NHL 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS / POOL PREDICTION THREAD

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The Lowdown:
The long, arduous regular season has finally come to a end… And, thus, the next chapter for 16 of the remaining 31 teams is about to commence, as they all try to kill each other on the ice, both figuratively speaking and on the scoreboard for hockey’s ultimate holy grail (- and a pretty decent cereal bowl to boot): The Stanley Cup...

Who will it be this year??? Will the Tampa Bay Lightning, after having one of the most successful regular seasons in NHL history, and winners of the President Trophy for best regular season team overall be the ones victorious by June’s end? Or will it be one of the more familiar faces from last year, like the Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, San Jose Sharks - or even the upstart Vegas Golden Knights, in only their second year of existence. Or perhaps, it may not be any of those guys at all, as the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets or Toronto Maple Leafs might be the ones to shock the entire world and win it all this year! …Oh, and we can’t forget about those pesky Pittsburgh Penguins and last year’s Stanley Cup Champions, The Washington Capitals, can we?

And while those teams, players and fanbases are all tearing each other apart both in the stands and on social media - we’ll be safe right here by running our very own playoff pool for not only the ultimate bragging rights but also for the chance to earn some sweet, sweet achievements that you can proudly display along with your other achievements… Oh, and…yeah, I guess we’ll occasionally talk about hockey on here as well - I suppose...

So whether you’re a real hockey enthusiast - or have no real idea what the f**k you’re even doing – everyone’s invited to come and participate in the pool and also talk about the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs as well. And – who knows? Perhaps this could be your year…

The Bracket:

The Rules:
Starting with the first round first, and then after every subsequent round after that, you must pick the winner of each playoff series (listed above) and how many games that each particular series will end up going to. You also have to pick a Stanley Cup Champion who you will believe will end up hoisting the holy grail at the end of this year’s playoffs as well.

Once the first round has been fully completed, you will then provide your picks for the second round, conference finals, and then the finals at a later date. After everything is all said done, whomever has the most points at the end of this year’s playoffs will be pronounced the winner!

  • You are only allowed to enter one bracket per user. You cannot submit multiple brackets.

  • Once you’ve made your picks, you cannot change or alter them unless you either contact me in advance or it’s been less than 24 hours from your last post that you made your last picks in. If it’s past the last deadline, then you’re basically outta luck, I’m afraid.

  • Your Stanley Cup Champion Pick will be locked into place once the first round deadline has passed and cannot be changed or altered throughout the duration of the entire playoffs. Once your Stanley Cup Champion Pick has been eliminated at any point and time, then it’s officially eliminated for good.

The Scoring System:
For each series that you manage to successfully predict who wins, you’ll then receive 2 points. If the team that you pick loses that series but you still managed to successfully predict the correct number of games that it went to, you will then earn 1 point. And if you manage to predict both the winner and the correct number of games that a series goes to - you will then earn the maximum of 4 points for one playoff series!

However, points can double whenever your Stanley Cup Pick is involved in any matchup. Win or lose, those points will be doubled based on their results, so be extra cautious about who you pick!

The Past Champions:

The Prizes:
This time we have four achievements that you can possibly earn for this year:


For the individuals who are skilled enough (or lucky enough) to earn the most amount of points by the end of this year's playoff pool will then be rewarded with the Alexander Ovechkin Pool Party Award that's worth 10 Makerscore Points and title of this year's champion.


HOWEVER! For those unfortunate enough to earn the LEAST amount of points in this year's playoff pool will earn the dubious distinction of possessing the lowly Eugene Melnyk Award, which is only worth a grand total of 1 Messily Makerscore Point. *shutter*


Also, for those lucky individuals who managed to successfully predict a Stanley Cup Champion at the beginning of the pool all the way until the end of the playoffs will earn the Crystal Clairvoyant in honor of their amazing knowledge into seeing into the far future that's worth 5 Makerscore Points.


And, finally, for all of those lucky individuals that managed to successfully predict the winner of each playoff series all the way until the end of the playoffs without a single blemish on their record will earn the coveted Brackcellent that's worth 25 Makerscore Points if you happen to get it. As long as you successfully predict the winner of every single playoff series, starting from the 1st Round all the way until the Stanley Cup Finals without a fault, you will win this award. Even if you don't manage to successfully predict the correct number of games, or the Stanley Cup Champion from the very beginning of the pool, as long as the teams that you pick wins in each series, you'll still be in the running for it.

