So my blog post from the second round actually lived up to the "spoiler alert" name as I went 3-1 and further added to my resume as the best 18-year old predictor in Winnipeg.
Just a few quick thoughts before we get to the picks.
-I'm pretty much in a haze as to what is going on in these playoffs. We've seen massive upsets, historic comebacks, crazy-ass mullets, ugly mustaches, 45 different analysts on TSN, announcers who need to hang up the headset (B. Cole), and so on. Just more reasons why the Stanley Cup Playoffs are so fun to follow.
-The most shocking stat: Road teams are 4-0 in Game 7. Home-ice advantage has slowly become a non-factor in the last decade, and now with this glaring statistic, it is obvious that home-ice is not what it used to be.
East Final
Philadelphia vs Montreal
This is the farthest the Habs have gone since 1993, the last time they won the Stanley Cup. Now I was 2 at the time, so I have no memory of this, although I've been told by my parents that I was sitting by the TV that year.
Here we are 17 years later. I know exactly what's going on, and to be honest, I am really scared for this upcoming series, more than I was for the Pittsburgh and Washington series'.
Here are 5 reasons why as a Habs fan, I am on the verge of vomiting everywhere:
1) The momentum that the Flyers have is off the charts right now. They pulled off a comeback that has happened only 4 times in the history of professional sports.
2) They get the bloody home ice advantage, with their crowd who is known to be pretty hasty towards the opposition. I just said that home ice is kind of overrated, but I think there are a couple of places where it matters, and Philadelphia is one of them.
3) That big sasquatch named Chris Pronger seems to win wherever he goes. Montreal has yet to face a good shut-down defenseman and Pronger has the potential to throw around Cammalleri and Gionta like rag dolls.
4) Back in 2008, when Montreal finished 1st in the Eastern Conference, they entered the second round against an up-and-coming team from Philly that wasn't expected to do much. Philly won in five games.
5) I picked the Flyers to win the East back in my September NHL preview. And we all know that my predictions pretty much always come true.
Well almost always...
I used to pick Montreal all the time for obvious reasons, and predicted they would win that 2008 Flyers series in 5. Nope. In fact, it seems that every time I pick my teams in the playoffs, they end up losing painfully (San Diego Chargers...last 5 years...). And look what happens when I choose Washington and Pittsburgh in the first and second round series. Habs Win. Even though I follow this team religiously, they seem to shit on me whenever I pick them. I finally realized something.
I can't pick my favourite team to win.
So it's time to introduce something called the reverse jinx theory. We all know what a jinx is. You rave about something so much and you eventually jinx it and it doesn't happen. But what happens when you reverse it? You basically go on and on saying that say that your team sucks and they're going to lose until you end up jinxing that and they end up winning.
No, I am not baked out of my mind right now. I actually kind of stole it from 2 sources: Habsinsideout.com, where their humor writer, Mike Boone, likes to pop out the jinx theory from time to time, and ESPN.com writer Bill Simmons, who does it for his favourite Boston teams. And the truth is... it works most of the time.
So here goes:
Montreal's going to get beat up.They're too small. Philly's too big. Halak is due for a shellacking.
Philadelphia in 6
(I hope I didn't just jinx the reverse jinx theory by revealing it to everybody.)
West Final
San Jose vs Chicago
Unlike the roller-coaster Eastern Conference, the West sees the top 2 teams battling for the conference championship.
My first problem with Chicago comes from between the pipes. Should we really trust Anti Niemi? His theme song is without question "Hot n' Cold" by Katy Perry because:
1) He gets a shutout and then he lets in 4 goals the next game.
2) Did I just use a Katy Perry reference in my blog? For shame....
In fact, Chicago has played 12 games these playoffs, Niemi has allowed 4 or more goals in 6 of them. That is not a good stat. Especially when all the other goalies in the playoffs are not even close to this number.
Halak= 3 4 or more goal games in 14 Montreal playoff games.
Nabokov= 2 4 or more goal games in 11 San Jose playoff games.
Yikes, my Auntie Monica might do better in net than Anti Niemi in this series.
I think this is a huge x-factor in this series, considering the defense corps are pretty much even and the forward lines are almost even, although I would give the Sharks an edge because we all know the unwritten rule in the NHL.....Marian Hossa is not allowed to win a Stanley Cup.
But I think the result of this series does not come directly from the X's and O's.
San Jose has been laughed at by the NHL for the last 5 years after their outstanding regular seasons and terrible playoff exits. And now they are pissed right off.
They sent the aging Wings team back to the senior home by stomping on them in 5.
They sent the baby Avs back to their cribs by beating them in 6.
And now you've got the skilled Hawks. Skilled or not, the Sharks have finally knocked the "choker" label off their jersey which now belongs to the Washington Capitals. And the sky is the limit for San Jose. This team has had sooooo much talent the last 5 years but has been faced with the playoff pressure and didn't respond. Now they have finally responded. They just beat the back-to-back defending conference champions. This playoff pressure is slowly fading away. The all-stars are confident. The young guns are firing away. Rob Blake' s pacemaker is still hanging in there.
And I'll say it one more time. Ever since the Dan Boyle own-goal in Game 3 of the Avs series, the Sharks are a different team. They hit the lowest of lows after that but now have bonded together and are 7-1 since that incident. They're pissed off and they're not going to take it anymore. Bring on the Finals.
San Jose in 6
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