someone shut off the wind!!!

ok, i didn't do too badly in the first NHL playoff round predictions. i usually really suck.

the only upset in my books were the colorado avalanche beating the dallas stars. in retrospect, i forgot to factor in the marty "i'm a playoff choker" turco phenomenon. in addition, it just goes to show you how much edge you lose when you clinch a playoff spot months beforehand.

the second round should prove to be very entertaining.

the east.

ottawa senators vs. buffalo sabres...

the senators' martin havlat was a monster in the first round. he was by far the most dangerous sens forward. he's going to need some support in the second round, namely from dany heatley and daniel alfredsson. those guys have been in cruise mode when their team needed them most. otherwise, this second round match up will be long and painful for the senators.

in the buffalo sabres, the sens are up against a much faster and hungrier hockey team, in comparison to tampa bay. in addition, buffalo will actually show up with a pretty good goaltender.

hard to pick the winner, but i'll go with the team with the home advantage.

prediction: the ottawa senators in 7.

new jersey devils vs. carolina hurricanes

the 'canes did an ok job in eliminating my habs. their goaltender, cam ward, was good. their team defence was superior. however, i'm not convinced of their offence prowess, yet.

i didn't see much of their series against the NY rangers, but it appeared the line of elias-gionta-gomez was still chugging along, and marty brodeur was still standing on his head. for these reasons alone, i think they will give the 'canes much stiffer opposition than the lowly habs.

i'll stick to my guns on this one.

prediction: devils in 5.

the west...

san jose sharks vs. edmonton oilers.

another exciting matchup.

i might not be enamoured by the oilers but i have to respect the way they play. never count these guys out. they played a pretty tough team (though many contest the legitimacy of their president's trophy) in detroit and beat them in 6. if any of san jose's top players (thornton, marleau) cool off, watch out. the oilers could come up big and steal the series.

prediction: oilers in 7.

colorado avalanche vs. anaheim mighty ducks

hmmm... i dunno about this one. joe sakic vs. teemu selanne? tanguay vs. mcdonald? blake vs. neidermeyer? the supporting casts seem on par with one another. too close to call. might come down to home ice advantage.

prediction: ducks in 7.

big predictions, 2nd ed.

edmonton escapes the west. devils win the east. devils still win the cup.

my preferred scenario: edmonton win the west. sens win the east. sens win the cup...

your calgary flames...

well, they were totally dominated by the ducks in game 7 except for the first 4 minutes. surprising? yes, in part. you'd think they'd put up a fight at least. but damn, those ducks are good.

the keys to failure? lots.

the flames should of have traded for joe thornton. should have offered phaneuf and a hand full of other players. you got to give something of value to get something of value. iginla would have been the first player to exceed 1000 goals in one season.

lack of goal scoring finally caught up to the flames. they have players like lombardi and donovan who have speed to burn but have hands of stone. in the end, they couldn't muster a goal let alone, as sutter calls it, a big goal.

they let go the heart and leadership of the team. guys like gelinas and conroyd. iginla can only do so much.

worse trade of the season: steve reinprecht for mike leclerc. i thought the flames needed offence?

what next? more offence. more speed. a set up guy for iginla (it's a proven strategy on other teams with a single prolific scorer). some semblance of a credible second line to support iginla. god forbid, they might have to open up the bank vault a little wider. shouldn't be a problem now that the loonie has taken flight.

what's with the wind?

if the edmund fitzgerald sailed the glenmore reservoir today, it would have sunk again.

i was running this morning. i'm not exaggerating but the wind totally distorted my face.