2014 Stanley Cup Playoff First Round Picks

     For the rare breed that enjoys both basketball and hockey (I'm proudly in this group. No need to hate one or the other in my book), the first half of the best stretch of the sports year begins tomorrow night. We haven't followed hockey as closely since the end of the Olympics, so even more than usual, take these picks with a grain of salt.

Western Conference

#4 San Jose Sharks vs. #5 Los Angeles Kings

            You don’t bet on Sharks in April, unless they are deep in the Pacific Ocean matched up against a manatee. Kings in 6

#3 St. Louis Blues vs. #5 Chicago Black Hawks

            Interesting match-up here, as you have the two top teams from the first two thirds of the season facing off in an unlikely first round match-up. Chicago was ravaged by injuries, but should be back to full strength with Patrick Kane returning to the lineup. How soon he shakes the rust off will determine Chicago’s chance of moving on. St. Louis choked away the Central Division with six straight losses, but teams have sputtered into the postseason before and then turned it on for a deep playoff run. This will be the best series in the West, and we see it going the full seven. Advantage to the team not needing a bunch of injured dudes to return at 100%. Blues in 7

#2 Colorado Avalanche vs. #7 Minnesota Wild

            It’s cool to have Colorado back as a competitive team. Apparently all it took was putting their best players from their hey-day in the late-90s in management gigs (we love Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy, anyway we can get Forsberg involved?) to return the team to relevance. Only Los Angeles scored fewer goals among the remaining playoff teams during the regular season than the Wild, and unfortunately Minnesota doesn’t trot out Johnathan Quick in goal. We think the next generation of Aves take care of business in round 1. Avalanche in 4

#1 Anaheim Ducks vs. #8 Dallas Stars

            The Ducks are solid, and Dallas doesn’t possess the necessary depth on the blue-line to contain them. Tyler Seguin (remember him Bruins fans? He only had a career year this season) is talented enough to steal a game, but Dallas will be lucky to push this to 6. Ducks in 5

Eastern Conference

#5 New York Rangers vs. #6 Philadelphia Flyers

            This shit is going seven games, and New York employing Henrik Lundqvist was the tiebreaker for me. Rangers in 7

#3 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #4 Montreal Canadiens

            Here’s your best goalie match-up of the first round, with Vezina Trophy candidates Carey Price and Ben Bishop facing off. Tampa Bay’s 2013-14 campaign is criminally underrated, as they were able to hold the fort down even after shipping a disgruntled Martin St. Louis to New York. However, we expect Gold Medal winning goalie Price to stand on his head and steal a Game 7 on the road. Canadiens in 7

#2 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #7 Columbus Blue Jackets

            Pittsburgh wobbled into the postseason, and Columbus is better than you think after posting the fifth best goal differential in the Eastern Conference. Here’s our upset special. Blue Jackets in 6

#1 Boston Bruins vs. #8 Detroit Red Wings

            At first glance, it looks like a bad draw to end up with the Red Wings in Round 1, but Nicklas Lidstrom isn’t walking through that door. Steve Yzerman isn’t walking through that door. Boston will roll. Bruins in 4