Ab(r)andon Inge Staff Picks: NHL Playoffs Edition (Part 1)

The staff here at Ab(r)andon Inge has put together their individual picks for the NHL Playoffs.  

*Note: The NHL Playoffs are weird, and they re-seed following each round.  We have taken that into account with our picks, but this is just a warning in case you see some inconsistencies in terms of teams playing each other in particular rounds, etc.

Without further ado:

Ryan Prohaska (@Ryan_M_Pro)

Western Conference 1st Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (8) Los Angeles

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (7) San Jose

Winner: St. Louis

(3) Phoenix vs. (6) Chicago

Winner: Chicago

(4) Nashville vs. (5) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference 1st Round-

(1) New York vs. (8) Ottawa

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (7) Washington

Winner: Boston

(3) Florida vs. (6) New Jersey

Winner: New Jersey

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Philadelphia

Winner: Philadelphia

Western Conference 2nd Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (4) Chicago

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (3) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference 2nd Round-

(1) New York vs. (4) New Jersey

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (3) Philadelphia

Winner: Boston

Western Conference Finals-

(1) Vancouver vs. (2) Detroit

Winner: Detroit

Eastern Conference Finals-

(1) New York vs. (2) Boston

Winner: New York

Stanley Cup Finals-

New York vs. Detroit

Winner: New York

(ed-Brian: really?  A New York team over Detroit?  You're fired)

Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski)

Western Conference 1st Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (8) Los Angeles

Winner: Vancouver

(2) St. Louis vs. (7) San Jose

Winner: The arena collapsing...but seriously...St. Louis

(3) Phoenix vs. (6) Chicago

Winner: This is why NHL seeding is dumb, Phoenix is terrible, yet are a 3-seed.  Chicago in 5 at most

(4) Nashville vs. (5) Detroit

Winner: Detroit...HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN

Eastern Conference 1st Round (do I even care?)-

(1) New York vs. (8) Ottawa

Winner: New York

(2) Boston vs. (7) Washington

Winner: Washington...Ovechkin celly so hard

(3) Florida vs. (6) New Jersey

Winner: Florida....so that Zach Parise is so depressed he runs to Ken Holland with open arms and signs with Detroit

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Philadelphia

WInner: Pittsburgh...as much as I hate Cindy Crosby you can't deny the little girl has talent

Western Conference 2nd Round-

(1) Vancouver vs. (4) Chicago

Winner: Vancouver...and I hope Patty Kane is so pissed that he takes it out on the first unsuspecting cab driver and gets suspended for life

(2) St. Louis vs. (3) Detroit

Winner: Detroit...St. Louis has had a cute season, but no one in the world can compare to the Wings in terms of playoff grit

Eastern Conference 2nd Round-

(1) New York vs. (4) Washington

Winner: Washington...because seriously fuck anything New York

(2) Florida vs. (3) Pittsburgh

Winner: Pittsburgh...because I didn't even realize that Florida had a hockey team

Western Conference Finals

(1) Vancouver vs. (2) Detroit

Winner: Van-----Lol like I'm going to pick against the Wings.  Detroit

Eastern Conference Finals-

(1) Pittsburgh vs. (2) Washington

Winner: Washington...because I want to see Sidney Crosby cry

Stanley Cups Finals

Detroit vs. Washington

Winner: DETROIT CELLY SO HARD WOO HOMER PICK

**Editors note: I will post Phil and Frank's predictions tomorrow when I can keep my eyes open

Ab(r)andon Inge Roundtable #1: Will the Red Wings Win the Stanley Cup this season?

Good Evening (Morning) ladies and gentlemen-

We here at Ab(r)andon Inge have decided to do a weekly roundtable post, where we all give our insight and opinion on a single question relating to Detroit sports.

This week, the question is:

Will the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup this season?


Ryan Prohaska (@Ryan_M_Pro):

In short, I do not believe the Wings can win the cup.  Considering they will most likely play 3 of the 4 series on the road, where they struggle, I do not see them being able to pull it off.  I think they will make the conference finals and lose in 6 games to Vancouver.

Phil Johnson (@DoWorkLaRoy):

If you put a fork to my nose and asked me if the Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup, I'd say yes. If you put a fork to my nose and asked me if the Red Wings would win the Stanley Cup this year, I'd say no. The lack of firepower from the team since the 23 game home winning streak ended has been alarming. Unless the power play pulls a Franzen and wakes up in the playoffs, I think this Wings team will bow out in the first or second round depending on the draw.

Frank Vajcner (@Frank_Vajcner):

It’s hard to bet against The Red Wings in the playoffs. With players that have been on the team for at least one cup winning season, you can always expect them to be in contention. This year is no different. The Wings don’t have a dominant 40-plus goal scorer, but they don’t need one when they get balanced goal scoring. Four players (Johan Franzen, Jiri Hudler, Valtteri Filppula, and Henrik Zetterberg) have scored at least 20 goals this season, and the team has gotten an NHL-best 44 goals from their defensemen. Plus Jimmy Howard has been a lot better in goal, posting a 2.14 GAA and a .920 save percentage. On the injury front, the only player that will be out is center Darren Helm. The only knock against the Wings is their power play, which is ranked 21^st in the NHL.

Despite only being able to possibly secure the 4^th seed in the Western Conference, the Red Wings have the talent and coaching to win their 12^th Stanley Cup. The keys to success will be to improve the power play, and avoid a first round matchup with Nashville, or with San Jose without home-ice advantage.  The Wings have not been good on the road, and that is why the wait for cup number twelve will continue until at least next season.

Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski):

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest hockey guy.  I love watching the Wings, but that's about as far as my interest in the sport goes.  I do know from watching the Wings this season that they play ridiculously well at home, not so well on the road, rely on 1-2 actually consistent players (Datsyuk, Pavel; and Lidstrom, Nicklas), and then ride the hot streaks of others for X amount of games at a time (Filpulla, Franzen, etc).  If these streaky players decide to catch fire all at once, and maintain it for a month, then yes, I do believe that the Wings will win the Stanley Cup.  However, for the sake of not sounding like a ridiculous slappy, I will say no, not this year.

LGRW