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Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions

  • Anyway you look at it this year’s playoff teams appear to be a very strong crop. 16 quality hockey teams will have to be whittled down to 1 Stanley Cup Champion.

    Gone are the days where you could say 1st overall is a guaranteed lock for the cup. Tampa Bay who won the last Stanley Cup finished in 16th and in the last playoff spot overall. Throw all the regular season numbers out the window and get ready for some entertaining and quality hockey.

    There’s always upsets in the playoffs, that’s what you can bank on. It’s almost impossible to correctly pick how it’ll go but for fun let’s take a stab at how it will all unfold.

    Round 1

    Detroit vs
    Detroit
    (5 games)
    Ottawa

    (6 games)
    		 Ottawa vs
    Edmonton Tampa Bay
    Dallas vs
    Dallas
    (4 games)
    Montreal
    (7 games)
    		 Carolina vs
    Colorado Montreal
    Calgary vs
    Anaheim
    (7 games)
    New Jersey

    (5 games)
    		 New Jersey vs
    Anaheim New York
    Nashville vs
    San Jose
    (6 games)
    Buffalo
    (4 games)
    		 Buffalo vs
    San Jose Philadelphia

    Round 2

    Detroit vs
    Detroit
    (6 games)
    Montreal

    (7 games )
    		 Ottawa vs
    Anaheim Montreal
    Dallas vs
    Dallas
    (7 games)
    Buffalo
    (7 games)
    		 New Jersey vs
    San Jose Buffalo

     

    Round 3

    Detroit vs
    Dallas
    (6 games)
    Buffalo
    (5 games )
    		Buffalo vs
    Dallas Montreal

    Stanley Cup Final

    Dallas
    Buffalo
    (6 games)
    stanley cup
    Buffalo

    Yes you heard it here first. A 1999 Stanley Cup rematch with the Sabres getting revenge for Brett Hull’s ‘foot in the crease’ winner. Sweet redemption 7 years later.

    Maybe I’m a little biased on the Habs two round success but their chances at upsets are as great as any teams.

    How do you see it going?

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21 Comments
  1. #1 superfan says:
    April 20, 2006 at 10:58 am

    West:

    DET/EDM — EDM 7
    DAL/COL — DAL 6
    CAL/ANA — CAL 5
    NAS/SJ — SJ 5

    ROUND 2 — EDM/DAL – DAL 6
    CAL/SJ – CAL 7

    WEST FINAL – CAL 7

    EAST:

    MTL/CAR — CAR 6
    NJ/NYR — NJ 6
    BUF/PHI — BUF 5
    OTT/TB — OTT 5

    ROUND 2 —

    BUF/OTT — BUF 7
    NJ/CAR — NJ 7

    EAST FINAL — NJ 7

    CUP FINAL
    CAL/NJ

    NJ 6

  2. #2 fan3 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:03 am

    I really don’t know how things will unfold but if we knock off Carolina and Ottawa then I see no reason for us to not be able to take-out Buffalo. I think it’s safe to say that for us to beat Carolina we NEED TO win at least one of the two first games.Also, in your forseed playoff predictions, does Hasek get back in time for us to beat them in seven? If so then I bet he gets reinjured within eight periods.
    The other series that I don’t agree with is Calgary…they’ll be making it until at least the second round if for no other reason than outstanding work from Kipper.
    Other than that, I agree with most of the outcomes and the Devils versus Buffalo would probably be one of the best series this year. I was realy hoping for a first round match-up between the two teams since their both playing thei best hockey all year. oh, and thorton beats out jagr for mvp.
    All said and done, we’re in for a great eight or so weeks
    go edmonton, go calgary, go ottawa, and GO HABS GO!!!

