First Round Picks to Click

That video was a look back. Now let's look forward.

In the East
Rangers over Senators in 5. (Funny that the Senators have actually matched up well with the Rangers this season. Still.....)

Bruins over Capitals in 4. (No faith in Washington, the team. I'm not being political.)

Panthers over Devils in 7. (I know this is a weak branch to hang on, but I am going out on this one only on the basis that the Panthers will get larger crowds to urge them on than the Devildogs will in Newark. Sad. Why are there still 3 teams in the NYC area?)

Flyers over Penguins in 7 (Normally, I would agree with those picking Pittsburgh, but I expect Claude Giroux to really have a great series here. That prospect makes the Flyers my favorite in this round.)

In the West
Canucks over Kings in 5 (No shootouts to save the Kings, whose soft dump-ins play to the strength of the Canucks.)

Blues over Sharks in 5 (Alex Pietrangelo continues to amaze me with his development. I guess those extra years in the Ontario League did him some good, right?)

Predators over Red Wings in 7 (Alexander Radulov will take a charging penalty and earn a suspension: I still remember Ra-Dooooo's flying elbow as a Quebec Rempart in the Memorial Cup final against Moncton.)

Coyotes over Blackhawks in 7 (Chicago doesn't play enough home games in this series to win.)

As you can see, I fully expect to be putting these picks in the 14-day time capsule known as the trash can by the time the second round commences.