ROUND 2 MuleFHL Predictictions

 

 

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

 

-         New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers – Exactly as predicted, the Devils beat the Bruins in 5 games, as the superstars out of Jersey showed young J-S. Giguere that he was not quite ready to lead his team to a championship.  On the other hand, Florida upset the Washington Capitals in a hard-fought 7 game series.  As I predicted, it went to 7 games…but not quite 8 OT periods, as Viktor Kozlov put his team into the 2nd round with his 2nd clutch goal of the game.  Although young Roberto was once again phenomenal between the pipes, I think the Devils have the fire-power to be able to surpass the Panthers’ goal-scoring in this one.  My prediction: New Jersey in 6 games.

 

-         Philedelphia Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators – This will be a great series, as both of these teams currently maintain an unbelievable amount of momentum.  The Flyers are sure flying on their high after coming back from a 3 game deficit to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in Round 1.  On the other hand, the Senators also won 4 straight in their series against the Leafs, and everything seems to be going their way right now.  You can’t get much more prepared for playoffs than having Lemieux, Sakic and Blake, but I don’t think Patty Lalime is going to be able to perform as well as he did against the Leafs when he goes head-to-head against the Flyers’ posse of snipers.  My prediction: Philedelphia in 7 games.

 

WESTERN CONFERENCE

 

-         Colorado Avalanche vs. Dallas Stars – Both of these teams surprisingly swept their Round 1 counterparts this year and will be well-rested for this encounter.  I expect a sluggish start to the series, but the intensity factor will rise significantly once these two teams start showing off their skills.  After Ed Belfour and Patrick Roy lose their tempers a few times, I predict that the Colorado Avalanche will come out of this one in 6 games.

 

-         Detroit Red Wings vs. Edmonton Oilers – Detroit is a playoff team, boasting wonderful depth and the league’s best goaltending tandem.  To contrast the Wings’ somewhat boring style of play, the Oilers bring a high-flying, quick game to the arena, as guys like Gagne, Hasek, Koivu, and Comrie can change the momentum of a game in just a fraction of a second.  Whichever team is able to control the flow of the games in this series will be the one that comes out of it alive, as their playing styles are so diverse.  Give this series to: Detroit in 7 games.

 

RICHARD’S TRACK RECORD (10 of 16 possible pts)

 

-         NJ-BOS (NJ in 5) – NJ won in 5 (2pts)

-         OTT-TOR (OTT in 6) – OTT won in 6 (2pts)

-         PHI-MTL (PHI in 7) – PHI won in 7 (2pts)

-         WSH-FLA (WSH in 7) – FLA won in 7 (1pts)

-         COL-VAN (COL in 6) – COL won in 4 (1pts)

-         DET-SJ (DET in 6) – DET won in 5 (1pts)

-         CLB-EDM (EDM in 6) – EDM won in 7 (1pts)

-         STL-DAL (STL in 7) – DAL won in 4 (0pts)

-         NJ-FLA (NJ in 6)

-         PHI-OTT (PHI in 7)

-         COL-DAL (COL in 6)

-         DET-EDM (DET in 7)