Well, it turns out I was either spot-on or dead wrong with these, with two of the ones I predicted against my wishes being in the ones I erred on, so I'm fairly satisfied with how it turned out.
Let's take a look:
Philadelphia Flyers (1) vs Montréal Canadiens (8)
Prediction: Flyers in 6. Spot on.
The Flyers were the top seed in the East for a reason - they've been the best team in the league since January and continued pressing in the bubble. The Habs stole one and were handed another when Carter Hart failed to shut the door in Game 5, but his teammates didn't let him do that again in Game 6. This bodes well for Philadelphia going forward.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2) vs Columbus Blue Jackets (7)
Prediction: Blue Jackets in 6. Dead wrong.
Yes, I have been more wrong in my life, but this one stings because I really wanted The Blue Jackets to move on to the second round for the first time in franchise history. I like their mix of players, I like their coach, but ultimately what may have contributed to their downfall was that John Tortorella refused to let himself be John Tortorella; when goalie Joonas Korpisalo started feeling the fatigue of his record-making eight-period, 85-save performance later on in the series, he should have been pulled in favour of Elvis Merzlikins, also a very capable netminder that the team has faith in; the "real" Torts has brass (and golden) balls, no pity, and no patience with his goalies. The big game made him emotional and soft.
It's fair to keep in mind that this is still pretty much the same Lightning team that broke all kinds of records last season, certainly the best-assembled team of the cap era, possibly one of the 10 better lineups of all time. So they had every right to seize their opportunity to move forward.
Washington Capitals (3) vs New York Islanders (5)
Prediction: Islanders in 7. Right team, they needed two fewer games in the end.
I gave the Capitals way too much credit and underestimated this iteration of the Barry Trotz system.
Boston Bruins (4) vs Caroline Hurricanes (5)
Prediction: Hurricanes in 7. Wrong team, gladly.
The Bruins won and they didn't need Tuukka Rask in every game to do so. Their top line is waking up, too. Life is sometimes frustrating, but at least it's starting to make sense again.
Western Conference:
Vegas Golden Knights (1) vs Chicago Blackhawks (8)
Prediction: Vegas in 5. Spot on.
The best-seeded team in the West met the Conference's most flawed roster. Chicago's superstars and playoff experience got the better of the Edmonton Oilers in the qualifying round, but the Golden Knights were ready. They even used both their goalies in back-to-back games, a rare sight in modern playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche (2) vs Arizona Coyotes (7)
Prediction: Avalanche in 4. The Coyotes stole one game.
At this point, only the Golden Knights look like they can win four of seven against this Avs team out West.
Dallas Stars (3) vs Calgary Flames (6)
Prediction: Flames in 5. Stars won in six.
Calgary couldn't recover from losing Matthew Tkachuk early in the series, Dallas won it despite Ben Bishop only suiting up for one game. The Flames' Geoff Ward got a coaching clinic from former 1990s Team Canada bench boss Rick Bowness in this series.
St. Louis Blues (4) vs Vancouver Canucks (5)
Prediction: Blues in 6 or 7. I'm not a fan of the Blues and was rooting for the Canucks, so... yay!
As expected, there were games where St. Louis' Stanley Cup-winning veterans took over the game and bullied Vancouver's skinny kids as a "lesson in winning and effort". What was a nice surprise was that the Canucks applied their opponents' teachings the very next game instead of the following season, and Blues bench boos Craig Berube made the same fatal mistake as Torts did and took out the goalie who got the team back in the series - Jake Allen - to replace him with the guy who had stolen his job the previous year, Jordan Binnington. In the playoffs, you ride the hot hand in nets, loyalty can only be given in first or second games (see: Mike Smith for the Oilers in Game 1 of the Qualifiers). Anything else is asking for trouble.
Each team's MVPs so far:
Flyers: Sean Couturier, but Kevin Hayes is a surprising second
Islanders: Anthony Beauvillier
Bolts: Brayden Point
Bruins: David Krejci
Canucks: Elias Pettersen
Golden Knights: Shea Theodore
Stars: Miro Heiskanen
Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon, who doubles as the Conn Smythe favourite after one true round plus the qualifiers
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