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"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.
Got three of the four series right last round, although the only one I got the length right for was the one I got the winner wrong. So that brings me to a record of 8-4 so far this postseason and ensures a better than .500 record regardless of how my final three picks turn out. If you care.
What we're left with now must be giving the execs in the NHL some cold sweats. TV numbers are likely to be down with a Cup Final featuring possibly a Canadian team or a small-market American team with little to no national following (well, maybe Pittsburgh gooses the numbers). This isn't to say there isn't the potential for some compelling hockey.
I'm not going to wait to read previews about either of these next two series. I've got my mind made up as to who will be playing for the right to hoist Lord Stanley, although I can fully admit that I won't be the least bit surprised if I'm wrong on both of this round's predictions. Unlike the inevitable predictability of the NBA Playoffs, the hockey playoffs this year have seen some astonishing upsets that have defied a lot of conventional logic. My beloved Blackhawks are obviously the prime example here, but the continuing success of the Ottawa Senators remains truly remarkable.
I know well enough that crazy things happen in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the last round came as a bit of a surprise to even myself. Sure, I got five of the eight series outcomes correct, but two of the three incorrect predictions were also designated as my second- and third-most confident picks. So, you know, oops.
Now that my Stanley Cup Bracket contest entry is trash (so much for a Blackhawks-Bruins Cup Final rematch), I guess that leaves me without much of a rooting interest. I imagine that the inevitable Pittsburgh-Washington series is deservingly going to get a majority of the attention this round, but I'm not entirely sold on the idea that the winner of that one ends up hoisting Lord Stanley.
I'd say that I would probably be fine any on of three remaining teams winning it all, although I'll probably grumble or be disinterested if one of the other five ends up becoming champions. So who am I rooting for, you ask?
Well, let's get to my picks and see if you can figure it out.
Well, it looks as though my shortened thoughts on the NHL at the beginning of the year got most of the obvious playoff teams right, but my predicted Stanley Cup winner was unable to even qualify for the the postseason. The upside, of course, is that my beloved Chicago Blackhawks finished with the best record in the Western Conference and are the presumptive favorites to win it all. What could possibly go wrong?
Looking over the matchups we did get this postseason, it seems like people might want to prepare for the possibility of coaches meeting their former teams in the playoffs this year. The first round opens with Todd McLellan and the young Oilers of Edmonton facing McLellan's previous team, the defending conference champion San Jose Sharks. The next round could see Claude Julien and the Montréal Canadiens meeting the team that fired Julien mid-season, the Boston Bruins. Wouldn't it be odd if Bruce Boudreau and the Minnesota Wild met his prior club, the Anaheim Ducks, in the Western Conference Finals? And maybe even Barry Trotz can finally carry the Washington Capitals all the way to the Stanley Cup Final to play against ... Nashville?
OK, last one (or two) are probably bullshit, but those are the ones that emerged for me. Hopefully I develop more compelling insights next round.
Similar to about a month ago when I was making my NFL "predictions," I'm once again finding it hard to muster the energy to upload and organize a bunch of logos as part of my full season of predicted finished for the teams of the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association (even though neither season begins for more than a week). So, once again, I'll be limiting my thoughts for both sports to just a few sentences.
We'll start with the NBA where there's not usually much in the way of surprises (although I must admit that Game 7 of last year's Finals was one of if not the best deciding title game of any sport I've ever seen). I'll go with the presumable masses picking the Golden State Warriors to regain the Larry O'Brien Trophy, presumably beating the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think both of those teams will win their respective divisions, with Miami, Boston, San Antonio, and Minnesota also winning divisions. The remaining playoff teams will be the Clippers, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Jazz in the West, and the Raptors, Hawks, Bulls, Pistons, and Knicks in the East.
The NHL is much trickier, but I'm going to go with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the presumably very popular Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final. While I think Tampa will win the Atlantic, I am going to say Minnesota wins the Central, Washington takes the Metropolitan, and Los Angeles takes the Pacific. The other playoff teams will be Chicago, St. Louis, San Jose, Anaheim, and Dallas in the West (so basically the same eight teams as last year—what could go wrong?), as well as Boston, Florida, Pittsburgh, Carolina, and both New York teams, the Rangers and the Islanders, in the East.
