here are the results from the first round. i correctly predicted that the lightning, flyers, leafs, wings, sharks, flames, and avalanche would prevail, but only accurately predicted the number of games won in the tampa series. i didn’t think montreal had it in them but they won, so i got that pick wrong. anyways, here are my results compared to those on the globe and mail and tsn.

me: 7/8
gino reda: 6/8
glenn healy: 6/8
pierre mcguire: 6/8
james duthie: 5/8
bob mckenzie: 4/8
dave hodge: 5/8
gary green: 4/8
globe & mail: 5/8
gord miller: 5/8
dave randorf: 4/8
steve simmons: 3/8

was it luck or skill? who knows, hopefully i’m as successful in the next round. in any case, tsn should hire me for some online commentary and predictions. anyways, first round is done and here are my quarter final predictions.

tampa vs montreal
a battle between too quick teams, this is going to be an explosive and exciting series. the canadians have the better goaltender in theodore, but i think montreal will have to overachieve to match the lightning’s offense. i think tampa will take it.

philadelphia vs toronto
this is going to be tough series with lots of hitting and all that jazz. the flyers have the advantage as they’ve had a week to rest and healing, and at this time of year, that’s very important. the leafs have two things going for them, they haven’t made many mistakes in the first round when it mattered, and belfour’s the best goalie in the playoffs so far. the leafs will need to continue to do these things if they intend to beat the flyers. while in my gut i want to pick the flyers, i think belfour’s going to play brilliantly so the leafs will win.

detroit vs calgary
as much as i want calgary to have some success in the playoffs, i don’t think their grit and iginla will be enough to carry them past the talent and experience of detroit.

san jose vs colorado
another tough series. aebischer played surprisingly well for the avs against the stars, so colorado has less to worry about in that respect. they do have to worry about the health of their stars and if they can keep up with the younger sharks. i say colorado will win thereby setting up another detroit vs colorado western final.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: hockey