Sorry I'm late on my predictions for round 2. I've had a lot on my plate over the past couple days. I won't go as in depth as I like but this is what I'm thinking even though a couple games have already happened.
East
Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Capitals in 6
Though I like the Lighting's all round play I think the Caps offense and defense match up to the lightnings pretty well. This will come down to goaltending and I think the lighting will ware out as the series goes further since they had that 7 games with the Pens.
Flyers vs. Bruins REMATCH!: Flyers in 7
This will be the series of the 2nd round. We saw the miracle last season for the Flyers and you know the Bruins will be looking for payback. Why am I going with the Flyers? Believe it or not they are getting healthy and have Pronger back in the line up. In fact when he returned Buffalo didn't have the same jump offensively as they did before. Bruins are coming out of a grinder with the Canadians and I'm sure that will effect them in the end.
West
Canucks vs. Predators: Predators in 6
I'm not impressed wit the Canucks. They celebrate like crazy over beating a Blackhawks teams that was a shadow of their former self. Granted they had that power forward to bug Luongo the series would of been in the Hawks favor. On paper they have the superior team but that doesn't mean they know how to finish. That said, I was really impressed by the Predators in round 1. They really play a teams game and really proved me wrong in being a pure defense team. They lost game 1 but I'm still sticking with them to win it in 6.
Red Wings vs. Sharks: Red Wings in 6
This is a tough one to pick. I much rather see the Sharks move on but I think the Wings will be looking at redemption in this series. Also with the amazing performance by Pavel Datsyuk and the return of Henrik Zetterberg... I really feel they will be producing a ton of goals for the Wings.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Day Of Reckoning Is Here... Hawks vs. Canucks Game 7
Over the past couple days I've been hearing it from a few Canuck fans on youtube and it's funny to see the team and fans complain about the officiating in game 6. They say they are calm and collected, but when you whine and complain the way they have over the past couple days it's obvious to anyone the pressure has gotten to them. For a series that should of been a breeze, against a team that's a ghost of their former selves, the Canucks have put themselves in a game 7 situation with everything on the line. Plane and simple the Canucks *Deemed as Canada's Hope*, is not as good as they keep bragging about. Sure they do well in the regular season but come playoff time, they fall apart.
So what do you make of this final match up this season? You have a Blackhawks team, though lacking in the depth they once had, has players that know how to win. Compared to a Canucks team, stacked with top players but haven't been able to finish. Home ice is in the Canucks' favor but, the Blackhawks have proven in the past they can win in Vancouver. This game can go either way, but in my opinion the damage has already been done. The Canucks are now exposed as the team we know them to be, and even if they move forward will still carry the question marks that have plagued them over the last few seasons.
So what do you make of this final match up this season? You have a Blackhawks team, though lacking in the depth they once had, has players that know how to win. Compared to a Canucks team, stacked with top players but haven't been able to finish. Home ice is in the Canucks' favor but, the Blackhawks have proven in the past they can win in Vancouver. This game can go either way, but in my opinion the damage has already been done. The Canucks are now exposed as the team we know them to be, and even if they move forward will still carry the question marks that have plagued them over the last few seasons.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
We Got A Game 7!
In a game that Vancouver controlled, played mind games in and outshot the Hawks, the rookie Ben Smith saves the day and delivers a game 7. I'll touch up more on this game 7 later but I needed to post this up. Once again, Roberto Luongo falls and burns to the tune of Chelsea Dagger. He'll have nightmares tonight and he didn't play the whole game.
What a week of good hockey...
It's been a while since my last post and thought now would be a good time to talk some hockey.
I mainly wanted to touch up on a couple series. The first would be the Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadian series. A week ago I called the Bruins down and to start the count. Well since then the Bruins have mounted one amazing counter attack. Not only did they walk into Montreal and take both games 3 and 4, but in a classic defensive battle beat the Canadians in double overtime. What did they do different... they started putting pressure in front of the net! They didn't do that at all in the first two games. The Bruins defense have also committed to blocking shots and giving Thomas support. Even when they are not paying attention they are blocking them as we saw in the 2rd overtime last night. Either way, it's been one amazing comeback to watch for the Bruins. That said they should be thanking the Canadians to. Too many mistakes in front of their own net have resulted in most of the goals from games 3 and 4. I expect the Canadians to take this to game 7 as originally predicted and Boston to finish.
Next up the Chicago Blackhawks. Somewhere in Vancouver there has to be a ton of Canuck fans really starting to sweat tonight's match up. For being a team that is a ghost of their former selves from the past two seasons, they have given the Canucks another reason to doubt and fear. The team that's suppose to win the cup can't get the demons off their back and the Blackhawks are remembering how to play Blackhawk hockey. It's not just the fact Kane and Hossa have started scoring but it's the physical play. The Blackhawks are owning the boards, they are fighting in front of the net and they are showing the Canucks major playoff weakness... Roberto Luongo. I don't care if he's Vezina material and deemed one of the best goalies in today's NHL. Fact of the matter is he has yet to show up in the playoffs, even with a team as stacked like the Canucks. Even if they beat the Blackhawks this season, none of this will prove anything. Say they lose before they can even reach the conference finals then you have to question whether this core of players can win a cup. I hope tonight we can hear Chelsea Dagger running Luongo off the ice again. It will give us another set up for a classic 3-0 comeback again.
