Canes Country's 2013 Playoff Pick-Em Challenge

Just because the Canes aren't in the playoffs doesn't mean we're shutting down here at Canes Country. Far from it - and we want to give you a chance to participate in what hopefully will begin a new tradition.

Below you'll find the CC writing staff's predictions for the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the comments, post your own picks - who will win, and in how many games.

After each round, we will tally up the results. In the first round, you get one point for the correct team winning, plus two bonus points if you pick the correct number of games in which that team wins its series. (You don't get any points if you pick the correct number of games but the incorrect team.)

Points will double each round, so the second round will be worth two and four, the conference finals will be worth four and eight, and the Cup final will be worth eight and 16 (with a tiebreaker thrown in).

Note that since the schedule is so tight, I will keep the comments on this post open until 7:00 tomorrow (Wednesday) night, when Leafs/Bruins Game 1 starts. However, since there are three series which begin tonight, in order to receive credit for correctly picking those three series your comment must be timestamped before each game starts tonight. In other words, picks for the LA/STL and MIN/CHI series must be in by 8:00, and the DET/ANA picks must be in by 10:30.

If you post picks for these series after they begin, I will disregard your picks (although you will remain eligible for the other five or six series) and you will not score any points for those series which have already started when you leave your comment.

The top three scorers (who aren't CC writers) will win cool Canes Country swag, courtesy of our benevolent leader Mr. Bob.

Here are the staff picks for the first round. Who do you have?