The first round of the 2024 NHL Playoffs wrapped up last night and the second round kicked off last night as well. Worlds colliding, the universe is spinning out of control! I need to write another predictions post!

Let’s review my picks from the first round, including my coin flip picks. The Bruins won so that’s all that matters, but we’ll review anyway.

In the East…

Panthers vs Lightning. I hate them both. I picked Tampa Bay and Florida won. Pricks. I am 0/1. The coin picked Tampa Bay too so we’re both 0/1.

Bruins vs Maple Leafs. Nothing else matters. The Bruins won and all was right with the world, even though it stressed me out like crazy over the last three games. Damn, Bruins. I clearly picked the Bruins so I am 1/2. The coin toss picked the Bruins as well. We’re both 1/2.

The Rangers vs the Capitals. Damn if I don’t hate both of these teams too. The Rangers won easy. I picked the Caps because I suck at this. The coin picked the Caps too because the coin sucks at this too. We’re both 1/3.

Whalers vs Islanders.  Again… hate for both teams. I picked the Whale and the coin picked the Islanders. Finally some tension here! Who won? The Whale. I am 2/4 and the coin is 1/4.

On to the West!

Stars vs Golden Knights. This is the series that ended last night with a game seven. I picked Dallas and the coin picked Vegas. Who won game seven? Dallas. I was right, the coin was wrong. I am 3/5 and the coin is 1/5.

Jets vs Avalanche. I didn’t follow a single second of this series. I picked the Jets and the Avs won. The coin picked the Avs. Oh well. I am 3/6 and the coin is 2/6 and catching up to me.

Canucks vs Predators. I went with the underdog and I was wrong wrong wrong. I picked the Preds and the Canucks won. Fortunately for the predictions competition, the coin picked the Predators too. I am 3/7 and the coin is 2/7.

Oilers vs Kings. I like the Kings. I kinda like the Oilers. I picked the Oilers. So did the coin toss. The Oilers won. That brings me up to 4/8 and the coin is 3/8.

Two important statistical notes. First, I am at 50% which is really the best I can ever hope for. More importantly I beat the coin. Oh yeah, that’s what I am talking about. I’m better than blind random luck, babie! Nice!

Now for the second round, starting in the East…

Panthers vs Bruins. I am still so intensely pissed off over the Bruins choking last year and losing to the Panthers that I may never forgive them. A second round win this year will not erase last year’s shame… but it would be a nice start. Clearly I am picking the Bruins even though the Panthers are probably favored. The coin flip is tails. The higher seed is heads and the lower seed is tails, so the coin picks the Bruins as well.

Rangers vs Whalers. This is a little tough here. Game one already happened and the Rangers won. Does that color my choice? Nope. Even though I hate New York sports teams with the fiery passion of a million burning suns, I was going to pick the Rangers all along. Last night’s game doesn’t change anything. The coin flip is tails, so it picks the Whale.

Now we move over to the West…

Stars vs Avalanche. These two have a history, don’t they? Dallas vs Colorado always sees me siding with Colorado. Thanks to Ray Bourque, I think. I am picking the Avs out of loyalty. The coin also picked Colorado. That’s three tails in a row. Only one more to go.

Canucks vs Oilers. No question this time. Oilers all the way. The coin flip is finally not tails. The coin pics Vancouver.

There you have it, the third round will be Boston vs New York which is freakin’ epic in scope. The west will be Colorado vs Edmonton. You heard it here first, hockey fans!

I asked Google Gemini about the Boston/Florida series. Specifically, I asked the following:

Who do you think will win the playoff series between the Boston Bruins and the Florida Panthers

Gemini’s response?

Predicting the winner of the Bruins-Panthers series is tough! Here’s a breakdown to help you form your own opinion:

• Regular Season: The Bruins swept the season series 4-0, with two overtime victories.
• Recent Form: Boston needed a hard-fought Game 7 overtime win against Toronto, while Florida swept the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
• Last Year’s Playoffs: The Panthers pulled off a massive upset, winning Game 7 in overtime after Boston led 3-1. This adds a revenge factor for the Bruins.

While the Bruins dominated the regular season matchup, playoff hockey is a different beast. Experts are leaning slightly towards the Panthers, but both teams have strong arguments.

