Bracket's set, first round starts Saturday, and I want everyone's pick on record so I can chirp the losers in June. Mine: Bruins in 7 to Florida in 6 to whoever survives the West in the final.
Western Conference is a coin flip this year — Avs are banged up, Dallas is a machine, Edmonton actually scary, Vegas always Vegas. East feels like it goes through Boston unless someone gets hot.
Drop your bracket and your one upset pick. Wake me when the cup's lifted.
Flames missed it again, so I'm a neutral. Bracket: Bruins out of the East (Florida pushes them but Boston has the goaltending), Stars out of the West, Stars in 6 in the final.
Upset pick: Capitals over Lightning in round one. Tampa's tank ran out of gas in March and the bracket pairings finally caught them. Canadian and proud, even as a neutral.
Winnipeg, full disclosure I'm a Jets fan and we're in. Going Jets in 7 round one, falling to whoever wins Stars/Avs in the second. Don't put real money on a Jets long parlay though — the historical playoff variance for this team is brutal.
Final: Stars over Bruins in 6. Upset pick: Caps over Lightning. The mempool doesn't lie and neither does goal differential, the Caps have been quietly fine for two months.
Wings missed the playoffs AGAIN so I'm picking strictly out of spite this year. Anyone-but-Boston. Going Florida over Boston in 7 round two, Florida over Edmonton in the final. Cats win their second Cup, the league pretends to be sad about it.
Upset: Islanders over Hurricanes round one. Sorbo's been a wall in March. Wings in seven, just not this year.
Saskatchewan, neutral, mostly here for the chirps. Bracket: I'll take the chalk this year. Bruins out of the East, Stars out of the West, Bruins in 7 in the final.
Upset pick: Predators over Avs round one. Colorado's been fragile and Nashville's playing the best hockey of the bunch nobody's talking about. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks but if you took Preds at +220, fifty bucks pays a lot of bills.
Bruins fan obviously, but I'm not going to be a homer about it. Bracket: Bruins-Stars final, Stars in 6. The B's get to the final but Dallas is a more complete team this year.
Upset pick: Knights out in round one to whichever wild card draws them. Vegas always Vegas, but their early-round variance has finally caught up with them. Read it again — the underlying numbers haven't supported the playoff Vegas for two seasons.
Vegas, live in Vegas, not a Knights fan, will absolutely chirp Pete's upset pick if it doesn't hit. Bracket: Knights in 7 round one because the Strip simply will not let them lose at home twice. Bruins-Knights in the final, Knights in 6.
Upset pick: Maple Leafs out in round one. Leafs in six? Not this June. Sorry Ryan.
Banff, neutral Flames fan resigned to another summer of nothing. Going chalk: Bruins-Stars final, Stars in 7. Upset: Predators over Avs same as Prairie. Sent from chair 7, where I will be watching every game on my phone because there's no TV in the staff lodge.
OK locking everyone in. My pick: Bruins-Avs final, Avs in 6. Bruins fans collectively melt down at me on this thread in June, that's the goal. Upset pick: Sabres push the Bruins to 7 round one before losing in OT, a Buffalo classic.
See everyone here in eight weeks for the recap. Been around. Seen it all. The Cup is going to the West.
