I know that 3.5 hour wait was rough, so without further ado, the Eastern Conference….

Ottawa Senators vs. Montreal Canadiens

Dave’s Pick: OTT in 7. Here’s the dirty secret: Montreal isn’t that good. Brandon Prust is a top-nine forward there, and Max Pacioretty is hurt. Carey Price was super human this season, but in the playoffs you need depth. The Sens have it, the Habs don’t.

Becky’s Pick: OTT in 6. The Montreal Carey Prices are fragile without Max Pacioretty, whose diagnosis is “not cleared for contact” as of today. With Ottawa working their tails off to make it to the playoffs, and losing assistant coach Mark Reeds yesterday, the Sens are playing with all their hearts to bring it all home for Reeds and GM Bryan Murray. I don’t think they go all the way, but I think they cruise past the Habs in Round 1.

Chris’ Pick: MTL in 6. The Sens are scorching hot for sure, but the playoffs are a different beast. While I don’t think Montreal have as much talent as their media think they do, Carey Price is far and away the best player in this series and that counts for something. This could go either way and the first game will be huge. Assume a Montreal shutdown victory in game one and a six game series win.

Justin’s Pick: OTT in 6. Montreal isn’t a bad team, but Carey Price’s ridiculous season has masked what probably should be a wild card squad.  Ottawa is actually fairly well balanced and has been getting very good goaltending, as well.  Whether Andrew Hammond is for real is a discussion for another time. Carey Price could very well steal this series, but I don’t think a Pacioretty-less Montreal team gets by.

Kevin’s Pick: OTT in 7. – If Carey Price is the runaway MVP, then he should be able to win this series pretty easily, right? But I don’t know, there’s just something about this Senators team right now. I don’t think Ottawa’s run is ready to come to an end just yet.

Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Dave’s Pick: TBL in 5. I didn’t pick Detroit to even make the playoffs, while Tampa Bay was my pick to come out of the East. I’m sticking with this, as Tampa Bay is so talented and so deep, it scares me. I want Detroit to win, but I think this is a quick series.

Becky’s Pick: TBL in 5. Detroit is going with Petr Mrazek, showing no faith in Jimmy Howard (got to wonder if his previous injury is nagging), and Tampa is kicking the crap out of everyone they’ve been playing. Maybe I put this in 5 because I’m scared of the Bolts, but that’s my gut feeling.

Chris’ Pick: TBL in 6. Tampa have the best pure offense in the East. Detroit are officially going with Petr Mrazek in goal. Ugh. The Wings are successfully going through a transition period and have a lot of young talent emerging but they simply aren’t at Tampa’s level right now. The Wings will make this interesting but the scary Lightning will overpower them

Justin’s Pick: TBL in 5. Honestly, how does Mike Babcock go with Mrazek over Howard?  I like Mrazek, but if you don’t have the confidence in Howard now, when will you?  Goaltending drama aside, Tampa Bay is just way too good for this year’s incarnation of the Red Wings.  I like Detroit’s team, but they just can’t match the depth.

Kevin’s Pick: TBL in 6. I can’t wait for this one. Tampa Bay is by far the Eastern Conference team that scares me the most, but the Red Wings have plenty of experience on their side. In the end the Lightning’s speed and depth will be too much.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers

Dave’s Pick: NYR in 5. The Pens are going to be without Kris Letang for the season, adding on to injuries to Chrisitian Ehrhoff and Olli Maata, both of whom won’t be in this series. They lack the defensive depth to contain the Rangers, and Marc-Andre Fleury is no match for Henrik Lundqvist.

Becky’s Pick: NYR in 6. I would say Rangers in 5 but I’m far too scared to make a bold prediction when it comes to my team. Aside from the injury issue, the Penguins are a whiny, undisciplined team who get irritated immediately and are not getting the calls they’re used to crying for. If Dom Moore could pull off what he did last year to piss off Sid (and hopefully not get speared this time), the Rangers won’t need more than six to win it.

Chris’ Pick: NYR in 6. The Pens are decimated by injury on their blueline and ‘boast’ a current top three defense trio of Martin, Cole and Lovejoy – that. is. horrible. The Rangers can roll three scoring lines and have a fourth line playing their best hockey of the season right now (including from a production perspective) – they simply have too much for the Pens. Crosby and Malkin alone will mean this isn’t a sweep, but they can’t keep up with the Rangers.

Justin’s Pick: NYR in 6. No matter what happens in these playoffs, I think this Rangers team will end up an autopsy for the next step in #fancystats.  The concept of counter attacking and shot suppression to offset traditional possession analysis could be really valuable.  I think the Rangers have too much depth for the injury riddled Pens. Crosby and Malkin (and maybe Fleury!) will keep it respectable, but I don’t see the Rangers getting upset here.

Kevin’s Pick: NYR in 5. If Kris Letang was healthy, I’d be a whole lot more nervous. He’s the straw that stirs the Penguins’ drink, so to speak, and he’s given New York fits over the years. But without him – and potentially Christian Ehrhoff and Derrick Pouliot – I just don’t see how Pittsburgh can handle the Rangers’ speed. Going against two of the top 10 players in the world is never easy, but unless Marc-Andre Fleury stands on his head (hahahaha), then the Blueshirts cruise.

New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals

Dave’s Pick: WSH in 7. The league’s best powerplay against one of the league’s worst penalty kill. The Isles have the better numbers and depth, but the Caps are red-hot. This series goes the distance.

Becky’s Pick: WSH in 6. The Caps are a different team than they were last year, thanks to a coaching change, and the Islanders barely backed into the playoffs this year. They’ve been trending down and won’t be able to deal with the physical Capitals, especially if noted goon Matt Martin is still injured. I don’t think this is the Isles’ year.

Chris’ Pick: WSH in 7. There’s a ton of star power in this series. It will be fun to watch Tavares and Ovechkin try and battle for the spotlight over a seven game series which is exactly what this will be. Special teams really favour the Caps but the Isles’ overall talent level up front will keep this close. This series could go either way.

Justin’s Pick: WSH in 7. These are two very closely matched teams, but they are trending in opposite directions in both goaltending and overall play.  Hopefully this turns into a massive battle of attrition and both teams are left exhausted.  I like the talent the Islanders bring to the table, but I think the Caps PP and goaltending prove too much.

Kevin’s Pick: WSH in 7. I’m definitely of the mindset that it’s a year too early for the Islanders. Barry Trotz has transformed the Capitals into a consistent two-way club, and Washington has become as scary as it’s ever been as a result.

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