Ummm

I'm just a tad surprised by the Habs coming back from 3-1 to beat the Ovechkins.

So, how did Adrian & I do in the first round?

• Montreal-Washington - Adrian said Caps in 5; I said Caps in 6 - Advantage Dean
• NJ-Philly - Adrian said NJ in 4; I said the same - Advantage Flyers
• Buffalo-Boston - Adrian said Buffalo in 7; I said Boston in 7 - Advantage Dean
• Pittsburgh-Ottawa - Adrian said Crosby in 6; I said in 7 - Advantage Adrian

Adrian knows the West better than I do; let's see how he does!

• San Jose-Colorado - Adrian said SJ in 4; I said SJ in 5 - Advantage Dean
• Chicago-Nashville - Adrian said Chicago in 6; I said Nashville in 7 - Advantage Adrian
• Vancouver-LA - Adrian said Canucks in 5; I said in 4 - Advantage Adrian
• Phoenix-Detroit - We both said 7 games; I said Detroit, Adrian said Phoenix - Advantage Dean

Final tally - Dean is up 4 series to 3, with one tie.

My picks for round one

Firstly, I have to agree with Dean that the Flames were the biggest disappointment of the year. And I say this happily as an Oiler fan, because we all think were it not for the Flames, it would have been us with that crown.

They would have been pummeled by the Sharks anyway...

So, let's get to it shall we? East first;

Washington over Montreal in 5

I don't see the Habs doing much, sorry. They do have some offense, but it's not Ovechkin/Semin/Backstrom/Green offense. Yes the Caps' goaltending is suspect, but unless the Canadiens can put up 6 every night, they won't win. I don't see that happening.

New Jersey over Philadelphia in 4

I can't stand the Flyers. I hope they blow up in a really embarrassing way. I don't like the Devils either, but I have to pick someone...

Buffalo over Boston in 7

Dean called it; this'll be the series to watch in the first round. I like Buffalo. No reason. Better play-by-play guy on TV I suppose.

Pittsburgh over Ottawa in 6

Sadly, the Sens have become the late 90's Oilers; pretty good year, but derailed by the Stars in the playoffs each year. They did get by the Stars once though, so who knows...

And the West;

San Jose over Colorado in 4

This looks like a repeat of the Vancouver/St.Louis series of last year; a team achieving a little sooner than they should getting handled by a very good team that's been there before. Colorado, just hope that you don't go the way of St.Louis.

Chicago over Nashville in 6

I don't think either of these teams have top notch goaltending. So they cancel each other out, and the power of the Hawks' skaters moves them through to round 2

Vancouver over L.A. in 5

This looks like a repeat of the Vancouver/St.Louis series of last year; a team achieving a little sooner - hey wait, I already said that. As much as I can't stand the Canucks, they'll win this easily.

Detroit over Phoenix in 7

A team with monster playoff experience getting white-hot at the exact right time against a team that's never been here (Sorry, but I refuse to consider the Coyotes to be the same 'franchise' as the Jets. Nothing the Jets ever did has any effect on this team). The Coyotes will pick up a couple wins and expose Jimmy Howard as the ECHL back-up goaltender he truly is, and then Babcock will put Osgood in, and it's over.

My Playoff Predictions

Montreal-Washington: Washington in 6 - a tougher series for the Caps than most think
New Jersey-Philadelphia: New Jersey in 4 - Boucher will be blown out in the first game
Buffalo-Boston: Boston in 7 - I predict lots of overtime games in this series
Pittsburgh-Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 7 - Sens will push the Penguins all the way

and in the West:

San Jose-Colorado: San Jose in 5 - Colorado is happy to make the playoffs this year
Chicago-Nashville: Nashville in 7 - Chicago's goaltending will let them down
Vancouver-Los Angeles: Vancouver in 4 - a powerhouse against another team happy to make the playoffs
Phoenix-Detroit: Phoenix in 7 - Detroit looks scary on paper, but Phoenix has a great team

Thinking about the (real) playoffs

I don't want to put any jinxes on Montreal's run-up to the playoffs, but it looks like we'll have three Canadian teams in the post-season this year.  The Flames are being called the biggest disappointment of the season - they are for me (they're my second team).  They still cling to the faintest hope, but the Avalanche are going to have to lose pretty much everything for that to happen.  The Leafs, apparently, were just mathematically eliminated, though I had them out in mid-October.  Just before the Oilers.

The Senators seem to be in fairly good shape for a higher seed finish - you don't really want to finish #8 in the East, or even #7.  But the Sens look to me like they'll have another one-and-out playoffs.  That's just the way they do things.  The Canucks might look like Canada's best bet, with their incredible offensive power and a very, very good goaltender.  But everyone wonders about Vancouver's defense.  And there are stronger teams in the West, of course.

