Stanley Cup Playoffs: Conference finals predictions
Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
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Four teams left, and it's crystal ball time once again.
The Eastern Conference semifinals weren't kind to a number of theScore's NHL editors. To put it plainly: The guys didn't get pucks deep, didn't apply pressure on the forecheck, didn't stick to the gameplan, and definitely did not give it 110 percent.
We're looking to make amends with our conference finals picks, which are below, along with our records through two rounds. Like Alex Ovechkin, we're trying our best.
Western Conference
Ducks vs. Predators
| Editor | Pick |
|---|---|
| Josh Gold-Smith | Predators |
| Craig Hagerman | Predators |
| Flip Livingstone | Ducks |
| Ian McLaren | Ducks |
| Sean O'Leary | Predators |
| Sonny Sachdeva | Predators |
| Navin Vaswani | Predators |
| Cory Wilkins | Predators |
| Josh Wegman | Predators |
- None of us picked the Predators to come out of the first round. We're all but all-in on Nashville now, though.
Eastern Conference
Penguins vs. Senators
| Editor | Pick |
|---|---|
| Gold-Smith | Penguins |
| Hagerman | Penguins |
| Livingstone | Penguins |
| McLaren | Penguins |
| O'Leary | Penguins |
| Sachdeva | Penguins |
| Vaswani | Penguins |
| Wilkins | Penguins |
| Wegman | Penguins |
- We remain allergic to the Ottawa Senators, despite the fact they haven't yet been forced to play a Game 7. It's nothing personal, just business. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the defending champions, after all. And, let's face it, the whole underdog, disrespected Senators thing is working for Ottawa. Who are we to mess with it?
2nd-round, overall results
Here's how each editor fared in the second round, along with their overall numbers through 12 series.
| Editor | 2nd-round score | Overall |
|---|---|---|
| Wilkins | 4/4 | 9/12 |
| Sachdeva | 3/4 | 7/12 |
| Wegman | 3/4 | 7/12 |
| Hagerman | 2/4 | 7/12 |
| Vaswani | 1/4 | 7/12 |
| Gold-Smith | 2/4 | 6/12 |
| McLaren | 3/4 | 5/12 |
| Livingstone | 1/4 | 5/12 |
| O'Leary | 1/4 | 5/12 |
- It's Mr. Wilkins' world, after his perfect Round 2 performance. We're just living in it.