Thursday: Negative Playoffs Eve

Hello all, welcome back!

The playoffs are now in full swing, having started up yesterday. The Pens had a great night yesterday, and Hatric Patric Hornqvist's hat trick helped the Pens defeat the Rangers 5-2. Really looking forward to the next one.

Next week I'll go over my predictions from last week to see what was right and what wasn't, as I still don't know about most of them. This week, though, I'll show you guys my incredibly analytic, totally not biased predictions for the playoffs (for those who didn't catch it, that was sarcasm).

But fortunately for once, my bias may not be showing as much as it has in years past, because the Penguins are, and are looked at, as a legit contender this year. The rest of my predictions I just made based on what I know, since I have barely any free time over the season, so I don't get to follow the league too much. So don't go too hard on me if I made a dumb prediction.

And for those of you who may want the blank version of that bracket, I've got you covered.

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This week we have a few more things here than we recently have. First off, COTW, like always. There's also the COTW Monthly vote for March since March's COTW votes have been completed, so go leave your vote for that as well. The playoff pool deadline has passed for round one, but you can always go listen to the podcast, which a few of the fellow writers were on, just click here.

COTW-March vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pmn Eastern)

COTW Apr 3-9 vote (ends Friday @ 11:59pm Eastern)

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Brendan P. (Bpoe96) - St. Louis Blues

So yet again, I have my own concept to review. This concept is definitely not the most creative, it's just the St. Louis Eagle's jersey but in the Reebok edge cut and with the Blues logo and all instead. I just thought this would be an interesting idea for the blues to use in the Winter Classic, the red would definitely look interesting.

Overall: 8/10 because it still looks good, but it's still just a copy. I'd like to hear your opinions though, just like last week.

Ben S. - Notre Dame

We start off today with a very classy looking design for Notre Dame. This actually reminds me of Boston's Winter Classic jersey, the striping patterns are very similar. Like usual, I think regular white would look better, but the vintage white works fine. The blue name has a really nice, standout look on the jerseys, and I think the numbers should be a bit thinner with a larger blue outline. The logo also is very pixelated on the jersey. Other than that I have no complaints.

Overall: 8.5/10

Brooks F. - Erie Otters

This base jersey template appears to be a blend of the Pens/Sens and Flames templates. Usually I'd expect that to be even worse, but the unique design you added onto it makes it look great. Now THAT'S how you make a template like that work. It fits the Otters amazingly well, especially with this color scheme, and that font works perfectly. Not a huge fan of how the design appears more as piping on the dark jersey, though I could live with that. The alternate is a relatively simple, yet great and classic looking design.

Overall: 9.5/10 and my COTW nomination!

Chris W. - Ann Arbor Blues

For a team named the Blues, I suppose a double clue color scheme makes the most sense, and it looks great. The Penguins-esque design fits the color scheme well, and the white on the blue jersey really pops. The alternate jersey is a more retro looking version of the same design, and it fares pretty well without any white. The sponsor also appears to match the color scheme, which is a really nice touch if a sponsor is required.

Overall: 9.5/10

John V. - Boston Bruins

Boston is the type of team who could pull off some great fauxback jerseys, so it's no surprise that we see concepts for it pretty often. The first thing I noticed about this one is the use of brown, which is a great choice, as it differentiates them from any other NHL team. The good logo choice going with that one too. The striping pattern looks pretty good, yet inconsistent. I'd either take the hem pattern or the arm pattern and just stick to one. The yellow outline on the numbers also has some conflicting issues with the white.

Overall: 8/10

Glen W. - Vancouver Canucks

Interesting look we have here. This jersey seems to be having an identity crisis of sorts, looking like it's going for a very vintage look and a modern look at the same time. You have a good start to that vintage look with the hem and arm striping, but then the gray would have to go, and wrap the stripes all the way around the arms. The logo's outline is also very inconsistent in size and very pixelated, and the whole logo is too small. The numbers wouldn't fit well on a more classic looking jersey, and they're too big. Good start, but it needs some fixups.

Overall: 7/10 

Lucas D. - LA Kings

And we end off today with a nice revamp of the Kings, which also puts them in a very much more regal color scheme. Going back to purple is probably one of the best moves the Kings could make right now, so I'm definitely a fan of that. I also love a strong presence of white on very dark colored jerseys, so I'm also a big fan of the white upper arms. The logo is a much better choice as well. My only complaint might be to add a little more to the arm striping itself, but otherwise it's something I'd like to see.

Overall: 9/10

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And that's all for today! I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all again next week.