Senators vs Penguins: Predictions from around the web

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./