The NHL wasted no time with starting Round 2 as soon as the lights went out for Montreal and Pittsburgh Wednesday night. Here are our (belated) picks for the conference semi-finals this year.

The East

#1 Washington vs. #5 Tampa Bay – The Picks:

• Kris: Washington
• Cindy: Washington
• Christian: Washington

#2 Philadelphia vs. #3 Boston – The Picks:

• Kris: Philadelphia
• Cindy: Boston
• Christian: Philadelphia

The West

#1 Vancouver vs. #5 Nashville – The Picks:

• Kris: Vancouver
• Cindy: Vancouver
• Christian: Vancouver

#2 San Jose vs. #3 Detroit – The Picks:

• Kris: Detroit
• Cindy: San Jose
• Christian: Detroit

At this stage in the playoffs, the picks get tougher because all of these teams finished fifth or higher in the conference. This time around, the Nelson men seem to have sync’d up on this picks for all four series, while Mama is going with her gut on two others. With our Hawks out of the running, none of us want to see Vancouver go any further, but we’re all of the mindset that Nashville doesn’t have enough to knock off the Canucks in Round 2.

Who will improve on their Round 1 scores? Stay tuned to find out.

– Kris