Conference finals results and picks for the finals

Current Standings(this round, overall (tiebreak):
Mine: 1-1, 9-5, (7)
JR: 1-1, 9-5 (6)
JB: 1-1, 3-3 (10)
DP: 1-1, 7-7 (11)
JG: 1-1, 2-4 (11)
TS: 1-1, 4-2 (8)
GV: 0-2, 2-4


Conference finals results:
#3 Boston vs #5 Tampa Bay
Goaltending, goaltending, goaltending....wait, what? I dont think anyone expected 42 goals to be scored in the series, i think 42 would have been a better prediction for the entire round in terms of goals scored. Even if you said now you expected a high scoring battle, I probably wouldn't believe you. But indeed that is what we got, a game with 11 goals ending in a Boston win, then two more with 8 and 9 respectivly both ending in Tampa Bay wins. Of course there were a couple good goaltending battles in there as well, the 2-0 and 3-1 wins by Boston. Surprisingly Roloson was not the starter in the 3-1 loss for the lightning. Mike Smith was given his chance after performing very well in relief of Roloson earlier in the round. The best goaltending performance of course occurred in game 7. The teams combined for 62 shots on goal but only one went in the net. The 1-0 win for the Bruins marked the first loss for Roloson in an elimination game, he was previously 7-0. The series win comes despite the fact that Boston still has not found their powerplay. They scored only three powerplay goals in this series, 2 of them coming in their 6 goal game 2. The Bruins will need some more offense to get by the Canucks but since it is the NHL playoffs, who knows what will happen.
Oh and by the way if your a NBA fan and reading this saying the basketball playoffs are better, show me a player with more toughness and desire than Steven Stamkos. The guy blocked a shot with his face, breaks his nose, he gets patched up, throws on a cage and returns to the ice, all in under 10 mins. Yeah something about a separated shoulder or a sprained thumb or ankle just doesn't sound all that tough any more.
The Picks:  
Mine: Bruins in 7
TS: Bruins in 6
JB: Bruins in 5
DP: Lightning in 6
JR: Lightning in 6
GV: Lightning
JG: Lightning in 6

#1 Vancouver vs #2 San Jose
When the end came near, the Canucks star players shined brighter than the Sharks stars, and a little lucky bounce never hurt anyone either. The Canucks continue to look stronger as the playoffs move forward, despite the goaltending of Luongo. I give credit where credit is due, he is stopping the pucks that he needs to. His method is so sloppy though, ending up flat on his stomach after almost every save, naturally to a roar of louuuus from the Vancouver crowd. In four of the five games in the series, the Sharks held the lead at least once in the game, failing to hold on and get the win in all but the third game. In the two losses Vancouver scored the game winning goal in the third period, something the Sharks struggled to do for the most part. The series clinching goal was one of the most obscure goals I have seen in a while, all the credit in the world to Bieska for being the only person (referees included) on the ice to know where the puck was and to hit the net with the shot. If the Canucks scorers continue to score clutch goals like they did in this series, they will be a tough match up for either team from the East in the finals.
The picks:
Mine: Sharks in 7
TS: Sharks in 6
JB: Sharks in 6
DP: Canucks in 7
JR: Canucks in 7
GV: Sharks
JG: Canucks in 5


Stanley Cup Finals:
#1 Vancouver vs #3 Boston (Vancouver is the "home team")
This series has the potential to match the intensity of some of the first round series that we saw this year. Both teams have a physical style with big players to back it up. By the numbers both teams have fantastic goaltending, Thomas for the Bruins and Luongo for the Canucks. I think the advantage goes to Thomas and the Bruins here though, he has been too strong throughout the entire year to pick against him now. In front of the goalies there are a whole bunch of large defenseman on both teams. I think the Bruins also get the advantage here, they have been a major part of Thomas' success throughout the season and will continue to be throughout the finals. The defense is more important for Vancouver though, they need to keep shots to the outside and control the play in front of their goalie, if they can shut down the scorers for Boston, they should have no trouble. The offense category by all means goes to the Canucks. Their stars have continued to shine through the third round and are ready to lead the team to their first Stanley Cup Championship. The key for me for the series will the the powerplay and penalty kill units for both teams. Tampa Bay was supposed to have a potent powerplay but Boston shut them down other than a 3-4 effort in game 6. Vancouver will need to keep Bostons off the board as well, they have struggled throughout the playoffs, registering only 4 goals on the man advantage. However, if the Bruins can find their powerplay their chances will increase greatly. I've picked Boston over the course of the playoffs because of their home ice advantage, now they do not have it. The advantage is now with the Canucks, ill take them in 7 games.
The Picks:
JR: Canucks in 6
TS: Bruins in 7
JB: Canucks in 5
JG: Canucks in 6
GV: Canucks
DP: Canucks in 7

