JetsNation Makes Their Second Round Playoff Picks
5 years ago
We here at JetsNation tend to be an agreeable bunch and we certainly agreed that the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs was crazy. No top seeds advancing, all the wild card teams moving on. Even the NCAA Basketball Tournament looked on and said “damn guys, maybe chill out on how crazy you’re all getting huh?”
For all people’s talk that their brackets were busted, almost each of us seemed to see at least one upset coming when we made our first round picks.
We didn’t see Tampa losing – although to be fair, no one outside of Columbus did.
Kyle had the Hurricanes winning their series in six and while that looked shaky at first, they came through in the end.
Kyle, Alec and myself had Dallas winning – but that may have been our anti-Predators bias shining through to be honest.
Sean also saw the St. Louis series playing out the way that it did. In my defense though, I kinda figured the Jets were easy first round marks well before the predictions were made, so I feel like I should get half credit.
Zee was the only one to pick Colorado over the Flames – but that may have been her pro-Avalanche bias shining through to be honest.
So here we go with the second round. Each of us a little wiser, and maybe a little more scared to make these picks for ear of more crazy shenanigans that none of us expect to be thrown our way over the next week and a half.
(WC2) Columbus Blue Jackets vs. (A2) Boston Bruins
Art: Boston in six – Columbus is a great story and all, but the Bruins just know how to playoff hockey (aka: play dirty but not over the edge with it) a little bit better than the Lightning did.
Cassie: Columbus in six- Columbus handled Tampa way to well and has had a ton of rest. It also feels like the Bruins have been playing injured.
Zee: Boston in 7 – Columbus made short work of Tampa, but Boston is a different animal. They’re aggressive, they’ve got depth and they’re no strangers to the playoffs.
Sean: Boston in 6 – The Bruins are the best team remaining. They have the guys who have done this before and are strong in all facets of the game. Columbus will put up a good fight, but not good enough.
Kyle: Boston in 5 – I would love to see the Blue Jackets moving on, but I don’t think the Bruins are going to take them for granted after they dismantled the Lightning. Boston takes the series in five.
(WC1) Carolina Hurricanes vs (M2) New York Islanders
Art: New York in six – I won’t lie, I flipped a coin here. The Islanders looked very motivated in their first round series win, but it seems like forever ago they played hockey. Part of me wonders if the Hurricanes won’t have more of an emotional edge in the first couple of games, but it shouldn’t matter.
Cassie: New York in five – Islanders are the better team and they have a very hot goalie.
Zee: Carolina in 7 – Bunch of Jerks just defeated last year’s cup champions and while they’ve got their flaws I think just can’t count them out. They’re a plucky little group that just won’t give up, and I think that will work in their favor. If they can get Svech back for this series, I can see them getting it done sooner.
Sean: New York in 6 – i just watched Carolina beat Washington and yet I still have no faith in that bunch of Jerks. It’s a fun story but it ends in the second round.
Kyle: Carolina in 6 – Is there any doubt that Justin Williams is the most clutch player of our time? His golden hands in the important moments might be the difference in this round.
(WC1) Dallas Stars vs. (C3) St. Louis Blues
Art: Dallas in five – Call me salty, but St. Louis didn’t exactly overwhelm me against the Jets (which makes the Jets defeat more aggravating) while the Stars looked stellar against Nashville. This is where the Blues get exposed.
Cassie: Dallas in six – Stars look better and the Jets showed that Binnington does have some weak areas. I can see Dallas exploiting them better.
Zee: Dallas in 5 – I wasn’t really impressed by the Blues, and I think if the Jets hadn’t been in the process of a full collapse they would have handled them very easily. Dallas went full beast mode on Nashville and I think that once Dallas has solved Binnington it’s going to be all over.
Sean: St. Louis in six – Both teams got by opponents who were no where near their best. St. Louis is a much more complete and much heavier team and will wear Dallas into the ground.
Kyle: St. Louis in 7 – Both teams are playing well at the moment but St. Louis gets the edge for how good they looked in game six against Winnipeg.
(WC2) Colorado Avalanche vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks
Art: Colorado in six – This is absolutely a “pick em” series in my opinion. This pick could easily be San Jose in six. I flipped a coin here as well.
Cassie: San Jose in seven – This one could go either way and I’d give the edge to San Jose on paper.
Zee: Colorado in 6 – Two words: Nathan Mackinnon. I picked Colorado in the first round and I’m definitely all in for round 2. Additionally, the Avs are getting Girard and Brassard back from injuries/illness and now they’ve got Cale Makar, who has been an absolute sensation to watch! Sharks are down Donskoi and Pavelski, and may have used up all their extra lives in the bloody battle against Vegas.
Sean: San Jose in 5 – Colorado may be the most entertaining team to watch right now but I do not put them on the level of San Jose. The Avs are a one line team and San Jose will be able to work around it.
Kyle: San Jose in 7 – It took one crazy powerplay to allow the Sharks to advance to round two. I think they will use it as fuel to propel themselves into the conference final.
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