The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are set, the schedule is done and now comes the hard part: Rearranging your life around the opening round series.

Fret not, puckheads: There is a way to figure out which battles are worthy of your time and which ones are merely appetizers to a better main course in Round 2.

Your friends at Puck Daddy now provide you with a handy ranking of the eight first-round series, based on the following factors: Star Power, Secondary Plotlines, Hate, Controversy, Arena Atmosphere, Game 7 Probability and the potential for awesome playoff facial masterpieces, a.k.a. Beard-o-sity.

Each category gets a number grade from 1-to-10, with 10 being the highest grade.

So which playoff series ranked highest in our very scientific poll?

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8. Anaheim Ducks at Dallas Stars

Star Power - 7

Secondary Plotlines - 7

Hate Factor - 2

Controversy Quotient - 3

Arena Atmosphere - 7

Game 7 Probability - 3

Beard-o-sity - 4













FINAL SCORE: 33

This series is carried by the Ducks’ star power (apologies to Tyler Seguin) and secondary plot lines: Can Bruce Boudreau avoid another playoff flop? Who plays in goal? And the end of the Ducks’ run is the end of Teemu’s NHL career … *sob*. But other than that and the presence of Stephane Robidas, this is a 1-vs-8 series featuring two teams that’ll have to develop hate in the moment.

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7. Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild

Star Power - 7

Secondary Plotlines - 3

Hate Factor - 5

Controversy Quotient - 5

Arena Atmosphere - 8

Game 7 Probability - 6

Beard-o-sity - 4













FINAL SCORE: 38

There are plenty of names to pay attention to in this series, including the head coach of the Avalanche, whose very presence nets this series a ‘5’ in Controversy. Otherwise, the hockey world waits to see what comes crashing back down to earth first: The Wild’s goaltending or the entirety of the Avalanche. The Beard-o-sity here struggles from a lack of roughage from Parise and Suter, and the fact the average age of the Avalanche is around 16.

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