NHL Predictions 2016-17: Round Three

I did even better in Round 2 than in Round One, especially if you factor in the fact that on both instances where I was wrong, I was right that it went to a seventh and final game...

And so we have reached the Conference Finals...

When it comes to the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators vs the Anaheim Ducks, I'm fine:
Pekka Rinne is this year's Conn Smythe winner, and the Preds' defense is just amazing - they even score half their team's goals. Not that the attack is awful, it's well-balanced and all, but I did expect more from the likes of proven scorers like James Neal. The Ducks will be assholes, they'll play rough, they'll be dirty and mean, and they'll get away with most of it without getting suspended because the Predators' powerplay will make them pay.

Preds in 6.

I'm more tormented by the Pittsburgh Penguins against the Ottawa Senators...

I want the Sens to win. I love Craig Anderson and Erik Karlsson, and it'd be great to see them match up against Rinne and P.K. Subban.  However, I've dismissed the Pens twice already, and they've proven me wrong both times, against two teams with better records than they had. But can Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and the rest defeat Guy Boucher's 1-3-1 super-trap? Can Marc-André Fleury and Matt Murray withstand the Sens' depth, with their three lines that can score equally? Again, we're talking about a banged-up group that is without Kris Letang, that employs 39-year-old Mark Streit and whose big trade deadline acquisition was Ron Hainsey, a 36-year-old who had never suited up in an NHL playoff game before.

I might be thinking with my heart more than my head here.

Sens in 7.