The Leaderboard:
1stKory_Toombs29 Pts
T-2ndCap_H23 Pts
T-2ndShinan23 Pts
4thNarcodis22 Pts
5thKentona21 Pts
T-6thAddit15 Pts
T-6thGreatRedSpirit15 Pts

The Players:
Addit's Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 6
Blues over Jets In 6
Flames over Avalanche In 5
Golden Knights over Sharks In 7
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 7
Leafs over Bruins In 7
Capitals over Hurricanes In 4
Penguins over Islanders In 6

2nd Round:
Stars over Blues In 7
Sharks over Avalanche In 5
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 6
Islanders over Hurricanes In 7

Conference Finals:
Blues over Sharks In 4
Hurricanes over Bruins In 4

Stanley Cup Finals:
Bruins over Blues In 4

Stanley Cup Champion:
Tampa Bay Lightning


Cap_H's Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 4
Blues over Jets In 6
Flames over Avalanche In 5
Sharks over Golden Knights In 6
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 5
Bruins over Leafs In 6
Capitals over Hurricanes In 4
Islanders over Penguins In 7

2nd Round:
Blues over Stars In 6
Avalanche over Sharks In 7
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 5
Islanders over Hurricanes In 6

Conference Finals:
Blues over Sharks In 5
Bruins over Hurricanes In 7

Stanley Cup Finals:
Blues over Bruins In 7

Stanley Cup Champion:
Calgary Flames


GreatRedSpirit’s Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 5
Blues over Jets In 4
Flames over Avalanche In 6
Sharks over Golden Knights In 6
Blue Jackets over Lightning In 6
Bruins over Leafs In 5
Capitals over Hurricanes In 5
Islanders over Penguins In 7

2nd Round:
Blues over Stars In 6
Avalanche over Sharks In 4
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 5
Islanders over Hurricanes In 6

Conference Finals:
Sharks over Blues In 6
Hurricanes over Bruins In 5

Stanley Cup Finals:
Blues over Bruins In 5

Stanley Cup Champion:
Calgary Flames


Kentona's Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 5
Blues over Jets In 7
Flames over Avalanche In 6
Sharks over Golden Knights In 7
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 4
Leafs over Bruins In 7
Capitals over Hurricanes In 4
Penguins over Islanders In 6

2nd Round:
Blues over Stars In 5
Sharks over Avalanche In 7
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 7
Hurricanes over Islanders In 6

Conference Finals:
Sharks over Blues In 5
Hurricanes over Bruins In 6

Stanley Cup Finals:
Blues over Bruins In 7

Stanley Cup Champion:
Tampa Bay Lightning


Kory_Toombs' Picks:

1st Round:
Stars over Predators In 6
Jets over Blues In 7
Avalanche over Flames In 6
Golden Knights over Sharks In 7
Blue Jackets over Lightning In 4
Leafs over Bruins In 6
Hurricanes over Capitals In 6
Islanders over Penguins In 6

2nd Round:
Blues over Stars In 7
Sharks over Avalanche In 6
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 5
Islanders over Hurricanes In 6

Conference Finals:
Blues over Sharks In 7
Hurricanes over Bruins In 6

Stanley Cup Finals:
Blues over Bruins In 6

Stanley Cup Champion:
Columbus Blue Jackets


Narcodis’ Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 5
Blues over Jets In 5
Flames over Avalanche In 7
Sharks over Golden Knights In 6
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 4
Bruins over Leafs In 7
Hurricanes over Capitals In 7
Penguins over Islanders In 6

2nd Round:
Blues over Stars In 5
Sharks over Avalanche In 6
Blue Jackets over Bruins In 7
Hurricanes over Islanders In 6

Conference Finals:
Sharks over Blues In 7
Hurricanes over Bruins In 6

Stanley Cup Finals:
Blues over Bruins In 6

Stanley Cup Champion:
Tampa Bay Lightning


Shinan's Picks:

1st Round:
Predators over Stars In 6
Jets over Blues In 7
Flames over Avalanche In 4
Sharks over Golden Knights In 6
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 5
Bruins over Leafs In 7
Capitals over Hurricanes In 5
Penguins over Islanders In 6

2nd Round:
Stars over Blues In 6
Sharks over Avalanche In 6
Bruins over Blue Jackets In 5
Islanders over Hurricanes In 7

Conference Finals:
Blues over Sharks In 7
Bruins over Hurricanes In 6

Stanley Cup Finals:
Bruins over Blues In 5

Stanley Cup Champion:
Boston Bruins


The deadline for getting your Stanley Cup Finals pick in is by Monday, May 27th @ 4 P.M. PST.
*phew* Finally got it done just in time before bed. (Geez, this thing took me a while...)

