Monteal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins (4-3)
My guess: Habs in 5 (Right team, two games off)
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals (4-3)
My guess: Flyers in 6 (Right team, one game off)
Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers
The Habs really showed weakness by taking so long to finish off the very same Bruins they schooled all throughout the season, while the Flyers made some of their strongest showings that I've seen this season against Ovechkin and the Caps. The Flyers just seem to be the stronger team here, and I think the Flyers can break them.
Result:
Flyers in five
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators (4-0)
My guess: Pens in 4 (exact!)
New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils (4-1)
My guess: Rangers in 5 (exact!)
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. New York Rangers
These are two great teams, and it's going to make for some incredible games. That said, the Penguins are probably the best skating team in the NHL right now, and Lundqvist may be the best goalie to enter the league since Ron Hextall. (Holy War alert!) This is going to be close, I suspect.
Result:
Pens in seven
Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators (4-2)
My guess: Wings in 4 (right team, two games off)
Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild (4-2)
My guess: Wild in 6 (Wrong team, right number of games)
Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche
The Detroit Red Wings are a great team, and I'm surprised it took them so long to beat the Predators. I thought about predicting a Wings sweep again, and thought better of it. The thin air is rough on an athlete in Colorado (I'm kind of assuming they play at high altitude) so I'm going to give the Avs a game.
Result:
Wings in five
San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames (4-3)
My guess: Flames in 7 (right number of games, wrong team)
Dallas Stars vs. Anaheim Ducks (4-2)
My guess: Stars in 7 (right team, one game off)
San Jose Sharks vs. Dallas Stars
The Stars have overcome a lot of injuries and a lot of shortcomings this season, the most prominent loss being Sergei Zubov. Sergei is back on the roster, and considered day-to-day., It'll be interesting to see him back in action, but I don't want to see it if he's not ready.
Result: Stars in seven
24 April 2008
21 April 2008
Another weekend, another season
I started a new season with the West team this past Saturday night, and so far I'm amazed how much better I've gotten since September. I've been playing in a C2 level league (I'm more a D-level player, I-level when I started) and this is a new I-minor team. We did pretty well, and I was definitely much better than I thought, but perhaps that's not fair to say since this is the beginner level league and I've been playing for eight months, four and a half in C2 league.
We didn't have assigned numbers yet, but I managed to get the number 37. Kevin Smith fans will recognize the reference as one thing, and Monty Python will recognize it as something else. I'm not old, and I'll try not to suck any dick on the way to the ice. There, now the references are out of the way.
It was my first time in anything but I-league scrimmage at the other facility playing as a center, and it wasn't too bad. Even at the other league I'd only been in for one or two shifts as a center. We had one goaltender, four defensemen, and two forward lines. They assembled the first line, and we got our line together. It turned out that I was assigned a girl who had never put on pads before, and a guy who hadn't skated in four years. This left the obvious decision of me playing in the middle and my two cohorts as wings. I asked which side they'd prefer, and neither had a preference. After asking whether my female teammate was left or right handed, I assigned her to right wing to match her handedness, but we changed our mind at the last minute and made her left wing upon determining that it was closer to the bench.
Anyhow, I made a good show of it, despite missing my many shots. Even on four breakaways, countless shots, and an instance of running in circles. I learned that impressive play is not always a mark of skill. On one approach, I lacked a shot, so I looked for a pass but lacked one, so I took it around the net, going through a few guys in the process with fancy-looking puckhandling that really consisted of me losing and regaining the puck rapidly, and upon still lacking a shot or pass, I did it again. Then I just tossed it in the corner to let my winger get some practice. I probably should have shot, but their goal was pretty much clogged with defensemen and out-of-position forwards from both teams. In the end, we did win 4-1.
The officiating was much better than my old facility, as was the ice. The Zamboni was actually in proper repair, which is astounding after my old rink. I was very appreciated by my teammates, and I've now volunteered as a substitute for two other teams at different rinks. Looking forward to more hockey with these guys. This season is going to be a blast.
We didn't have assigned numbers yet, but I managed to get the number 37. Kevin Smith fans will recognize the reference as one thing, and Monty Python will recognize it as something else. I'm not old, and I'll try not to suck any dick on the way to the ice. There, now the references are out of the way.
It was my first time in anything but I-league scrimmage at the other facility playing as a center, and it wasn't too bad. Even at the other league I'd only been in for one or two shifts as a center. We had one goaltender, four defensemen, and two forward lines. They assembled the first line, and we got our line together. It turned out that I was assigned a girl who had never put on pads before, and a guy who hadn't skated in four years. This left the obvious decision of me playing in the middle and my two cohorts as wings. I asked which side they'd prefer, and neither had a preference. After asking whether my female teammate was left or right handed, I assigned her to right wing to match her handedness, but we changed our mind at the last minute and made her left wing upon determining that it was closer to the bench.
