We came home and I turned on VS to catch the end of the Rangers/Capitals game/series. just a few seconds before that Sergei Federov had scored what would, a few seconds later, become the series clinching goal for Washington. It was beautiful watching New York blow a three games to one lead in the series. I would have liked to have met them in the second round, but I just felt dirty rooting for New York.
After the game VS switched to the New Jersey/Carolina game which was early in the third. The Devils were up 3-2 but it was looking like a good game. I leaned back to get comfy for what I thought would be a fun third period or desperation from the 'Canes...
And VS went back to the studio saying that due to contractual obligations they were unable to show the rest of the game.
Huh? Contractual obligations? Aren't you the affiliate network for the entire National Hockey League and isn't this the post season and wasn't it a game seven? Huh? VS: you suck.
So we went back to the Red Sox game for a while and saw that they had blown a 7-3 lead to the Indians that would eventually lead to the end of their 11 game winning streak. Damn it. I was shocked and a little pissed off to hear Don Orsillo announce that Carolina had taken the game and the series by scoring twice in the last 80 seconds of the game to stun New Jersey.
Shocked because... well.. it was shocking... 80 seconds? C'mon, that's pretty shocking. Pissed because, as previously mentioned, VS sucks.
Also I was happy. Happy because the Bruins will play the Hurricanes (the last team they beat in a playoff series prior to ousting the cousin pokin' Montreal Canadiens last week) and they were 4-0 against them in the regular season.
So it's time to recap my predictions for round one. In a word: Suck. VS sucks, Joe Thornton sucks, and I suck when it comes to predicting playoff series (partly because, as previously mentioned, Joe Thornton sucks.)
In the East...
Boston vs Montreal = Correct! (extra happy about that one, obviously)
Washington vs New York = Correct
New Jersey vs Carolina = Correct? I had to go back to the original post to see who I picked and was surprised I picked the Whale. I really did. Look it up yourself. Maybe I didn't suck as bad as I thought (in the East at least)
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia = Correct. I was 100% in the East? Somehow I got my head and my heart mixed up and thought I had picked New Jersey and Philly. Wow, maybe I don't suck as bad as Joe Thornton.
In the West however...
San Jose vs Anaheim = Fuck you Joe Thornton, you suck = Incorrect.
Detroit vs Columbus = Correct. Duh. Again, no offense to the Blue Jackets.
Vancouver vs St. Louis = Incorrect. The first of two failed longshot picks.
Chicago vs Calgary = Incorrect. The second longshot pick that failed.
So I picked 5 out of 8 for a winning rate of 62.5%. Not very good, but above 50% which is my meager goal each year. I thought it was worse than that.
Now on to the second round! Here's the schedule (taken from NHL.com):
| SERIES I |
| ||||||
| Friday, May 1 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | ||||||
| Sunday, May 3 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | ||||||
| Wednesday, May 6 | at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. | ||||||
| Friday, May 8 | at Carolina, 7:30 p.m. | ||||||
| *Sunday, May 10 | at Boston, 7:30 p.m. | ||||||
| *Tuesday, May 12 | at Carolina, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Boston, TBD | ||||||
| SERIES J |
| ||||||
| Saturday, May 2 | at Washington, 1:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Monday, May 4 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Wednesday, May 6 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Friday, May 8 | at Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Saturday, May 9 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Monday, May 11 | at Pittsburgh, TBD | ||||||
| *Wednesday, May 13 | at Washington, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| SERIES K |
| ||||||
| Friday, May 1 | at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Sunday, May 3 | at Detroit, 2:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Tuesday, May 5 | at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. | ||||||
| Thursday, May 7 | at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. | ||||||
| *Sunday, May 10 | at Detroit, 5:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Tuesday, May 12 | at Anaheim, TBD | ||||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Detroit, TBD | ||||||
| SERIES L |
| ||||||
| Thursday, April 30 | at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Saturday, May 2 | at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Tuesday, May 5 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | ||||||
| Thursday, May 7 | at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Saturday, May 9 | at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m | ||||||
| *Monday, May 11 | at Chicago, 9:00 p.m. | ||||||
| *Thursday, May 14 | at Vancouver, TBD |
* - if necessary
Now... who to pick?
Boston vs Carolina:
Who do you think. Boston lead the season series 4-0, but that was before the Whalercanes end of the season rush to storm into the playoffs. Tim Thomas against Cam Ward. It should be an awesome series. Boston will win it but it won't be easy. A minor upside to this series is that I once again get to root against that prick Joe Corvo. Hey Joe, beat up and waitresses lately? Ya prick! Go Bruins
Washington vs Pittsburgh:
The folks in the NHL marketing offices are pissing themselves with glee over this. Ovetchkin and the Caps against Crosby and Malkin and the Penguins. Quite possibley the three best players in the league, the poster boys for the future, all in the same series. The league has been drooling over this possibility since the lock out ended. Now they have it. It should be awesome. But who to pick? Pittsburgh looked strong against the Flyers in the first round. Washington did everything humanly possible to blow it against the Rangers before getting their shite together and taking the series. Rookie goalie Varlarmov (sp?) verses proven goalie Flurey. Who the hell knows? This one could go either way. I have no idea who to pick. ummm... Okay, I am going with Washington only because they are the higher seed. I just hope that the Bruins can win their match up while this one goes seven games with massive injuries to both sides.
Detroit vs Anaheim:
This should be no sweat for Detroit. Then again I said the same thing about San Jose and look what those assholes did to me (again). Joe Thornton, you suck. My brain is telling me to pick Detroit so I will. My gut wants to go with Anaheim but it's not being objective. I am projecting to a possible future with Boston in the finals and I want the better Western teams to go away before then. That's why I will be rooting for the Ducks even though I am picking the Red Wings.
Vancouver vs Chicago:
The two teams I showed no respect to are meeting in the second round... figures. Like Pitt/Washington this one could go either way for me. Vancouver has Luongo and that might give them the edge, but Chicago is a hell of a team. I am going to pick Chicago as my one 2nd round lower-seed-wins upset prediction. Really because I am still projecting a possible Bruins-in-the-finals scenario and it would be cool to see Boston vs Chicago. So this one I pick with my gut and not my brain.
I cannot get overly optimistic with the Bruins though. One game at a time. I expect them to come out rusty in game one, and I sort of expect the Whale to beat them on Friday. Cautious optimism. Fingers crossed. One-game-at-a-time.
Go Bruins!
No comments:
Post a Comment