So I’m going to go with in the first round…

Predators over Stars In 6
Blues over Jets In 6
Flames over Avalanche In 5
Golden Knights over Sharks In 7
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 7
Leafs over Bruins In 7
Capitals over Hurricanes In 4
Penguins over Islanders In 6

And it’s hard NOT to pick Tampa Bay to win the cup this year with that kind of record, so I’ll go with them to win the whole thing, even though I have this funny feeling that they’re going to make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 7 only to choke it away to whomever comes out of the west - but, we’ll see.

And I REALLY don’t like picking between the Leafs and Bruins for ANYTHING... Can’t they just both lose?


Anyways, good luck to everyone! Sorry ‘bout not doing this last year, but I thought I’d make it up for it by adding even moar prizes to win this time around!
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
Oh, i totally forgot how NHL work.
Predators over Stars In 4
Blues over Jets In 6
Flames over Avalanche In 5
Sharks over Golden Knights In 6
Lightning over Blue Jackets In 5
Bruins over Leafs In 6
Capitals over Hurricanes In 4
Islanders over Penguins In 7

I'm gonna be ballsy and make predictions for the whole thing. Ofc I'll update these later.

Blues over Predators In 6
Flames over Sharks In 7
Bruins over Lightening In 5
Capitals over Islanders In 6

Flames over Blues In 5
Bruins over Capitals In 7

Flames over Bruins In 6 (not really but)

That's quite a short run for Tampa and long one for Boston!
Boston can’t win; they already won a Stanley Cup a few years back and my city STILL hasn’t recovered yet from all the madness... I mean, for god sakes, the Canucks radio station still occasionally brings that up every once and a while. If it happens again, I don’t my city can take it. I mean, I rather cheer for Calgary in that type of situation than vote for the Bruins (ugh…)

Anyways, I’ve entered in your 1st Round picks and Stanley Cup Champion (for now), Cap_H. Of course, you still have loads of time to change your mind.

(…You’re not really gonna pick Boston to win it all, are ya?)
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
Numerically, Flames have a good chance. It's been exactly 30 years since their first cup and 25 years since a Canadian team won. But they have an inexperienced trainer and that can cause their fall in the finals.
It's certainly something to consider.

Tampa has a fairly good chance to win and if they manage to overcome Bruins and Capitals, they're likely to defeat any western team.
Calgary over Colorado (6)
SJ over Vegas (7)
Nashville over Dallas (5)
St. Louis over Winnipeg (7)

Tampa over Columbus (4)
Toronto over Boston (7)
Capitals over Carolina (4)
Pittsburgh over NY Islanders (6)

Champs:
Tampa Bay (over Calgary, because why not Calgary?)

Analysis-West:
Calgary has the tools to overcome Colorado. San Jose - despite their injury situation - will exploit a less-than-100%-healthy Vegas goaltenders to come out on top in a long high-scoring 7 game series. Nashville's depth will outlast Dallas in a series of very close games, but ultimately come out on top in only 5 games. St.Louis is one of the hottest teams around, and Winnipeg the coldest, and will pull out a resounding game 7 win in Winnipeg.

Analysis-East:
Tampa rolls over everyone, and then wins the cup. Toronto exorcises its Bostonian demons and wins it in a grueling 7 game series. Capitals execute the plucky Hurricanes. Pittsburgh's experience and skill pick apart a NY Islanders team riding high on a goaltender duo and unsustainable percentages.
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
Ok, I changed my pick to Flames. I don't think they're going to win but they have a good chance to be in the finals and that should score me some double points.
SunflowerGames
The most beautiful user on RMN!
13323

What to I get if I predict that the Vancouver Canucks will win the Stanley Cup and it actually happens?

Round 1

Columbus over Tampa 4-0
New York over Pittsburgh 4-2
Jets over Blues 4-3
Dallas over Nashville 4-2
Vegas over San Jose 4-3
Toronto over Boston 4-2
Carolina over Washington 4-2
Colorado over Calgary 4-2

Stanley Cup Champion

Columbus Blue Jackets
@Cap_H - Yeah, my main issue with the Flames is that goaltending of theirs is such a wild card with both Smith and Rittich in net, and if ends up being them verses Vegas in the second round, especially with Fleury in net, then I don't really like their chances...but, I could be wrong! Either way, they still have the best chance to come out of the whole thing compared the other Canadian teams that are in it.

And I changed your Stanley Cup Pick to the Calgary Flames now. That should put a smile on GreatRedSpirit’s face when he sees it. :)

author=kentona
Champs: Tampa Bay (over Calgary, because why not Calgary?)

Well, at least they don’t have Khabibulin in net for Tampa Bay this time around.



(God, I can't believe it's been 15 years since the Flames and Lightning played against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals... Man, do I feel old...)

author=kory_toombs
What to I get if I predict that the Vancouver Canucks will win the Stanley Cup tonight's draft lottery and it actually happens?

