampa over Dallas in 6 – Dallas comes a long way beating some juggernauts, but Tampa is on another level, and could potentially be adding Stamkos
