NHL Playoffs

[cinch]

Detroit over Edmonton in 6. (But I hope not!)

Dallas over Colorado in 6. And that's being generous--I don't think the Avs stand a chance, really.

Calgary over Anaheim in 7. Gonna be the toughest series in the West, by far.

San Jose over Nashville in 5. I can't see Nashville shutting down Thornton & Co.

Ottawa over Tampa in 4. Obviously.

Carolina over Montreal in 6. I'd like an upset, though.

New Jersey over NY in 6. Can't bet against Brodeur, especially when the whole team's hot.

Buffalo over Philadelphia in 7. Or the other way around. Toughest series to call. If the refs call it like they did in the regular season, Philly is toast, despite Forsberg. If the refs rever to old habits, the Flyers' lumbering defence will complement Forsberg just enough.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by Kontiki
???

Buffalo, Toronto, Montreal and Boston make for a slightly tougher division than Nashville, Columbus, Chicago and St. Louis.

Oh, I didn't phrase that well. Strength of Conference, not Division, was what I was thinking about. You play about 70 games against your own conference and ten against the other, and while Detroit racked up an outstanding 52 wins against the stronger West, the Senators brought in 47 against the weaker East. That suggests to me that the Senators are considerably weaker.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Jaguar

If the Senators were, in fact, almost as good as the Wings, they would have done an even better job of beating up on their crappy division.

The NE division had the most total points out of any division in the NHL. The Central division had the least. The Wings are in a crappy division, and the Sens are in a tough division. What's so hard to understand about that?

[Jaguar]

See above. I'm a casual hockey watcher, and I mix up conference and division when I'm not paying attention to what I write.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Jaguar

Oh, I didn't phrase that well. Strength of Conference, not Division, was what I was thinking about. You play about 70 games against your own conference and ten against the other, and while Detroit racked up an outstanding 52 wins against the stronger West, the Senators brought in 47 against the weaker East. That suggests to me that the Senators are considerably weaker.

You're ignoring the fact that your intra-conference games are played preferentially against your own division. Ottawa plays in a tough division. Detroit does not. It's therefore hard to judge based solely on overall records.

[Asher]

I'm surprised that Asher is not hoping for an upset. It could set up a playoffs Battle of Alberta.

I'm not concerned at all. I think Calgary can easily dispatch Detroit and Edmonton, again.

I think Anaheim may be Calgary's toughest round of the playoffs. If they meet Dallas, that may be the toughest.

Either way, if the Flames survive round 1 they're going far.

[Kontiki]

I'd agree that Detroit is probably the better team, but remember that each team played eight games against each divisional rival. So even if the West is stronger overall, Detroit had the benefit of 24 games against three of the five worst teams in the league, where as Ottawa had only eight against the other two - Pittsburgh and Washington (I'm not sure if either team faced any of the crappy five in interdivisional play).

Edit: several x-posts.

[KrazyHorse]

Also, Detroit did not play a single interconference game against the NE. Instead, it played the weaker SE and ATL divisions...

[Asher]

I read an awesome article today about Edmonton trying to rip off the Red Mile.

Proposed names are currently "Copper Kilometer" ( ) and the "White Mile" on Whyte Avenue (go KKK!).

Edmonton's inferiority complex.

[Jaguar]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


You're ignoring the fact that your intra-conference games are played preferentially against your own division. Ottawa plays in a tough division. Detroit does not. It's therefore hard to judge based solely on overall records.

Right. A simple strength of schedule calculation has to be online somewhere. Team record coupled with opponents composite record is always a fairly accurate determinant of overall team strength. Maybe I'll google SOS stats.

[Asher]

From thehockeynews:

Detroit (1) vs. Edmonton (8)

The Pick: Red Wings in five

The Reason: The Wings only lost once in April. The Oilers snuck into the final playoff spot in the West chiefly because the Vancouver Canucks were a little bit worse. Detroit lost 16 games in regulation all season. The Oilers lost 15 games at home. The Red Wings have scoring and a competent backup goalie in Chris Osgood. The Oilers have next to no offense and nobody to back up Dwayne Roloson. What, you expected us to make any other pick?

[Kontiki]

Same page:

Calgary (3) vs. Anaheim (6)

The Pick: Ducks in seven

The Reason: No playoff team scored fewer regular-season goals than the Flames, who desperately depend on goalie Miikka Kiprusoff like the Maple Leafs depend on their delusional fans. The Ducks already have overachieved this season, and should be playing a much more relaxed game than Calgary. If J-S Giguere regains his post-season form from Anaheim’s miracle run a few years back, the Ducks will utilize their abundance of scoring power to upset the Flames.

[Asher]

Yeah, but that one is at least a close prediction. I disagree.

[Guynemer]

NYE- it's an avatar bet. Exactly what terms are up for debate?

[notyoueither]

How long? Limits on subject matter?

I don't know entirely since I've never made one.