NHL Playoff Second Round Re-Cap
After barely scraping together a record of 4-4 in the first round, I had high hopes for picks in the second round. Well… that was not to be. I had St. Louis and Nashville in the West and Washington and Philadelphia in the East. So knowing that, you now know that I went 0-4  in the second round, bringing my total through two rounds to a record of 4-8. Disappointing to say the least especially after compiling a 12-3 record last year.

Season of Upsets
This has to be one of the biggest year of upsets in the past ten or more years. The top teams are dropping like flies! If you are telling the truth there is no way you thought Phoenix, Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York (OK, maybe New York) would be in the conference final. I must admit my interest in the quest for the Stanley Cup is drifting further away than it did when the Canucks were eliminated. But I am a fan and am sure I will watch every game (unless its a 4:30 start and sun is out)!

Here is my attempt to redeem my record:

NHL Western Conference Playoff Prediction
Phoenix Coyotes vs. Los Angeles Kings

For this one I’m throwing the regular season statistics out the window, because frankly both teams were awful. During the season series they met six times and had a 3-3 record. The Kings won one game in overtime and the Coyotes had an overtime, shoot out and regulation time win in their three victories.

Let’s focus on some post season numbers, The Kings are 8-1 while the Coyotes are 8-3. The Kings have the edge in goals for and a better goals against average. Phoenix leads the power play stat while the Kings have the better penalty kill. They both score first roughly the same amount. I think it is a bit of a crap shoot based on how the playoff’s have gone. But with that said I think there is one better team so my pick is:

Los Angeles Kings in 7

NHL Eastern Conference Playoff Prediction
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers

The regular season mirrors the Western Confernce with the teams going 3-3 in the season series. The Devils won one in a shoot out while the Rangers won all 3 in regulation time. So, like above let’s look at the playoff stats.

In the post season the Devils are 8-4 while the Rangers have a record of 8-6. The Devils lead in goals for and goal differential and the Rangers in goals against. The Devils lead in power play while the Rangers lead on the penalty kill. They both score first roughly the same amount. For me the better team is obvious although I think a Martin Brodeur win would be awesome:

New York Rangers in 6

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