No, I think it's the Habs that have the best chance for a long run this year.  If they can organize enough points against the mainly-out-of-the-playoff teams they have left, they won't have to play Washington and Pittsburgh in the first two rounds.  With Plekanec, Camalleri, Gionta, Gomez, and the Kostitsyns they finally have some fire-power, and I think they have the best goaltending in the East (yes, even better than the Devils).  Their defense is often better than last year, though their powerplay is sputtering badly lately.

Watch out for Detroit (not Chicago), Washington (not San Jose), Pittsburgh (not Buffalo).  My dark horse pick isn't Phoenix, it's Nashville.

The Final Four

There's only Duke left for me, which is disappointing, though I think they'll go on to win the tournament.  Quite surprising to have two #5 seeds in the Final Four.

Elite Eight

I always hope for five of 8 in the Elite Eight, and I was close to that last night.  But Tennessee held off Ohio State, and I was down to 4.  My winners:

• Butler
• Kansas State (unfortunately, these two play each other)
• West Virginia
• Duke

So to salvage a pretty good tournament, I'll need Kansas State and Duke to push through, and for Duke to win.  Of course, it's looking good for the Blue Devils to take it all.

About the tournament

I have a confession to make;

In all the years I've watched the Tournament, all the times I skipped school, called in sick to work (actually, I've never done that), watched it in hotel rooms on University field trips, and the time that we lived in Terrace and everybody went away for the weekend and I got caught up in the story of my all-time favorite NCAA Cinderella Story team Loyola Marymount as they put up 111 points in their first round game, and then a staggering 149 points on defending champion Michigan.

All those times, I never picked a bracket.

I've had friends ask me to join their online leagues, but I can never get it done before the tournament begins.

I find it really difficult to know what's happening with the mid-majors. The only coverage of schools like that we get here is Gonzaga. I don't usually know that a team like Cornell is good, or Butler, until they end up in the Sweet 16 (or knock off a number 1, sorry Orange).

Maybe next year.

This was super hard to write as Xavier and K-State play THE GAME OF THE CENTURY. never miss a game that Gus Johnson calls. he's a magnet for crazy plays and drama.

Dean's March Madness Bracket

You saw it here first. [one small error - I had missed writing in the winner of Tennessee/Ohio St.: it will be Ohio State, but it doesn't matter, since they'll lose to Kansas in the Elite Eight - I also see I missed putting Texas A+M in their second-round spot (over Purdue)]

Friday: not a bad first day - I went 11-5.  But, and here's the thing,

I PICKED OHIO OVER GEORGETOWN!  OHIO!!  OVER FRIGGIN' GEORGETOWN!!!

Not bad, picking a #14 seed over a #3 seed.  Of course, I missed #11 Old Dominion, or Old Dominoes, as I like to say, over the #6 seed The Fightin' Irish.  And #13 Murray State over #4 Vanderbilt.  Lucky that Villanova pulled out their game over Robert Morris, since I have the Wildcats going to the Elite Eight.

Wins
Kansas
N. Iowa
Tennesee
Ohio!!!!
Butler
Kansas State
Kentucky
New Mexico
Baylor
St. Mary's
Villanova

Losses
Vanderbilt (lost to Murray St.)
Florida (lost to BYU)
Texas (lost to Wake Forest)
Marquette (lost to Washington, but Go Huskies! anyway)
Notre Dame (lost to Old Dominoes)

In Friday's games, I know that a lot of people chose #13 Siena over #4 Purdue, but I don't think so.  My upset picks are #13 Houston over #4 Maryland, and #11 Minnesota over #6 Xavier.  Things are evolving according to plan...

No mustard

With 5 seconds left, Destiny panics...

i love this nike ad - even though they didn't put Canadian music on it. 'Wolf Like Me' by TV on the Radio is a kick-ass song. and they clearly guessed wrong on who would make up Canada's defense on the Olympic roster...



notice that Iginla is driving a Porsche Cayenne - 2 hours to practise in that would be fine by me.

YAY for HOCKEY

it's finally back!!

TSN is really liking Philly and the Pens in the East, but I've seen a lot of the Caps already and they are an offensive powerhouse. Their powerplay is frightening.

Goaltending is their weakness - Gaborik just fired a wrist shot past Theodore from well out - but man are they something to watch.

In the West, St.Louis really put the boots to Detroit in Sweden. They could be the Blackhawks of 09/10.

