| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
 Posted - 04/20/2006 : 12:31:50
|
It's been so long... amazing what a whole season away from hockey can do to true hockey fans. It seems like so long ago for some, and like yesterday for others that the Lightning (who'd a thunk it?) won the Cup. Even though there has only been one season since then, so much has happened to the game:
- The Canes finished second in the East and the Sabres finished fourth - but scarce were the people who thought the Leafs were going to finish 10th in the East and fire Pat Quinn (of all people) not too long after.
- Kiprusoff showed us that his playoff run a couple years ago was no fluke. The Mighty (soon to just be called) Ducks got their playoff berth back. Nashville got in a lot easier than last year (8th -> 4th) and Edmonton took Vancouver's spot back. And these are just the changes in the playoff picture...
Now's the time fellas, show who is the ultimate forecaster, the King of predictions and take a shot at guessing the answer to the big question of 2005-2006, who's going to bring Mr. Stanley el Coupe home?
I have two scenarios, depending on a very important factor: Will Hasek be back and healthy in time?
If he is: Winner: Ottawa Senators
Runner up: San Jose Sharks. Laugh all you want, but I stay true to my team and there's no reason they can't win, they have what it takes and they were in the Conference Finals last playoff year so they are no fluke. This is what I told my family and friends would happen since the start of the season, and so far so good.
If he isn't: Winner: San Jose Sharks. Same reason as above.
Runner up: New Jersey Devils. If Hasek isn't healthy then Brodeur will be the goalie to beat. They now also have the firepower they need in an emerged Gionta with Elias and Gomez, I think they will be in the Eastern Conference Finals no matter what. For some twisted reason though, even though they haven't played each other this year, I think San Jose can take them.
The other possibility is if not San Jose, then I'm convinced it will be Detroit. Another prediction I'd love to add is Anaheim over Calgary in the first round; nothing would please me more.
I'm sure I'm the only one with these picks, so shoot...
|
|
|
leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2006 : 15:25:54
|
Babs, we've barely agreed all year so why should now be any different...
Final 4: CAR / OTT and CGY / DET
I know, other than maybe Calgary I'm not going out on much of a limb. I think Detroit will take Calgary (lack of fire power and Kipper will begin to get tired) and Ottawa will take Carolina (Their first line is too strong and Emery is going to turn it on)
Ultimately I think Detroit will take their 4th cup in 10 years because their special teams are soooo strong, their experience is wicked deep.
Regardless of who wins, I'm looking forward to seeing the post season again! |
 |
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2006 : 19:49:09
|
Well I'm glad you went out on a limb and picked ALL THE FAVORITES! Ok time for me to be more precise:
First Round winners:
East: Ottawa, Carolina, New Jersey, Buffalo
I just don't think there can be any surprises in the East but if any, Rangers over Jersey.
West: Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose
The two top are too strong for their opponents but bye bye #3 and 4. I'm one of very few who pick Anaheim over Calgary, but just watch.
Quick question: Is it the same format as last year, where the winner of 1v8 plays winner of 2v7 and winner of 3v6 plays 4v5? Because if it is, we certainly won't be seeing a Carolina vs. Ottawa Eastern Final. |
|
|
|
blade
Rookie
Canada
199 Posts |
Posted - 04/20/2006 : 21:19:02
|
| I think the each round the highest seed plays the lowest and so on. |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2006 : 11:03:13
|
New Jersey will win the cup over either Dallas or SJ - I can't decide
Ist round winners:
West:
Detroit in 5
Dallas in 4
SJ in 6
Anaheim in 7
East:
Tampa in 7
Carolina in 6
NJ in 5
Buff in 7
|
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 04/21/2006 : 11:22:26
|
OK it goes like so...
Anaheim will beat Calgary in 6 in what will prove to be the most boring series of the playoffs. Poolies avoid Jarome & Dion and try to grab Selanne and Scott Niedermayer.
Detroit will make quick work of Edmonton and the highly overrated Dwayne Roloson in 4 games. Poolies can't go wrong with Lidstrom, Zetterberg, or Shanahan. Careful with Datsyuk as he is coming off injury and be sure to grab Yzerman in the late rounds as he has been scoring at a point a game pace over the past few weeks.
