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Note: I posted this on another message board a few days ago. But thought I'd bring it over here to let everyone who may be interested know my thoughts, especially if they don't go to that other message board. :)
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Keep football.
Keep yer boring baseball.
Forget about Basketball.
Golf, ha.
Tennis, eh.
Give me the NHL, Professional Ice Hockey.
Football is the closest to come to the excitement that the NHL provides. But there is no sport, none, that has the consistant excitement like the NHL playoffs. The shots, the odd man rushes, the superb saves of the acrobatic goalies.
The NHL is the best sport there is, to me. And this is quite possibly one of the best playoffs in professional sports that I've seen in many, many years.
West
First, Detroit vs Nashville. The Red Wings vs the Predators. We have an incredibly offensive power like the Wings against the passion of the first time in the playoffs Preds. Todays game showed me that even though the Preds are heavily out gunned, they won't go down without a fight. And it gave me tremendous respect for Vokoun, the goalie for the Preds. Without him, Nashville would be looking at getting swept, but he keeps them in the game. I'm looking at a 4-1 win for Detroit, but if Vokoun plays like he did today, 4-2.
Colorado vs Dallas. Avalanche vs Stars. Oh yeah. I was looking forward to this one the moment I read they were matched. This is a good one. The massively powerful scoring that the Avs are capable of against the strong offense and defense of the Stars. Granted, the Stars got busted up in the first two, but they're playing in Dallas now, and we'll see how tough Turco can be against them. Abie vs Turco. Goalie wars. The Avs have so much firepower they should be considered a serious threat. Stars, as much as I like them and Modano, I can't see them winning more than twice. So, 4-2 Avs to take it.
Calgary vs Vancouver. Flames vs Canucks. Another good battle, especially since it's one of two all Canadian playoff battle. With Dan Cloutier getting hurt tonight, the Canucks have to go with their backup, who apparently played well enough to get the win. This means that Vans defense has been able to cope with the Flames scorers. Igilna hasn't been much of a threat yet, but if he gets his game on, look out. The Canucks could be in trouble. Despite that, I will still think that the Canucks can win it, but most likely in 7, so, 4-3 Canucks.
San Jose vs St. Louis. Sharks vs Blues. Well, the Blues have played pretty well down the stretch, using everything they could to get to the playoffs for a record streak among all professional sports for consecutive playoff appearances, but they don't seem to have the strength that they had in the last weeks of the season. With the passion and power the Sharks have, and Nabakov in goal, it is going to prove to be too much for poor St. Louis and Osgood. Look for the Sharks to take it 4-1.
East.
Tampa Bay vs New York. The Lightning vs the Islanders. Normally, you'd look at these teams and think Tampa would slaughter the Isles. But when you see stats, and find out that the Isles won the season series with the Bolts by a good margin, you realize there's a good matchup here. DiPietro is playing some good hockey, and is stopping a lot of Tampa shots. He's keeping the Isle in it. Tampa has Khabaibulin, who is also a good goalie, but can be beat if he's peppered with a lot of shots against him. If NY gets enough shots, they have a real shot at advancing. But Tampa has some really, really good offensive players. Martin St. Louis, Vincent LeCavieler to name a pair. It's going to be tough to continue to stop them. So look for Tampa to win this in 6. 4-2 Tampa.
Boston vs Montreal. Bruins vs Canadiens. Oh I am loving this series, and have watched both home Bruin games and most of the Montreal home game. Boston has this. Their goaltending is exemplary. It's all about Raycroft who I have deemed my favorite NHL player. I like his style of play, his coolness under pressure, etc. He's got a lot of talent, and quite possibly the ability to go all the way this season. Montreal has an all star goalie in Theodore(pronounced Tay o dore) but they lack the offensive punch that the Bruins have. Bruins have Samsonov, who has been impressing me in this series, and Bergeron's got a lot of talent. Add Thorton in there if he starts playing his A game again, and it's a no brainer that the Bruins will win this. Montreal has tradition, so will put up a big fight. Bruins in 6.
Philadelphia vs New Jersey. Flyers vs Devils. Oh. My. God. This is a series to die for, if you're a guy like me. I'm from Philly, so by default I'm a Flyers fan. Long time rivalry vs NJ, so I'm loving this one. Devils have possibly the best Goalie playing today in Broduer, but they lack any offensive power, and their defense is severely hampered with the loss of Scott Stevens. Without him, Broduer has little protection. The Flyers have the experience, grit and offensive power to knock the Devils out, and they're already up 2-0. Only question is goaltending where the Flyers have Esche and Burke. Burke is an okay Goaltender, but I wouldn't want him starting in my playoffs. And Esche is just a questionmark. I don't know. But that's definitely the Flyers weakness. Both wins have been 3-2. The Flyers must learn to hold the Devils to less goals, or any other team if they want to advance. I think they'll do enough in this first round, taking the Devils out 4-2.
Finally, Toronto vs Ottawa. Maple Leafs vs Senators. Oh yeah. Battle of Ontario. The Flames vs Canucks is the battle of Alberta, but this is the better of the two. The Leafs have a lot of tradition behind them and are the last of the original six in this post. The Red Wings, Boston vs Montreal are the other three. Rangers(NY) and Chicago sucked this season, so didn't make it. Ottawa is also a good team, and I like their Jerseys. Patrick Lalime, while decent, I don't think has the saving power to carry the Senators far at all. Nor do they really have the offense needed to do it, either. The Leafs, on the other hand, have Belfour, a quality goalie with lots of experience, and a Stanley Cup ring to go with it. His problem is he's playing somewhat hurt. I read something about his back a while ago, and that's going to cost the Leafs in the long run. Look for Toronto to win, but not go far. And I hate Ty Domi. He's nothing but a goon, and the game of hockey will be much better once he's gone. The Leafs do have some firepower, and decent defense. This is actually a difficult series to pick, because they're both about equal. Both teams had excellent seasons, and have good players. This is definitely going to come down to goaltending. I want to say Ottawa will win it, but Belfour is good. Leafs could have to win this in 6 games. But if it goes 7, Ottawa will take it.
So:
West
Wings vs Preds: 4-2 Wings
Avs vs Stars: 4-2 Avs
Flames vs Canucks: 4-3 Canucks
San Jose vs St. Louis: 4-1 San Jose
East
Tampa Bay vs Islanders: 4-2 Tampa Bay
Boston vs Montreal: 4-2 Boston
Philadelphia vs New Jersey: 4-2 Philadelphia
Toronto vs Ottawa: 4-2 Toronto. Or 4-3 Ottawa. Really depends on the length of the series.
Everyone should support the NHL!
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