Conference finals matchups and post second round standings

I'll start by posting the results for the second round of playoff picks, as well as the overall results for those who picked both rounds so far. Second round results are listed first, the total for the first and second round is next followed by the over under for the number of games in the second round in the parenthesis.
Mine: 3-1, 8-4, (5)
JR: 2-2, 8-4, (3)
JB: 2-2 (7)
DP: 1-3, 6-6, (8)
JG: 1-3 (8)
TS: 3-1 (7)
GV: 2-2 (4)
Poll: 2-1, 7-4

Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Eastern Conference
#3 Boston vs #5 Tampa Bay
 I believe that this will be one of the most intense match ups we have seen so far in the playoffs. Although the teams lack the rivalry that some of the series may have had so far, it doesn't matter much when you get this far into the playoffs. Their styles are offsetting a bit, Boston is focused on defense around Tim Thomas and Chara. Tampa Bay sports a much higher powered offense with the likes of St Louis and Lecavalier up front but have found a veteran in net that has carried them on thus far. Originally my thought process was to pick the bolts because of their powerplay and the ability to stop others. Then I realized that Boston has gotten this far without having a powerplay. Tim Thomas was the best goalie in the regular season and will continue to be in this series. The high powered offense of the Lightning will get a few wins, especially playing at home if their crowd decides to come to life. However, the combination of Thomas, along with just enough well timed offense the Bruins will make it into the finals with a game seven victory.
TS: Bruins in 6
JB: Bruins in 5
DP: Lightning in 6
JR: Lightning in 6
GV: Lightning
JG: Lightning in 6

Western Conference
#1 Vancouver vs #2 San Jose 
#1 vs #2, hockey fans couldn't have asked for anything better. Vancouver looked much more relaxed in the second round despite losing a very important game five on home ice. They played close games throughout the second round, getting much better goaltending from Roberto Luongo and playing a team game. They took advantage of special teams much more than they did against the Blackhawks in the opening round. The Sharks took the path that the Canucks took in the first round, getting up three games but using the four remaining games to close it out. At times the Sharks have looked brilliant, dominating a very skilled, though injured, Detroit team for long periods of time. If their defensive game is able to keep Kessler in check the will fair well in this round. These teams look almost identical on paper, having styles that are only slightly different from one another. Both teams have excellent goalies when they are on, Niemi has answered any questions that I had about his skills. Both have excellent defensive cores and both have players fully capable of making the other team pay, both physically on the scoreboard. I will be very surprised if this series goes any less than 6 games but ill take the Sharks in 7.
TS: Sharks in 6
JB: Sharks in 6
DP: Canucks in 7
JR: Canucks in 7
GV: Sharks
JG: Canucks in 5

2nd round results vs the picks

Here is a recap of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Along with how all of those of us who made picks did. Some clearly much better than others.

#1 Washington vs #5 Tampa Bay
I thought going into this series that offense was going to be the key, I also thought that Washington's new found defensive style was going to help them out battle the Bolts. Turns out I couldn't have been off by more.  Goaltending turned out to be the key to the series after all. Roloson continued his fantastic play, allowing an average of 2.5 goals a game but more importantly making key stops at key times. On the other end Neuvirth lacked the killer instinct that Roloson has been showing. He averaged just under four goals against per game, conceding untimely goals such as the dagger by St Louis to make it 5-2 with only three minutes to go in the third. The Bolts got timely scoring from their stars and some from those who may have not been expected to contribute on the score sheet. Defensively the Bolts managed to shut down Ovechkin and Semin in a similar way to how Montreal did so in their comeback last year. Washington seemed to lack depth in the series when it came to scoring goals. The Caps scored three goals or less in each game of the series, only tallying two on two separate occasions. The Bolts had enough to make it through each game, including one in overtime, to sweep the Caps out of the playoffs in the minimum of four games. Todd was the only one to make the pick correctly but even he thought it would take longer than it did, picking the Bolts in six games.
Mine - Capitals in 6
JR - Capitals in 5
JB - Capitals in 7
DP - Capitals in 7
JG - Capitals in 7 
TS - Lightning in 6 
GV - Capitals in 6
Poll - by a vote of 6-2

#2 Philadelphia vs #3 Boston
The Flyers made it out of the first round despite the marry go round in goal. In the second round weak goaltending and a lack of offensive power came back to haunt them. Game two was the only one that was close in the entire series. Tim Thomas saved 52 shots in that game while the Bruins won another overtime games in the playoffs. In the other three games in the series the Bruins won by four goals. Totaling 17 goals to the five of the Flyers. On a not so hot side still, it took the Bruins till the final game of the series to finally get a power play goal in the playoffs. It came on a 5 on 3 with a minute to go while the game was already well in hand. Luckily for them it still counts as one and should help take some pressure off of their power play.
The win sets up a match up against the Lightning for the Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals.
The picks:
Mine - Bruins in 6
JR - Bruins in 6
JB - Flyers in 6
DP - Flyers in 7
JG - Flyers in 7
TS - Bruins in 6 
GV - Bruins in 6
Poll - Bruins by a vote of 5-3

