Round 2 playoff predictions revisited

The result of round two for the Ottawa Senators was much less fun than the result for round one. But that doesn't mean we're going to pretend our bluster never happened! Who on the panel felt the sting of wrongitude this time around, and who guessed right proved to know something about hockey?

1) Who do you feel is more likely to lead the team in scoring at the end of this series (Daniel Alfredsson or Erik Karlsson)? Or will it be someone else entirely?

In reality: Aflredsson had 10P (4G, 6A) to lead the team while Karlsson finished with 8P (1G, 7A) putting him in third place.

Bobby - I'm picking Kyle Turris to lead the team in points. Turris finished second.

Mark - Alfredsson is going to have more points than Karlsson, but I like Jean-Gabriel to lead everyone. 1 point for correctly picking Alfie over Karlsson, but Pageau finished tied for fifth with Sergei Gonchar, and behind Erik Condra.

Amelia - Erik Karlsson will have 15 points. Daniel Alfredsson will have 7. Neither of these things happened.

Adnan - Erik Karlsson will have one more point than the number of games played. Karlsson had two assists in five games.

Peter - It's got to be Erik Karlsson, no? No.

Dave - I think Kyle Turris is on the up and up. Further fuel for the great Dave is Bobby and Bobby is Dave conspiracy.

Darren - Karlsson. Wrong again, Darren!

Radek Monk's Mullet - Sergei Gonchar is vying for a new contract next year, so he's going to lead the team in points in order to impress the Penguins. This would have been more plausible if Gonchar was playing for the Penguins, which it actually looked like sometimes.

Ryan - Since I've been terrible at making standard predictions lately, I'm picking a dark horse: Mika Zibanejad. Mikachu had zero points, continuing Ryan's trend of terribility.

Lesson here: Always pick Alfie.

2) We know Craig Anderson is starting every game for Ottawa barring injury. What save percentage do you think he needs to be at for the Senators to win the series?

In reality: The Senators did not win the series, and Anderson posted a save percentage of just .884. In the team's only win, he posted a save percentage of .980.

Darren - If he's under .925 I think the Sens are in trouble. They were.

Bobby - I'd say Anderson needs to be around .940. Already unrealistic, Bobby should have aimed higher.

Mark - The Sens couldn't beat the Penguins when Anderson had a save percentage of .971. If we assume they'll average 30 shots a game against the Senators, a save percentage of .933 should give them a great chance to win. The answer was right there in front of you, Mark!

Radek Monk's Mullet - If MAF plays, something around 0.500 ought to do it. If Vokoun plays, and plays well, we'll need a 0.940 from Anderson. To be safe, I would recommend he post a 1.000. What's frightening is that the joke was closer to the truth.

Peter - If Andy can somehow maintain his .950 save percentage, then the Sens will almost certainly win the series. But that would be insane against the shooters that Pittsburgh has, so I think even .920 or so should do it. Should have gone with the insane answer, apparently.

Ryan - 935 minimum. Minimum.

Adnan - If Anderson can be over 91.5% and close to 92%, I like Ottawa's chances. We'd only lose game 4 by a score of 5-3!

Dave - I'd say .935. Minimum.

Amelia - The Sens can get to Round 3 if Andy hits .930. He didn't, and they didn't.

Ultimately, no one predicted .980, and how could they? No points awarded this round.

3.Pittsburgh's PK is third in the playoffs, operating at 90%. Ottawa scored six power play goals in two games, and no power play goals in three of their five games. Advantage Pittsburgh?

In reality: Pittsburgh scored 7 special teams goals, while the Senators scored just 4. The numbers are even more lopsided if shorthanded goals are thrown out: 6-2 Pittsburgh.

Everyone: Advantage Pittsburgh.

Two points all around!

4. Jean-Gabriel Pageau emerged as a hero for the first series. Who is most likely to exceed expectations in this one?

In reality: Kyle Turris and Colin Greening each had three goals and one assist in this series.

Amelia - Erik Karlsson. Karlsson surprised with only playing 15 minutes in one game, but certainly did not exceed expectations.

Darren - I want to say Zibanejad, but everyone else already did, so I'll go with Silfverberg. Silfverberg had one assist.

Radek Monk's Mullet - Jean-Gabriel Pageau double hat trick. Not quite.

Ryan - I'm going Zibanejad, since I already picked him to lead the team in scoring. Terribility. It's a real thing.

Adnan - Milan Michalek is my pick. So close! If Spezza had played Games 1 and 2, this could have been right.

Peter - I could see Mika Zibanejad really hit his stride in this series. Instead, we saw him get no points.

Dave - Mika Zibanejad. Nope.

Bobby - Cory Conacher, A gutsy pick, but Conacher had no points and was scratched for a game.

Mark - I like Pageau again. Idiot.

No one came close with this.

5. What's your series prediction?

In reality: I don't even want to write this, but the Penguins won in five games, which sucked.

Amelia - Sens in 6. Double miss.

Adnan - Ottawa in six. Double miss.

Peter - Senators in six. I'm sensing a theme...

Dave - Ugh. I hate myself, but Pens in 6. One point for the right team, zero points for number of games.

Bobby - Sens in six. There's that theme again.

Mark - Pens in six. One point.

Darren - Pittsburgh in 6. One pessimistic point.

Radek Monk's Mullet - The *cough*-ens will take this one in 6. Demerit for not having the guts to make a pick!

Ryan - Senators in 6. So, Senators in six then?

So, we can comfortably conclude that this series result took everyone by surprise.

Final tally:

Mark - 4

Darren - 3

Dave - 3

Peter - 2

Ryan - 2

Bobby - 2

Amelia - 2

Adnan - 2

RBM - 1

So, ultimately we see that Mark knows more than anyone else. Or is just the only one who understands to never doubt Alfie. Which is it? Only the winds know for sure, and they're not telling.

Sadly, this just about wraps up our coverage for the 2013 season. It began with a lockout that's already showing signs of being completely pointless, saw more adversity than anyone thought the team could handle, and great strides forward before finally getting beaten by a better team. Don't worry, though, just because the Senators' season has ended doesn't mean that ours has. In the coming days, we'll have some more fun with hindsight hilarity, a look at the team's free agent situation, begin to turn our eyes towards the draft--and much, much more. This is a team on the rise, and there's plenty to talk about yet.