Thursday, April 24, 2008

I did pretty okay in my first round predictions. I got the Rangers, the Canadiens, and Pittsburgh in the East but didn't pick Philly. Minnesota and Calgary failed me in the West (nice try, Flames) but I got Detroit and I was one of the only people in the world to pick Dallas over Anaheim. If you want to read more about what I thought of each round, head on over to ModFan.

Yeah, because I have all this spare time now, I went and co-founded a group blog along with Kate of The Willful Caboose, Pookie and Schnookie of Interchangeable Parts, and Patty of Penalty Killing. I'm not entirely sure where all this is going to lead - fame and fortune hopefully - but I do think it's going to be interesting and entertaining. The five of us all have very different styles and personalties - Pookie and Schnookie enjoy NJ soul-killing hockey and Patty cheers for Cup thieves for crying out loud - but somehow we coexist. Sometimes it'll be a little silly (Kate and I panic about cheering for the Flyers), sometimes it'll be very silly (did you know Rob Niedermayer's first name is Robin?), and sometimes it'll be straight hockey talk (Schnookie and I discuss why we love our GMs). Check the place out next time you need to kill a few minutes before lunch.


Just so these are in the book before the games start tonight, here are my thoughts on the second round.

MONTREAL vs. PHILLY
I'm so happy that my support of Philly is going to be a one round fling. I felt a little conflicted because I know Sabres fans are supposed to hate the Flyers but I just don't have that background. I hate the Flyers in theory but I don't have much real history with them. Fortunately, I really like the Canadiens and have no problem supporting them here. I also think they're going to win. If they don't, it's going to be because Carey Price self-destructs. Mark and I were fascinated by Price's post-series interview. His teammates were celebrating, the crowd was going crazy and Price had a blank, terrified look on his face. He was the epitome of deer in the headlights. MONTREAL IN SIX.

NEW YORK vs. PITTSBURGH
It seems like the Rangers gave the Penguins some trouble during the regular season but I think the Penguins are still going to come out on top. Marc-Andre Fleury is probably my biggest concern but he was really good in the first round albeit against a pretty pitiful Sens team. (snicker) PITTSBURGH IN SIX.

DETROIT vs. COLORADO
Eh. Whatever. DETROIT IN FIVE.

SAN JOSE vs. DALLAS
I am bumfoozled by how many people are picking San Jose in this series. I guess on paper maybe they look better but based on first round performance I think it's awfully hard to get behind them. The Stars dismantled a good Anaheim team. They came in with a clear game plan and for the most part, stuck to it. I think they were the best team in the first round. The Sharks needed seven games to beat a team that really didn't play very well. They struggled to gain momentum, they struggled to keep momentum, and at times they didn't even look that interested. If Evgeni Nabokov gets hot he could carry them but otherwise I think they're done. DALLAS IN SIX. And I wouldn't be shocked if it's Dallas in five.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bah! Dallas might have dismantled Anaheim but they also stunk. Anaheim is the worst scoring team in the playoffs so Dallas beat them. Whatever.

Heather B. said...

Anaheim is the worst scoring team in the playoffs BECAUSE of Dallas. The Ducks stunk (IMO) because of how well Dallas played them. I guess we'll see what happens but I will not waver in my selection!

TheSharpie said...

Today when working in the chow hall ESPN was on and some guy on Sportscenter said San Jose will win because "they're the best hockey team out there right now." Even IF I thought he was CLOSE to being right (which I don't) he forgot about one thing -- Soupy's ability to implode under pressure.

LeeAndrew said...

Well, what I really meant was that Anaheim had the lowest scoring the ENTIRE season of anybody in the playoffs. But it's not like San Jose was a great scoring team either I guess.

Heather B. said...

Well, what I really meant was that Anaheim had the lowest scoring the ENTIRE season of anybody in the playoffs.

Ohhhhh... I see. Well, the Sabres were one of the highest scoring teams in the league and that didn't get them very far. Besides, my point remains the same. When Calgary was bad, it wasn't really because of anything San Jose was doing. When Anaheim was bad, it was partly attributable to Dallas (IMO). So there :P

Mike said...

Congratulations to Uncle Jesse for scoring the game winner in Montreal last night.

Jennifer said...

Congratulations to Uncle Jesse for scoring the game winner in Montreal last night.

HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!

Patty (in Dallas) said...

I am bumfoozled by how many people are picking San Jose in this series.

It's especially odd, because a lot of synopses I see will talk about how great Dallas looks and how sketchy San Jose looks and then still pick San Jose. I think it's because they picked San Jose to win the Cup, before the playoffs started, and they're loathe to pick against themselves now.

Anonymous said...

The only second round predictions I've seen are Barry Melrose and I think that is the only reason he picked the Sharks in the second round, because he picked them to win it all before the playoffs.

I can't really blame them though. I always stick with whatever team I pick at the beginning of any playoffs (go Spurs!).

Heather B. said...

Vanek's Hair, congratulations! You're officially in the running for Comment of the Year! (It took me a second to get it but once I did it was a home run.)

Patty and Lee, after I wrote this entry I did read a couple of predictions where the writer admitted they were sticking with the Sharks because they were their original pick. After Game One it looks like it could be a really good series. Too bad you can't watch it, Lee :P