Well, since I proved my skills as a hockey playoff prognosticator (“Long Road to Stanley Cup Underway,” April 16), I thought I’d take a crack at a couple of second-round match-ups.
Just to blow my own horn a little, in my previous article, I predicted Boston to beat Montreal in five, Pittsburgh to beat Philly in six, and Anaheim to upset the top-seeded Sharks in six.
My only miscalculation was the Habs not managing to take a game off the Bruins. But I was perfect with my other two picks.
In the second round of the playoffs, teams are battle-tested and the pretenders have been found out and eliminated. The different dynamic though is the amount of rest some teams have afforded themselves (Boston, Vancouver, and Detroit by sweeping their series). And, of course, we know there isn’t much turn around time for teams that went seven (Caps and Devils).
Now on to my round two predictions. I tend to give the advantage to the teams who have had a week off.
Vancouver Canucks (3) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (5)
