What Will Weekend Bring On Ice?

April 16, 2010
Apr
16
Top

Beards have only reached playoff stubble and the NHL postseason is already in chaos. Forget Northern Iowa and Cornell; the real madness is on ice in April. Both No. 1 seeds, the Sharks and Capitals, lost at home to open the playoffs this week, along with the Devils, the No. 2 seed in the East. The only top seed that didn't lose was the Blackhawks, perhaps because they don't open their series against the Predators until Friday night.

And after just seven total games, some of SportsNation's predictions are already looking shaky.

SPORTSNATION NHL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

Favorite Support Underdog Support
No. 1 Capitals 95 percent No. 8 Canadiens 5 percent
No. 2 Blackhawks 92 percent No. 7 Predators 8 percent
No. 1 Sharks 86 percent No. 8 Avalanche 14 percent
No. 4 Penguins 84 percent No. 5 Senators 16 percent
No. 2 Devils 76 percent No. 7 Flyers 24 percent
No. 5 Red Wings 76 percent No. 4 Coyotes 24 percent
No. 3 Sabres 73 percent No. 6 Bruins 27 percent
No. 3 Canucks 71 percent No. 6 Kings 29 percent

Dave (NYC)

Should we read anything into the Pens dropping Game 1 to the Sens?

Matthew Barnaby
Matthew Barnaby

Yes, for sure. There is not a switch you can turn on when the playoffs start and to me, the Ottawa Senators outbattled the Penguins last night. Goaltending has been streaky all year long and last night was not a good one for Fleury. Having said that, their power play was a bright spot, scoring two goals, but if they don't play with more emotion, Ottawa is a good enough team that could pull off the upset. Full transcript

Joe (Vallejo, CA)

Should I be worried of another 1st round letdown by the Sharks because of [Game 1]?

Barry Melrose
Barry Melrose

Yeah, I would be worried. I would be very worried. The worst thing the Sharks could have done is allowing the Avs to win a game. Now the Avs think they have a chance and we've seen this scenario many times. Full transcript

Jim (Grand Rapids MI)

We know Phoenix is a good young team, but when will the "pixie dust" wear off? Is Detroit too strong for them over the long haul? Realistically, how far do you see Detroit going this playoff run? Just getting to the dance isn't enough for Detroit.

Pierre LeBrun
Pierre LeBrun

The Wings were 16-3-2 post-Olympics, tops in the NHL. That's why I picked them to win in 6 games.But as you saw [in Game 1], the Coyotes are very committed defenseively. More than any team in the league they make you earn every inch of the ice. Full transcript

Comment »


ESPN Conversations


You must be signed in to post a comment

Already have an account?

You are fully responsible for the content you post. Content that includes profanity, personal attacks or antisocial behavior (such as "spamming" or "trolling"), or other inappropriate content or material will be removed. We reserve the right to block any user who violates our terms of use, including removing all content posted by that user.

"SportsNation" on ESPN2!

00:00:00

UNTIL NEXT SHOW

Weekdays at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Click Here
SUBMIT A LINK
RSS »

SportsNation on Facebook

FOLLOW SPORTSNATION ON TWITTER

Help produce SportsNation TV! »

THIS WEEK'S CHATS

Monday, February 6 Tuesday, February 7Wednesday, February 8Thursday, February 9
Friday, February 10