#1 Vancouver vs #5 Nashville
With the help of their special teams Vancouver was able to wrap up a series a game shorter than in round one but still much closer than they would have liked. The Canucks claimed three wins in the city of Nashville as well as adding four power play goals on the road on only ten attempts. The win in game six marked the 13th game in 26 games for the overtime, and pressure, tested Canucks. Ryan Kesler registered at least a point in all but game one of the series, seeming to take the Canucks on his back as they were able to out power the Predators in the end. The series was by no means a blowout as I had thought it may be. Only one of the six games was decided by more than one goal, the odd game out being the two goal win, which included an empty net goal, for the Canucks in game four. The Canucks looked far better in their series than they did in the opening round, something they will need to continue with no matter who they face in the next round. In the mean time they will enjoy their two days off and hope that Detroit forces a game seven in the other Western Conference match up.
 Mine - Canucks in 5
JR - Canucks in 6
JB - Canucks in 5 
DP - Canucks in 5
JG - Canucks in 5
TS - Canucks in 4 
GV - Canucks in 6
Poll - Canucks by a vote of 7-1

#2 San Jose vs #3 Detroit
I had started to write up a series summary after game 3, the Wings were looking broken, history tells you that it wont be done. Yet after game 6 I deleted what I had planned to post after a Sharks series win. The Sharks showed many different faces over the course of this series. The first three games they were powerful and resilient to a point. Two overtime wins over one of the perennial powers in the West. Game four showed a few faces all in one game, falling behind 3-0, overcoming that deficit, then losing late in the third. Then the Sharks of the last few years showed up. A solid third period lead was lost in game 5, the doubt began to set in from observers about how the sharks were going to take the pressure. JJR took it the furthest calling Marleau guttless, but we all know about that story already. Another loss in game six set up the ultimate winner take all in sports, Game 7. Normally when a game gets as hyped as this game 7 did, it fails to live up to its expectations. The only thing better this game could have done was go to overtime. A hard fought battle that saw both teams have their share of chances to take control of the game. It took until the final buzzer for the Sharks to wrap up the series with a 3-2 win.  
Mine - Sharks in 7
JR - Red Wings in 7
JB - Sharks in 6 
DP - Red Wings in 6
JG - Red Wings in 6
TS - Red Wings in 6 
GV - Sharks in 7
Poll - vote of 4-4

2nd round results and the picks

The second round results will be posted as they come in, possibly even game by game this round. Also posted are the picks of those who sent them to me so we can either gaze in amazement or laugh at them.
Good luck!

Western Conference
#1 Vancouver vs #5 Nashville
Game 1: 1-0 Canucks
Game 2: 2-1 Predators (2 OT)
Game 3: 3-2 Canucks (OT)
Game 4: 4-2 Canucks
Game 5: 4-3 Predators
Game 6: 2-1 Canucks
The picks:
Mine - Canucks in 5
JR - Canucks in 6
JB - Canucks in 5 
DP - Canucks in 5
JG - Canucks in 5
TS - Canucks in 4 
GV - Canucks in 6
Poll - Canucks by a vote of 7-1

#2 San Jose vs #3 Detroit
Game 1: 2-1 Sharks (OT)
Game 2: 2-1 Sharks
Game 3: 4-3 Sharks (OT)
Game 4: 4-3 Red Wings
Game 5: 4-3 Red Wings
Game 6: 3-1 Red Wings
Game 7: 3-2 Sharks
The picks:
Mine - Sharks in 7
JR - Red Wings in 7
JB - Sharks in 6 
DP - Red Wings in 6
JG - Red Wings in 6
TS - Red Wings in 6 
GV - Sharks in 7
Poll - vote of 4-4


Eastern Conference
#1 Washington vs #5 Tampa Bay
Game 1: 4-2 Lightning
Game 2: 3-2 Lightning(OT)
Game 3: 4-3 Lightning
Game 4: 5-3 Lightning

The picks:
Mine - Capitals in 6
JR - Capitals in 5
JB - Capitals in 7
DP - Capitals in 7
JG - Capitals in 7 
TS - Lightning in 6 
GV - Capitals in 6
Poll - Capitals by a vote of 6-2

#2 Philadelphia vs #3 Boston
Game 1: Bruins 7-3
Game 2: Bruins 3-2 (OT)
Game 3: Bruins 5-1
Game 4: Bruins 5-1
The picks:
Mine - Bruins in 6
JR - Bruins in 6
JB - Flyers in 6
DP - Flyers in 7
JG - Flyers in 6(7) 
TS - Bruins in 6 
GV - Bruins in 6
Poll - Bruins by a vote of 5-3