Boston_Bruins       0.718 0.315
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.282 0.066


Vancouver_Canucks   0.707 0.480
San_Jose_Sharks     0.293 0.139

The predictor goes 2/2 this round, for an overall record of 11/14.

Boston_Bruins           0.377
Vancouver_Canucks       0.623


The predictor likes Vancouver, and I wouldn’t mind seeing the cup come back to Canada. As an Oiler fan it is a bit painful to see the Canucks succeed … but I guess I couldn’t begrudge them winning their first cup. I’m a bit conflicted though — I entered a playoff pool and have in that Boston to beat Vancouver. If that happens, I win the 126 entrant for-bragging-rights pool. So I guess the series is win-win for me. I’m looking forward to watching the matches from Canada!

Herald

Well the 2nd round was almost totally lame compared to the first round as many of the series looked like they were going to be short one-sided affairs. But the Western matchups were made into series as both Nashville and Detroit put up good fights before finally bowing out. Here’s a look at how the predictor did for this round:

Washington_Capitals 0.610 0.260 0.100
Philadelphia_Flyers 0.407 0.232 0.093
Boston_Bruins       0.593 0.386 0.188
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.390 0.123 0.034

Vancouver_Canucks   0.726 0.535 0.371
San_Jose_Sharks     0.585 0.210 0.103
Detroit_Red_Wings   0.415 0.118 0.048
Nashville_Predators 0.274 0.137 0.063

3/4 is a pretty good record, with the only miss being Tampa Bay.  The predictor goes 9 for 12 overall so far. San Jose nearly coughed up a 3-0 series lead but held on, but really the story was Dwayne Roloson’s continued playoff excellence. That guy is 40 years old and playing absolutely briliantly!

What’s up for the next round? Well:


Boston_Bruins       0.718 0.315
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.282 0.066



Vancouver_Canucks   0.707 0.480
San_Jose_Sharks     0.293 0.139


Vancouver and Boston are heavy favourites to meet in the stanely cup finals. But you never know — both the lightning and the sharks have strong teams and the matchups will be very interesting.

Herald

Here’s a quick recap of the first round:

Washington_Capitals 0.464 0.252 0.114 0.048
Philadelphia_Flyers 0.594 0.277 0.139 0.061
Boston_Bruins       0.703 0.421 0.257 0.136
Pittsburgh_Penguins 0.664 0.355 0.189 0.089
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.336 0.125 0.046 0.014
Montreal_Canadiens  0.297 0.123 0.047 0.016
Buffalo_Sabres      0.406 0.184 0.070 0.025
New_York_Rangers    0.536 0.263 0.139 0.063


Vancouver_Canucks   0.725 0.557 0.418 0.290
San_Jose_Sharks     0.555 0.313 0.130 0.064
Detroit_Red_Wings   0.566 0.259 0.086 0.035
Anaheim_Ducks       0.387 0.142 0.042 0.015
Nashville_Predators 0.613 0.293 0.119 0.055
Phoenix_Coyotes     0.434 0.145 0.047 0.017
Los_Angeles_Kings   0.445 0.150 0.077 0.034
Chicago_Blackhawks  0.275 0.143 0.081 0.038

The predictor goes 6 for 8 this year in the first round – losing on the NYR and PIT bets. The Penguins suffered the loss of Malkin and Crosby which they couldn’t really recover from (tough to lose those guys), but they made it a series. The rangers put up a good fight but couldn’t hold onto a couple of leads that should probably be games they win.
I was rooting for the Habs to upset the bruins, but that didn’t happen … and the Canucks managed to almost lose their series after taking a 3-0 lead.

So what do we have for the next round?

Washington_Capitals 0.610 0.260 0.100
Philadelphia_Flyers 0.407 0.232 0.093
Boston_Bruins       0.593 0.386 0.188
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.390 0.123 0.034

Vancouver_Canucks   0.726 0.535 0.371
San_Jose_Sharks     0.585 0.210 0.103
Detroit_Red_Wings   0.415 0.118 0.048
Nashville_Predators 0.274 0.137 0.063

The Bruins are still favourites out of the East to win the cup, but they’ve got a tough match ahead against the flyers. Meanwhile the Capitals have the edge on the lightning by a fair margin. In the West, the Canucks are heavy favourites again, but their success will depend on how they respond to the almost-first-round-collapse against the Hawks. Definitely Chicago was a tough first round draw though, and they have a very deep team so they should be up for it. San Jose has the edge against Detroit, but that series could probably go either way. It’s tough to bet against the wings. Probably the series to watch this round.

Herald

I don’t think it should be a surprise to anyone that Vancouver is heavily favoured to win the cup this year. A couple of interesting notes:

Boston is the favourite out of the east this year, according to the simulator, despite sitting in 3rd in the East. This comes out of a having one of the best goals for/goals against ratios in the conference. They also benefit from a first round match against the Canadiens who have a low goals for total for the year.

Pittsburgh also surprises as being a second favourite in the East — also benefitting from a favourable first round matchup against the Lightning who have a very high goals against total for the year.

The West is a lot more ordinary in the ranking, with the favs being Vancouver, San Jose, and Detroit.

Washington_Capitals 0.464 0.252 0.114 0.048
Philadelphia_Flyers 0.594 0.277 0.139 0.061
Boston_Bruins       0.703 0.421 0.257 0.136
Pittsburgh_Penguins 0.664 0.355 0.189 0.089
Tampa_Bay_Lightning 0.336 0.125 0.046 0.014
Montreal_Canadiens  0.297 0.123 0.047 0.016
Buffalo_Sabres      0.406 0.184 0.070 0.025
New_York_Rangers    0.536 0.263 0.139 0.063


Vancouver_Canucks   0.725 0.557 0.418 0.290
San_Jose_Sharks     0.555 0.313 0.130 0.064
Detroit_Red_Wings   0.566 0.259 0.086 0.035
Anaheim_Ducks       0.387 0.142 0.042 0.015
Nashville_Predators 0.613 0.293 0.119 0.055
Phoenix_Coyotes     0.434 0.145 0.047 0.017
Los_Angeles_Kings   0.445 0.150 0.077 0.034
Chicago_Blackhawks  0.275 0.143 0.081 0.038

Looking forward to more playoff hockey! Let’s go!