Round Two of the playoffs is upon us and the first round pretty much went to plan, with most games going as we predicted. This has set up some interesting matchups with Florida v Tampa and the all Canadian Clash standing out.
Round one was pretty exciting with the only blowout coming in Colorado, which was not too much of a surprise given the Avalanche are many people’s favourites to lift the cup. Their likely opponents in the final Tampa struggled a bit against the near perennial first-round exiters Toronto. The Maple Leafs have not been beyond round one since 2004 but came close losing a thrilling game six in OT before going out in the decider.
Anyway, the results are below along with our predictions for round two.
Eastern Conference Round One results
Florida 4 Washington 2
Tampa Bay 4 Toronto 3
Carolina 4 Boston 3
NY Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 3
Western Conference Round One results
Colorado 4 Nashville 0
St. Louis 4 Minnesota 2
Calgary 4 Dallas 3
Edmonton 4 Los Angeles 3
Round Two Predictions Eastern Conference
Florida v Tampa Bay
The Lightning showed a lot of tenacity in games 6 & 7 and look to be peaking form wise at the right time. They are not two time s defending champions for nothing and should be too good for a Panthers team who were a tad lucky to get past the Capitals winning two in OT.
Prediction Tampa 4-2
The highlights of Tampas game seven win are well worth a watch.
Carolina v NY Rangers
The Hurricanes made hard work of getting past the Bruins winni9ng all four games at home and losing all three on the road. The good news is that they will get 4 at home again against the Rangers given they are No one seeds. They may need them.
The Rangers were 3-1 down but battled back to win the final game in OT. Are they battle-hardened or just plain lucky? We had them losing in the first round and will tempt fate by predicting they go out here.
Prediction Carolina 4-3
Round Two Predictions Western Conference
Colorado v St. Louis
Colorado never looked troubled in dispatching the Predators 4-0. The Blues won three straight to ease past the Wild 4-2. This set up a postseason rematch and the Blues will be keen to avenge last year’s sweep. They should do better but we expect the Avalanche to progress.
Prediction Colorado 4-1
Calgary v Edmonton
The Flames made hard work of getting past the Stars, relying on their defense for much of the series. This has set up a classic “Battle of Alberta” against their provincial rivals the Oilers who also came through a gruelling seven-game series against the LA Kings. This is a tough one to call but we think the Oilers should end up with Aberta bragging rights thanks to their superior scoring prowess. Given I am a Flames fan I hope I am wrong!
Check out the Flames’ game seven win – 64 shots at goal and still nearly blew it!
Prediction Edmonton 4-3
Whoever wins the games let’s hope we get more of what we got in round one, close exciting games.