The Oilers have promise, but I think they need a penalty kill/faceoff guy. Their powerplay has looked good, but the PK is still a major weakness. Hopefully the Bonehead Wall with tighten up a bit too...

One last thing - i LOVE the Canucks going 0-3 to start the year! Too bad the Habs couldn't have pushed them a bit more the other night.

Playoff Pool: We (Don't) Have a Winner (Yet)

Note: I screwed up on this post yesterday - I didn't notice that Jesse had picked Washington, not Detroit, to win the cup. So Jesse doesn't have a chance to win after all (too bad, Jesse!) Anyway, I fixed the complicated stuff below...

Here are the rules of our Playoff Pool:

Here's a plan for how we choose the winner: everyone gets a point for picking a winner in the first round, two points for the second round, three points for the third round, and four points for correctly choosing the Stanley Cup winner. So perfect picks give you 8 points in round 1, 8 points in the quarter-finals, 6 points in the semi-finals, and 4 points in the finals = 26 points.

So here are the standings as we wait breathlessly for a winner in the Final Series:

Adam: 3 points
Adrian: 7 + 2 = 9 points
Bert+Ev: 5 + 2 + 3 = 10 points (and can add 4 if the Penguins win the Cup)
Dean: 5 + 2 + 3 = 10 points (ditto)
Jesse: 7 + 2 + 3 = 12 points (since Jesse picked Washington in the final, that's as far as he can go)
Jordan: 2 points
Lane: 5 points
Lee: 3 points
Marc: 7 + 4 + 3 = 14 points (but Marc picked Boston to win the Cup (as if!), so 14 is as good as it gets for him)
Sarah: 5 + 2 = 7 points
Sylvianne: 4 + 2 = 6 points

If Detroit wins, Marc wins all the dough. If Pittsburgh wins, Marc, Bert+Ev, and I will be tied with 14 points, and we'll need to work out the tie-breaker, based on our prediction of games in each series.

Gino!

This was Malkin's best playoff goal...

Until he did this;

I fear the Canadians will need some serious home ice mojo to win the gold in Vancouver next year.

The Final Four

There's an old saying in hockey: a day without a Boston Bruins overtime loss is a day without sunshine.

Last night's game seven overtime game between the Bruins and the Hurricanes was exciting. I just watched the highlights this morning, and there sure was lots of action. There were a couple of spectacular saves by Tim Thomas - the best of the losing goalies in the playoffs, I thought, though Luongo was consistently excellent - right Lane?. Samsonov's goal was amazing. The overtime was really exciting, though the goal to end the game wasn't a classic.

I was cheering for the Ducks in their series against Detroit - probably the only person outside of Southern California. Again, the winning goal was a bit garbagy, but it was a good game and a good series. The Red Wings have to be prohibitive favourites to repeat now.

Looks like Marc has pretty much swept things in our pool. He was the only one of us to pick two of the Final Four: Chicago & Detroit. Sylvianne, Dean, and Bert & Ev all picked Pittsburgh, while Jesse and Sarah picked Detroit. None of us saw the Hurricanes coming. I pick Carolina now to face Detroit in the final, but to no avail. The Red Wings will only get stronger now.

Comments?

Round 1 all done!

The last two Game 7s are done, and we're all finished with Round 1. So far this is how we're doing:

Adam: 3 wins + 5 losses
Adrian: 7 wins + 1 loss (!)
Bert & Ev: 5 wins + 3 losses
Dean: 5 wins + 3 losses
Jesse: 7 wins + 1 loss (!)
Jordan: 2 win + 6 losses
Lane: 5 wins + 3 losses
Lee: 3 wins + 5 losses
Marc: 7 wins + 1 loss (!)
Sarah: 5 wins + 3 losses
Sylvianne: 4 wins + 4 losses

So the three winners of the first round are Adrian, Marc, and Jesse. But Marc looks like he has the advantage with his picks in the next two rounds. What will you spend your $55 on, Marc?

The series that seemed to give us the most trouble were the two that finished last night. Too many of us assumed San Jose would roll over Anaheim, and that Calgary would mop up Chicago. But both of last night's winners look awfully good: strong power-plays, strong goal-tending, tough, fast, talented. Both Detroit and Vancouver better take care in the next round!

Meanwhile, what a great finish in the Carolina-New Jersey series. Lots of action in the last minutes of these games!

