If I'm a little slow about getting into baseball season, it's entirely because the attention that time allows me to pay to sports almost always is looking for post-season play. Within a week, basketball and hockey both begin their playoffs, and yeah, they're not as much fun as baseball or football; it's hard to build up too much enthusiasm for a post-season berth in the two sports about to begin their post-season when it's actually more likely for a team to make the playoffs than it is to miss them (16 out of 30 teams in both leagues get to go to the playoffs).
Nonetheless, I'm maintaining a wee bit of commitment to following up on
my "bold" predictions before this NHL season began. And, boy, that wasn't too pretty for a trial run. Aside from the fact that my predicted champion didn't even make the post-season, I only got two of the six division winners right (we'll get into more detail about some later). I suppose there's still the off-chance that Pittsburgh could still come out of the East, whatever that's worth.
Nonetheless, my enthusiasm for a long overdue appearance by the Blackhawks is certainly a lot more palpable compared to the playoff-bound Chicago Bulls. And that's ironic in a small way because that wasn't really the story the last time I remember both teams being in the playoffs. More specifically, I have a very distinct memory of the Blackhawks getting to the Stanley Cup and losing to the Penguins, but none of us really cared or were all that bothered by it because the Bulls were about to repeat as NBA Champions.
Those were very good times, obviously.
Here's hoping for the best this year (I think
this set of predictions got us off to a good start). As always, picks are presented in descending order of confidence:
Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers in six games
I almost forgot about how early I'd written Pittsburgh off before it turned out that interim coach Dan Bylsma would turn the Pens into an offensive threat that can rival last season's. The rematch of cross-state rivals doesn't have the added drama of last season's Eastern Conference Finals meeting, but I'm expecting the same team to come away after fighting off the Flyers a little longer than they had to last year.
Boston Bruins over Montreal Canadiens in six games
It certainly doesn't look good for Montreal on paper, but this is the playoffs and
the last time the Boston Bruins were the top seed in the East, they were knocked out in the first round—by the Canadiens. Now, there's also been mention that the Canadiens have won 24 of the 31 playoff series between the two teams, but there's not much good reason to believe that the same big, bad Bruins we've seen all year won't eventually overpower the hapless Habs.
A few weeks ago, I recall watching the Sunday game on NBC and hearing a lot of talk about looking out for Anaheim in the playoffs. Here they are, although admittedly in the last possible spot for the Western Conference. And while they're pretty much flip-flopped from where I imagined where they'd be in terms of home ice at the beginning of the season, the Ducks' lower seed doesn't rerflect a pretty good divisional rivalry that should provide a few good games to watch. Still, the Sharks have played like the best of the West all year and their defense is going to be hard for any team in either conference to deal with.
Chicago Blackhawks over Calgary Flames in six games
Obviously desired outcome aside, the Hawks caught a major break in getting Calgary in the opening round. The Flames are banged up and let their division (along with a first-round home ice advantage) slip away in the final week of the season. I still remember some of Kiprusoff's work in goal from the Flames' run to the Cup five years ago, but he's up against the same goalie he was then in Khabibulin. Only difference this time is that there's going to be hockey in Chicago and it's hard not to imagine the hot Hawks outscoring the Flames, with the infamously young squad perhaps catching a snag or two along the way.
Washington Capitals over New York Rangers in seven games
I'm not terribly fond of Alex Ovechkin, but I can respect the guy's talent. I knew the Caps would be the class of the Southeast, but they're going to have a tough time with New York to start the playoffs with. The Rangers, who rank 28th in goals scored but finished sixth in goals against, are polar opposites of the Capitals, the league's third best team in goals scored but 19th in goals against. Still, Mike Green could be the best defenseman in the NHL and I think Ovechkin's got strong enough support around him if he can't break through in this series.
Detroit Red Wings over Columbus Blue Jackets in seven gamesI love watching the Red Wings lose almost as much as Michigan University; it almost feels like both can do so on an almost colossal level. I was tempted to believe that the same sort of thing could happen to the heavily favored Red Wings, running into a young division rival that would just love nothing more than to rain on Detroit's parade. I'm guessing the atmosphere in the arenas of these two closely located cities should be pretty intense, but ultimately I'm suspecting the Red Wings will snap out of their lackadaisical finish to the regular season.
Carolina Hurricanes over New Jersey Devils in seven games
The suddenly resurgent Hurricanes will certainly get a stiff scoring test to start the playoffs in the Devils' Martin Brodeur. But if you haven't noticed, I have yet to predict an upset. I probably should have learned my lesson about underestimating Jersey after they took the Atlantic, but when it comes to the hype surrounding the Canes, I'm totally buying; they won 13 of their last 18 games and Cam Ward caught the sort of fire he had when he took Carolina to the Cup in 2006. Should be long and grueling.
Vancouver Canucks over St. Louis Blues in seven games
Another very tempting upset pick, but I just can't go against the Canucks, who gained themselves some home ice late in the season by taking the division from Calgary. Of course, Vancouver's been a total surprise to me all year (I had them last in the Northwest), and while I'm well aware that Chris Mason's a stud in goal for St. Louis (9-1-1 over his last 11), I'm giving respect to Roberto Luongo and what should be a typically manic home crowd in Vancouver.
Scott Burnside, ESPN: 13-2 (5)
