Round 2'n 3 Results'n Picks

A truly superlative set of second-round guesses on my part. That's the worst set of picks I've ever had in a single round, and I'm so happy I posted them for all to see the true power of my prognosticating power. But Brian Burke is still not going to the Leafs.

Round 3, DING!!! Two very interesting series indeed, with good guys against bad guys in each series. Detroit and Pittsburgh are "Good" only because they stand for Truth, Justice, and the Offensive Puck-Controlling Way. Dallas is "Evil" because they trap and beat Edmonton a lot, while Philly just sucks llama scrot. Like most people I picked Montreal but if you look at both teams at the beginning of the year you'd come to similar perspectives. Both rebuilding, lots of young players, neither looking likely to go on long playoff runs just yet, both with rosters filled through the draft. In fact, before the season started you'd be hard pressed to find anybody that thought Montreal would finish higher than Philly in the standings, let alone finish first in the conference. Montreal did overachieve this year, that seems pretty obvious, as did most of their players so really their series with Philly should have been recognized as the saw-off it was. That includes me, obviously. And Montreal shouldn't have traded Huet at the deadline.

Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has taken down the defending conference champions (which is like saying they beat up Muhammed Ali, like, yesterday rather than 40 years ago) and the sexy pre-season Stanley Cup favorite. And their foreigners are scoring a lot. That's pretty good. Philly has shown in can deal with superstars with solid supporting casts, dispatching Ovechkin with Green, Backstrom and Semin as well as Alex Kovalev with the Kostitsyns, Koivu, and Plekanec. The difference this time is that Pittsburgh isn't one superstar (or former above average star having a superstar season, as was the case with Kovalev) with a bunch of very good players, but three top-end certified platinum ass-kickers, who ALSO have a very good supporting cast. Yet Philly's goaltending, if Biron plays as well as he did against Montreal, is markedly superior and their defense is quick and physical. No letdown for either team as the Battle of Pennsylvania won't allow for any slacking, which is a factor that helps Pittsburgh more than Philly. It's more of a toss-up than it looks like on paper, but Pittsburgh is the better team and has already beaten superior opponents. Pens in 6.

Detroit vs. Dallas
Dallas has the better, and presently red hot, goaltending in Marty Turco while Detroit will only offer up a steady Chris Osgood and a seemingly unhelpful Dominick Hasek. The Wings have shown a lot of offensive depth so far and probably have the better top-end scorers, while Dallas is a little more physical and has beaten far tougher opponents. It's mostly that reason why this series is closer to a toss-up than it would appear on paper; Detroit had an unexpected time with Nashville and swept away a badly beat-up Colorado team, while Dallas beat the defending champs and the other sexy Stanley Cup favorite. Detroit has too much skill though, and will take it in 5.

We shall see...