Rite of Spring 2013 (NHL Playoffs): "You have no fear of the underdog, that's why you will not survive."

[CS85]

I'm "in phone" so if a mod wants to post an updated playoff tree feel free.

[riki]

tree feel free

oooooHohOhhhh

[FGM13]

tree feel free

oooooHohOhhhh

...what

[CS85]

Cocaine is a powerful drug.

[Kramerica Industries]

And now the whole playoff field is set.

East:

8) NY Islanders vs. 1) Pittsburgh

7) Ottawa vs. 2) Montreal

6) NY Rangers vs. 3) Washington

5) Toronto vs. 4) Boston

West:

8) Minnesota vs. 1) Chicago

7) Detroit vs. 2) Anaheim

6) San Jose vs. 3) Vancouver

5) Los Angeles vs. 4) St. Louis

[Still MIGHTY]

The East is set:

#1 Penguins vs #8 Islanders

#2 Canadiens vs #7 Senators

#3 Capitals vs #6 Rangers

#4 Bruins vs #5 Maple Leafs

[Sport]

In 2011 I went 8 for 8 on first round playoff picks. Trying to replicate that again.

Penguins over Islanders

Senators over Canadiens

Rangers over Capitals

Bruins over Maple Leafs

Blackhawks over Wild

Red Wings over Ducks

Canucks over Sharks

Kings over Blues

[NEW.ERA]

So I presume CBC will take Boston/Toronto even though they have an all canadian matchup staring at them in the face, so TSN will probably take MTL/OTT over VAN/SJ. I don't know about the TV coverage though. All I know is CBC has first pick of a Canadian matchup, TSN gets whatever is next, then CBC the other one.

Predictionsssssssssss.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

#1 Pittsburgh over #8 NY Islanders in 6

#2 Montreal over #7 Ottawa in 7

#6 NY Rangers over #3 Washington in 6

#5 Toronto over #4 Boston in 7

Western Conference Quarterfinals

#1 Chicago over #8 Minnesota in 5

#7 Detroit over #2 Anaheim in 7

#6 San Jose over #3 Vancouver in 7

#5 Los Angeles over #4 St Louis in 7

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals

#1 Pittsburgh over #6 NY Rangers in 6

#5 Toronto over #2 Montreal in 7

Western Conference Semi-Finals

#1 Chicago over #7 Detroit in 5

#5 Los Angeles over #6 San Jose in 6

Eastern Conference Final

#1 Pittsburgh over #5 Toronto in 5

Western Conference Final

#5 Los Angeles over #1 Chicago in 7

Stanley Cup Final

#5 Los Angeles over #1 Pittsburgh in 7

MVP - Jeff Carter

[Kramerica Industries]

In a cosmic sense, I'm glad the Lightning aren't in the playoffs, because the only picks I tend to get right are the ones I ultimately wish I got wrong.

To wit:

In 2011, picked the Bruins to win the East (and, actually picked a Bruins/Canucks Final, but had Vancouver winning). Bruins did win the East. They did so by winning a gut-wrenching seven game series over the Lightning.

In 2012, picked the Tigers to beat the Yankees in the ALCS. I don't think I need to revisit that one.

So, with no risk of backfiring, I'll be able to fire away wreckless abandon this time. I look forward to that.

[cmm]

I'm not upset that the Islanders drew Pittsburgh. If the Isles plan on making a run at this, they'd probably have to play the Penguins eventually anyway. Why not open up with them, when Crosby is iffy for game 1 and might be a little rusty the rest of the series?

That said, I expect the Penguins to win the series but I think the Islanders will be a pain for them and will make in interesting. They played the Penguins tough in 4 of the 5 games they played this year (winning only 1).

[RedRenesis]

I didn't watch the NHL this season, but I see the Pens had a good record against the Isles, but it doesn't change the fact that they are the team I least wanted to see the Pens face. The Isles have matched up well against the Pens for a few years now and if they can force the Pens into the kind of rough play that they got against the Flyers last year, the Pens could end up facing the same result.

