Also at The FDH Lounge Multimedia Magazine.
I started at a schweet 7-1 clip in the first round, marred only by a wrong guess on the 4-5 matchup in the East (so sue me!). My picks included the 1-8 upset in the West, so if you joined me in predicting that the Sharks would step on their collective johnsons for yet another season in the playoffs and you had any caysh down on the Ducks straight-up, you should have earned 2 1/2 times what you wagered. You're welcome!
The previous prediction about a Boston-Vancouver Stanley Cup Final was predicated on Chris Osgood continuing to bumble about for the Wings as he did during the regular season. Instead, he was absolutely sensational in the conference quarterfinals (except for the middle of Game Four) and he drew motivation from all of the doubters -- myself most definitely included. I proclaimed him the biggest X-factor in the entire playoff tournament and since he has answered the bell in fine fashion, The Road To The Cup still runs through Hockeytown until somebody proves that they can knock the champs out definitively.
SECOND ROUND
EAST
Boston over Carolina in 6
Pittsburgh over Washington in 7
WEST
Detroit over Anaheim in 6
Vancouver over Chicago in 6
CONFERENCE FINALS
EAST
Boston over Pittsburgh in 5
WEST
Detroit over Vancouver in 6
STANLEY CUP FINALS
Detroit over Boston in 6
CONN SMYTHE WINNER: Pavel Datsyuk
NHL 2009 second-round playoff predictions
