Nostradamus I Ain't
I'm really not good at this predicting thing. I went 5 for 8 in the first round of the playoffs. Every top seed in the west is gone, every top seed in the east continues. Now that Anaheim has picked off Calgary, thus proving that you need more than Miikka Kiprusoff to win the Stanley Cup, the west looks wide open. So now, Edmonton faces the Sharks, and Anaheim will battle the Avs. Now, my gut says to take San Jose with their powerhouse lineup, but seeing how the Oilers shut down Detroit's overwhelming offense by employing the trap, gives me pause. Meanwhile, Colorado's doormatification of Dallas says that they will win out over the Ducks' suddenly unMighty Giguere.
In the East, my record is intact 4-for-4 (444?) with all the teams that should have won... did have won. Ottawa will play host to the Sabres, while New Jersey and Carolina have at it. The former series will be the exciting one, with Ottawa's 23 goals in 5 games versus Buffalo's 27 in 6. Experience says that Ottawa will now choke magnificently, but I firmly believe this is the Sens' year, now more than ever since the West is so depleted. Devils and Carolina? This series will be decided by who can hold slim leads longer, since neither team lit up the scoreboards, with Jersey's 17 in 4, or the Canes' 15 in 6. The smart money is on NJ's Brodeur, who has done it before and will do it again.
So, summing up: Sharks will be victorious over Oilers, in a long drawn out 7-game series; Avs will continue to dominate, wiping out Ducks in 5; Senators will prevail over Sabres in grand goals-aflying series in 6; and Devils will lock out suddenly impotent Hurricanes in 5 games.
Then, being cocky for no reason, Sharks will find solution to Avs within 6 games, and Sens' will come out the victor in the battle between goal scoring and goaltending.
Finally, the Sharks' Cinderella season (because after defeating Edmonton and Colorado, only team left for that honour) will come to and end as Ottawa's Cash Line (Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza) will overrule the as-yet-unnamed line (can I suggest Hammerhead Line?) of Thornton, Cheechoo and Ekman.
Ottawa will stand tall as Canada's first Stanley Cup winner since Montreal in 1993. And the country will be proud once again after the unholy ass-whupping at the Olympics.
That's just my prediction anyway. Once I'm proven wrong in two weeks, I'll update it again.
In the East, my record is intact 4-for-4 (444?) with all the teams that should have won... did have won. Ottawa will play host to the Sabres, while New Jersey and Carolina have at it. The former series will be the exciting one, with Ottawa's 23 goals in 5 games versus Buffalo's 27 in 6. Experience says that Ottawa will now choke magnificently, but I firmly believe this is the Sens' year, now more than ever since the West is so depleted. Devils and Carolina? This series will be decided by who can hold slim leads longer, since neither team lit up the scoreboards, with Jersey's 17 in 4, or the Canes' 15 in 6. The smart money is on NJ's Brodeur, who has done it before and will do it again.
So, summing up: Sharks will be victorious over Oilers, in a long drawn out 7-game series; Avs will continue to dominate, wiping out Ducks in 5; Senators will prevail over Sabres in grand goals-aflying series in 6; and Devils will lock out suddenly impotent Hurricanes in 5 games.
Then, being cocky for no reason, Sharks will find solution to Avs within 6 games, and Sens' will come out the victor in the battle between goal scoring and goaltending.
Finally, the Sharks' Cinderella season (because after defeating Edmonton and Colorado, only team left for that honour) will come to and end as Ottawa's Cash Line (Alfredsson, Heatley, Spezza) will overrule the as-yet-unnamed line (can I suggest Hammerhead Line?) of Thornton, Cheechoo and Ekman.
Ottawa will stand tall as Canada's first Stanley Cup winner since Montreal in 1993. And the country will be proud once again after the unholy ass-whupping at the Olympics.
That's just my prediction anyway. Once I'm proven wrong in two weeks, I'll update it again.
posted by The Man in Charge at
4:39 AM
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