OH YA BABY!
NHL playoffs are here. The one reprieve from the lame MLB season starting and littering my TV with boring, out of shape, steroid filled baseball players making 400 million a year. The NHL playoffs are here!
Now, time for the predictions. But first, I should mention the Lloydminster Bobcats final proposal to the AJHL board of governors is today at 4 oclock. Will be interesting to see how that pans out.
Beginning in the west.
1 Vancouver vs 8 Chicago
- As a Canucks fan, I can't wait to watch this one tonight. I'm literally going to explode with excitement. The last 2 years the boys got destroyed because of big Dustin Byfuglien. But, he is no longer. And that will be the HUUUUUUUUUGE difference of this series. No big strong forward in front of the net = no extra room for Patty Kane, Sharp and JT to circle around. The Canucks won't KILL the Hawks, but they won't have a problem beating them.
Prediction: Canucks in 4
2 San Jose vs 7 Los Angeles
- Coming in to the season, the Kings were one of the hands on favorites to win lord Stanley's mug. But, now that Kopitar and Justin Williams are injured, that will change things. The Kings are still good, and the addition of Dustin Penner made them a little bigger up front....which (no pun intended) is HUGE in the playoffs (see previous comment of Dustin Byfuglien). But, this is San Jose's year.......FINALLY. All of the pressure is on the Canucks, Washington, Philly, Boston.................but no one is talking about San Jose. And that is why they will make it to the cup.
Prediction: Sharks in 6
3 Detroit vs 6 Phoenix
- This is the final dance for the Detroit Red Wings. An aging, powerhouse franchise will see an early exit by a team that has faced nothing but off ice distractions for the past 2 years. Why? I have no clue. No other reason than it just has a playoff feel. Bryzgalov has some playoff magic. Shane Doan is a great leader and because I had 3 BLT bagels for breakfast. Its that simple.
Prediction: Coyotes in 7
4 Anaheim vs 5 Nashville
- The Ducks are the hottest team in the NHL and Corey Perry will win the Hart trophy. Where the heck did these guys come from? And how the balls is Teemu Selanne putting up the kind of points he is at 198 years old. Wow. The Ducks have Cinderella written all over them. Up until, of course, the conference finals when they lose to San Jose. But for now, they will take down Nashville in a series that will be better off if you just watch the highlights on TSN. Yawn.
Prediction: Ducks in 5
East
1 Washington vs 8 NY Rangers
- The pressure is on the Caps, just as much as the Vancouver Canucks. Alex Semin continues to be great at getting injured. Jason Arnott was a great pickup for the Caps down the stretch to add some depth. But can the Varlamov/Neuvirth tandem be enough to take the Caps the distance? Who knows. But the Rangers without Callahan won't get far. This series will go 6, but that's it.
Prediction: Capitals in 6
3 Boston vs 6 Montreal
- Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Are you kidding me? Really? I don't believe in that "hockey gods" crap, but someone definitely had a sense of humor in creating this one. Montreal was already exposed as being small, soft and weak during the year. The Bruins will not let last year's 3-0 choke job happen to them again. Montreal fans boo the American anthem during every game, and someone may actually bring a bazooka onto the ice.
Prediction: Bruins in 5
2 Philadelphia vs 7 Buffalo
- I had the Sabres picked as the MASSIVE upset of the first round. Until I took a quick glance at their roster and realized three quarters of their players are still battling and over coming injuries. This series will go 2 ways. 1) The Flyers will beat, slap, slam, hammer and pound the living junk out of the Sabres in every game to the tune of 6 and 7 goal spreads. Or 2) The Flyers will end up putting Chris Pronger in net because their goaltenders are about as reliable as kleenex water wings at an olympic breast stroke contest. I'm hoping for the latter, because I have Buffalo as my east dark horse.
Predction (And upset of the 1st round) Sabres in 7
4 Pittsburgh vs 5 Tampa Bay
- I'm sorry, how do the Penguins keep winning games? No Malkin and No Crosby, yet they win. And win. And win. This will be one of the most exciting series to watch in the first round. Simply because MAF will be peppered with rubber, and Dwayne Rolosson will make some big saves when he needs to. Hello Tampa, if you win this series, that is a GIANT leap of momentum into the 2nd round. Your reward? Light up the mediocre Capitals goaltending.
Prediction: Lightning in 6
And there you have it. Even the pro's are proned to put their feet in their mouth. So I can't wait to get lambasted over these. Or, I'm a genius. Should be fun.
Comments? dave@xm105.com
