M&G Writers Playoff Pool (Round 3)

With the Conference Final round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin on Friday night, we at Matchsticks will be sending our third round picks in continuation of our playoff pool that we've had going this playoffs. We'll pick our series winner and games amount, coupled with some bonus questions for extra fun.

First though, here's an update of our Round 2 selections followed by our pool's standings.

Our scoring method for this round was:

• Each correct series winner gets 4 points
• Each correct games amount gets 2 points
• The OT Bonus question is worth 3 points
• The eventual Stanley Cup winner is worth just 5 points this round

Here's our updated standings in the pool:

Finally, here is our total pool standings heading into Round 3.

The majority of us struggled in this round, and for the second straight round our majority Stanley Cup favorites were knocked out. Perhaps we're all jinxed here.

The Conference Finals promise to bring some very intriguing matchups as the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the East with the Lightning possibly getting Steven Stamkos back during the series. In the West, perennial early exit teams the St. Louis Blues and San Jose Sharks battle with a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals on the line. Both teams blew out their opponent in Game 7's, and both are looking to win their first Western Conference title.

Our picks for Round 3 are as follows:

Our point system for the round involves 5 points for the series winner, 3 points for the games amount, and 4 points per bonus question. Here's our individual justifications for our predictions.

FlamesMM: The Penguins have faced much stiffer competition so far this playoffs and Matt Murray will outplay Ben Bishop in the clutch. St. Louis with the Central Division victories will simply be too strong for the Sharks as both teams lack deep playoff experience.

TraciKay: The Lightning will let the pressure of the playoffs get to them as the Penguins advance. The Sharks will finally pull it all together against the Blues.

BizzleJ: Going with Pittsburgh simply because they're my favorite team in the East. I'll go with the Sharks because is fast and gritty and Martin Jones is on right now.

markparkinson14: I've been wrong with almost every pick in these playoffs so I'm going with the hottest teams coming into their series in the Penguins and Sharks.

jshanny14: A toss up series between two teams who have rolled through the playoffs in the Lightning and Pens. In the West it's another toss up but the Blues have had some of the best goaltending out of the four remaining teams so I'll pick them.

HockeyGoalieEh: Pittsburgh will win in 7 because Matt Murray will steal it. Sharks will win because they have better statistics and better coaching.

This round we are unanimously picking the Penguins to get by the Lightning and are favoring the Sharks over the Blues. Tarasenko is also the favorite to lead the round in goal scoring.

We want to hear who you think will be in the Stanley Cup Final so please vote below and discuss your selections on any of our pages. Have a good weekend everyone and enjoy the 3rd Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.