  3. #3 jfk0202 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:25 am

    West:

    DET/EDM — DET 6 Detroit too strong for first round
    DAL/COL — DAL 5 Dallas domination, Theodore not getting back to form in time
    CAL/ANA — CAL 7 Calgary (Kipper) can stop Selanne, Giguere not good enough
    NAS/SJ — SJ 5 THornton/Cheechoo unstopable these days. Toskala/Nabakov strong

    ROUND 2
    DAL/CAL – DAL 7 Calgary seems to have probs with Dallas every year, inability to score
    on turco
    DET/SJ – SJ 6 Thornton/Cheecho too strong, Detroit might be tired if Edm gives a
    Good first round

    WEST FINAL
    DAL/SJ – SJ 6 Still thinking that combo is too strong, will depend alot if the
    goalies can keep playing as well

    EAST:

    MTL/CAR — MTL 6 Montreal has upset a team in round 1 so many times, pretty strong
    since break, Kovalev never lost in first round
    NJ/NYR — NJ 6 NJ way too strong right now, Gionta, Elias, Gomez and Brodeur wow
    BUF/PHI — BUF 5 Since struggling, Buf found a way to win most games, to fast for Phily
    How healthy is Forsberg
    OTT/TB — OTT 4 Ottawa will get back into groove with all their players except Hasek,
    TB will be able to score but won’t keep the puck out of their net

    ROUND 2 —

    MTL/OTT — OTT 6 Hasek will probable be back, Mtl will be tired from hard series
    NJ/BUF — NJ 7 Once again NJ too strong and hot lately

    EAST FINAL
    NJ/OTT – NJ – 6 Brodeur will out dual a semi injured, tired older Hasek

    CUP FINAL
    SJ/NJ

    NJ 6 Still think NJ is the hottest team…this was a toss up but if
    Gionta, Gomez, Elias and Brodeur keep it up I can’t see anyone
    take them out in a 7game seris. Since Elias return they have won
    like 30 and only lost 9 in regualtion or something crazy like that

  4. #4 Habs Blog says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:32 am

    I love how almost everyone is picking NJ for the cup. 1 month ago they weren’t sure to even be in the playoffs.

    I don’t think Hasek will play at all. That’s why Sens won’t get too far with Emery.

    Other than Buf and Dallas, I like San Jose. Its hard to deny the teams who finished red hot.

  5. #5 jfk0202 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:44 am

    I agree…hence the SJ/NJ final

  6. #6 fan3 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:56 am

    i don’t know if its such a great advantage being red hot going into the playoffs. if you get one tough loss then it can be very hard to come back from in time to win a series. if the last habs-NJ game went the other way around then people would be thinking differently. plus, everyone now has a few days off so that could throw off your game as well.
    we were on a eight game wining streak not long ago and if that hapened in the last 8 games of the regular season then people would be picking us to win. but look how the last few games have gone since our streak ended. that’s why i wanted NJ and BUF to play in the first round while they are both still hot. it’ll still be a great series if they face-off but not as good as it would’ve been in the first round.
    also, all wining streaks have to start and end somewhere so there’s no certainty that any team can sweep or be swept (except for the avs who have been doomed since march 8)

  7. #7 fan3 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 11:57 am

    not sure how that face got there. it was suppose to be a ‘.’ followed by a ‘)’

  8. #8 jfk0202 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 12:07 pm

    I agree about the hot teams…I am just looking at the games since Elias has returned from his lil stint with hep b…Jersey has an amazing record. That is more than a streak. But SJ i agree…I just love the Thornton/Cheechoo combo. I could be biased

  9. #9 Joe says:
    April 20, 2006 at 12:15 pm

    Dallas? Pfft.

    Either Calgary or San Jose will come out of the West alive. You heard it here first. ;-)

    New Jersey is probably the scariest team in the East right now. How they play in the first round, however, will determine how far they’ll go, in my opinion. If it goes to 7, they’ll be gone shortly thereafter.

  10. #10 J-Nic says:
    April 20, 2006 at 2:57 pm

    Euhm….

    There is part of it that I am really not sure.

    The fact that Habs go up to 3rd round and lose against Buffalo. If we can make it against Carolina (we will need 2 road victory not only one for this), it will be hard against Ottawa (if they win their games), with Hasek probably back at this time and then hope he is not 100% back.

