Monday, May 29, 2017

NHL Stanley Cup Final Prediction: Never Mind What I Previously Said (Or Not?)

"Hey, where's that usual stupid graphic you do for these posts, D. Rock?" Well, funny you bring that up, because apparently when you buy Microsoft Office for your new laptop, it's only for a limited time and then you have to buy some new plan or something that allows you be raped once a year or assaulted to a lesser degree every month. Neat! UPDATE: Fixed, obviously.

Anyway, the graphic will have to wait until tomorrow morning when I'm at my work computer where my employer doesn't deal with bullshit like this. I'll probably regret the P.K. Subban picture I chose once again, having dismissed its poor quality initially as a non-issue, because, c'mon, the Predators will be gone in the first round.

Instead, Nashville sits here four wins away from its first Stanley Cup. That is something I believe I both predicted and said I would openly root for to happen this year after the Blackhawks got ousted. Only one little problem with that now though: The last hurdle to get over is the defending champion.

Many of us dismissed the likelihood of a Penguins repeat because the prospect of running the gauntlet again simply seemed all so unlikely, what with having to play two 100+ point teams in the first two rounds an all. But Pittsburgh hasn't shown any signs of slowdown this postseason, even with the loss of Kris Letang. So I'm having second thoughts here.

Oh, I nailed my picks last round, bringing me to 10-4 this playoff season now with three series predicted in the exact number of games.

Pittsburgh Penguins over Nashville Predators in seven games

It's been noted that you're either a fan of Pittsburgh's offense or Nashville's defense. I think I saw a poll of 21 NHL.com writers had 11 people picking the Pens and 10 picking the Preds. This really is a coin flip to me. But in the end, I just think the loss of Ryan Johansen will prove too much to overcome for Nashville. Rooting like hell for the Predators, but I'm already accepting the fact that Pittsburgh is about to accomplish something significant and make its own bid to be considered the team of the decade (although Chicago technically has three in the teens here while Pittsburgh's last trophy before last year was in the aughts).

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