Wings in 5.
Canes in 6.
What, no points for guessing that it would go 7 games for Det/Ana and for Pit/Was? Eh, guess it really won’t help me much in the standings.
Anyways, Detroit in 6, and Pittsburgh in 7.
The actual battle for the Stanley Cup was decided last night between the Wings and Ducks…Great series, Detroit…you deserve it!
I’ll start with the Western Conference since it’s clearly what I’m more familiar with. 0-2 on the eastern conference last round. :eek:
Detroit vs. Chicago: For starters, :D. This should be a fun series. Chicago plays a more offensive style than the Ducks so we should see some wide open hockey. Offensively, the Wings may have an edge on top end talent with Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Hossa, and playoff stud Johan Franzen. Both teams get scoring from the whole of the forwards. Defensively, Chicago has some good players but they just aren’t at the same level as Detroit. The goaltenders are about even, but I’ll give the edge to Ozzie with two cups and the better of the statistics in this years playoffs. Bulin has also had some really ugly games against the Wings. The things that Chicago has going for them are intangibles. They’ve had a couple of extra days of rest while Detroit is coming off a tough series and the Hawks are a young team on a roll. I’ll break with superstition and make a pick on this series. Detroit in five. The biggest reason for this is Khabibulin. He hasn’t been solid in the playoffs and has played terrible against the Wings in the past. Chicago’s young guns will make the series interesting though.
Carolina vs. the hated Pittsburgh Penguins: Can I bet against Carolina again? Why not. Third times the charm and all that. There’s no question that Cam Ward has carried the Hurricanes farther than expected. I just don’t see him pulling the same feat against the Penguins forwards unless he can steal one game outright and keep the other one close in Pittsburgh. He might get into their heads and get them looking for the perfect shot instead of taking the shot. Penguins in five.
If they Wings win the cup, they’ll have earned it based on the series with the Ducks. That could have went either way. More tense moments the last two weeks than I can remember in last year’s playoffs.
Has anyone confirmed(or heard) that Mickey Redmond swore live on air last night with 4 seconds left? “You gotta be kidding/shitting me?”
Sorry yeticus, no points for calling the series in the right amount of games, unless you call the winner right.
I’m pretty sure he say’s kidding. Listen to it while trying to hear ‘kidding’ then again trying to hear ‘shitting’. Kidding is much clearer.
I heard kidding as well. But who cares? It’s Mickey Redmond. He’s a better broadcaster than everyone of those bobbleheaded morons at Vs. or NBC and he’s a cranky old man to boot. Nothing better than a ten minute Redmond rant when another composite stick breaks.
In memory of Varlamov, I’ll play both sides of the coin:
DET/CHI: Detroit in 6. I don’t think Chicago can win, but they will put up a hell of a fight. Maybe even win all the home games.
PIT/CAR: Carolina in 7, in one of the biggest upsets in Hockey history. Granted, they won’t stand a chance against Detroit if I’m right, but maybe the series win will get them motivated.
Hey, I can dream, can’t I?
While did correctly pick the number of games in 3 series, I got the winners wrong in all four. Ouch.
Well, only two to get wrong this round… so what the hey, I’ll call a rematch final. Detroit in 6, Pittsburgh in 6.
Chicago in six: Detroit has the edge up front, but Chicago has the deepest defence corps in the league and Khabibulan gives them a big edge over Osgood. Lidstrom’s inability to slow down Getzlaf is an ominous sign for the Wings.
Pittsburgh in five: Carolina has nobody who can hope to shut down Crosby on a normal day, and Crosby has been playing like a man possessed in these playoffs. Ward will keep them close, but the Penguins are going to overwhelm the Hurricanes.
You mean the Chris Osgood that has a .921 save % and 2.06 GAA and the Nickolai Khabibulin that’s .896 and 2.76 GAA? That Khabibulin gives them a big edge?
I was wondering about that as well. I do try not to question the reasons behind the picks, especially the person who thus far is leading the game, but I do have a couple.
Chicago’s offense has carried them this far, not the goaltending. Khabibulin has played so poorly in his Chicago career that nobody was sure he would even be playing for Chicago or their minor league team this season. His career stats against Detroit aren’t pointing to an edge for him either. Not to say that Ozzie is a stellar goalie (solid at best with glimpses of spectacular), but the Wizard of Oz has been better than the Bulin Wall in the playoffs and overall.
I’m also questioning Chicago’s defense being better than Detroit’s and being “the deepest defense corps in the league.” They don’t have anyone of the caliber of Lidstrom and Rafalski. The second unit of Kronwall and Stuart would likely be top two on Chicago with the third unit of Lebda and Ericsson being equal to Chicago’s third pairing if not their second. They have a good set of offensive defensemen, and they’re certainly talented, but I’m not seeing better than Detroit or deepest in the league.
If you’ve the time, feel free to explain. I’m just curious how you reached your conclusions. 
Well, I was nearly in last place after round one…
Khabibulan was awful in his first three years in Chicago, but he’s been excellent this season. Remember, Huet was signed to be the starter last summer, but Khabibulan won the starter’s job back.
As to the defence, you drastically underrate Keith and Seabrook. I would not be at all surprised to see the two of them make Canada’s 2010 Olympic team. Cam Barker is another excellent young defenceman, and I see Rafalski and Campbell as being comparable players. Ignoring their contracts, I’d prefer Campbell over Rafalski because Rafalski is giveaway prone.
Rafalski is a player who’s had the great fortune to play with a series of hall-of-famers(Stevens, Neidermeyer and now Lidstrom). In his time at New Jersey after the lockout, where he was depended on to be the #1 guy, he simply wasn’t all that good. The failure of New Jersey’s defence to stop the opposition’s top players – with or without Rafalski – has been the primary reason why the Devils have been bounced in the first two rounds every year since the lockout despite impressive regular season campaigns.
Franzen just scored! Real nice wrap around. Did anyone see the Blackhawk come close to getting his throat slit. That makes me cringe.
Leaffan your up.
I look like a freaking genius right now. :smack:
No crap. I saw the replay. Good thing he has a thick, protective beard.
And Detroit takes it 5-2. Biggest goats? Khabibulin and the defense. Too many breakaways and lapses. Khabibulin was solid on the netfront scrums but lousy on deflections and simple shots. Cleary’s first goal was really soft. They did do a good job of getting traffic in front of Ozzie and putting in goals off rebounds.
For Detroit, they need to stop overthinking their shots. I think they’re still on Hiller time and looking for bash in goals from the front. Khabibulin looked worse from a distance than he did up front. Just get him moving a bit and throw the puck at him. Defensively, they need to keep Chicago away from their net. That’s where goals are getting scored.
I agree the Wings need to adjust their shots a bit. They were beating Hiller down low, it seems like Khabibulin is more vulnerable up high.
Pens get first game. Canes could have tied but Staal misdirected the puck to Fleury and not into the net.
I watched the first two periods of this one. The biggest thing Carolina did that I saw was that they didn’t just shoot the puck. Players were passing on open looks at the net. On Carolina’s first pp, a defenseman had the puck and a clear shooting lane with only another hurricane in front of Fleury and he passed. Later another Hurricane was right in front with noone around him and he passed the puck behind. 
Pittsburgh had almost the same problem. It didn’t affect them as much because they were carrying play the whole time, but there were a lot of extra passes. It’s a rare puck that makes it’s way to the back of the net without being aimed at the net.
For years the puck has bounced off some player and changed directions a couple times, and Redmond followed it every step.When he makes the call ,he is right. The replay is just a device to prove he made the right call again.