Like a puck-based American political system, we believe in checks and balances at Pro Hockey Talk. With that spirit in mind, I think it’s prudent to judge our first round predictions before moving on to Round 2. (Here’s a link for our Western Conference and Eastern Conference predictions, if you’re interested.) To do so, I looked at our results on two levels: the standard series predictions and also a “plus/minus” system. The plus/minus system is pretty simple: I took our series scores and deducted a point for every missed win. So, for instance, I predicted the San Jose Sharks to sweep the Colorado Avalanche. This means that I’m “equal” for the Sharks and -2 for the Avs.
For the most part, we did well with the Western Conference but those Canadiens and Flyers really dinged us up. I’ll spare you the math and just throw a few details in there.
Joe
Series: 6-2
“Plus/Minus": -15
Greatest Picks: Boston winning, exact series total for Detroit
James
Series: 5-3
“Plus/Minus": -16
Greatest Picks: Exact series for Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh (hooray darts!)
Brandon
Series: 2-6
“Plus/Minus": -19
Greatest Picks: Exact series for Vancouver
Now, keep in mind folks, this is just the first round. My “prediction” is that my above-.500 record will come crashing down soon enough ...