NHL Conference Semifinals Preview

Eastern Conference Semifinals

#1 Buffalo v. #6 New York Rangers

Buffalo took good care of the spunky team from Long Island. Now the best team in the NHL moves the act to the New York team that plays Broadway. Both teams are well rested, the Sabres winning in 5 and the hot Rangers winning in 4. The Rangers Sean Avery was talking a little trash this week about how they're going to hit Buffalo harder every time. I think this is a little premature on his part. The Rangers cruised past Atlanta, but Buffalo is leaps and bouds better. It should be a good series, and the Rangers should put up a fight, but the Sabres are just too deep for the Rangers.

Buffalo in 6

#2 New Jersey v. #4 Ottawa

I think the Lighting exposed some vunerabilities in New Jersey. If Martin Brodeur isn't solid, we can see that the Devils D can be beaten by the likes of Tampa Bay Forwards. Enter the Ottawa Senators with threats of 4 scoring lines, and a team that held the best rookies in the leauge off the board in the first round. If the Devils win this series it will be becasue Brodeur outplayed Emery, but I don't think Brodeur can do enough.

Ottawa in 6

Western Conference Semifinals

#1 Detroit v. #5 San Jose

So Detroit outlasted Calgary in 2 ots to win game six and send the flames home for the summer, despite being beat up. The Sharks are 3 lines deep and made good work of the Predators. However, this is not the Matchup the Sharks wanted, they were certainly rooting to get Vancouver or Anaheim (had a lower seed than them advanced). However the Red Wings got bead up pretty good in their series, and the Sharks boast a great offense and good goaltending.

Sharks in 6

#2 Anaheim v. #3 Vancouver

Two teams I hate, the Ducks just userped the 'nucks for the top spot on the teams I hate board. But the Ducks play great defense which will spell disaster for a Vancouver offense that went missing for two games in the Stars series. Unless the refs give Vancouver the same kind of treatment the Ducks got in their opening round, this will be over pretty quick for Vancouver, I'm not holding my breath for them.

Ducks in 5.

Stanley Cup Playoff Pool - Conference Semifinals and Standings

Okay sorry I was away this weekend and there's little time to make your picks, so here are the round 2 matchups, leave a comment on this post to make your selections

Eastern Conference
I: #1 Buffalo v. #6 New York Rangers
J: #2 New Jersey v. #4 Ottawa

Western Conference
K: #1 Detroit v. #5 San Jose
L: #2 Anaheim v. #3 Vancouver

Selections are due at 5:30pm CT, as the rounds first game, NY Rangers at Buffalo is tonight at 6pm. Each game the selected team wins earns 3 points and a 3 point bonus if the selected team wins there series, so there's a total of 60 possible in this round, good luck. (note: look for my preview and picks at about 3:00pm).

Here are the final Round 1 Standings

(Rnk>, player, Total, A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H)
1> (f) Justin, (72,10+10+10+10+10+2+10+10)
2> (f) Matt, (64, 10+10+10+10+10+2+10+2)
3> (f) Jen, (58, 10+10+10+10+4+2+10+2)
4> (b) Mom, (56, 10+10+10+2+10+2+10+2)
5> (f) Jered, (46, 10+10+0+2+10+2+10+2)

Ben and Nicole

I just wanted to write a quick congratulations to Ben Nelson and Nicole Van Tassel for their wedding on Saturday, 21 April 2007 in Monticello, MN. I was honored to be a guest at this ceremony. I've known Ben since I was a Mass Comm Student, and I met Nicole once they started going out. I also served with Nicole for two years on UPAC (one on her activities committee, and one when she was director). I have the best wishes for them both.

Wild Affirmation

Superstision in pre-mature hubirus be damned. I'm on the Wild comeback bandwagon, and inspiration struck me to write a parody to the tune of Savage Garden's Affirmation...

"Wild Affirmation"
New Lyrics by Justin Jelinek

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe a fight should only end at Derek Boogaard's hands
I believe Chris Pronger's on the ice whines like a little child
I believe that Ducks need to be hunted in the Minnesota Wild
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe Wes Walz playing with ten stiches makes good fans scream

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe we need appreciate the grit of our Brent Burns
I believe they're no better than the Wild on the other side
I believe we'll fight to the end and then they'll want to hide.

I believe we'll soon find out why the Ducks are not so mighty
I believe they crossed the blueline 'round the State of Hockey
I believe that hell hath no fury like a Lemaire Scorned
I believe that Nick-y-B's a calming awesome force in goal
I believe the struggle with bias referees is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree breathe West Coast air.

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe we need appreciate the grit of our Brent Burns
I believe they're no better than the Wild on the other side
I believe we'll fight to the end and then they'll want to hide.

I believe Rolston and Bouchard bring the Wild happiness
I believe God endorse Gabs and Pav joined they impress
I believe we will find a way to come back and beat the Ducks
I believe that Teemu and Brad May are worthless cheating f**ks.

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe we need appreciate the grit of our Brent Burns
I believe they're no better than the Wild on the other side
I believe we'll fight to the end and then they'll want to hide.
..........