With Vokoun out, San Jose will beat Nashville in 6 games. I don't need to state the obvious here - poolies take Joe Thornton and anyone who may come within 1,000 ft of him - this is the key to winning your pool. Thornton is definitley my # 1 pick.
Dallas and Colorado may be closer than most expect. Since every so called 'expert' is calling for a Dallas sweep I will call an Avalanche win in 7 games. Poolies can't go wrong with Burnaby Joe. Also, watch for Modano to score a ton of points in this series.
Ottawa will beat Tampa Bay in 7 games in what should be a battle of the mediocre goaltenders. No surprises here poolies - although I wouldn't load up too much on the Sens as they will have trouble making it past the second round.
Les Canadiens will bet the Hurricanes in 7 games thanks to the outstanding play of Huet. (hey that rhymes). Take the upset here and grab Koivu, Kovalev, Ryder and Ribiero if you have the guts.
NJ will beat NYR in 6 games. Poolies can't go wrong picking Jagr and his linemates whether the Rangers win or lose, however choosing Gionta, Gomez and Elias will take you to the promised land.
Buffalo will beat Philly in 7 and poolies should take Briere but prepare for the Sabres to lose in the second round.
NJ/SJ Final with SJ winning the Cup and Joe Thornton the Conn Smythe. |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/02/2006 : 19:13:31
|
Well all of my East picks were right, but so far only San Jose is correct in the West, with the outcome of Calgary-Anaheim still pending.
Recap of my picks:
East: Ottawa, Carolina, NJ, Buffalo
West: Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose
I'll wait a day or two for my semi-final picks. |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2006 : 10:49:52
|
| So far - I was wrong about Tampa (I had to go out on a limb somewhere right? - wrong limb). I got the other three eastern series right. In the West I have only got the Sharks and am also waiting on the Ducks tonight. |
|
|
|
blade
Rookie
Canada
199 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2006 : 16:44:43
|
| Well you can forget about your Anaheim picks cause Calgary is going to waste those sucks taaanight! |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2006 : 17:30:09
|
Ha Ha, well I see I'm in a position where I don't really mind who wins:
If Anaheim wins then my prediction is right and San Jose will play Edmonton, which is perfectly fine with me. Roloson couldn't possibly last a whole playoffs.
If Calgary wins then San Jose plays Colorado and it couldn't be better because Theodore sucks monkey balls. I know he won four games like the other goalies moving on, but he is SOO shaky and because the size of his trapper got cut down to about a half, he can't catch anymore. I couldn't possibly see him in his royal shakiness stop San Jose's potent scoring attack. |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/03/2006 : 20:58:34
|
It's ok Leigh, I knew you were an Edmonton fan all along right ;) ha ha
So awesome, top 4 advance in the East and upsets all around in the West. The East has clinched home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals and San Jose has clinched home ice advantage through the Conference Finals, who would have thunk it? Bad thing is now I won't be able to watch much of the first few games between SJ and Edm, if any at all, because of the blasted time difference and I start work on Monday (their first game being Sunday). I won't be staying up until 2-3AM then going to work at 8AM! I'll give them a call and ask them to play at the ACC, god knows no other team is playing there now :P.
Looks like I didn't have too bad of a first-round when it comes to my predictions. I was 4-0 in the East and 2-2 in the West to make for a decent record of 6-2.
Pucker: Good call on the Anaheim in 7! Not bad on the 5-3!
Ryan: Not a bad 6-2 as well, way off on the games though! :P
Leigh: Way off, except for the East.
I'd say the hockey experts are right here! Except for Leigh and Blade, they can go suck on an extinguished "C"! :) |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 10:06:49
|
quote:
I'd say the hockey experts are right here! Except for Leigh and Blade, they can go suck on an extinguished "C"! :)
Yah I wonder if we will hear from them again - probably still crying. |
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 10:13:02
|
6-2 is not too shabby. Time for Round 2:
Buffalo over Ottawa in 6
NJ over Carolina in 5
Anaheim over Colorado in 7
SJ over Edmonton in 6
I agree that I cannot see Roloson carrying the team too much farther - but who could have guessed he would play like this after watching him during the last few weeks of the regular season? |
|
|
|
goon
Rookie
Canada
113 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 10:43:37
|
You have got to let me get in on this....
