First Round Wrap-Up

Time flies when you're watching other teams play in the postseason.

It's hard to believe that the first round of the NHL playoffs is already over, but it's time to look back on my predictions and see just how terribly woring I was.

Eastern Conference

* Boston over Montreal (4 games): I predicted a sweep by the Bruins, and that's exactly what we got. I didn't watch much of this series; there were too many thoughts of "what if" the Sabres could have snuck in and faced a team that they had a winning record against.

*Washington over NY Rangers (7 games): I picked the Caps, but I thought it would only take them 5 games to overtake the Rags. I really didn't care how long it took them; it was actually a lot sweeter to see the "best leader in sports" Chris Drury watch his team lose a 3-1 series lead.

*Carolina over NJ (7 games): I was proud of myself for calling the seven-game series, but I was so unhappy by the way it ended:

I HATE seeing the Hurricanes happy over anything. This should never have happened. Never. I'm still to shocked and appalled to write anything else about it right now.

* Pittsburgh over Philadelphia (6 games): Just as with the last series, I predicted the right number of games, but was disappointed with the winner. I really liked the Flyers this season, but now we have to deal with endless Crosby vs. Ovechkin talk for the next round. Ugh...

Western Conference

* Anaheim over San Jose (6 games): Just further proof that any team I pick to win anything will lose in shocking fashion. Not only did I think the Sharks would win the series, I picked them to finally win the Cup. I should have known better; there just wasn't enough fierce competitiveness needed to drive those players to the greater toughness needed for the postseason. At least when the Sabres won the President's Trophy they made it to the Conference Finals...

*Detroit over Columbus (4 games): Just like Boston in the East, a sweep here was not too hard to predict. I really hoped Columbus would make it a series, but Detroit is a proven winner for a reason.

*Vancouver over St. Louis (4 games): I was pleasantly surprised to see this sweep. Vancouver is a dangerous team right now, and I really hope they can ride that far into this postseason. They have to do their damage this year; there are too many free agents on this team for success like this to be guaranteed again.

* Chicago over Calgary (6 games): Again, I picked the right length but the wrong winner. Chicago was just too offensively potent for a Flames team that took too many penalties in games when it mattered the most. As much as I love Patty Kane, Jarome Iginla has a lot fewer years left to win a Cup. I really hope someday he gets rewarded for all his leadership.

This round cemented my love for Jarome Iginla. No offense, Craig Rivet, but he is, without a doubt, the best captain in the NHL today. See Game Four of the series if you need proof. He took the team on his back - he wanted to win and he played in a way that ensured that he would get what he wanted.

Ok, now that my "Iggy love-fest" is over, it's time to turn my attention to the next round. Predictions should be up sometime tonight or tomorrow afternoon.

Until then, how did you do on your first round picks?