    New-Jersey against Buffalo, NJ win it ;) and we can win against NJ if it’s happens ;) !à

    so my predictions would be something like this…

    West:

    DET/EDM — DET 6
    DAL/COL — DAL 5
    CAL/ANA — ANA 5
    NAS/SJ — SJ 5

    ROUND 2 — DET/ANA – DET 5
    DAL/SJ – DAL 6

    WEST FINAL
    DET/DAL – DET 6

    EAST:

    MTL/CAR — CAR 5
    NJ/NYR — NJ 5
    BUF/PHI — BUF 6
    OTT/TB — OTT 7

    ROUND 2 —

    BUF/OTT — OTT 6
    NJ/CAR — NJ 5

    EAST FINAL
    OTT/NJ — NJ 6

    CUP FINAL
    DET/NJ

    DET 6

    Yes, we will have a Red Devils vs Red Wings final. It will be hard for Brodeur and he is the one who will make this playoff interresting. His play will change the way the playoff goes, but in the final he will be tired so it will be hard for him to play.

  11. #11 jfk0202 says:
    April 20, 2006 at 7:17 pm

    Intersting I see you have Calgary losing first round..how come?? Not that I disagree but so many have them going to the finals

  12. #12 Joe says:
    April 20, 2006 at 8:22 pm

    Just my opinion…

    I think the main reason that many people are counting Calgary out is their lack of scoring. But I also think that many people are underestimating not only Kiprusoff’s ability but the team as a whole. They CONSISTENTLY play harder than any other team in the league, don’t give up a lot in the way of chances, check their opposition to death, and still have a whole other level they can take it to in the post-season. Further, they have home ice advantage for at least the first round and are near impossible to beat at the Saddledome. No, the Flames will make it into the second round at least. Oh, yes.

  13. #13 Joseph Thinks says:
    April 21, 2006 at 8:33 am

    I am liking a San Jose vs. Buffalo Final.
    I would love to see the Habs make a run for the cup, they remind me a lot of the 93 Habs, not favored at all, but competitive and solid all around. Their speed is the asset that helped them early on in the season, if they could bring that back for the playoffs, it would be a good run.
    Anyhow for SJ vs. BUF- Joe Thornton, Joe Thornton, Joe Thornton! He has helped turn this SJ team back into their preseason form, they were tops, I think maybe even undefeated in preseason without Thornton. If they go with Toskala and play like they have been playing- playoff style hockey for about the last 3-4 weeks- look out.
    Buffalo, they surprised me all season, why not in the playoffs? It will be nice to have playoff hockey back that is for sure!

  14. #14 joey says:
    April 21, 2006 at 10:02 am

    Has anyone been following Denver lately? I just read an article saying that the only way Denver can beat Dallas is for Theodore to steel the series. Then they go on and list all the goals in the past 10 years who have stole series in the playoffs.

    Is that pressure for Theodore or what …

    The article can be found at: http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_3733382

    Prediction:

    West
    DET/EDM — DET 4
    DAL/COL — DAL 4
    CAL/ANA — CAL 5
    NAS/SJ — SJ 5

    ROUND 2
    DET/SJ – SJ 5
    DAL/CAL – CAL 7

    WEST FINAL
    SJ/CAL – SJ 6

    EAST
    MTL/CAR — MTL 6
    NJ/NYR — NJ 5
    BUF/PHI — BUF 6
    OTT/TB — OTT 7

    ROUND 2
    MTL/OTT — MTL 6
    NJ/BUF — NJ 5

    EAST FINAL
    MTL/NJ — MTL 6

    CUP FINAL
    SJ/MTL – MTL 7

  15. #15 Habs Blog says:
    April 21, 2006 at 10:14 am

    There it is, the First Montreal cup prediction. I knew it was coming.

  16. #16 Phil says:
    April 21, 2006 at 4:53 pm

    IF the Habs take Carolina (6) they ARE all the way. Believe it Montreal when they play well and actuallty beat this team. Confidence will take them a lot of the way.My only concern is their goalie( he faltered after the Olympics)…if he plays like he has the last 12 games we have a good chance:-)

  17. #17 Chris-2006 cup predictions says:
    April 21, 2006 at 5:34 pm

    Ok all this is the skinny on my pics for the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs…I am a huge Habs fan don’t get me wrong, and yes this is a HABS blog site…but to the individual who think the our Habs will beat both Carolina and then Ottawa might have had one too many beers…..Anyways…Here we go….