I wrote this in about two hours.

NHL Pool Standings

The leader came down to the night's last game, but San Jose just defeated Nashville, so I am going to update the standings through Wednesday's games

A: BUF v. NYI (BUF lead 3-1)
B: NJ v. TBY (Tied at 2-2)
C: ATL v. NYR (NYR win 4-0)
D: OTW v. PIT (OTW lead 3-1)
E: DET v. CGY (DET lead 2-1)
F: ANA v. MIN (ANA lead 3-1)
G: VAN v. DAL (VAN lead 3-1)
H: SJ v. NSH (SJ lead 3-1)

(f)-facebook (b)-blogspot

Rnk> Player: (Tot, A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H)
(f) 1> Justin (42, 6+2+10+6+4+2+6+6)
(f) 2> Matt (40, 6+2+10+6+4+2+6+4)
(f) 4> Jen (38, 6+2+10+6+2+2+6+4)
(b) 3> Mom (36, 6+2+10+2+4+2+6+4)
(f) 5> Jered (26, 6+2+0+2+4+2+6+4)

Comments...

I'm leading mostly because I'm the only person to take San Jose, and Jered is so far behind only because he was the only one to take Atlanta (that sweep is gonna hurt). Jered and Mom stand to gain some points back if Pittsburgh should mount a comeback, otherwise the top of the table looks destined to be jammed. Next round it's 3 points per game, this round will be over on Monday, which is when I'll make my next update.

-J

Pool Results (through Su, 15 Apr 07)

Okay here are the first standings, I will try and update the standings following games on Sundays and Wednesdays throughout the playoffs.

Series A: BUF v. NYI- Tied 1-1
Series B: NJ v. TBY - Tied 1-1
Series C: ATL v. NYR - NYR 2-0
Series D: OTW v. PIT - OTW 2-1
Series E: DET v. CGY - DET 2-0
Series F: ANA v. MIN - ANA 3-0
Series G: VAN v. DAL - DAL 2-1
Series H: NSH v. SJ - Tied 1-1

(f)-facebook entry, (b)- blogspot entry

Rnk> Player: (Tot, A+B+C+D+E+F+G+H)
(f) T1> Justin (20, 2+2+4+4+4+0+2+2)
(f) T1> Matt (20, 2+2+4+4+4+0+2+2)
(b) 3> Mom (18, 2+2+4+2+4+0+2+2)
(f) 4> Jen (16, 2+2+4+4+0+0+2+2)
(f) 5> Jered (14, 2+2+0+2+4+0+2+2)

All right I will try and do the next update after Wednesdays results.

NHL Playoffs Preview... Conf. Quarters...

EASTERN CONFERENCE
(#1) Buffalo v. (#8) New York Islanders
The big question mark for the Islanders is how far can they go without Goaltender Rick DiPietro. They have won their last 4 games for their dramatic playoff push (beating Toronto by 1 point for the final spot). The Sabres didn't end their season that great, but they had the first seed in the East locked up. I think Buffalo is the pick to win the Stanley Cup, and I think that they're depth and speed is eventually going to overwhelm the Isles. But I've got a feeling the boys from Uniondale aren't going to go down too easily.

Buffalo in 6

(#2) New Jersey v. (#7) Tampa Bay
The Bolts are not even a shadow of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2004. New Jersey boasts the best defense in the Eastern Conference and until further notice, the best goaltender in the league in Martin Brodeur. Now a lot of people believe that the Devils are due for some bad Karma after firing Julien in the last week of the season for his Atlantic division championship effort this season. Regardless of who's behind the bench, the Devs are destined to beat the Bolts. Tampa Bay simply can't generate the offense it'll take to down the Devils, and mistakes in their own end will probably tip them out. There will be some close games, but Jersey will win 4 of them pretty quick.

New Jersey in 5

(#3) Atlanta v. (#6) New York Rangers
Congratulations to Atlanta on their first playoff appearance in their 9 seasons of existence. However, I have to believe the experience of the New York Rangers is going to win out here. The Thrash did add Keith Thachuck after the St. Louis fire sale, but for veterans, they just can't compare to the Broadway Blueshirts Jager, Avery, and others. King Henrik is still young between the posts, but we know what he's capable holding teams to very few goals, I think the Rangers are still motivated by their late seasons collapse last year and they realize a minor upset of the Thrash is within reach.

New York Rangers in 6

(#4) Ottawa v. (#5) Pittsburgh
This is going to be the most competitive of the 8 series. The Senators have not had any playoff sucess since losing that tough eastern conference final to the Devils in 2003. But Sens are a deep team and they've been every bit as hot as the Penguins. The Penguins have a ton of firepower and boast scoring champion Sidney Crosby in just his sophomore season. However there are indeed questions on the back end for the Penguins and I think the youth of this team is going to show more than the desiders of the media that want the Pens to go deep. The Pens will be a condentder for many years to come, but they drew an unfortunate first round matchup with the Sens.

