Playoff Predictions

Restless sleep, loss of appetite. Must be playoff time.

I'm going to do each round as it comes.

The East
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Ottawa (1) vs. Tampa Bay (8)
Prediction: Ottawa in 5
Ottawa has dominated Tampa during the regular season. They are now 100% healthy except for Hasek, but Emery has been good enough and the D in front of him is the best in the league. Tampa Bay has HGUE weapons, but goaltending has let them down all season.

Carolina (2) vs. Montral (7)
Prediction: Carolina in 6
I like the Habs. Montreal's got heart, especially come playoff time, but Carolina will be just too strong for them. Plus, Montreal did not beat Carolina once in the regular season.

New Jersey (3) vs. New York (6)
Prediction: New Jersey in 7
This will be a war. New Jersery has been on a HUGE roll and New York really faltered the last few games. Many times they could have wrapped up the division but failed. That being said, the Rangers are too good to not put up a huge fight. New Jersey is always a playoff performing team, and they have the Brodeur factor. This will be fun to watch.

Buffalo (4) vs. Philly (5)
Prediction: Buffalo in 6
I almost wanted to say 5 games. Buffalo is fast. Very fast. The only chance Philly has is if Ryan Miller succumbs to playoff pressure. I don't think Esche is a playoff goalie and I bet Forsberg will get injured in the first game.

The West
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Detroit (1) vs. Oilers (8)
Prediction: Detroit in 4
I'm sorry, I love the Oilers, I really do. Detroit is a machine with 7 players with 20 or more goals. Granted, they got to play the 3 worst teams in the West 24 times, but they are still the most dangerous team in the West. Oilers have limped into the playoffs. It's not going to be pretty.

Dallas (2) vs. Colorado (7)
Prediction: Dallas in 6
To be honest, I haven't really been following Colorado this year so I don't know what to expect from them. I gave them 6 games because of their strong playoff history but Dallas won't have a tough time.

Calgary (3) vs. Anaheim (6)
Prediction: Anaheim in 7
I know, going against yet another Canadian team. Calgary might win this, I'm more sure it will go 7 games than I am who will win. My feeling is that Anaheim is a bit of a sleeper here, their 2nd half was strong. Kipper has been outstanding in the regular season, but I'm almost expecting a sophomore jinx here. Besides, I needed a couple of upsets at least!

Nashville (4) vs. San Jose (5)
Prediction: San Jose in 5
My buddy Matt was right, San Jose is the sleeper team to watch this year, although they really haven't been *quiet* with their end of season play. Their roll will continue through the first round. Nashville's only shot is if Vokoun stands on his head and Toskala chokes due to no previous experience.


Comments?

Regular Season Wrap-Up

What a year.

The NHL needed something special coming off of the lockout year. They were very smart to introduce the rule changes (clamping down on clutching/grabbing/hooking) and even though controversial, the shootout has breathed new life into the league.

There are a few things I want to mention about this year.

1) The Outstanding Rookie Crop
TSN's Bob McKenzie basically beat me to it. He mentioned everything I was going to say plus more, so rather than rip him off, here's the article.

2) Scoring! Lots of scoring!
Are there really people out there that would prefer to see a low scoring, defensive battle? C'mon. In order to get fans back into things, the games had to be as fun as possible. Kudos to the NHL for letting the skilled players play and getting the refs to actually CALL PENALTIES. My only complaint was how frequent 5 on 3 powerplays became, since those are almost a guaranteed goal and there's no chance of a shorthanded goal, which is one the most exciting plays (especially if you're a Sens fan).

Also, what an individual scoring race! There were *5* players that scored 50 or more goals. Not long ago, there was ZERO. 7 players with 100 or more points, 2 of them rookies! This was great to see, and reminds me of the true great era in hockey of the early eighties.

3) Superstar Returns
A year off seemed to benefit many players, as some big names seemed to regain their form:
Jaromir Jagr - Honesty I thought he was done. His heart didn't seem to be in it anymore. I laughed when I heard the Rangers picked him up. Then this year he finishes 2nd in the scoring race and has his best year since leaving Pittsburgh. Good for him, I hope he keeps it up.

Joe Thornton - To be honest, I've never really liked Thornton. I didn't see the big deal in him, always struck me as oafish. Now, he had his best season ever, he won the scoring race and he's going to win MVP. It's as if he didn't want to be a Bruin anymore, since as soon as he got to San Jose he became a machine and turned Jonathan freaking Cheechoo into a 56 goal scorer. I have to respect him now.

