Round Two NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions: As long as we're talking about jinxes

I knew in the back of my mind while creating my first round NHL playoffs predictions that mentioning my record from the past two seasons would probably come back to haunt me, and sure enough, I tanked on my predictions bad enough to ensure that I even if I get every other remaining series correct I'll still finish at least one game worse than the record in each of the previous two years. Nice.

This second round begins in stark contrast to last year for other reasons, and while I'll get to the end of the beloved Blackhawks' season in a separate post very soon, this year's Washington Capitals team is in a much better place than where they were last year when I was making picks for this round. With both the pesky Canadiens and Penguins eliminated (despite my having picked both to be alive), the Caps indeed seem to me to be flying a little more under the radar in the East after so many pundits declared the Bruins the presumptive favorite to emerge from the conference. So, at this stage in the game, I'm still effectively standing by my pre-season prediction of a Detroit-Washington Stanley Cup Final—although we'll see if both those teams are still alive next round.

As for who I'm rooting for, that's very much up in the air. I'll still be following, for sure, but right now I'm entirely certain that any of the eight teams remaining is going to be able to generate even half the enthusiasm I displayed during Chicago's one series.

Still, the playoffs go on.
 
While I've gone from first to worst in terms of first round picks from last year to this one, most experts did fairly well and three guys even nailed all eight series. Here's how everybody's stacking up so far (number in parentheses denoting number of series predicted in exact number of games):

1. Justin Bourne, Puck Daddy: 8-0 (4)

2. Sean Leahy, Puck Daddy: 8-0 (3)

3. Ross McKeon, Yahoo: 8-0 (2)

4. Darryl Dobbs, Puck Daddy: 7-1 (3)

5. Erin Nicks, Puck Daddy: 7-1 (2)

6. Matt Romig, Yahoo: 7-1 (2)

7. Matthew Barnaby, ESPN: 7-1 (1)

7. Rob Pizzo, Puck Daddy: 7-1 (1)

7. Greg Wyshynski, Puck Daddy: 7-1 (1)

10. Nicholas J. Cotsonika, Yahoo: 7-1 (0)

11. Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy: 6-2 (3)

12. John Buccigross, ESPN: 6-2 (1)

12. Sam McCaig, Yahoo: 6-2 (1)

12. Barry Melrose, ESPN: 6-2 (1)

15. Pierre LeBrun, ESPN: 5-3 (3)

16. Linda Cohn, ESPN: 5-3 (2)

17. Dmitry Chesnokov, Puck Daddy: 5-3 (1)

17. E.J. Hradek, ESPN: 5-3 (1)

19. Matt Barr, Puck Daddy: 5-3 (0)

19. Scott Burnside, ESPN: 5-3 (0)

21. Steve Levy, ESPN: 4-4 (1)

22. YOURS TRULY: 4-4 (0)

Yep, also serving me right for talking any trash last time is that I'm doing even worse than Linda Cohn.

Anyway, on to the ESPN crew's picks for this round:

And the Yahoo gang's:

No word yet from Puck Daddy's crew (which isn't all that surprising, I guess), but the next round's standings will reflect any additional predictions from that group.

Now, as for me, here's what I've got this round:

Washington Capitals over Tampa Bay Lightning in six games

I suppose that with both of the remaining underdogs lacking much that really appeals to me, I am tempted by the idea of another run carried by the hot hand of Lightning netminder Dwayne Roloson, who improved to 6-0 in elimination games following Tampa's comeback from a 3-1 series deficit against Pittsburgh. But if the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist was supposed to be the superior goaltender in the Caps' last series, and Washington still got solid results from Michal Neuvirth (1.38 GAA, .946 SV%) and won both contests that went to overtime. More importantly, Mike Green has contributed five points on a goal and four assists. If the defenseman continues to surpass the lower expectations he's sort of set for himself in recent years, the Capitals are indeed looking to be as Stanley-bound as anybody.

Detroit Red Wings over San Jose Sharks in six games

I realize that as a Blackhawks fan, I'm supposed to loathe Detroit. But there's a different part of me that's a bit bigger right now—the same part of me that was just as overwhelming last year in this same series in the same round, and that's my full-out, seemingly eternal doubt in the San Jose franchise. The Sharks jumped out to an astonishing 3-0 lead against the Wings last year, but this year's Detroit team comes in fresh off a sweep of Phoenix instead of having had to go the full seven in 2010. What's more, as much depth as both of these teams have up front, how can you not harbor even more doubts about what Antti Niemi has done in net thus far? He's been pulled twice, although he was back in net when the Sharks finally finished off the Kopitar-less Kings in a sixth game. Furthermore, Detroit has gotten a legitimate Conn Smythe-contending performance from Pavel Datsyuk thus far, and I see no reason to believe he'd be slowing down against a San Jose defense that struggled against a much weaker Los Angeles team. Revenge is on these Red Wings' minds, and I'm tempted not to say this is over in five.

Vancouver Canucks over Nashville Predators in seven games

Tempting thought, it is, picking those Predators. About all I can say is they'll give Vancouver a test, but the more balanced waves of lesser names from Nashville aren't going to be able to match what the Canucks can do. Shea Weber and Ryan Suter more than held their own against Anaheim, but they might be the sort of matchup that the Sedin twins can thrive on. Both Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo are Vexina Trophy finalists—although both didn't come out of the first round with the numbers you'd expect from such candidates. Ultimately, the Nucks got over a major hump in the first round by ousting the Blackhawks, and their ability on the power play against a Nashville penalty kill that was the worst of the first round is what convinces me the Canucks keep the Canadian dream of the Cup coming home alive for one more round.

Philadelphia Flyers over Boston Bruins in seven games

Speaking of power play, Boston survived a first round scare despite not having converted any of their attempts with a man advantage against the Canadiens. The Flyers, meanwhile, followed up a 2-for-26 performance on the power play in the first five games with three goals in nine attempts on the man advantage in Games 6 and 7. Chris Pronger's back for Philly too, although that doesn't address the area of biggest (and annual, really) concern: their goaltending situation. Brian Boucher will be starting—but who knows when Michael Leighton and/or Sergei Bobrovsky might be summoned, as all three had to take turns being embarrassed at points in the seven-game tilt with Buffalo. Essentially, I'm more confident that the Flyers have enough weapons to keep on scoring (even if it is against Tim Thomas, that other Vezina nominee) while Boston's going to need its best players to seriously improve upon the numbers they generated against Montreal.