Here are some resources to dig deeper:

• “[State Your Case: Panthers or Bruins in Eastern 2nd Round of playoffs]”(http://bhswritingproject.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/3/7/51373979/make_your_case!-.pdf) on NHL.com
• “[Panthers, Bruins set to meet again in playoff rematch, this time in Round 2]”(https://apnews.com/article/panthers-bruins-nhl-playoffs-2d891aa3f1bd84a5bb343fc1a1d80676) on AP News

So in other words, Gemini is too much of a wimp to actually pick a winner. Nice job, wimp.

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/05/06/nhl-playoff-predictions-round-two/

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The first round of the NHL Playoffs start tomorrow. It’s time for my pointless, stupid predictions post. As is generally the case with pro sports these days, I have not been following the league as a whole that much, just my home town team. That means most of these predictions are very close to blind guesses on my part. Therefore I will also include a flip of a coin prediction and when it’s all over we’ll see if I was better at picking winners than randomness.

Are we ready?

As always, we will start with the Eastern Conference.

Panthers vs Lightning. The battle of Florida… in hockey… ugh. Nothing like cold weather spots in Florida. The Panthers had the better regular season, but I am optimistic that their luck is running out. I am going to pick Tampa Bay. It will probably go seven games, but the Lightning will come out on top. I promise this pick has nothing to do with the Panthers bouncing my Boston Bruins in the first round last year. Really. It has nothing to do with that. Now, which team does the coin pick? The rules are the higher seed (Florida in this case) is heads and the lower seed (Tampa Bay) is tails. It’s tails. The coin picks Tampa Bay.

Bruins vs Maple Leafs. I live in Boston. I root for Boston teams. There is no way I am picking against my Bruins. That’s a given. Beyond that, the Leafs have a killer offense, but it will not be a match for the Bruins defense and goalies. Sorry, Leafs fans. It’s going to be yet another in a long line of Boston wins over Toronto. Nothing personal, friends. The Bruins will just have your number again. The coin flip is heads so the coin picks the Bruins too.

The Rangers vs the Capitals. I hate both of these teams. I hate the Rangers more. That’s not why I am picking the Capitals this time though. The Capitals have been playing playoff intensity games for a while now. The Rangers breezed into the playoffs. The Capitals fought their way in. I think the momentum will carry the Caps through the first round. Probably not too far beyond that, but I’m looking for a serious upset here. The coin flip is tails so it also picked the Capitals. I see a pattern developing here.

Whalers vs Islanders. Okay, Robert. Stop calling the Carolina Hurricanes the Whalers. It’s not funny anymore. Then again… both of these teams were the parent club of the AHL team I used to have season tickets for. The Lowell Lock Monsters. Both teams pulled out on us and left my minor league team hanging. Due to that I can honestly say I friggin’ hate both of these teams. I want to pick the Islanders here, but they are from New York and I can’t pick a New York team without feeling gross about it. I’m considering it… but I think I am picking the Whale this time, even if it is painful to do so. The coin flip picks the Islanders though. Finally it picks the team I didn’t pick.

On to the Western Conference…

Stars vs Golden Knights. I don’t know. I really don’t. I want to pick Vegas but… no, I am going to pick Dallas. I could go either way with this one, but let’s officially pick The Stars. The coin flip picks Vegas.

Jets vs Avalanche. Again, I could go either way with this series. My gut is telling me to pick the Avs for the upset, but I don’t think I can bring myself to do it. I am going to pick The Jets and I will probably kick myself for doing so. The coin is tails again so it picks Colorado. That coin sure does love the underdogs, right?

Canucks vs Predators. Okay, I am going to pick an underdog this time. Nashville will take this one in an upset. As silly as it is to have an NHL team in Tennessee, I foresee a Vancouver choke coming. The coin flip agrees with me as it comes up tails for the fifth flip in a row.

Oilers vs Kings. Last but not least. I have always like The Kings. I haven’t always liked the Oilers as they beat my Bruins in the Cup Finals in both 1988 and 1990. Eventually something happened (I don’t know what) and I started to like them too. I am going to pick The Oilers this year. Sorry, Los Angeles. Edmonton is going to beat you. Nothing personal, it’s just business. Hockey business. The coin flip finally comes up heads so the coin picks Edmonton too.

There you have it, folks. My stupid, pointless, blind, uninformed predictions for the first round of the NHL Playoffs. It’s Stanley Cup tournament time. The best post season in all of professional sports. The games start tomorrow. The Bruins take on The Maple Leafs tomorrow at 8:00pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

Go Bruins!

https://robertjames1971.blog/2024/04/19/nhl-playoff-predictions/

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