Our totals so far: 53 wins + 35 losses (60%)

Looking good!

i'm not one to brag, but things are going pretty good in my bracket; i could go 8 for 8!

so far i have pittsburgh and boston in the east, and detroit and vancouver in the west.

if the rangers continue their destiny to pull a choke job worthy of their city mates the NY Mets, then i'm 3 out of 4 in the east.

i suppose NJ will win, but i don't know. i sort of don't care. both those teams are in my Top 5 Teams That Should Not Have Won the Stanley Cup anyway

in the west i have the canucks and detroit. and if the hawks come through - and i think they will, though it may take 7 - i'll have 3 of 4 there too.

about the hawks; did you see the beating they laid on phaneuf last night? i enjoyed that. and that dustin byfuglien is a fantastic hockey player! and so is patrick sharp, and ben eager. i predict in two years they sign luongo as a UFA and that team will rule the league.

so that just leaves those pesky ducks - see my Top 5 above...

go sharks!

How We Doin'?

I'm feeling pretty good about my picks in the first round. Only Anaheim has screwed up my picks, but that's happening for lots of us. I don't think San Jose will come back against the Ducks, so I've nearly written off this one. Montreal might win their next game and salvage some self-respect, so my Boston in 5 pick looks good. Washington will take the next 3 games easily (unless more bad things happen for them with their goalie or the Rangers'). NJ might not take 7 games, but they should win. Pittsburgh might take 6 or 7 in their series, but they'll win too.

St. Louis has been in close for every game, so I think they might win tonight, but will lose the series in 5, as I predicted. The Canucks are looking really, really good. Detroit in 4 looks pretty reasonable as well.

That just leaves Calgary-Chicago - perhaps the best series so far. I picked Calgary in 6, and I think if they play the way they did last night, they could win the next 3 games. But more likely it will come down to game 7 in Chicago. I'm worried that Chicago has too much talent, and that Calgary is missing too much of their's to injuries.

How's everyone else doing?

Adrian, are you at all worried about having picked San Jose to win the Cup this year? Adam, you must be feeling good about Vancouver. They're playing a good team right now, and they look awesome. Maybe they'll make it to the finals again, like that year against the Rangers. They're fast and strong, and their goaltending is awesome.

Mom & Dad, you must be feeling good about your Anaheim pick, which is looking extremely perspicacious right now. Jesse, your picks seem very balanced and reasonable right down the line (though I don't think Carolina will come through unless they push things up a notch against Jersey). Lane, your picks are looking good as well. Get some earplugs for the car horns - the Canucks will win lots of games this year. Lee, I thought your Montreal pick was just the tiniest bit optimistic. Still, don't give up hope!

Marc, I guess you'll be cheering on Carolina as well. I think they'll need top drawer games in goal for the rest of the series. Sarah, your only weak pick is San Jose, but then lots of us missed out on that one. Sylvianne, if the Rangers can come back to the form of their first two games, you'll be ahead on your pick from that series. I believe everyone else picked Washington. If Lundquist stands on his head, that could happen.

Flames in Overtime

Here are the TSN highlights from last night's Calgary-Chicago Game 1. The 12-second overtime period begins at about the 1:45 mark:



Remind you of anything? I couldn't find any video out there, but here's what happened in Game 2 of the 1986 Stanley Cup finals (Montreal vs. Calgary).

From the faceoff, McPhee brings it in with Skrudland. HE SCORES!!
—Don Whitman calling Brian Skrudland's overtime goal in game two.

It took 9 seconds. Looks like the Flames don't like to draw out these overtime periods.

Day 1

Went according to plan, more or less. The Rangers win was an upset, but from what I hear (I only had a chance to watch the first period of the Vancouver-St. Louis game) it was a goaltending problem for the Capitals. As long as the Caps don't panic, they should be o.k. in this series.

What I saw of the Vancouver game was excellent - very entertaining hockey! Up + down the ice action, and some amazing goaltending at both ends.

Now the real important games start in Boston and Chicago.

Hey, it's great to have 5 of the (Almost) Original Six teams in the playoffs: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, New York Rangers, Montreal. For the life of me, I can't remember what the sixth team was! Montreal Maroons? New York Americans? Pittsburgh Pirates? Portland Rosebuds?

Vancouver Millionaires?

Everyone is in!

So, we're all in. There are 11 of us, so there's $55 up for grabs. The big payday! One last score, then I can retire.

The bottom line? Here are the Stanley Cup winning choices:

Adam: Vancouver
Adrian: San Jose
Bert+Ev: Pittsburgh
Dean: Pittsburgh
Jesse: Washington
Jordan: New Jersey
Lane: Boston
Lee: Montreal
Marc: Boston
Sarah: Boston
Sylvianne: Boston

Lots of diversity in these choices. I'm a bit surprised that no one chose Detroit. Great going, Lee, to choose Montreal in this their Annointed Centennial Year. Except that it won't happen (sigh).