big sens homer here but i truly think ottawa will win 4-1 or 4-2 vs. montreal if pacioretty is out for the whole series. price will probably outplay hammond, but sens top line + ikarly have been way too good these past 2 months for me to predict against them. also i can't get out of my head the utter destruction of mtl at the hands of a terrible sens team in 2013 playoffs so that is 100% clouding my judgement (sry
Jirachee ...)
goaltending has been a hugely entertaining story all season, and once again it should define the playoffs. it's funny that two of the (subjectively) worst teams in the playoffs (ottawa and minny) have the two hottest goalies in the league, while two of the (subjectively) best teams (st. louis and anaheim) have had some real goalie issues down the stretch... should be fun to watch play out
rooting for ottawa all da way, but i don't /actually/ think they'll get out of r2 unless stone and hamburglar lose their minds lol. i fully expect one of st. louis/anaheim/NYR to win, maybe TB as well. chicago is usually a safe bet to win but i don't see them solving rinne without kane in r1. blues have been my favourite team to watch the past few years so they're my #1 pick outta respect
i love NHL playoffs!!!