I can’t stand you Zetter, but can I drink from the Cup?
The title may be a bit premature, but it got you all thinking, did it not? In case you’ve been living under a rock, conference finals start tonight people. You know what that means. Yes—I will hope for an early demise of the Red Wings (although, I don’t think it’ll happen). So I went 2:4 in picking the winning teams, and I think 1: 4 including number of games, last round. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly ashamed. However, in my defense, no one predicted the Avalanche getting swept (unless you’re a Detroit homer), and the Canadiens just never seemed to bounce back with a win, despite playing decent hockey. Being that the Flyers and Pens dominated in their series’, the Eastern Conference Final definitely has my attention more than the West. No, it has nothing to do with the Avs being out. Okay, part of it has to do with the Avs being out. But to be honest, it just doesn’t seem like it will be a close and exciting series in the West. Let’s hope I’m proven wrong with Game 1 tonight.
Regardless, since I did so well with my predictions last time, here’s who I think we’ll duke it out for Lord Stanley’s Cup as well as the team who will be drinking from it. (Get your wallets/cash/ATM cards ready…)
EAST
Penguins vs Flyers
Pittsburgh and Philly teams just hate each other, don’t they? These two cities divide sports fans of the not-so lovely Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in football, baseball, and yes, hockey. There’s some added heat here between these two teams this season: the Pens threw the last game of the regular season, sending the Flyers to play the Caps and the Pens to play the Sens instead of them playing each other in the first round of the playoffs. If I were a Flyers fan, I’d buy into this notion in a heartbeat—the Pens got scurred, plain and simple. However, if I were a Pens fan, I’d find this so ridiculous—Crosby needed to be rested for the playoffs and the team was trying to avoid injury prior to the post-season. As a slightly-indifferent outsider, I’d have to go with the Pens on this one. It’s not abnormal for any team to do this in any sport, and there’s no reason to create more bad blood when there’s plenty already flowing. Can the Flyers show the Pens it didn’t pay to hold back? My guess is no.
Fleury vs Biron—Fan or not, you have to stand up and give a clap to Marc-Andre Fleury and the spectacular game play he’s had this post-season. I remember just two or three seasons ago when he was so horribly inconsistent. What a difference a little age makes. Not to mention, my favorite thing about Fleury is his control over the rebounds. He always manages to lock down on the puck when there’s too much action in front of the net. It’s incredible. Plus, he can get tough—just ask Sean Avery. Then you have Martin Biron. He’s older, but he moves just as quick. Alex Ovechkin realized that when it took him how long to sneak one past Biron. I’d pick Fleury over Biron simply because Fleury is the best in the league, in my opinion. If either goalie flounders at all during this series, it will spell disaster for their respective team.
“Pens” are to “Offense” as “Wayne Gretzky” is to “hockey”—This Pens offense is so hot right now, I don’t know if they’re stoppable. Even though Sidney Crosby hasn’t scored much, he has been incredible at setting up plays and getting the puck down the ice. Evgeni Malkin. I don’t think I need to say anything else. Does everyone remember that sweet backhand he had in Game 5? Be still my heart. Mark Malone, Jordan Staal, Marion Hossa, et al. have only lost one game in the entire post-season. Insanity. Not to mention, when the time called, these guys showed they can throw down with the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Avery. That was the only edge I thought they were missing when going into the playoffs. But they proved me wrong last series, and have become a truly well-rounded force.
I just don’t think the Flyers have it in them to hold the fearsome Pens back. They had a tough enough time against Ovie and Nicklas Backstrom; not to mention, even though they pulled out the wins, they were completely outplayed by the Habs last series (check out shots on goal, for starters). While I don’t think the Flyers will give it up easily, Pens will own the East when all is said and done. Pens in 6.
WEST
Av…er…Red Wings vs Stars
I still say the fight for the West would have been better if it was the Wings versus the Avs. Mainly because the rivalry would make it worth watching. But I should be happy the Sharks single-handedly foiled my plans—our injuries wouldn’t have allowed us to win the West anyway. At least the Stars have a fighting chance. While going into a fourth OT last series against the Sharks wasn’t the greatest thing to go through at the time, it proved the Stars are determined and can pull out a win in a detrimental situation. The Wings will undoubtedly make it as difficult for the Stars as possible, but Marty Turco and company are ready for the likes of Pavel Datsyuk.
Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg vs Mike Ribeiro, Brenden Morrow, and Brad Richards—This hardly seems fair. I love Ribeiro in a big way, and I squirm at the thought of him getting trampled by the likes of Niklas Kronwall and Nicklas Lidstrom. No doubt Kronwall and Lidstrom are two of the toughest players (if not the toughest) in the league. Quite frankly, they scare me. It’s reminiscent, in a way, of how the Russians scared American fans back in 1980. Except this isn’t on an international scale, and it transcends national barriers. I sincerely hope, Ribeiro and Morrow share more of the goal scoring to change it up a bit. Morrow might be finding the net, but that was against the Sharks. Chris Osgood won’t stand for that for very long, nor should he. In goals alone, these Wingers outscore these Stars all-stars 23 to 12. But that can be attributed to an ailing Jose Theodore.
Ozzie be Good—I was the first one to dog the Wings for taking out Dominik Hasek after Game 4 against the Predators. I was even ecstatic when I found out he would be sitting out in favor of starting Chris Osgood in the series against the Avs. My oh my did I ever underestimate Mr. Ozzie. With him in goal, the Wings have won six-straight games. While he has flown in out of nowhere and has stopped the likes of Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk over and over, I’m thinking Turco has the edge. For one thing, Osgood was playing up against a dilapidated Avs team last series that may have given his confidence an unwarranted boost. Not to mention, while he holds the better saving percentage, he’s also played half the games Turco has. Plus Turco just came off an empowering fourth OT Game 6 against the Sharks (he had 61 saves total for the game, allowing only one in the net). I think Ozzie is getting some over-hype here, but he’ll be one to watch. Ribeiro and Morrow are not only younger than the guys Ozzie was up against last series, they’re also healthier.
I don’t think the Stars will get as out-played as the Avs did, but I don’t see them being able to contend with the dominance of the Wings. Not to mention the Wings are coming off a four-in-four sweep, which means they got a ton of rest. Wings in 5.
THE CUP OF LORD STANLEY
Red Wings vs Penguins
This will be the show down of all show downs. As a hockey fan, this would be the second best match up for this season only behind my Avs being in it. Talk about intensely having the bests in the league facing off against each other. Both teams are fast-paced teams that keep cool heads even when trailing by a goal or two (a number of teams proved they couldn’t hack being behind in the playoffs). I have to say the Wings dominance, experience, strength, and talent will win out. The Pens have considerable talent as well, but they’re almost like a younger, mini-me version of the Wings, and I don’t think they’ll be able to withstand the intimidation that awful red and winged-wheel bring with them. It is “HockeyTown” after all (I really hate calling Detroit that). The West (i.e. the conference with the truer talent this season) will out-play the East and win the Cup. Unfortunately, it’ll be those pesky Wingers drinking from it and getting their germs all over it. Yech. Wings in 6.
Game 1 starts tonight for the Red Wings and Stars at 7:30 p.m. on Versus. Game 1 for the Penguins and Flyers is tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. on Versus. It’s good to be Versus isn’t it (ESPN who?). As always, I will do my best to keep the avid readers (cause we have so SO many) up to date on the goings on of the games.
Tags: Dallas, Dallas Stars, Detroit, Detroit Red Wings, Eastern Conference, Flyers, hockey, NHL, Penguins, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Penguins, Playoffs, Red Wings, Stanley Cup, Stars, Western Conference
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