Sean's 2013 Playoff Bracket

It's been a long season-- wait, no it hasn't. Lockout nonsense aside, it is finally that time of the year again; the true reason that the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was written. Friends, it is playoff hockey time.

I've spent countless hours over the past few days watching games and studying potential match-ups, all in anticipation of creating my playoff bracket. I'm quite positive there is nothing I look forward to in a year more than the last hour or so that I've spent simulating the match-ups, resulting in what I believe to be the most probable results of the year's Stanley Cup playoffs.

I began creating yearly brackets for the 2011 playoffs, just two seasons ago. Prior to the 2011 post-season, I sat down, glanced over the match-ups, looked up some stats and scribbled down a bracket. Two months later, imagine my elation when I had gotten 14 of the 15 series predictions correct. The only one I faltered on? I picked Vancouver to beat Boston in the finals.

The following season I wasn't so lucky. While my prediction that Los Angeles would hoist the cup at the end of the season held up, the Penguins found themselves knocked out three rounds earlier than my bracket foresaw. I believe I only ended up picking 7 correct series last year, which is why I'm looking to get back on the proverbial track in this post-season.

So without any further delay (the postponed Bruins game delayed things enough), here are my official 2013 playoff predictions, presented by yours truly, Sean Clancy.

!! SPOILER ALERT !!

Click photo to enlarge my brilliance.