Teemu Selanne - On the flipside, I've always liked Teemu. He was awesome in Winnepeg (remember the Jets?) and continued to do so in Anaheim with Mr. Kariya. Then things fell apart and he disappeared, did NOT look like the same player at all. Perhaps he digs California, as now that he's back with the Ducks he's quietly scored 40 goals and 90 points, his best season since 98-99. I think we'll be hearing about the Selanne/MacDonald tandem for a few years.

Dominik Hasek - Out of retirement and was putting up stellar numbers until his injury. Good for him to show he can still play at 40. He needs a new groin though.

Brendan Shanahan - Isn't he supposed to be in his twilight years or something? Best season in 9 years.

Dany Heatley - Gee, I guess a change in scenery is exactly what he needed. That and being able to play on a line with Alfredsson and Spezza. I'm glad things have worked out for him as a Senator. Congrats on becoming Ottawa's first 50 goals man. Marian who?


Surprises
- Vancouver! What the hell? Apparently they didn't get the memo that the rule changes should have benefitted this team BIG TIME. I was thinking Stanley Cup appearance for this team at the beginning of the season. They didn't even make the playoffs. Everyone disappointed this year. Shotty goaltending, missing superstars (Naslund, Morrison and Bertuzzi all basically no showed) and no desire. Sure, their defense took HUGE injuries, but you still have to put the puck in the net, boys!

- Tampa Bay. They sure don't look like defending champions. You could argue that their goaltending is suspect since Khabi moved on, but Khabi had a terrible season in Chicago and I really think he's another Lalime. Lecavalier, Richards and St. Louis are amazing players and put up *ok* numbers this year. Things just aren't working and now they're in tough against Ottawa in Round 1.

- Atlanta. It's funny that a team with 3 players in the top 11 in scoring didn't make the post-season. Problem is, that's all they have.

- Eric Stall. He just might be the real deal.

Ok, that's enough for now. Playoff predictions are next.

Anyone have anything to add?

Anyone want to take a shot at breaking my record?

Lately, when I have a free minute or two, I've been playing this webgame called Text Twist. It's basically a 6 letter word jumble, like in the papers. The only diff is that you have to make as many words (3 letters and up) as possible from the letters. You only need to get the 6 letter word to move on to the next round. You get a bonus if you get ALL the words.

My high score is 100,500. Give it a shot!

Caution: May be habit forming!

Woohoo! Sens take the #1 spot in the East!

Albeit, we got some help from the Sabres.


Now, bring on Tampa Bay!

We're gonna smoke 'em.

When stories get scary

One of the cool things Jade does now is tell you a story. Usually it something funny that happened or how she fell and hurt herself. Sometimes, I just can't tell cause she talks a mile a minute and I can only make out the occasional word.

Yesterday, she was telling me a story which I was listening to attentively, not being to make out a word of it until the last two words: "Clothes off!"

This gave me pause. I just kind of stared at her for a minute, then she repeated the story. Again: "Clothes off!" After experiencing a WTF moment, I tried to think of what had happened the last little while that might have ended with "clothes off" but nothing came to mind. You can imagine my confusion right about now.

She repeated the story one more time and this time I was able to make out 'cat chases bear'. Ahh.. there's a bunch of silly commercials my Dad has on the computer, and it turns out she was telling me about them. (A cat takes off someone's pants by accident)

What a cutie.

Bye bye Leafs

I must say, even though I predicted at the beginning of the season that the Leafs wouldn't make the playoffs, they sure made it close. They did everything they had to do to stay in the running, but Tampa Bay sealed their fate last night. Thank you, Martin St. Louis.

Sens fans hate the Leafs almost as much as they love their own team, so the city is in mini-celebration mode today, myself included.

Speaking of fans, I thought I'd include a pic of your typical Leafs fan.


To the Leafs, have a good golfing season. Try to work on building a team that can finish higher than 10th in the conference. Oh, also have fun paying Belfour additional millions even though he won't be playing for you.

I'll have my season wrap-up along with playoff predictions later this week. There's one issue unsettled before then, can the Sens take top seed in the East? They've really shot themselves in the foot lately, losing to teams they should be beating. Finishing 2nd shouldn't be a factor unless they face Carolina in the conference final, but as you'll see in my predictions I don't expect that to happen.