NHL Round Two

Oh dear readers...well, I don't know if you exist of not, but whatever, not the point.

The first round of the NHL Playoffs are over, my predictions have proven pretty good thus far, my record is 6-2, so here's to hoping I can do as well or better for the next round. Here's my thoughts:

Stars/Sharks: I will be rooting for the Sharks, and I think that they can win it. However, the Sharks took too long to finish of the Flames. The Stars are a much better team than the Flames are and they've got veterans who have been deep into the playoffs, pretty much as many as the Sharks have. Mike Ribiero came up big for them last round, so we'll see what he can pull together here. Stu Barnes also has a knack of coming up big for his team especially in the playoffs, and if Sergei Zubov can get healthy, the Stars defense will be in pretty good shape. And shall we not forget Mike Modano, who this season claimed the title of highest scoring American-born player in NHL history. The Sharks need to be the team that was hot in the last month of the regular season and muscled their way into second place in the West. They need to be the better team. In theory they are, but they relied too much on their offense in the first round and it almost got them eliminated. Defense needs to be better (cannot rely on the offense to score more goals than hey give up) and the offense needs to be able to consistently put the puck in the back of the net regularly. Nabokov is a better goalie than Turco, Kiprusoff is a better goalie than Turco, they have that going for them too. It's basically in the Sharks hands, they have to play like their in the playoffs and that they want it. As much as I love them, they're not playing the kind of hockey they need to in order to beat the Stars. I'm choosing Dallas and hoping I'm wrong.

Red Wings/Avalanche: Oh the greatest modern rivalry of the NHL, this will be an awesome series for fans and I hope it goes to seven games so that we can see passionate hockey at it's best. Kudos the Avs for bringing back the usual suspects. It must be great for Joe Sakic to see Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote back on the bench for their run to the playoffs, and it's great to see Jose Theodore back on his game. In the end, Detroit hasn't choked yet. They're playing really well. And how awesome it must be for that team to have Osgood winning the top spot in goalie for now and knowing that if he starts making mistake you have another hall of fame goalie, Dominik Hasek waiting to prove himself in the playoffs again. I think what it comes down to the fact that Detroit is just a better team over all, and unlike San Jose, they've been showing it all year and they haven't stopped. Detroit will take this series, and I think destroy Dallas in the conference finals and get a chance to hoist the cup again.

Rangers/Penguins: Rangers have been doing well, kudos to them. Look for the Penguins to come up big here though. They were the only team to sweep their first round and against the team that represented the East for the Stanley Cup last year. They're well rested, look for the Rangers to give them more problems than Ottowa did, but the Penguins will take this series too.

Canadians/Flyers: The Flyers eeeeked their way into round two against an underrated Washington team, but Montreal is a very good team. It's not even that they've got some good players, they've got a bunch of nobodies besides Koivu, they're good because they're a balanced, good team. The Flyers have been doing well, but I'd be stunned if they can pull this one off. Briere is doing amazingly well, but you can't fight a balanced team with a good player on a hot streak who has carried his team thus far. Philly just doesn't have the team to play against Montreal. Look for the Canadians to continue to be underrated as they end the streaking Flyers run into the playoffs and do so rather quietly. This is probably the series with the least hype so the Canadians will take care of things quietly. Then watch them stun the Penguins in the Conference finals.

Canadians/Red Wings: That's two balanced teams going for the Cup, it should be good.

Hockey Madness

First Update: Grandma's condition is definitely not the worst it could be after hearing the results of recent testing. There are two lymph nodes in her abdomen I believe that are affected by the cancer, and they're hopeful that after six rounds of chemotherapy her prognosis will be looking a lot better. YAY!!!

Hockey matchups: With the Conference Quarterfinals (first round) coming to a close, I'm pleased to announce that my record is looking pretty good. Here's how it looks right now:

Eastern Conference:
Canadians/Bruins-Canadians win 4/3. I picked the Canadians to take this round. I think they're a fantastic younger team who have the goods to go far and I don't think they're being taken too seriously yet. The focus in the East is on the Penguins, Rangers and Capitals right now and their interaction between the younger stars and their veteran counterparts. I have a soft spot for Saku Koivu, especially after he beat cancer and came back to play. They're my pick from the East to compete for Stanley Cup. I think they've got the youth (Price, Kostitsyn x2) and the depth with good veteran leadership (Koivu, Kovalev, Smolinski, Brisebois, Dandenault, Hamrlik). Canadians going to the finals.

Flyers/Capitals-Series tied 3/3. Flyers are one of my least favorite teams in the NHL, though I do hope for the best for the sake of Briere and Biron, two former Sabres. I'm still going to root for the Capitals so that we can see just how clutch Ovechkin is as the playoffs continue, and I'm happy for Olie Kolzig for sticking with his team for all those years they didn't make the playoffs or left in the first round. Lots of respect for the guy. Even with how well they're doing and my desire for the Caps to win, I think the Flyers are going to take it, Briere is the top goal scorer in the playoffs, he's clutch, look for him in game 7.

Penguins/Senators-Penguins win 4/0. Senators are number one on my shit list because of their treatment of the Sabres in the Conference finals last year. Ecstatic that they're out of the playoffs in the first round, swept by the Pens. Kudos to this younger team, they had the most convincing first round in the league, they're ready to be contenders, we'll see how their stars do as the pressure for the playoffs continue. Thanks for sweeping the Sens, Pens. See you next round. Oh yeah, picked the Penguins too.

Devils/Rangers-Rangers win 4/1. The Devils were one of my other picks to really compete for the cup, they've been too good for so long, I'd like to see Marty Brodeur go back for the Stanley Cup. At the same time, its been a while for the Rangers, longer than the Devils, and they do have Drury and Shanahan, I'll root for them for that. Picked the Devils, lost that one.

Western Conference:
Red Wings/Predators-Red Wings win 4/2. The wings are making another playoff run. Surprise surprise. I'm happy for Hasek, my favorite goalie and among my favorite players of all time. I'm happy for him, and I'm definitely a fan of the Wings more than the Preds. Picked the Red Wings.

Avalanche/Wild-Avalanche win 4/2. Yay Avalanche! Third favorite team moving past the Wild. I'm glad to see them doing well after their all star team disappeared a few years ago. And I believe if the Sharks win that sets up an Avalanche/Red Wings series which will absolutely fantastic, bad blood and great hockey. The greatest rivalry of modern hockey. Oh yeah, I picked the Avalanche.

Flames/Sharks-Series tied 3/3. The Sharks are working on being my second heartbreaking team...why must my two favorite teams cause me so much stress. They were abysmal in game six after coming back in games 4 and 5. First game seven in San Jose, look to their depth to bring it home for them. Calgary has put up much more of a fight that I wanted or expected, but I think the Sharks will have a fire under them and they just have more talent and depth than the Flames do. The Sharks are my pick in the West, and as my second favorite and hometown team, I want them to take it all. I hope they do.

Stars/Ducks-Stars win 4/2. Boo! Stars are number 2 on my shit list of hockey and I like the Ducks. I guess we'll have to wait for another year for them. Here's to hoping the Sharks win and knock them out in the next round. Picked the Ducks, didn't get it.

My record: Correct-4 Incorrect-2 Undecided: 2, look for the Sharks and Flyers come bring home game seven.