    ROUND 1
    WEST

    DET/EDM- DET 6
    DAL/COL- DAL 6
    CAL/ANA- CAL 7
    NAS/SJ- SJ 6

    ROUND 2

    DET/SJ- SJ 6
    DAL/CAL- CAL 6

    ROUND 3

    SJ/CAL- SJ 7

    EAST ROUND 1

    OTT/TAM- OTT 6
    CAR/MTL- MTL 6
    NJ/NYR- NJ 6
    BUFF/PHI- BUFF 6

    ROUND 2

    OTT/MTL- OTT 5
    NJ/BUFF- NJ 6

    ROUND 3

    NJ/OTT- NJ 7

    STANLEY CUP FINAL

    NJ/SJ- TOSSUP BUT SINCE DEFENSE PREVAILS OVER OFFENSE ITS NJ IN 6..THE MOST EXP GOALIE IN THE PLAYOFFS WILL BE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL….MAYBE IN A FEW YEARS HUET ;)

  18. #18 peter01 says:
    April 21, 2006 at 9:12 pm

    DET/EDM — DET 6
    DAL/COL — DAL 5
    CAL/ANA — CAL 7
    NAS/SJ — SJ 6

    ROUND 2 — DET/CAL – CAL 7
    DAL/SJ – SJ 7

    WEST FINAL
    DET/SJ – DET 6

    EAST:

    MTL/CAR — CAR 5
    NJ/NYR — NJ 5
    BUF/PHI — BUF 5
    OTT/TB — OTT 5

    ROUND 2 —

    BUF/OTT — OTT 6
    NJ/CAR — NJ 6

    EAST FINAL
    OTT/NJ — OTT 6

    CUP FINAL
    DET/OTT

    DET 6

  19. #19 Nate says:
    April 23, 2006 at 10:34 pm

    After the way Montreal made Carolina look foolish (even after that ‘oh no! it’s over’ goal in less than a minute in), I hope more of you are seeing Montreal in the finals!!! (or at least battling Buffalo!)

    GO HABS GO!!!!

