Round Two NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions: This Looks Familiar

You might recall that when we were at this point last year, I played it safe and picked the four teams that we had in the previous year's Conference Finals to all return and set up two rematches. Instead, half of those teams got eliminated.

So here we are getting ready for the conference semi-finals (division finals?), and—minus the Los Angeles Kings—three teams are looking at return trips to the Conference Finals. All three will have home ice, so that should make them presumed favorites, although expert opinion I've seen thus far has been decidedly mixed.

I played it safe in making my second round picks last year, and felt immediately convinced that all four of the higher-ranked seeds would be advancing this year after leaning decidedly toward the upsets last round. The result, however, was that only half of my six so-called upset predictions panned out—and the Blackhawks as an upset still seems a little misleading since a majority of the picks I saw had them favored to beat the Predators.

Either way, my 5-3 record in the first round probably wasn't the best set of predictions on the internet, although four of those five correct picks also nailed the exact number of games the series would last. I'm entirely convinced that at least one underdog is going to overachieve and ruin what I'm about to publish below for this round's predictions—assuming I do go with all four favorites, of course.

New York Rangers over Washington Capitals in six games

Trust me, I'll probably be rooting for the Caps, but I'm just not any kind of believer that they're going to get any further this year. While Holtby being suspect and Ovechkin seeming rather inconsistent gives me pause, the Rangers were not as dominant as one might expect against the worst team in the playoffs (points-wise) last round. Despite injuries to the Penguins, nearly every one of the five games New York played was very close. The Rangers don't dominate puck possession, which could be a problem against a Washington team that advanced as a result of a Game 7 victory in which they held the Islanders to a measly 11 shots on goal. While New York's got one of the best goalies around and a terrific shooting percentage, they'll need a good amount of luck to hold off the Capitals here. And seeing as I simply think Washington is an unlucky franchise, I'm guessing they'll get it. 

Montréal Canadiens over Tampa Bay Lightning in six games

Tampa dominated the regular season meetings, which isn't totally surprising since the Bolts got swept out of the 2014 playoffs by the Habs. Still, based on what we saw in the last round, I can't pick Ben Bishop to outplay Carey Price. The Lightning certainly have the weapons to pull this off, and I've already changed this particular pick twice, but I'm sticking with Montréal solely on the belief that its goaltending will end up carrying the day while Tampa's will be what does them in.

Chicago Blackhawks over Minnesota Wild in seven games

The Blackhawks are to Minnesota fans what the Red Wings used to be to Chicago fans. That is to say that the Wild are obviously getting better with each passing year but just have yet to overcome the team that has more or less been the class of the Central for the past half-decade. In 2013, the Blackhawks dispatched Minnesota in five games, last year it took six, and so it only seems logical that this year will take the full seven. Make no mistake here: If the Blackhawks have the defensive lapses that plagued the team (and whatever poor fellow was stuck in goal) in the last round, the Wild could very well make short work of Chicago. Still, I'm just not seeing it. Yeah, Devan Dubnyk has been great, but we were just hearing about how impossible Pekka Rinne supposedly was last round. That turned out OK.

Calgary Flames over Anaheim Ducks in six games

Look at any numbers or advanced metrics and Anaheim is the clear favorite here. After the Ducks sweep of the Jets last round, I immediately acknowledged that the team was really on its game this year. The Flames, meanwhile, have succeeded despite some terrible numbers (second worst Corsi differential of first round, I believe). Yet I watched the Flames always manage to win games late because of certain intangibles, such as being able to put bodies in front of the net and score from the point. I'm perhaps guilty of picking a team I'm actively rooting for here, but it just seems like Calgary's recipe for success if bound to continue working against a team that has Frederik Andersen in net.