Anyhow, I made a good show of it, despite missing my many shots. Even on four breakaways, countless shots, and an instance of running in circles. I learned that impressive play is not always a mark of skill. On one approach, I lacked a shot, so I looked for a pass but lacked one, so I took it around the net, going through a few guys in the process with fancy-looking puckhandling that really consisted of me losing and regaining the puck rapidly, and upon still lacking a shot or pass, I did it again. Then I just tossed it in the corner to let my winger get some practice. I probably should have shot, but their goal was pretty much clogged with defensemen and out-of-position forwards from both teams. In the end, we did win 4-1.
The officiating was much better than my old facility, as was the ice. The Zamboni was actually in proper repair, which is astounding after my old rink. I was very appreciated by my teammates, and I've now volunteered as a substitute for two other teams at different rinks. Looking forward to more hockey with these guys. This season is going to be a blast.
09 April 2008
Hockey Playoff Picks
I know it's a little late, but here's my picks for the NHL playoffs in the first round. I haven't looked at any of the scores yet, other than the fact that the Pens game is on and I just caught the tail end of the Devils/Rangers game, so I admit a little head start, so I'm cheating as little as possible.
MONTREAL (1) vs. BOSTON (8)
Montreal hasn't lost against the Bruins yet this year. I know the playoffs are different, and it'd be great to see a more competitive matchup, but it's not in the cards. Even so, with the playoffs being different, the Bruins may pull out one win in the series.
RESULT
Habs in five.
PITTSBURGH (2) vs. OTTAWA (7)
The Pens really have a lot of great players and they're an excellent team this year. The Sens aren't near as good as they were last year. The pen is mightier.
RESULT
Pens in four
WASHINGTON (3) vs. PHILADELPHIA (6)
The Flyers are underrated, but this is coming from a Philly fan. They're not the best team in the league, but they're definitely better than the Caps.
RESULT
Flyers in six
NEW JERSEY (4) vs. N.Y. RANGERS (5)
Great goalies on both sides, but I don't think the Devils can hold the line against the Rangers. I don't think with Brodeur in the net though that the Devils will get swept either.
RESULT
Rangers in five
DETROIT (1) vs. NASHVILLE (8)
No contest. Detroit is leaps and bounds better than the Preds.
RESULT
Wings in four.
SAN JOSE (2) vs. CALGARY (7)
This is going to be the most exciting series of the round. Hard pick, but I'm going to have to go go with Calgary. I don't know why.
RESULT
Flames in seven
MINNESOTA (3) vs. COLORADO (6)
A pretty even matchup, I'm hearing people talk about Foppa this and Foppa that, but I don't think that'll matter so much when it comes to the post season. Still going to be close.
RESULT
Wild in six
ANAHEIM (4) vs. DALLAS (5)
Maybe I'm just biased, but I think the Ducks have more names than ability. They'll fight it out to the end, but it's going to be tough without Sergei Zubov, which is why I say seven instead of six.
RESULT
Stars in seven
Weather: It really wants to rain.
Computer: Mjolnir
Mood: Sporting
Post method: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.13) Gecko/20080325 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.13
OS: Linux mjolnir 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Tue Feb 12 07:42:25 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux
MONTREAL (1) vs. BOSTON (8)
Montreal hasn't lost against the Bruins yet this year. I know the playoffs are different, and it'd be great to see a more competitive matchup, but it's not in the cards. Even so, with the playoffs being different, the Bruins may pull out one win in the series.
RESULT
Habs in five.
PITTSBURGH (2) vs. OTTAWA (7)
The Pens really have a lot of great players and they're an excellent team this year. The Sens aren't near as good as they were last year. The pen is mightier.
RESULT
Pens in four
WASHINGTON (3) vs. PHILADELPHIA (6)
The Flyers are underrated, but this is coming from a Philly fan. They're not the best team in the league, but they're definitely better than the Caps.
RESULT
Flyers in six
NEW JERSEY (4) vs. N.Y. RANGERS (5)
Great goalies on both sides, but I don't think the Devils can hold the line against the Rangers. I don't think with Brodeur in the net though that the Devils will get swept either.
RESULT
Rangers in five
DETROIT (1) vs. NASHVILLE (8)
No contest. Detroit is leaps and bounds better than the Preds.
RESULT
Wings in four.
SAN JOSE (2) vs. CALGARY (7)
This is going to be the most exciting series of the round. Hard pick, but I'm going to have to go go with Calgary. I don't know why.
RESULT
Flames in seven
MINNESOTA (3) vs. COLORADO (6)
A pretty even matchup, I'm hearing people talk about Foppa this and Foppa that, but I don't think that'll matter so much when it comes to the post season. Still going to be close.
RESULT
Wild in six
ANAHEIM (4) vs. DALLAS (5)
Maybe I'm just biased, but I think the Ducks have more names than ability. They'll fight it out to the end, but it's going to be tough without Sergei Zubov, which is why I say seven instead of six.
RESULT
Stars in seven
Weather: It really wants to rain.
Computer: Mjolnir
Mood: Sporting
Post method: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.8.1.13) Gecko/20080325 Ubuntu/7.10 (gutsy) Firefox/2.0.0.13
OS: Linux mjolnir 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Tue Feb 12 07:42:25 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux
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