Ottawa in 6
Carolina in 7
Edmonton in 7
Colorado in 6 |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 10:52:19
|
Forgot to make my second round predictions:
Ottawa in 7
Carolina in 6
SJ in 5
Anaheim in 5 |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/04/2006 : 12:40:27
|
Hmm interesting, I like how not everyone agrees... Here are mine:
Ottawa over Buffalo in 5: I think Miller might steal one but other than that I think that Ottawa is just way too strong for Buffalo. Unlike Philly, Ottawa has size AND speed, not to mention three lines that can score aplenty. It was a while ago, but remember the 11-4 game when Ottawa romped over them? Havlat and Alfie both had 4 goals... I'm not expecting another blowout of equivalent proportions, but it was no fluke.
NJ over Carolina in 6, maybe even 5: Carolina hasn't scored in the playoffs like they can and have in the regular season. New Jersey has potent offense now (never thought I'd say that) so they could run up the score AND shut you down at the same time. If Ward pulls off some sweet games like he has against Montreal and Staal and company (Whitney, Recchi, Stillman, Weight) find their scoring touch, they will be able to take a couple, probably at home.
Colorado over Anaheim in 6 tops: Anaheim is probably very worn out from the Calgary series and Colorado has been resting for a while. Even though I don't think Theodore could catch a beach ball for a million bucks, I think Colorado's rolling offense will carry them. If McDonald and the youngen trio (Getzlaf, Perry and Lupul) don't step up, it might be over sooner than 6.
San Jose over Edmonton in 6: I have faith in my team that they will not lose at home in this series. They have only lost in regulation at home 6 times since the Thornton trade and Edmonton 11 for the same criteria. Edmonton did have a good away record so maybe they will take one at San Jose, maybe in game 5. I think part of the reason Edmonton beat Detroit is because Detroit had a few injuries and their goalie was terrible (and left out to dry). San Jose can match up with Edmonton in every way and probably has a little size advantage. If Thornton and Cheechoo pick it up and Marleau and Toskala keep rolling then San Jose should be just fine.
Ideally: SJ vs. Colorado / Ottawa vs. NJ |
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2006 : 11:12:32
|
Ok babs since we are tied up at 6-2, lets see who is the ultimate predictor. Bonus point if series winner and # of games is predicted.
Good Luck |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2006 : 12:16:16
|
| Ha ha ok, sounds good to me! |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/05/2006 : 21:46:11
|
| Wow, guess why I wanted San Jose to play Colorado... THEODORE SUCKS HAIRY COCONUTS!! |
|
|
|
Goose
Top Prospect
Canada
29 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2006 : 14:26:57
|
| I'm reserving my Colorado prediction until after the first period of the first home game. They have a great team and with a little momentum they could turn it around |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/09/2006 : 17:09:52
|
Well so far my predictions aren't so good but as long as my SJ one is right, all will be fine with me.
I'm counting on the three series other than SJ's to turn around though. NJ and Colorado will have home ice now, and Ottawa is a good road team but they just need some defensive support for Emery. |
|
|
|
blade
Rookie
Canada
199 Posts |
Posted - 05/10/2006 : 00:06:27
|
| Looks like the Colorado series is down the tubes now. I won't cheer for Edmonton so that leaves Ottawa. They better steal 2 in Buffalo! |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2006 : 11:01:57
|
Goose, you ready to make your prediction yet?
So far my picks look good -- |
|
|
|
Goose
Top Prospect
Canada
29 Posts |
Posted - 05/12/2006 : 13:29:51
|
| I'm still thinking. I'll let you know in about 2 weeks. :-) |
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2006 : 09:02:46
|
I got Buffalo and Anaheim right - but no tthe games so I am 8-4. Conference Finals predictions:
Carolina in 5
Edmonton in 7
|
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2006 : 09:58:50
|
Well I am 7-5 not great but not bad either. Got Carolina and Anaheim right so I will stick with them to meet in the finals. Carolina in 7, Anaheim in 7.
|
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2006 : 13:17:07
|
Sweet second round of 0-4 for me (three of the game totals were right, for the wrong team :P) to make me a 6-6! Oh well, at least I know I can only do better!
