Everyone has their predictions for the upcoming series between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and it's clear that most see the Ottawa Senators as a bit of an underdog in this series. Well, that's actually a bit of an understatement. To help you get a better idea of just how many are prognosticating the Penguins over the Senators, we decided to compile a list (including links) for you. It isn't pretty.
Picks from non-Ottawa/Pittsburgh-biased outlets
Bob McKenzie (TSN) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Ray Ferraro (TSN) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
James Cybulski (TSN) - Senators 3 Penguins 4
Jeff Marek (CBC) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Scott Morrison (CBC) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Tim Wharnsby (CBC)) - Senators 3 Penguins 4
The Hockey News - Senators 1 Penguins 4
Scott Burnside (ESPN) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Ian Mendes (Sportsnet) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Mike Brophy (Sportsnet) - Senators 1 Penguins 4
Ross McKeon (Yahoo!) - Senators 0 Penguins 4
Sean Leahy (Yahoo!) - Senators 1 Penguins 4
Brandon (ProHockeyTalk) - Senators 4 Penguins 3
James (ProHockeyTalk) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Tony (KuklasKorner) - Senators 1 Penguins 4
Sean Gentile (SportingNews) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Bill Beacon (Canadian Press) - Senators 1 Penguins 4
Chris Johnston (Canadian Press) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
The Hockey Writers - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Bangin Panger - Senators 4 Penguins 2
EA Sports' Simulation - Senators 0 Penguins 4
(Read on for picks from those with a Senators bias...)
Picks from Sens homers:
Peter Raaymakers - Senators 4 Penguins 3
Mark Parisi - Senators 3 Penguins 4
Ryan Classic - Senators 4 Penguins 3
Darren McLeod - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Sens Chirp - Senators 4 Penguins 2
Black Aces - Senators 2 Penguins 4
Blood Red Army - Senators 4 Penguins 2
Sens At Land's End - Senators 3 Penguins 4
Wayne Scanlan (Citizen) - Senators 2 Penguins 4
James Gordon (Citizen) - Senators 4 Penguins 2
Bruce Garrioch (Sun) - Senators 4 Penguins 2
Don Brennan (Sun) - Senators 3 Penguins 4
Graeme Nichols (6th Sens) - Senators 4 Penguins 3
Russell (Sens Underground) - Senators 4 Penguins 3
Things to note:
- The presumably unbiased bloggers/media members prognostication? 19 went with the Penguins and only 2 with the Senators, which is a 90% preference for the Pens.
- Those in the Ottawa media or part of Senators blogs, however, voted quite differently: 57% picked the Senators to defeat the defending Stanley Cup Champions. I don't know whether this kind of naivety is charming or embarrassing... likely both.
- Actually, that 90% preference for the Pens is probably lower than it should be, because A) this is a fairly small sample size, and B) I didn't include sites that only picked a team without indicating number of games (of which there were few, but all had picked Penguins).
- In fact, after I posted this article I found a collection of predictions from the members of Canwest media. 15 voted that the Penguins would win, 0 picked the Senators to take it.
- Despite the sweep by the Penguins in 2007-08, only two are predicting the same fate this year: EA Sports' NHL 10 simulation and Ross McKeon from Yahoo! Sports
- The most common prediction? Penguins in six.
- Even those who think the Senators will win don't think it'll be easy - 50% figure it'll take all seven games for that to happen. Only 19% of those picking Pittsburgh to take it think they'll need all seven games to do so.