Robertus, Round Two

And so the sun begins to descend on another glorious spring day spent at work, but not working, and I find myself sitting under blinding fluorescent lights with three hours before the puck drops on the second round of the NHL Playoffs.

Ottawa (1) vs. Buffalo (4)

When I first sat down to write my first round preview I distinctly remember praying please, God, please don’t let the Sabers play the Senators in the second round. I attempted to avoid this ill fate by selecting both the Senators and the Sabers to advance, thus making it a logistical impossibility. Alas, the hockey gods, it seems, have a sick, sad sense of humor.

Both the Senators and Sabers dominated their first round opponents (the Sens dispatching the Lightning in five, the Sabers obliterating the Flyers in Game Six), both play a blistering, all-out offensive style of hockey, both front relatively untested goaltenders, both bench bosses are brilliant. The Senators have the better roster on paper, though there are “better rosters” playing golf on this glorious spring day (more on the West later). A grand total of three points separated the teams at the end of the regular season. Were this an election, the polls would be too close to call. It is, as they say, a toss up.

Robertus Predicts! That said, we earn our keep by calling elections otherwise too close to call. Spencer spends his column trashing the Sabers and then calling for a six-game series, but I’m not sure it will be as one-sided as he suggests.

Senators in Seven.

Coming Soon! Robertus picks the rest, plus Robertus at the Bat!