Buffalo in 7
Anaheim in 6 |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2006 : 08:07:53
|
| I called Carolina in 7 - but also Anaheim in seven so I am 8-6, plus the bonus for getting the # of games right for the Hurricanes so 9-6. Not bad. Edmonton will take the cup in 6. |
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2006 : 09:11:51
|
2 for 2 in the conference finals, but I got the # of games reversed (not to brag but I also predicted last night's score in another thread). 10-4 overall - looks like I am the playoff predictor champ. Babs, what happened? You make it sound like you know what you are talking about, but look at your score. Save some face and predict the cup winner. Carolina will win the cup in 7.
PS
Wouldn't it be great if there was a fantasy game that scored similar to what we have set up here.
|
|
|
|
leigh
Moderator
Canada
1755 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2006 : 10:22:31
|
| Well I've been wrong all playoffs long (except for last night). So I'm thinking Oilers in 5. But with my accuracy rating this year that should translate to Carolina in 6. I feel like George Castanza...whatever my instincts are, I should do the opposite! "Yah baby! George is getting angry!" |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2006 : 20:41:55
|
| Ha I am not doing so well anymore, haven't gotten a damn series right since the first round! My series haven't been off by more than a game yet, but what good is that if it's for the wrong team eh? As I bow my head in shame and pray to the gods of hockey for forgiveness, I will take a day or two to cope and try to salvage a shred of dignity by attempting to rightfully foresee the '06 Stanley Cup Champ. |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 06/05/2006 : 14:41:30
|
| Ok I'm going to have to say Edmonton in 7. Carolina just squeaked by in every series but the NJ one as far as I'm concerned and Edmonton seems to be able to endure even the most physical of battles and then recuperate quickly. I usually predict with my heart and not my brain (which seems to backfire, but that's just how I am), but seen as I honestly don't care who wins, I figure Edmonton will. If any heart is involved I'd want Carolina to win because they are for real and Edmonton isn't. Plus I hate pretty much the whole Oiler team, especially Stoll and Roloson... bunch of whiners. |
|
|
|
pucker
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
398 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2006 : 09:43:40
|
| Should have went with your heart bablaboush, cuz Roloson and the Oil are gonna be swept. Unfortunately I also thought they would win. Why do you hate Stoll? Roloson I understand. Out of all the Oilers to hate you pick Stoll. What about Pronger and Peca. |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 06/06/2006 : 13:36:21
|
| Them too, but I think it's so funny how much of a whiner Stoll is. For starters, almost every faceoff he was thrown out of in the Sharks series he threw a hissy fit. He's always whining and yelling everytime he gets a penalty (even the obvious, deserving ones) and even when another Oiler gets a penalty he's one of the first to throw his hands up and complain. He's such a classless p**** and regardless of how many shotblocks he makes or faceoffs he wins, I'd hate to have a guy like him on my team. |
|
|
|
Ryan Harper
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
322 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2006 : 09:47:51
|
| Well it looks like I win. I called the Hurricanes in seven and what do you know? With the bonus for calling the number of games my final score is 12-4. Man I should have been betting on these games. |
|
|
|
blade
Rookie
Canada
199 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2006 : 09:55:44
|
| Babalaboushka. You blow on predictions my man! 6-2 in the first round then you didn't get a single on right including the final. Street cred...shot! |
|
|
|
bablaboushka
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2417 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2006 : 14:03:36
|
HEY........HEY........HEY.......Yeah you're basically right (pouts in corner). I knew this would happen... quote:
I usually predict with my heart and not my brain (which seems to backfire, but that's just how I am)
Oh well, ha ha, things happen and it's as hard to get them all wrong (except the first round) as to get them all right! My first round beat that of Pierre Lebrun's so it goes to show how sometimes hockey prediction amateurs can out-predict the pros......hint hint ;)
I already can't wait for next season to start! |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
Playoff Predictions 
