Playoff pool update

Time for a quick update in my playoff bracket standings. After Round 1, I'm leading with 24 points. I managed to get all eight series right in terms of winners (beating all of the TSN experts), but only predicted the exact number of games (six) in the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia series. Still, my bracket is still intact, which has to be seen as a victory. My father, Frank Bucholtz, is hot on my heels with 23 points; he picked seven out of eight series correctly, but figured that the Devils would knock off Carolina. However, he got two series exactly right: Pittsburgh in six and Washington in seven. New Queen's Journal co-editor-in-chief Mike Woods and Canadian University Press board guy extraordinaire Ricardo Bortolon are tied for third place with 19 points each. Both picked New Jersey and San Jose to advance incorrectly. Mike was dead-on on the Washington series, while Ricardo called the Detroit sweep. My mother brings up the rear with 14 points; she incorrectly picked Calgary, San Jose and Montreal, but was right on the Pittsburgh series.

Here's my picks for the second round (again, made before Round 1 thanks to the bracket nature of this pool). I have Boston beating Carolina in six games, Washington knocking off Pittsburgh in seven, Anaheim victorious over Detroit in six and Vancouver taking down Chicago in seven. Remember to swing by at 9 p.m. for my live blog of the Canucks - Blackhawks game!