Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round tests fans' brackets

NEW YORK – After two weeks of multi-goal comebacks, last-minute goals and overtimes in an exciting and unpredictable First Round, the race to win the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am Spyder remains wide open. Of the half-million entries submitted on NHL.com, 72% chose a team that advanced to the Second Round as their Stanley Cup champion.

The opening round concluded with 10 entrants tied for first place, having correctly picked the winning team for all eight First-Round series and the exact number of games for seven of those winners to capture their series. Underscoring the competitive balance that makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs so compelling, fewer than 1% of the more than half-million entries on NHL.com correctly predicted the winning team for all eight First-Round series. None of the brackets had all eight winners and the exact number of games for each series – a proposition with 16.8 million unique combinations.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am Spyder By the Numbers

Percentage of brackets predicting teams to win the Stanley Cup:

29.8% Boston Bruins

10.0% Pittsburgh Penguins

9.8% Anaheim Ducks

9.7% Chicago Blackhawks

4.1% Montreal Canadiens

3.9% Los Angeles Kings

3.4% New York Rangers

1.2% Minnesota Wild

Among the brackets that correctly predicted the second round match-ups:

84% Picked Boston to defeat Montreal

78% Picked Chicago to defeat Minnesota

72% Picked Pittsburgh to defeat NY Rangers

57% Picked Anaheim to defeat Los Angeles

2014 NHL Bracket Challenge powered by Can-Am First Round Breakdown:

91% Predicted Pittsburgh would defeat Columbus

89% Predicted Anaheim would defeat Dallas

83% Predicted Boston would defeat Detroit

69% Predicted Chicago would defeat St. Louis

60% Predicted Montreal would defeat Tampa Bay

51% Predicted Los Angeles would defeat San Jose

51% Predicted NY Rangers would defeat Philadelphia

14% Predicted Minnesota would defeat Colorado