2008 NHL Playoffs

The 2008 version of the games are upon us. We had a lively round of this discussion last year and there are quite a number of hockey fans amongst us, surprisingly. Probably more than any other. That is, nothing else has been brought up.

Predictions?

I suspect the Vancouver Canucks will sweep all their series.

Luongo will not let in a single playoff goal. The guy's a force field.

Shall we get a predictions contest going again? I'll put one together when I get home if there's interest.

Sure, I'm in if there's a prediction contest. But it would be the first contest for me, what are the rules?

Last season, Cormac came out of nowhere to school the rest of us and earn the much coveted Pimp Hat (see attached), which he had to share with a gap-toothed douche, as you can see.

Rules to follow (for ease of cut-n-paste, I'll double post)…

For round 1:
Pick the winner of each series for 1 point
Pick the number of games for each series for 1 point

The points are independent, so if you correctly pick a 5 game series but choose the wrong team, you'll still get a point for number of games.

Your series to pick:

RED WINGS vs Predators

Sharks vs Flames
Wild vs Crapalanche
Quacks vs Stars
Habs vs Bruins
Pens vs Sens
Caps vs Flyers
Devils vs Rangers

My selections:
Wings in 5
Sharks in 6
Wild in 6
Quacks in 5
Habs in 4
Pens in 7
Caps in 5
Devils in 5

Preds in 6
Flames in 7
Wild in 6
Quacks in 5
Habs in 4
Pens in 7
Caps in 5
Devils in 6

Sadly, the Leafs will not be participating again this year!!

With the Laffs playing golf, I just assumed you'd pull for Ottawa, old man…

(teach you to pick southern expansion over Original Six!)

Originally Posted by Corwin
Preds in 6

You're a funny guy Corwin.

OK, my predictions:

Red Wings in 6
Flames in 6
Wild in 5
Stars in 7
Canadiens in 4
Senators in 5
Capitals in 7
Devils in 5

I suspect the Vancouver Canucks will sweep all their series.

they are already out….

Wings 6
Sharks 7
avalanche 5 ( Mr Forsberg all the way )
Quaks 6
Pens 6
Bruins 7
Flyers 6
Rangers 7 ( Lundqvist all the way! )

I have picked against Dte's Wings every year since the Dot days and I'm not about to change now!!

Mind you, I'd pick them over the Sens everytime!!!!

GG as soon as Ohlund and Morrisson come off the injured list I have a good feeling about my 'Nucks. Don't count them out yet!

Red Wings in 4 - Preds have no business being there
Flames will run the Sharks through the boards in 6
Avalanche in 5 if Forsberg stays health. Theodore has finally learned to play without oversized equipment
Ducks over Stars in 5 because Giguere hasn't
Montreal over Bruins in 4. Habs are a team on the rise and Bruins on the decline
Pens over Sens in 6. Pittsburgh is a team with magic
Caps over Flyers in 5. Caps have that magic and incredible depth with the new additions
Devils in 4 over Rangers

Hey Corwin, how popular is Hockey down there? I would be surprised to hear that it gets decent television coverage in Australia, I'm guessing you probably need satellite huh?

Originally Posted by Lucky Day
Devils in 4 over Rangers

Did you know that NY actually went 7-1 vs the Devils this year? I still think NJ will win the series because of the way they turn it up for the playoffs, but no way do they sweep the Rangers. That series will go 6 or 7 games.

If I'm lucky, I get one game a week on Fox Sports!!

Corwin, I'll watch the HABS win the Stanley Cup on CBC.com!!!

Ah, good thing I checked the Watch today. We can't possibly let Cormac keep the pimp hat for another season, especially since dte probably risked life and limb to procure it from Peter Worrell last year.
So, to echo Lucky's predictions, the Canucks are going all the way!…what, they're out of hit points? killed by a hobgoblin? darn.
Anyway.

Wings in 6 (Goaltending will cost them a couple games, but Pav and Zets light it up)
Sharks in 5 (Not even fancy pants Huselius can save them, Sharks finally won't choke and go to the final)
Stars in 7 (Don't like the quacks, so they'll lose)
Minny in 7 (Dont like the Avs either, so ditto)

Habs in 6 (Can you say Kostitsyn?)
Pens in 5 (Sens will fight hard, but Hossa sticks the knife in their gut)
Caps in 6 (Ovechkin, Backtrom, Semin, Green… all the way to the finals)
Rangers in 7 (Lundqvist steals the show, Gomez with the deathblow)

Somehow, I've never quite understood the reasoning behind getting a point for correctly picking the number of games even if you pick the wrong team. I mean, if I were to pick Prime Junta's Reindeer mounted Lapland Rangers to sweep dte's Motorized Michigan Marine Corps, but dte's team ends up winning in 4 games, then I'm as wrong as can possibly be. I'm a total dunce with less brain cells than Dion Phaneuf, but I still get a point?
I guess this subject gets brought up every year though; can't hurt to add a little illogical chaos to the mix I suppose. After all, I don't think any of Mr. Spock's progenitors are participating in this thread.

I thought the point of predicting the number of games was to separate those who have the same amount of right on the teams….

GG as soon as Ohlund and Morrisson come off the injured list I have a good feeling about my 'Nucks. Don't count them out yet!

HEHE, face reality man, they are not in the play-offs or did you mean next year?

Originally Posted by Geist
Ah, good thing I checked the Watch today. We can't possibly let Cormac keep the pimp hat for another season, especially since dte probably risked life and limb to procure it from Peter Worrell last year.

Now this, folks, is a person with a good memory.

I try to make 16 points available per round, so that's part of the motivation for letting us pick games independently. Given your excellent memory, you might remember that in round 2 there's a point available for getting team and games both correct.

@GG- don't mind the Nucks fans. They're a little addled. Heck, they think they've got a real hockey club up there…