Fixed it for you, but, yeah, that would be pretty sweet! It would be nice to get a Top 3 pick this year.

(EDIT: ...God damn it.)
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
Yeah, after doing some further research I found out that Vegas managed to win the west last year. Their didn't manage to win their division this year, tho. It means they're either in worse form, other teams stronger or that they're going for some next level strategy and underdog story. I doubt the latter and I think that Sharks as a long term strong team will roll over them.

Also, Jackets are the boldest pick I could imagine.
author=Cap_H
Also, Jackets are the boldest pick I could imagine.

You know, in years past, I would probably laugh at something like this and go like, “Pfft…yeah right, like THAT’s going to happen…” But the craziest thing is that this may not be that crazy of a prediction after all... The Blue Jackets DO actually have a good team on paper and could shock the world and beat the Lightning if they can just play up to their potential. I mean, the Blue Jackets had to fight tooth and nail to get into the playoffs whereas the Lightning have been just coasting along, going through the motions, because, you know, they’re so far ahead of everyone and the rest of their division sucks… Plus, there’s a TON of pressure on the Blue Jackets with all the moves that they made at the Trade Deadline to actually DO something this year and at least make a bit of noise in the playoffs. Otherwise, everything those guys did will allllll be for nothing…

And I’m not sure why Vegas wasn’t as good as they were last year… I think they had some players that underachieved most of the regular season but I’m not totally sure about that… I mean, every time that I saw them when they were playing against the Canucks they shit-kicked us, so I’m not totally sure why they only finished with 93 points... Maybe Fleury wasn't as good as he was last year, or something like that.
The west has been really weird this year in general. At the start of the season, I wouldn't have guessed the Kings, Ducks, AND Blackhawks missing the playoffs this year. And I sure as hell wouldn't have guessed Calgary being on top of it all. But here we are.

Vegas in particular made a bunch of moves last offseason and before the deadline. William Karlsson's goal output dropped from 43 to 24 in the span of a year. No idea what's going on over there but it makes me think they won't see as much playoff time as last year.

My picks:
Round 1:
NSH over DAL, 5 games
STL over WPG, 5 games
CGY over COL, 7 games
SJS over VGK, 6 games

TBL over CBJ, 4 games
BOS over TOR, 7 games
CAR over WSH, 7 games
PIT over NYI, 6 games

Round 2:
STL over NSH, 6 games
CGY over SJS, 7 games

TBL over BOS, 7 games
CAR over PIT, 7 games

Round 3:
STL over CGY, 7 games
TBL over CAR, 5 games

Finals:
TBL over STL, 6 games



No bold predictions here, really... other than the Canes making it as far as the conference finals. Just a feeling I get. I think they could really upset the Caps.
I also think the Blues have a real shot at the Cup this year. Since the start of the year, they've gone from dead last in the NHL to being a couple points shy of the division title. I think the only other team that compares to that pace in that timeframe is Tampa Bay.

But! I also am really bad at predicting this stuff.
go flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaames

It has been a really weird season out west. I don't know what the fuck happened beyond that we live in this dumb hellscape timeline so fuck it, yolo strats will rule the day again!

ROUND 1
FIGHT
Calgary beats Colorado in 6
San Jose beats Vegas in 6
St. Louis beats Winnipeg in 4
Nashville beats Dallas in 5

Columbus beats Tampa Bay in 6 because fukkin lol
Boston beats Toronto in 5
Washington beats Carolina in 5
Islanders beat Pittsburg in 7

THE CHAMP
Calgary Flames buddies
anyone but toronto. go devils.
Oof. Bizarro kentona did quite well last night
author=kentona
Oof. Bizarro narcodis did quite well last night
I thought I'd catch up with what's going on and what's happening in the NHL. But then I decided I couldn't bother so here are some random numbers:

Predators over Stars in 6
Jets over Blues in 7
Flames over Avalanche in 4
Sharks over Golden Knights in 6
Lightning over Blue Jackets in 5
Bruins over Leafs in 7
Capitals over Hurricanes in 5
Penguins over Islanders in 6


Champions: Boston Bruins


After all it's the world championship semi-finals on Saturday.
Ahhh...Tampa Bay? Buddy? You guys realize that the playoffs just started, right? You guys are just joking around with us right now, right? Please tell me that you're just joking around...

Suddenly, kory_toombs, with his bold prediction, is starting to look pretty good right now!
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
and they were out for these two matches. It looks like Columbus has a good chance of making it in 4 games.
Columbus out here ruining everyone's brackets.