Welcome to year 4 of the Playoff Picks Game. The format this year is the same as last, so please to make sure you fully understand the rules below before making your picks. For those of you that aren't familiar with the game, here's how it works: Each round you will pick a winner for each series. For every correct series winner you predict, you will receive 4 points for the first round matchups, 8 for the 2nd, 12 for the 3rd, and 16 for the Finals (0 if you pick the incorrect team, 3 points if you picked a 4-3 series and the other team won). Also to aid with tiebreakers you will also pick how many games the losing team in each series will win. Given that the team you picked to win actually does win the series, you will then have the opportunity to receive up to 3 bonus points. For every game you are off for the losing teams actual win total, I will subtract 1 bonus point. After each round, every player will then pick again based on the teams that made it through to the next round. Whoever has the most points at the end of the season, wins Playoff bragging rights. As was mentioned earlier, if you pick a series to go to the 7th game and the team you picked ends up losing, you will receive 3 points rather than 0. Lastly, please pick who you feel will represent each conference in the Stanley Cup Finals as well as the Champion. This will be worth 3 points per pick if you're correct. If any of your are confused, here's a mock Picks example: (1) San Jose 4-1 over (8) Colorado (2) Chicago 4-0 over (7) Nashville (6) Los Angeles 4-3 over (3) Vancouver (5) Detroit 4-1 over (4) Phoenix (1) Washington 4-0 over (8) Montreal (2) New Jersey 4-1 over (7) Philadelphia (3) Buffalo 4-2 over (6) Boston (4) Pittsburgh 4-1 over (5) Ottawa WC Champion: Detroit Red Wings EC Champion: Washington Capitals SC Champion: Detroit Red Wings Let's say this happened in the first round: (1) San Jose won 4-1 over (8) Colorado (2) Chicago won 4-2 over (7) Nashville (3) Vancouver won 4-3 over (6) Los Angeles (5) Detroit won 4-2 over (4) Phoenix (1) Washington won 4-0 over (8) Montreal (2) New Jersey won 4-2 over (7) Philadelphia (6) Boston won 4-3 over (3) Buffalo (4) Pittsburgh won 4-3 over (5) Ottawa Here's how my point total would work out: SJS/COL = 4 Points + 3 Bonus Point CHI/NSH = 4 Points + 1 Bonus Points VAN/LAK = 3 Points PHX/DET = 4 Points + 2 Bonus Points WAS/MTL = 4 Points + 3 Bonus Points NJD/PHI = 4 Points + 2 Bonus Points BUF/BOS = 0 Points PIT/OTT = 4 Points + 1 Bonus Points Total first round score: 39 Feel free to post any questions, and remember that your Picks must be in *before* the first puck drops Wednesday at 7:00 ET. Here are the Matchups based on their respective ranks: WEST: (1) San Jose Sharks vs. (8) Colorado Avalanche (2) Chicago Blackhawks vs. (7) Nashville Predators (3) Vancouver Canucks vs. (6) Los Angeles Kings (4) Phoenix Coyotes vs. (5) Detroit Red Wings EAST: (1) Washington Capitals vs. (8) Montreal Canadiens (2) New Jersey Devils vs. (7) Philadelphia Flyers (3) Buffalo Sabres vs. (6) Boston Bruins (4) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) Ottawa Senators NOTE: Please copy and paste the following template when making your picks. Bold the team you're picking to win, and then write the series score directly after in this manner: SJS/COL 4-1[/b] Round 1 Template: SJS/COL: CHI/NSH: VAN/LAK: PHX/DET: WAS/MTL: NJD/PHI: BUF/BOS: PIT/OTT: WC Champion: EC Champion: SCF Champion: ________________________________ This truly cuts down on the time it requires to tally up scores and I greatly appreciate it. Best of luck to everyone, and I'll post my Picks shortly.