I have never, ever seen a game 7 end in such a collapse in my life. The tying goal was misread by Brodeur and it went through his legs instead of glove side. But the winning goal was not a good goal. I guess it may have been slightly deflected by the defence, but still Brodeur should have had it.
I’ll get my picks in tomorrow.
*Competition? *I was just talking smack!
Man, I’ve got to think about this… I’ve got some catching up to do. I’ll be back tomorrow.
As an aside, I HATE these regional broadcast outage rules. I didn’t see the last goal and still can’t find it on ESPN or anybody.
…grrrr…
Let’s see if I can get the right teams this time. 
Round 2
Boston vs Carolina - Bruins in 6
Washington vs Pittsburg - Capitals in 7
Detroit vs Anaheim - Ducks in 6
Vancouver vs Chicago - Canucks in 6
No easy matchups this round that’s for sure. I’m torn on the Carolina series of course. The team that Boston played and beat earlier in the season is not the same team that has been skating since the trade deadline. I want them to get by Boston, but in a purely business sense, I have to pick Boston to take it.
The rest of them are tossups for me.
Check youtube. There’s an NHL channel that has the highlights from every game.
I went 3 for 4 in the east and 0 for 4 in the west (well, i got the winning team right 3 times I just missed the number of games).
Lets see if I can improve at all with Round 2:
Boston vs Carolina - I really like Carolina and I think Boston’s victory over a JV Montreal team isn’t a very good indication of their talent. They’re good though, I just don’t think they’ll walk through this series. I think they can be outscored by Carolina however and have a real shot at losing. Boston, 7
Washington vs Pittsburgh - I’m still not sold on Washington and I don’t think they have the depth Pittsburgh has up front and I also give Pittsburgh the edge in the goaltender category. Pittsburgh went 0-3-1 in the regular season - which has to be taken into account but what also has to be considered is the fact that Pittsburgh didn’t even show up until Gonchar came back and the coach was replaced. That made them a completely different team. Pittsburgh wins, but the series is long and I’m going to be seriously sick of both teams in a couple weeks.
Detroit vs Anaheim - This should be a heck of a series. I’m really looking forward to it. I don’t care that he’s won stanley cups, Osgood is garbage and I’m sticking with it and at some point he will get exposed. Hiller, on the other hand, showed some stuff last series. I’m betting on Hiller stealing a few games giving Anaheim the victory in 6 games.
Vancouver vs Chicago - Bobby Lou is the difference here, plain and simple. Also, the Twins have been very good. Vancouver will play a careful game and win 4 close games relatively quickly - say 5 games.
Bruins in 6.
Caps in 7.
Ducks in 7.
Canucks in 7.
2nd round starts today. Blackhawks at Vancouver.
Bos vs Car - Bos - 5
Wash vs Pitt - Pitt - 7
Det vs Ana - Det - 5
Van vs Chi - Van - 7
I think you forgot the game count for Penguins/Capitals.
I put him down for 7. He said a long series.
Rysto your predictions please.
Despite living in the US, i was born in Canada and am a Canadian citizen, so i feel obligated to cheer for any Canadian team against any US team. For that reason alone, i’d be rooting for the Canucks.
But Vancouver is also where i was born, and where i lived for a couple of years in the early 90s, so they are my team, and i really hope they can go all the way this year.
I was living in Vancouver in 1994 when they came back from 3-1 down to tie the series against the Rangers, only to lose the final game. It was a heartbreaker, and it set me upon my current course of loving New York, and hating New York sports teams.
Still don’t like the Bruins. Thomas is going to be exposed in this series. Carolina in 6
Washington’s going to put up one heck of a fight, but the Penguins are the better team. Pittsburgh in 7
The Ducks’ only chance is a Chris Osgoode implosion. Prongers might shut down the Wings’ top line, but that still leaves two lines who can score. Neidermeyer is done. Wings in 5
Chicago is young, but they are also very deep. The Sedins will find ways to score, but the second line will dissappoint. Chicago in 6.
True enough, I suppose that’s only fair. Pittsburgh has the sixth game at home, right? Why don’t we go with 6 games. This series boils down to one person - Malkin. They need a series out of him or Pittsburgh stands a good chance at losing. I know Ovechkin is in vogue, but I really think Malkin is the best the NHL has to offer right now if he’s on his game.
If Neidermeyer is done like he was last series against the Sharks, then here’s hoping for more of the same. At +3 and 5 points (2nd to Getzlaf), that’s the kinda “done” I’m looking for.
He had not been an elite shutdown defender since he flirted with retirement. There’s no way that Jonathan freaking Cheechoo walks the Neidermeyer of 2007 the way he did a couple of weeks ago.
Malkin is better than Crosby in my opinion. He leads in playoff points and I believe is a close second in scoring. Fleury is a good goaltender as well. Last year in game 5 of the finals he stood on his head to force game six against the Wings. I am a believer in the “you have to lose a cup before you can win the cup” theory. The Penguins will have their day. Just hope its not at the expense of the Wings.
Rysto got you in.
Boston vs Carolina – ‘Canes in 6
Washington vs Pittsburgh - Caps in 6
Detroit vs Anaheim - Ducks in 7
Vancouver vs Chicago - Canucks in 5
I’m going purely on Caps goalie Varmalov and also on Ovechkin. I’m not seriously impressed by Crosby.
The Red Wing / Ducks should be quite a struggle. I’m tired of the Red Wings.
OK, I can’t stand it. I’m changing to Carolina over Boston in 6. The more I think about it, I just can’t do it. I can’t give this one to Boston. The way the Canes have played since the trade deadline is vastly different that what Boston saw all season. I think the last time they played each other was on Glen Wesley’s retirement night. Yep, I just checked…Feb 17th was the the last meeting.
Got it, glad everyone is playing along.
In round one I beat Maggie the Monkey for the first time in two years!
Ok, time for round two…
East
Bruins vs. Hurricanes
Boston will find this series more difficult that the previous. Carolina is coming in on a high, and they should make it interesting. Boston is still gonna win in 6.
Capitals vs Penguins
This should be one hellagood series. A couple of the best players in the world, on each team. Pens went to the final last year, and possibly have the edge in goal. Ovechkin has been able to get Crosby off his game in the past though. After flipping a coin, I’m taking Washington in 7
West
Red Wings vs Ducks
Anaheim still has to worry about how many penalties they take. Detroit still has to worry about goaltending (they do have a solid defence though.) Both teams have the experience of recent cup wins. I’ll take Anaheim in 7
Canucks vs Blackhawks
Vancouver prolly has a little rust, though also some injuries healed. It’s been what, a year? since Luongo has had this many days off. He’s still Luongo though. Chicago has Khabibulin, and he has backstopped a cup win, but since then… I don’t know if he’s up to it again. Vancouver in 6