The chart above was complied by a blog called Every Facet of the Game, whose mission is to cover ... well, yeah. It featured first-round playoff picks from around the hockey blogosphere (Barry Melrose Rocks, the esteemed Dr. James Mirtle, some schlub named Leahy who let us all down with his futility) as well as from ESPN's Barry Melrose and John Buccigross. (What, no love for Linda Cohn?) 

You'd think the biggest news out of this would be that Barry Melrose Rocks knows playoff hockey better than Barry Melrose. But the real story is that EA Sports' "NHL 08" computer game simulation correctly predicted all eight first-round contests, besting Bucci's otherwise fantastic 7-1 record. The video game didn't just pick the winners: It was the only prognosticator on the chart to predict a Game 7 in the Montreal/Boston series; it was one of only two prognosticators to pick Dallas to win; and it also predicted Game 7s in the San Jose and Philadelphia series.

So now that we're all in agreement that the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs are actually being played in a "Matrix"-like virtual world inside an EA Sports WarGames Supercomputer ("It's in the Game" ... indeed), what does our new robot overlord predict for Round 2? It likes Montreal in six; Pittsburgh in five; Detroit in seven; and San Jose in six. I'm not one to question artificial intelligence, but as much as the Sharks could win the Cup (as "NHL 08" predicts), Joe Thornton for the Conn Smythe is a little far-fetched.

Oh, and Chris Osgood thinks the prediction on the Wings/Avs series that "this was a low scoring tilt where Hasek proved to be the better goalie" seems just a smidgen unlikely. Unless, of course, Hasek returns as the starter, shuts down Colorado and we all reject free will and become human batteries for the EA Sports electronic megalopolis.

H/T to Schultz at The FanHouse for this one.