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  • muller93 : MB is forced to go out and get a big D-man. Missing Emelin for almost half the season is the last thing we needed to hear. Now going out and getting a big D-man is a MUST!!!
  • muller93 : Now for the Fu**en Bruins who have no business even being in the second round are going to get a nice rest. Yes the same goons who took out one of best D-man for 6 more months. There is NO Fu**en justice. Just venting--Ok i feel better now.
  • muller93 : So pissed to see the Rangers lay down and play like total crap. How did the Rangers beat the Caps? This team is playing with no heart--a must win and can only muster 23 shots...PATHETIC !!!
  • muller93 : Senet I did see Galchenyuks goal--Made a great move for the game winner. You can see the kid has so much confidence.
  • goalie : If Rangers get swept I wonder if Tortorella will get his walking papers? Or Glen Sather? They have tons of 'talent' but zero wins in this series.
  • goalie : It's really too bad we lost to the Sens as we would have played the Rangers and the way NYR are playing we would have beat them too. If only. If only!
  • Senet1 : Actually I agree it was a good move for them to play a shorter season and get the experience. He could not have played in the minors this year he would have had to play junior or the NHL. However, he now has a year under him and knows what to expect next year and hopefully take a bigger responsibility on the team. Did you see those two goals in the bronze game? Wow.
  • muller93 : Good move by the Habs not having Galchenyuk play in the minors. Now Galchenyuk has 1 year in the NHL and playoff experience this is going to pay off big time come next year.
  • Senet1 : Galchenyuk scores to back to back goals in shoot out to help USA win Bronze metal. I did not see the second goal but the first was a beauty.
  • Senet1 : So we could pick anywhere from 25th to 23rd depending on who wins these quarter final series.
  • Senet1 : First, is the 14 teams in the lottery. Then there are 12 teams that did not make the semi finals in the order of the seasonal finish, Then there are the four teams in the semi final the first two eliminated pick in the order of the regular season points total and the last two based on who wins and who loses the cup. So as it stand now if say Detroit beats Chicago then Detroit moves up to pick after us. Boston or NYR will move up and pick after us. LA or San Jose will move up and pick after us
  • Senet1 : Basically, I was wrong about the draft pick situation. There are three groups of drafting teams within the 30 teams.
  • Senet1 : seriously ready to challenge for the cup. He will us win games but he will not be the difference between winning the cup and not winning the cup. You pick up players like that once you have the team ready to challenge,.
  • Senet1 : I am looking at the players to draft and there are a lot of big 6'3-6'5 forwards available ion the draft this year. If we could draft 3-4 big young players in the 2nd and 3rd round why would you want to give that up for a roster player who may have 2-3 years at best. If we are going to build a winner to have to build it with bigger players and there are a lot of good big players available this year. So you sign Ott and he is with us for the short run, but probably not when we are seriously re
  • Senet1 : Boullion is a great mentor for the young D-men
  • muller93 : Boullion is one of MBs great additions--Boull ion is a definite Keeper.
  • muller93 : Getting rid of Kaberle frees up a lot of cash. Boullion is small but is reliable and doesn't back down from anyone.
  • muller93 : Exactly Goalie any thoughts on a punishing D-man?
  • goalie : They;re showing determination adn skill vs Ducks and Blackhawks.
  • goalie : REd Wings could turn out to be the surprise team of this year's playoffs!
  • goalie : WE need to rid our team of Kaberle and Webber. Step two would be to then move Diaz. If we get that big d-man I believe that would push Boullion to # 7 on the chart. We'd then go with Georges, PK,Markov (to continue mentoring Ememlin) Tinordi as our starting six . THEN I'd be excited about our chances. We could then work on getting bigger forwards.
  • goalie : I too would gladly give up a 3rd round pick for Ott- the type of player we sadly lack. AND if we could get one more rugged, expeienced defenceman it would help immensely.
  • muller93 : Senet what you are saying makes sense but if we can get Ott for a 3rd round I'll take that all day.
  • muller93 : MB should be looking at a big D-man first, even though I like our blue line with the addition of Tinordi. We need that insurance just in case one gets injured. Also I'm a firm believer in starting with the goalie first then-defense-for wards-and we already have good goalie. We have all noticed when we have the lead Price is tough to beat.
  • Senet1 : So sometimes you have to sacrifice for one year or two to build that team in the draft. then add the finishing touches through FA and trades.
  • Senet1 : Muller, Detroit is another good example. They have been in the hunt every year with good well balanced teams yet only one or two cups to show for it. However, they have built a team that has a chance every years for the last 10+ years. That is what I think we have a chance to do this year with a good draft. It reminds me of the habs teams of the mid 80 and 90's we built a team then with sold draft picks and won the cup twice during that time period. So sometimes you have to sacrifice a one
  • muller93 : Very true Senet, you do need luck and we haven't had any luck it seems since the habs moved to the Bell Center. We had an incredible run in 2010 with some crazy goal tending from Halak. With Galchenyuk-Tinor di-Gallagher all in 1 year--not too bad, even with an early exit in the playoffs.
  • Senet1 : Muller I guess we all have our own ideas, but there has never been too many times that were successful when they traded their draft picks away. We have a chance to build this team so we have a shot at winning the cup over the next 10 years. Even as good as Pittsburgh has been they have only won the cup once since Crosby and Malkin have been with the team. That is because you not only need great players but you need luck to win, but one thing about Pittsburgh they have a chance every year. The
  • muller93 : Good point on Torres, he might be a liability. Torres has to tone it down a bit, but that's his game-very aggressive.
  • goalie : Though I don't condone what Raffi Torres did - thos shows you how repeat offenders or near offenders are going to be treated. His hit was NOT illegal BUT what the rap sheet adn reputation Torres has he got severly punished. Lesson to be learned by OTHER players because Torres dopesn't learn fromk his mistakes.
  • muller93 : Senet normally I would agree with you on not trading draft picks but we are not in a rebuilding stage. Sometimes draft picks can be a roll of the dice and it can take up to 3 years to be NHL ready. We have a good team and I agree with Stuo players like Clowe-Torres-Ott -Scott will make a big difference. Somebody has to protect Gallagher, he can't keep getting hit the way does--we need a tough forward so they think twice before going after Gallagher.
  • Senet1 : Really a heathly Habs team would probably win more games against the Pens that we did against the Sens. Reason they Pens would not play as physical against us as against the Sens. If we get good goaltending we win at least two games.
  • zpezada4ok : hello all «link»
  • stuo11 : hes a tougher big guy too! Just a minor adjustment but will help a bit
  • stuo11 : hes better than markov, and hes french who was in mention for defenceman of the year

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