I mainly wanted to touch up on a couple series. The first would be the Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadian series. A week ago I called the Bruins down and to start the count. Well since then the Bruins have mounted one amazing counter attack. Not only did they walk into Montreal and take both games 3 and 4, but in a classic defensive battle beat the Canadians in double overtime. What did they do different... they started putting pressure in front of the net! They didn't do that at all in the first two games. The Bruins defense have also committed to blocking shots and giving Thomas support. Even when they are not paying attention they are blocking them as we saw in the 2rd overtime last night. Either way, it's been one amazing comeback to watch for the Bruins. That said they should be thanking the Canadians to. Too many mistakes in front of their own net have resulted in most of the goals from games 3 and 4. I expect the Canadians to take this to game 7 as originally predicted and Boston to finish.
Next up the Chicago Blackhawks. Somewhere in Vancouver there has to be a ton of Canuck fans really starting to sweat tonight's match up. For being a team that is a ghost of their former selves from the past two seasons, they have given the Canucks another reason to doubt and fear. The team that's suppose to win the cup can't get the demons off their back and the Blackhawks are remembering how to play Blackhawk hockey. It's not just the fact Kane and Hossa have started scoring but it's the physical play. The Blackhawks are owning the boards, they are fighting in front of the net and they are showing the Canucks major playoff weakness... Roberto Luongo. I don't care if he's Vezina material and deemed one of the best goalies in today's NHL. Fact of the matter is he has yet to show up in the playoffs, even with a team as stacked like the Canucks. Even if they beat the Blackhawks this season, none of this will prove anything. Say they lose before they can even reach the conference finals then you have to question whether this core of players can win a cup. I hope tonight we can hear Chelsea Dagger running Luongo off the ice again. It will give us another set up for a classic 3-0 comeback again.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Hockey Players Are The Toughest SOB On The Planet!
Not to really bash on other sports but damn, when you put your body through this kind of punishment every other day what does that say. When is the last time you heard of a football player nearly losing one of his berries and coming back the next game, or a basketball player playing with a busted hand? Come NHL playoff time you have to admire the punishment they endure every time they step on the ice. Johan Franzen for example, busts his face early in the 1st in yesterday's game against the Coyotes. After getting 20+ stitches on his face he came right back out in the 2nd period and finished the game. Watching the interview with him on NBC I saw a man who looked like he lost a bar fight, but... as much as I hate the Red Wings, Franzen showed the grit and pride hockey players carry in their sport. I have to give him major props on that. There's only one thing to say to that...
Mans Game Bitch
Mans Game Bitch
The Real Manchester Team Is Moving On To The FA Final!
On the side of hockey I do have a small soft spot for soccer, mainly just for the one and only team from Manchester. Yesterday was a day for rejoice as City who's taken a lot of pain and punishment from Salford United finally stuck it to the rags in one of England's biggest stages.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
The Bruins Are Down... Start The Count
Well now that the series has gone through 2 games. I thought this would be a good opportunity to look at the biggest shock so far.
For me the biggest shock has been the dominating performance the Montreal Canadians. Since the opening bell the Canadians have been throwing hay makers left and right at the Bruins and all the Bruins can do is turtle and hope they can recover. On the scoreboard, physically, mentally it's an embarrassing beat down and for a series that should go 7, it could very well go 4. So what do the Bruins do to get back into this series? First things first they need to start busting their ass to the rebounds. Most of the Canadians goals so far have just been from rebounds. The defense isn't giving Thomas help. They are letting the Canadians to just walk in with no real pressure on the shooter. At the same time Thomas isn't controlling the puck that well either. There are also times as well where it looks like the Bruins are too busy looking to hit someone, then try to make a play from it. Then on the offensive side, they have ran into a really hot Carry Price. It's amazing to have seen some of the saves he has made. Only suggestion... get traffic in front of the net. I don't see enough pressure on Boston's part. Now that the series is going back to Montreal, the Bruins better take some time to get focused and remember how they play during the regular season. They lose game 3 they might as well start practicing a golf swing and a coaching job could be up for grabs with this performance.
For me the biggest shock has been the dominating performance the Montreal Canadians. Since the opening bell the Canadians have been throwing hay makers left and right at the Bruins and all the Bruins can do is turtle and hope they can recover. On the scoreboard, physically, mentally it's an embarrassing beat down and for a series that should go 7, it could very well go 4. So what do the Bruins do to get back into this series? First things first they need to start busting their ass to the rebounds. Most of the Canadians goals so far have just been from rebounds. The defense isn't giving Thomas help. They are letting the Canadians to just walk in with no real pressure on the shooter. At the same time Thomas isn't controlling the puck that well either. There are also times as well where it looks like the Bruins are too busy looking to hit someone, then try to make a play from it. Then on the offensive side, they have ran into a really hot Carry Price. It's amazing to have seen some of the saves he has made. Only suggestion... get traffic in front of the net. I don't see enough pressure on Boston's part. Now that the series is going back to Montreal, the Bruins better take some time to get focused and remember how they play during the regular season. They lose game 3 they might as well start practicing a golf swing and a coaching job could be up for grabs with this performance.
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