Just a few quick thoughts before we dive into Round 2 Predictions:
Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, that was just my reaction after watching the Montreal Canadiens defeat the lowly Washington Capitals in one of the biggest collapses in NHL history. I'm not going to get into how horrible the Caps are (future blog post), but let's put it this way:
When your team relies on Russians like the Caps do, they're nothing....right Don?
After a so-so 5-3 record on my first round predictions, let's get to Round 2
EAST
Pittsburgh vs Montreal
Now one of my 3 first round losses was when I decided to pick against my team, Montreal. You think I would have learned my lesson, right? Uhhh......
The truth is that the Washington Capitals are a dysfunctional joke. The Pittsburgh Penguins are anything but. Defending champs, back to back Finals, the best player in the world. What did the Habs do to deserve this? And for some sick reason, Montreal gets rewarded by getting ONE day off before they're back on the ice for Game 1 on Friday.
I'm trying to enjoy the Caps victory and not look forward to this series, but it's right around the corner. The Habs need to get some more offense to have a hope, because Jaro Halak can only do so much. So let's pray to the skies above that Evgeni Malkin turns into Alexander "no-goal" Semin and Sidney Crosby tears his Achilles tendon. Or else we're in trouble. The Habs will fight like the warriors that they are.. but will it be enough in the end?
Pittsburgh in 6
Boston vs Philadelphia
So after I ripped the Bruins in my Round 1 blog basically comparing them to garbage, they decided to turn into the high-powered 1972 Boston Bruins and eliminate the Buffalo Sabres. It's amazing that 3 of the 4 teams still alive in the East clinched playoff spots on the 2nd last and the last day of the season.
Speaking of the 1970's Boston Bruins, don't be surprised if we see some of this in the series:
These 2 teams are the roughest in the league and are going to beat the crap out of each other. And when you have Chris Pronger on your side, like Philly does, you should be breathing a big sigh of relief. Philly is full of injuries (Carter, Gagne, Laperriere) but I still don't believe in this Boston team. And as much of a "good" thing it is for Marc Savard to be back in the Boston lineup, I believe it will just mess up the chemistry that the Boston lines had when they played a near perfect series against Buffalo.
In a series that will resemble World War 2, I'm ironically taking the Flyers.
Philadelphia in 7
West
San Jose vs Detroit
What's really scary about this Sharks team is that Thornton, Heatley and Marleau were invisible against the Avs. Imagine if they get it going? I am not convinced that Detroit is an elite team anymore. I mean, the day must be coming soon where Lidstrom and Rafalski have simultaneous heart attacks on the bench. Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard has done nothing to impress me so far and I don't expect that to change.
And its not like they dominated Phoenix either. Phoenix had the Wings by the throat but decided to pull a Washington Capitals special (the game 7 loss on home ice, which the Caps have done 3 straight years now...just saying) Now the Wings will be heading to the noisy Shark tank against a team looking to avenge past demons. I do not like Detroit`s chances here.
The turning point for the Sharks came in Game 3 of the Avs series after Danny Boyle had a brain fart and put the puck in his own net with the help of Ryan O'Reilly. I think the Sharks have rallied around that moment and are now playing some of their best playoff hockey ever( see game 5 and 6 of the Avs series). There is nothing stopping them from ripping the label off their team that reads "Chokers". Not even old man Lidstrom.
Get ready to rip that label off San Jose, and make sure not to rip it too much because the Washington Capitals are waiting for it to be sewn on to their jerseys.
San Jose in 5
Chicago vs Vancouver
In my mind, this should be the West Final. But San Jose somehow manuoevered their way into first place, setting up this 2 vs. 3 matchup.
The offensive firepower is endless in this series and should lead to some high-scoring 5-4, 6-5 games which would be spectacular to watch.
So essentially, this series comes down to who can keep the puck out of the net.
First, the edge goes to Chicago's D. Keith and Seabrook are about as good a pairing as you can get. Offensive forces and defensive stalwarts.
And now with a healthy Brian Campbell back in the lineup, don't expect the Sedins to tear apart Blackhawks goalie Antii Niemi.
Speaking of goalies, who has the edge here? Niemi or "The Great" Roberto Luongo. There's a reason why I put great in quotation marks.
Remember last year in this series. Chicago leading 3-2 going home with a chance to win the series. Vancouver does what they need to do offensively and they score 5 goals....but Chicago scores 7. Roberto Luongo played quite possibly his worst game as a professional and you can' t tell me that he can brush those flashbacks aside. The fans at the United Center will let him know about it too. And it's not like Luongo had a terrific season this year, not counting the gold medal. He had some mediocre games against LA in the first round, and was not even nominated for the Vezina.
So do I take a rookie inexperienced goaltender or a goaltender who is going back to the city where he puked his guts out last year and has the potential to do it again?
I never was a big fan of puke.
Chicago in 7
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