Tonight can not get here soon enough for this particular Blackhawks fan. Indeed, the conference finals ended much sooner than most anybody had expected (all of the predictions I was able to track down had both series going longer than they ultimately did) and it's still somewhat remarkable that neither Sid the Kid nor Ovie were playing among the final four teams.
But that, as they say, is why they play the games. And while many of us here in Chicago are already acting as though this Stanley Cup's in the bag, with the way this year's playoffs have gone, nothing should be taken for granted.
Last round marked problems getting picks from other sites on to my page as soon as I would've liked and we indeed appear to have lost a few of the experts—most regrettably one Erin Brown from CBS Sports, who shared the same score with me but owned the tiebreaker. Unfortunately, the powers that be stopped updating that blog some time after the second round and now your new leaderboard after last round's picks looks like this heading into the Final:
1. (2) YOURS TRULY: 11-3 (4)
2. (3) Scott Piankowski, Puck Daddy: 10-4 (3)
3. (4) Scott Burnside, ESPN: 10-4 (2)
3. (4) Ryan Lambert, Puck Daddy: 10-4 (2)
5. (1) Erin Brown, CBS Sports: 9-3 (6)
6. (8) John Buccigross, ESPN: 9-5 (3)
7. (10) E.J. Hradek, ESPN: 9-5 (1)
7. (6) Ross McKeon, Yahoo: 9-5 (1)
9. (14) Barry Melrose, ESPN: 8-6 (5)
10. (7) Matthew Barnaby, ESPN: 8-6 (4)
11. (9) Pierre LeBrun, ESPN: 8-6 (2)
12. (10) Sam McCaig, Yahoo: 8-6 (1)
13. (15) Greg Wyshynski, Yahoo: 7-7 (2)
14. (10) Matt Romig, Yahoo: 7-7 (1)
15. (10) Wes Goldstein, CBS Sports: 7-5 (1)
16. (17) Dennis Dodd, CBS Sports: 6-8 (2)
17. (15) Dmitry Chesnokov, Puck Daddy: 6-6 (2)
18. (17) Sean Leahy, Puck Daddy: 5-9 (2)
18. (19) Darryl Dobbs, Puck Daddy: 5-9 (2)
20. (20) Mike Hurcomb, CBS Sports: 3-9 (1)
So there's that, and here's what the remaining experts have for the Cup:
ESPN:
Most everybody on the Puck Daddy staff also has the 'Hawks as well, and my own pick should come as no surprise:
Chicago Blackhawks over Philadelphia Flyers in six games
Pick your curse you want to believe in. If you like Philly, then you should subscribe to the belief that Marian Hossa is about to be on a Stanley Cup runner-up for the third consecutive year. If like everybody else with common sense, you're picking the Blackhawks, then you should take faith that the Flyers could make it a trifecta for consecutive years that the road team from the Winter Classic has gone on to lose the Cup. But essentially when you get down to just the two teams and disregard all that hocus-pocus nonsense, then the bottom line remains that the Blackhawks are just too deep for this Philadelphia squad. That's been the story pretty much throughout the playoffs with Coach Q having four solid lines that have allowed him to get the matchups he wants in each series. And while the Flyers are indeed the weakest team in regards to regular season points that Chicago has faced in these playoffs, I'm well aware that Niemi's overdue for a game where he shits the bed and underdogs of the past in the Finals do not go quietly. Philly head coach Peter Laviolette should especially be able to attest to that, considering that the No. 2-seeded Hurricanes team he led to a Cup had to go seven games with No. 8 Edmonton that year—even after the Oilers lost their star goalie. It has truly been an incredible feeling to watch the Blackhawks suddenly kick it into gear in these playoffs, and indeed just as one radio host noted earlier in these playoffs, the 'Hawks seem like the first team since the Jordan-era Bulls where there's just a quiet confidence that no matter what early deficit they may face or however many things don't go their way, there's still never a feeling of doubt as to the outcome. I actually wouldn't be surprised to see the 'Hawks once again drop an opener, but in the end, Jonathan Toews will win his first Conn Smythe and it will be Marian Hossa—who is so due to bust out this series—ending his curse, hopefully starting a new streak of outcomes for Stanley cup appearances. See you in Grant Park, boys ...
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