The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin tonight with 8 series commencing today, tomorrow or Friday.
The matchups in the East are; Washington-Montreal, Pittsburgh-Ottawa, Buffalo & Boston and New Jersey against Philadelphia.
In the West, the pairings are San Jose-Colorado, Phoenix-Detroit, Vancouver & the Kings plus Chicago-Nashville.
Here’s my calls for Round 1.
Washington to beat Montreal. Montreal hasn’t won the Stanley Cup for 17 YEARS !!
Pittsburgh over Ottawa in a series where style beats substance.
Buffalo over Boston primarily because the Bruins are less than healthy.
And New Jersey over Philadelphia in a series in which goals will be in short supply
In the West, the calls are;
Sharks over a youthful, but fading Colorado squad.
Detroit to score a minor upset of Phoenix.
The Kings to outlast Vancouver
& Chicago in short order over Nashville.
We’ll see how the first round goes before I boldly predict Chicago-Buffalo in the Final.
I’m Fred Wallace