Battle Playoff Predictions Part Deux

Okay, I'll chime in with mine now and me and Derek can compare them after the playoffs end :)

East
(1) Capitals over (8) Canadiens in 5 games - this does have the potential for disaster with Theodore facing his former mates but I think the Caps'll step up their game and the Habs are just too inconsistent to trust - witness losses to the Isles, Canes and Leafs down the stretch with the playoffs on the line.

(7) Flyers over (2) Devils in 6 games - gotta be consistent and go with my initial prediction, although if the Devils are a championship team they'll take it in 5. If not, it's time to blow the soft defense up and scale back Marty's workload once and for all.

(3) Sabres over (6) Bruins in 7 games - I would pick the upset here if not for one thing...I just can't see Ryan Miller losing in the first round with the year he's had.

(4) Penguins over (5) Senators in 5 games - While I don't see the Pens making three straight playoff runs (or the Wings for that matter) I can't pick them to lose with a one-legged opponent handed to them bound and gagged.

(1) Capitals over (7) Flyers in 5 games - Where I'll be cursing the Devils' loss even more
(3) Sabres over (4) Penguins in 6 games - Miller gets revenge for the Olympic loss to Crosby

(1) Capitals over (3) Sabres in 7 games - Another hard-luck loss for Buffalo a la 2006 against Carolina

West
(1) Sharks over (8) Avs in 4 games - sorry, even with the Sharks playoff idiosyncrasices I see the Avs going the way of regular season overachievers Columbus and St. Louis last year.

(2) Hawks over (7) Predators in 7 games - division matchup in the first round with a defensive-minded team against an offensive juggernaut with questionable goaltending and a banged-up d. Potential for a surprise here, but I believe in Niemi enough to give the Hawks a slight edge.

(3) Canucks over (6) Kings in 5 games - I was gonna pick an upset out of spite for Luongo until I looked at the stats and realized the Nucks offense is more than the Sedin twins while the Kings don't have a lot of big-time scorers other than Kopitar.

(5) Wings over (4) Coyotes in 6 games - as much as I'd love to see an 'upset', the Wings are on a roll right now and have at least one last strike in them.

(1) Sharks over (5) Wings in 7 games - if the Sharks are ever going to turn from minnows to men, now's the time with an older Wings team drained from two straight long playoffs and a mad stretch run just to clinch a playoff berth.
(3) Canucks over (2) Hawks in 6 games - another revenge series with an improved Canucks team taking advantage of a beat-up Hawks defense.

(3) Canucks over (1) Sharks in 7 games - why do I look at this Sharks team and see a '03 Senators-type finish at the end?

Stanley Cup Finals: Capitals over Canucks in 7 games...deeper team wins in the end. While it's hard for me to imagine Theodore holding up all the way through, it was already hard for me to imagine him not having a regulation loss since January. Funny, I was one game from picking the same final as Derek :P