San Jose and Columbus aren't even the most shocking teams missing from the bracket, as we have a defending champion failing to make the playoffs for the first time in eight years. And a lot of folks had higher expectations of Boston too.
Still, we now gloriously turn our attention to the actual playoffs tonight, roughly two months that might be my wife's least favorite time of year—although hell if I'm not trying to make it one of the child's favorites. After all, the one common prediction that is still possible is the one I was and still am most hoping for: Blackhawks raising Lord Stanley once again.
I'm not going to be keeping track of the predictions of other sites this year (here's the ESPN and Sports Illustrated picks, if you're curious), but I'm guessing I probably won't be setting any records with my guess anyway. I've seen a lot of chalk in some places, but it just seems to me that this year is especially ripe for upsets. Now part of that is probably my own rooting interests (for this round, at least), but perhaps this could be something similar to 2006 when the lower seeds in an entire conference stunned the favorites.
Again, this could all just be wishful thinking, but I'm pretty confident that if nothing else, I'm bound to be pretty damn entertained over the course of the next several weeks.
I'd say these are presented in descending order of confidence, but really it's just kind of the order I remembered to upload my picks. Either way, here's my predictions for the first round:
Unbelievably, I originally had the Rags missing the playoffs this year. Coming off of a runner-up season, I guess I expected something akin to a "Super Bowl slump." Instead, they won the Presidents' Trophy. Now I know many people (myself, at one time, included) believe that there's a "curse" associated with winning this trophy, but let's keep in mind the Blackhawks ran away with it just two years ago on their way to winning a Cup. I'm not saying that this makes New York the clear favorite to be crowned champions this year, but I simply don't see them having too much difficulty with a Pittsburgh team that barely got into the playoffs. My guess is we'll get the usual game from Marc-André Fleury where he plays great and people suggest he might have overcome his demons before he immediately soils himself in the nest two or three. There's no such concerns about Henrik Lundqvist, and if anything, the Rangers could end this series a lot sooner than I'm going with here.
Chicago Blackhawks over Nashville Predators in six games
It's just silly for me to pretend that a lot of Blackhawks fans don't have very real concerns about this team. In addition to some highly questionable scratches and line decisions by Coach Q, this club just has not shown the dominance we have seen in past Cup seasons. While they tied for a league best in goals allowed, the defense has been incredibly suspect. All of that said, the one thing the team has been able to count on is Corey Crawford. While the Predators were a team I would have been dreading two months ago, their own finish to the year wasn't exactly frightening either. Pekka Rinne is an amazing goalie, but the Blackhawks have beaten him before.
Tampa Bay Lightning over Detroit Red Wings in seven games
Tampa's a very popular pick to get to the Cup, and I'm only reluctant because I liked them last year when they were promptly swept out of the first round. That's not terribly likely to happen again with a healthy goaltender and a bit more of a chip on their shoulder. I never want to write off Mike Babcock, but Detroit's got goaltending concerns.
Only a guy nicknamed "The Hamburglar" could make me pick against Carey Price. In this matchup, we get two teams that were trending in opposite directions to close out the year meeting in the first round. I'm admittedly skeptical that the Habs end up staying so lethargic, but I will buy into the idea that the Sens continue to play well and ultimately pull off the upset.
My silver lining to the Blackhawks not winning the division this year was that they wouldn't have to open the playoffs with a Wild team that had a remarkable turnaround ever since Mike Yeo infamously reamed out the team during a practice session. So have fun with that one, St. Louis. I expect nothing less than two Blues victories to be followed by four straight heartbreaking losses.
Maybe I'm just atoning for having Calgary at the bottom of the Pacific in my original picks, but the Flames simply just seem like one of those teams that doesn't know their not supposed to be as good as they are. Truth be told, I know very little about these teams other than the Sedin twins are still creepy and Johnny Gaudreau has been stellar this season. In the end, give me Jonas Hiller over Ryan Miller in this round, but probably not far beyond that.
Winnipeg Jets over Anaheim Ducks in seven games
New York Islanders over Washington Capitals in seven games
Look, I was telling myself last year after the Ducks finally got out of the first round that I would end my whole "pick against Bruce Boudreau" belief. But the Jets are just too damn tempting to ignore. Winnipeg has a solid combination of speed and size, and the Central was far superior to the Pacific this year. Ondřej Pavelec also has better numbers than Frederik Andersen, so it appears I'm letting the goaltenders make my final decisions in this part of the barcket.
OK, this is honestly my least confident pick. And it is certainly influenced by a rooting interest, because a friend in New York has just suffered so long as an Isles fan. And I've been burned by the Caps before. Still, Washington is a new team under Barry Trotz, and they're a formidable bunch. The only thing I'm confident about here is that this goes the distance, but I just sense that the Capitals find another way to fail in a Game 7.
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