It's time for predictions, featuring Peter (me), Ian (him), and Keith (a coin)

I say this every year and every year I am right: the Stanley Cup Playoffs quarterfinal round is the best two weeks of hockey. It’s going to be great – as long as you can abandon basically all your life’s responsibilities for the duration.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs quarterfinal round is the best two weeks of hockey. It’s going to be great – as long as you can abandon basically all your life’s responsibilities for the duration. I’m sure going to try.

It’s time for predictions, featuring Peter (me), Ian (him), and Keith (a coin). Say, have you met Keith?

Keith is a coin worth 25 cents, which is worth about 10 percent less than it was a few months ago. Keith is a professional sportsbetter, and it has bankrupted him. His personal wealth is almost nothing. This is because he is right only about half the time. And yet he makes predictions with such wild abandon. Don’t be like Keith. Be humble.

The results so far

Using the universally understood 🚽/🌮 score-keeping system.

And now, predictions.

Ottawa 👴 vs. Toronto 🍁

Peter: The Leafs have been great down the stretch, but it’s been powered by league-high shooting and saving. I’m coming out the gates hot with an upset: Ottawa in six.

Ian: Toronto comes into the postseason as one of the worst five-on-five teams in terms of shot-attempts percentage (a lowly 47.4) and have the third-highest PDO in the league (102.1). This suggests they’re bad and lucky. They’re either the 2017 Penguins and Stanley-Cup-bound or going to endure a first-round exit to Brady Tkachuk’s scrappy Senators team. I pick a first-round exit. Ottawa in seven.

Keith: Ottawa in four.

Florida 🐱 vs. Tampa Bay ⚡️

Peter: Despite the standings, Florida is the better and more complete team. But Tampa’s got Andrei Vasilevskiy having a great season (behind only Hellebuyck) and got a monster 121-goal season out of Kucherov. If Tampa can win, they’ll need depth that isn’