Is that a bandwagon I see? Allow me to jump
OK, so the Flames are out. As much as I hate it, I'm going to have to deal with it. Some other Flames fans I spoke with have said they're not going to watch the rest of the playoffs. In my books tuning out is a perfectly appropriate copping mechanism, but it's not for me.
Instead I will shamelessly jump ship. After much soul searching over the past 24 hours I've settled on my team for the rest of the playoffs. I considered the Ducks for the reasons my fellow poolmaster mentioned below (except for the Dustin Penner part, he's overrated). I thought about the Sharks given the fact I have a lot of respect for their superstars and they're playing the Oilers. I hemmed and hawed about the Devils considering I picked them to win the whole pool. But really, when it came down to it there really was no contest. Fellow Poolies, say hello to your newest Ottawa Senators fan. I even have the jersey to prove it.
With that settled I'm going to go ahead with my second round predictions.
EAST
(1) Ottawa vs (4) Buffalo
The battle of the rookie goaltenders should be interesting since both teams have a lot of firepower. I like Miller more than Emery between the pipes, but I'll take the Sens defence over the Sabres any day. Up front the Sabres were able to skate circles around the Flyers slow and plodding defence corps, but I don't think they'll have the same success against Ottawa.
Prediction: Ottawa in 6
(2) Carolina vs (3) New Jersey
Can Cam Ward continue his sensational play? I'm going to vote no. The Devils are the hottest team in hockey and they're well rested. Sure the 'Canes found their stride at the end of the series against Montreal, but the Habs sitll exposed some weaknesses the Devils are sure to exploit. New Jersey is built for the playoffs, in part because of their cult-like devotion to the team first concept. Oh yeah, they also have someone named Martin Brodeur in net. I don't think they'll sweep again, but they will win the series
Prediction: Devils in 5
WEST
(5) San Jose vs (8) Edmonton
I underestimated the Oilers in the first round and I don't want to make that mistake again. That said I still don't think they're good enough to beat the Sharks. Joe Thornton and Jonanthan Cheechoo have been dynamite together. San Jose has been surging since Christmas and they'll continue their strong play in the second round.
Prediction: San Jose in five
(6) Anaheim vs (7) Colorado
I don't think the Ducks ever expected to get home ice advantage in the second round of the playoffs as a six seed, but with the unprecented four (OK 3.5) upsets in the west they find themselves in that position. Anaheim has a short turn around time, but I don't think that will hurt them too much. They're a young team and by the end of the series of Calgary they were acting as the hammer against the Flames rather than the nail. I was really impressed with the Ducks and although I didn't see alot of the Avs, I think Anaheim has what it takes to move on.
Prediction: Anaheim in six
posted by Pete @ 2:42 p.m.
6 comments
6 Comments:
We're headed to overtime at 6-6. Unbelievable. A guy told me the other day he was afraid to board the Sens bandwagon because Miller would outplay Emery in this series. Right now I'd like a chance between the pipes for either team. Not that the defence is helping. On the two shorthanded goals first Alfredsson and then 14 (I've forgotten the young dman's name) looked silly. Crimenny, the Sens had this game wrapped up twice or three times and now I can just feel it slipping away. I'll be happy in the fact my guys are racking up the points though.
Another reason why my skills has a hockey prognostication need work. I thought the Sens blueliners would be their strength. Clearly I had not looked past Redden and Chara.
Volchenkov's giveaway in overtime was terrible and as Cherry clearly pointed out Maszaros' was horrible all game long.
All in all a good game. As someone who has just jumped ship from the Flames all this scoring was something I needed to get adjusted to.
Dustin Penner overrated? Funny that a Flames fan would say that...
Maszaros, that's the kid's name. I noticed his offensive mindedness in the series with Tampa and he made some bad defensive decisions in that one. Tonight I couldn't figure out why he joined a rush into the offensive zone when he should have been getting off the ice.
Hey, does anyone have Roy in the pool?
And, if we want to change subjects, who took a Ducks goaltender with back-to-back shutouts?
Nobody has Derek Roy or Ilya Bryzgalov, but someone does have Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and someone else has Andrej Meszaros.
Peter, your wish to lessen the workload of running a playoff hockey pool may come true. Anaheim, Carolina and Buffalo are all up one game. But as pointed out on TSN today shortly before the end of New Jersey's embarrassment, game one in the first round was a 4-4 split between series winners. Game 5 appeared the most important game as in six of the seven series to go that deep the eventual series winner won Game 5. Those of us Flames fans know who the odd one out was.
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