Aww Yeah.
Love the playoffs in the NHL!
The sports channels are all making their predictions as to who has a shot of upsetting who, and who will make it to the Finals. Most likely they'll be wrong more often than right, like those damned weathermen.
So I figured what the hell, I'll jump in as well. Here's my round one predictions, feel free to make fun of me, or like the cool kids in highschool smoke pits everywhere, conform to my views.
We'll start in the Western Conference, since that's where the majority of my hockey watching takes place.
(1)San Jose vs. (8)ColoradoThis is almost a no-brainer. Unless San Jose suffers from some sort of history where they choke repeatedly in the playoffs, they should come out ahead. So, that being said, there
's substantial possibility of an upset here. Colorado's staffed by a bunch of young kids who have already greatly exceeded expectations for this season by finishing 8th in the west, everything from here on in is gravy. Does this mean they'll be happy to lose? Of course not. They'll want to win, but they wont be demoralized by any bad goals or freak injuries that always seem to sneak up in the playoffs. Forsberg's spleen anyone? They'll be able to let a lot roll off their backs, but they wont be able to match the Sharks in this round. Marleau, Thornton and Heatley will ripple the mesh a little too often, and San Jose will take it in 6.
(2)Chicago vs. (7)NashvilleThis one is actually a no-brainer. Chicago showed last year that they were right on the edge of being great, and they're gonna have enough goaltending to get past Nashville without too many issues. The
only games the 'Hawks will lose in this series will be the ones that Pekka Rinne steals for the Preds. Although the Preds arent a bad team by any means, they just dont have enough to compete with Chicago. Led by Kane, Toews, and throwing Hossa into the mix? That's a lot of fire-power. The only part of Chicago's game that could be suspect is their goaltending, but as mentioned, I think they've got enough to outlast Nashville, however the 2nd or 3rd rounds of the playoffs could be a completely different story.
Chicago wins the series in 6.
(3)Vancouver vs. (6)Los AngelesI like to think of myself as a pretty realistic Canucks fan, and because of this, I honestly think we can beat LA this spring. We've got more balanced scoring than ever before, and if (
yes, a huge if) Luongo gets back to his usual self, then I think we can go places. That being said, LA is a solid team, and as much as I loved watching Drew Doughty play for Team Canada in February, I'm going to hate watching him single-handedly shift momentum in this series. This will be a tight series on the ice, but not so much on paper. The first game might be a decisive win - the Canucks are coming off a lot of emotion/fun with Henrik winning the league scoring title, but after that, it'll be one-goal, nail-biter, overtime finishes. This year's Canucks has what it takes to go a long ways, and they'll flex their muscles by taking this first round in 5 games.
(4)Phoenix vs. (5)DetroitDetroit, hands down. Well done Jets, you've bought your desert hockey team some more time, and more m
oney lost. But you're not getting any further. Bryzgalov might steal a game or two, but there was a reason that no one wanted to play Detroit, and they're gonna dominate. Detroit was well back of the Flames after the Olympics, and they wound up 5th. And the Flames... well, we all know how that turned out. Quite a few turds in the punchbowl in Calgary. Detroit won't run the table on Phoenix, but they'll be close to it unless Bryzgalov busts out some J.S. Giguere Conn-Smyth while playing for the losing team action. But even that wont stop the big red wheel. Detroit cleans house in 5.
Here's who/what's going down in the Eastern Conference:
(1)Washington vs. (8)MontrealAs much as I like the plucky roster of Les Habitant, it aint gonna be anything mor
e than 5-6 games of April hockey for them this time around. Washington is too powerful, and as good as Jaroslav Halak was, he didnt have to face the Caps once. Unless something devastating happens in the injury department (earlier today Jose Three-or-more left practice after getting hit with an Ovechkin shot, but that seems more helpful than anything) the Caps will roll over the Habs. Backstrom and Ovechkin light up Montreal repeatedly in 5 games.
(2)New Jersey vs. (7)Philadelphia2 words here
: Bro-deur. Yes, he's had a bit of an off year. Yes, he's old. And yes, he's one of the best playoff goaltenders of all time. Granted, he gave up those soft goals to get beat by Carolina last year, but Marty is comin back strong this spring - I can feel it. That and the Devils offensive power, coupled with the face Brian Boitano Boucher is in net for the Flyers, this series is over quickly. Boucher's gonna get lit up more than a Christmas tree by Parise and Kovalchuk, and while Brodeur wont have to work too hard, he'll make the key saves when they count and deflate the Flyers. Devils walk into round two in 5 games or less.
(3)Buffalo vs. (6)Boston
Boston could have a slight chance of an upset here if Tukka Rask continues his solid
play of late, but I dont think it'll happen. Buffalo has been rolling along all year, and as Ryan Miller showed at the Olympics, he's already an elite goaltender - single-handedly he'll win the games when Buffalo doesnt show up offensively. Also against the Bruins' favour in this scenario, they're one of, if not the lowest scoring team that made the NHL's 2nd season. It all stacks up in favour of Buffalo in 6.
(4)Pittsburgh vs. (5)OttawaYes, as you c
an see, I'm picking Ottawa to win this series. You're probably saying, "Tom, what the hell are you thinking? Pitt has been to the dance the last two years, and Crosby scored 51 goals this year in the regular season!" Okay, both are valid arguments, but Fleury's looked a little shaky lately, and although he's a solid goalie, if Ottawa can manage to jump on him quickly out of the gate, I think they could manage a split on the road. Which sets up for the visiting team to make a serious run at an upset. If Brian Elliot matches the way he played during the last half of the season, Ottawa is in okay shape. It'll go the distance, but I'm picking the Senators in 7.
And now, the playoffs have officially started, so I'm off to get my wings on!
