We were hesitant to use the “five words” gimmick again after what transpired in Round 1 -- everybody but Dadoun stunk out the joint -- but decided to press on because hey, coming up with new ideas is hard.
So the same rules apply for Round 2.
We. Only. Used. Five. Words.
Western Conference
No. 2 St. Louis vs. No. 8 Los Angeles
Ryan Dadoun (Blues in 5): Blues’ goalies will outshine Quick.
James O’Brien (Kings in 6): Kings’ top talent mutes Blues.
Joe Yerdon (Blues in 6): No one scores, Blues win.
Jason Brough (Blues in 7): Not picking against Blues again.
Mike Halford (Kings in 6): Kings reminiscent of ’04 Flames.
No. 3 Phoenix vs. No. 4 Nashville
Dadoun (Preds in 6): Late acquisitions are propelling Predators.
O’Brien (Preds in 6): Pekka Rinne ain’t Corey Crawford.
Yerdon (Preds in 6): Preds are ‘Yotes, but better.
Brough (Preds in 6): ‘Yotes happy to be there.
Halford (Preds in 5): Trotz finally makes conference finals.
Eastern Conference
No. 1 New York Rangers vs. No. 7 Washington Capitals
Dadoun (Rangers in 7): Holtby can’t carry Capitals forever.
O’Brien (Rangers in 6): Holtby can’t do it alone.
Yerdon (Rangers in 7): Honestly, flip a coin here.
Brough (Rangers in 7): Sens scare good for Blueshirts.
Halford (Capitals in 7): Bouncing Bruins gave Caps swagger.
No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 6 New Jersey Devils
Dadoun (Flyers in 6): Flyers: My new Cup favorite.
O’Brien (Flyers in 5): Philly makes Marty look old.
Yerdon (Flyers in 5): Your difference maker? Ilya Bryzgalov.
Brough (Flyers in 6): Beating Pens? Impressive. Florida? Less.
Halford (Flyers in 6): Flyers have Giroux. Devils don’t.
Round 1 results:
Dadoun 6-for-8
O’Brien 3-for-8
Yerdon 4-for-8
Brough 3-for-8
Halford 3-for-8
And yes, we all write about hockey for a living.