[fouhy12]

East:

8) NY Islanders vs. 1) Pittsburgh 5 games

Pittsburgh is clearly the better team.

7) Ottawa vs. 2) Montreal 6 games

Ottawa is good enough to give Montreal trouble, but the Habs will win.

6) NY Rangers vs. 3) Washington 4 games

How did Washington get into the playoffs?

5) Toronto vs. 4) Boston 7 games

Each team goes undefeated at home.

West:

8) Minnesota vs. 1) Chicago 6 games

There's a reason why Chicago won the President's Trophy.

7) Detroit vs. 2) Anaheim 7 games

Anaheim isn't playing well, but will be better than Detroit in 7 games.

6) San Jose vs. 3) Vancouver 6 games

In a battle of playoff chokers, Luongo proves to be worse under pressure.

5) Los Angeles vs. 4) St. Louis 5 games

LA comes out with momentum and dominates.

Round Two

6) NY Rangers vs. 1) Pittsburgh 6 games

NYR gives Pitt slightly more trouble than NYI, but it really isn't close.

4) Boston vs. 2) Montreal 6 games

Great rivalry, Boston wins 4 straight after Montreal starts the series 2-0 at home.

6) San Jose vs. 1) Chicago 5 games

San Jose chokes.

5) LA Kings vs 2) Anaheim 6 games

LA keeps the momentum, ANA chokes.

Conference Final predictions and redone Conference Semi-final predictions to come after Conf. Quarter-Finals are completed.

• 
  

[NEW.ERA]

They're actually doing a schedule release show on the NHL Network at 11ET. So one more hour till we know the dates.

[Kramerica Industries]

Well, NBCSN is airing Minnesota/Chicago and Detroit/Anaheim on Tuesday night. That much has, seemingly, been confirmed. But, with the East completely unknown until the end of tonights' game, there is a lot of hand-wringing going on inside NHL offices right now to get proper schedules released.

[ninersdd]

I would presume the Sharks start on Wednesday with that fact the Anaheim starts Tuesday night, and would not have the Pacific locations going against one another.

[Sodboy13]

Because of course, they couldn't map out the possible plans in advance of the Boston-Ottawa result.

That's not sarcasm. I'm certain this league wouldn't be capable of that level of forethought.

[dbadefense1990]

1st round picks are in bold.

Western:

In 5...#1 Chicago vs. #8 Minnesota

In 7...#2 Anaheim vs. #7 Detroit

In 6...#3 Vancouver vs. #6 San Jose

In 7...#4 St. Louis vs. #5 Los Angeles

Eastern:

In 6...#1 Pittsburgh vs. #8 NY Islanders

In 6...#2 Montreal vs. #7 Ottawa

In 7...#3 Washington vs. #6 NY Rangers

In 6...#4 Boston vs. #5 Toronto

[habsfan1]

Penguins over Islanders in 6

Canadiens over Senators in 6

Capitals over Rangers in 7

Bruins over Maple Leafs in 5

Blackhawks over Wild in 4

Red Wings over Ducks in 7

Canucks over Sharks in 6

Kings over Blues in 7

[BigEd76]

Seems like Pittsburgh is almost a lock to come out of the East even without the crybaby, but since I want to see them collapse, I'll root for Montreal

Out west, I've already seen Chicago and Anaheim win a Cup recently, so I'll root for Vancouver and St. Louis, even though I don't expect either one to make it

[Sodboy13]

The NHL puts on a "scheduling show" at 11:00pm on a freaking Sunday, burns through all the schedule announcements in the first 8 minutes of said hour-long show, and before announcing the Western schedules, tells viewers to just go to the website and look at them there instead anyway.

And when you go to NHL.com and click on the Quarterfinals schedule, you get:

#OITGDNHL