Blueshirt Banter’s Round 2 Predictions
With zero sweeps and Game 7s, we’re on to Round 2. Let’s recap how we did in Round 1 and go through our predictions for the 2020 Stanley Cup Semifinals.
*Pretend these were published prior to Round 2 started... it was a quick turnaround.
How did we do?
CAR vs. BOS: Mike and Matt were the only two to predict a Round 1 Bruins’ win, and Mike nailed it with his pick of five games.
CBJ vs. TBL: After last year’s Round 1 sweep, a few of us were more skeptical of the Lightning’s chances. However, Matt, Jack, Adam, Bryan, and me all correctly had Tampa Bay moving on. Adam and Jack both had a Lightning win coming in five games.
NYI vs. WSH: Kevin and I were the only two to correctly predict an Islanders’ victory in the opening round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but we both pegged it to be a seven-game series.
MTL vs. PHI: We all predicted a Flyers’ win, but extra credit goes to Tom, Kevin, Jack, and me with a pick of six games.
CHI vs. VGK: We were also all right with our Vegas selections in Round 1; Tom, Bryan, Jack, Brianna, and Matt had the series ending in five.
ARI vs. COL: Again, we were unanimous with our pick for the Avalanche. Adam, Kevin, Brianna, and Matt were also right with their prediction of Colorado winning in five.
CGY vs. DAL: Brianna, Kevin, Bryan, Adam, and Mike all picked a Dallas win in Round 1; bonus points to Kevin for picking six games.
VAN vs. STL: I was the only one to have the Canucks, but I was off by a game, thinking it would go the distance with seven. Whatever, close enough.
For those keeping score, I predicted the right team six times (aka I won), with Mike, Adam, Bryan, Kevin, and Matt all correctly picking six series winners. If we assign a bonus point for each time one of us predicted the right team in the right number of games, Kevin is in the lead with 8 points.
Round 2
Almost all of us think the Lightning with advance to the Eastern Conference Final, but it won’t be easy — requiring at least six games.
The Islanders-Flyers series is the one we’re the most split about. Philadelphia, the first seed in the East, has a slight edge here.
Once again, we’re all picking Vegas. Maybe we’re once again underestimating Vancouver, since most of us don’t even see it taking seven games.
We’re mostly slanted in the same direction with our picks for a battle of the Central Division. The Avalanche are the favorites here.