Ottawa in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(#1) Detroit v. (#8) Calgary
To say the Red Wings have been succesful in the post season in recent years is quite an overstatement. They have not one a playoff series since lifting the cup in 2002, and they've been favorites in each instance. However, the Red Wings have drawn the one team that has no shot of winning the Western Conference. The two chances the Flames have are if age catches up with the Red Wings yet again, and if they have troubles between the net (Hasek's injury and Osgood's inconsistency) but aside from that, the Red Wings play very well as a team in both ends. This is the year they do away with the first round choke-monster.

Detroit in 5

(#2) Anaheim v. (#7) Minnesota
HOMER ALERT! We know who I'm gonna take here, so I'm just going focus on making the rather unlikley case. This series will also be close, almost as close as the Ottawa-Pittsburgh tilt. The teams split 2-2 in the regular season. It was in Anaheim where Marian Gaborik got hurt, and that has somewhat been attributed to their poor ice conditions. So that's a little scary. However the Wild are the only team in the playoffs that boast 3 legitamate scoring lines, which will play off toward the end of this series. The biggest caveat is if the Wild will face the Jean-Sebastian Giguere (expected to return from his family medical issues) that just the team out for 3 straight games in 2003. However the Ducks have more waddled into the playoffs, and have had trouble winning games that were important to their Pacific Division title (however, they did finally beat Columbus to get there). On the Other hand the Wild have won their last three straight (albiet against Edmonton and St. Louis who aren't going to the playoffs) I think the Wild have the depth to beat Ducks, though this is Goaltenter Niklas Backstrom's first Stanley Cup playoffs, he doesn't seem to have the fragile mindset that dooms other young goaltenders in their first series'.

Minnesota in 6

(#3) Vancouver v. (#6) Dallas

The Vancouver Canucks should thank the Florida Panthers for Goaltender Roberto Luango. Bertuzzi for Luango is the most lopsided trade since Boston sent Joe Thorton to San Jose for....who?...I forgot. Luango has carried this team to the Northwest crown with stellar play. On the other side, Dallas Goaltender Marty Turco has been marrred by playoff woes. In the end I think the Canucks play better defensivly, and whether it's Turco's fault or not, the Stars are probably going down.

Vancouver in 6

(#4) Nashville v. (#5) San Jose
This is also going to be a very tight series. The I did dub the Sharks the most improved team at the trade deadline. Their acquisition of Bill Guerin (also from the aformentioned Blues Firesale), and made them extremly deep in terms of forwards (almost as much as the Wild). If they get good goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov or Vesa Toskala, they will be tough to beat. Nashville made headlines at the deadline by acquiring Petr Forsberg from the Flyers. It remains to be seen how much impact he's really going to have. The Preds gave up a lot for him (in fact they did most of the Flyers rebuilding work for them in this deal). I just have to like the Sharks here.

San Jose in 6.

REST OF BRACKET (subject to change for the purposes of my pool)...

WESTERN CONFERENCE
*Minnesota over Detroit (in 6)
*San Jose over Vancouver (in 4)
San Jose over Minnesota (in 6)

EASTERN CONFERENCE
*Buffalo over New York Rangers (in 5)
*Ottawa over New Jersey (in 7)
Buffalo over ottawa (in 7)

STANLEY CUP FINALS
Buffalo over San Jose (in 5)

*Note: The top seed remaining after the conference quarterfinal is always paired with the bottom seed remaining in the conference semifinals. And the other two teams are paired in the other Semifinal

----
Editor's note: This blog was posted at about 8pm ct, 2 hours after the start of the Buffalo and Ottawa game, however I assure this was completed earlier in the afternoon about 3pm. -J

Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim at Cleveland Indians of Milwaukee

Since Cleveland is getting snowed in something fierce, the Indians decided to move their upcoming series with the Anaheim Angels to Miller Park in Milwaukee

http://www.shepherd-express.com/1bloglistingsbody.lasso?-token.blogref=1804.112112&-token.specificitem=2229.113121&-token.feedbackexpand=Y

Can't believe there aren't more "Major League" References going around (epecially because today is the day the "Wild Thing" special edition of the DVD came out). Since the movie that featured the Cleveland Indians was in fact shot in county stadium, weird huh? Anyway Ms. Hasse is the only columnist I found that picked up on this, way to go!

Justin's Stanley Cup Playoff Pool

Okay the playoffs start Wednesday, make your picks for who will win each of the 8 playoff series'. For each game your teams win you will get 2 points, if your team wins the series you will get a 2 point bonus for a total of 10. There are 8 series so 80 points are possible, leave your picks in the comments section.

Eastern Conference:
#1 Buffalo v. #8 New York Islanders
#2 New Jersey v. #7 Tampa Bay
#3 Atlanta v. #6 New York Rangers
#4 Ottawa v. #5 Pittsburgh

Western Conference:
#1 Detroit v. #8 Calgary
#2 Anaheim v. #7 Minnesota
#3 Vancouver v. #6 Dallas
#4 Nashville v. #5 San Jose

Picks are due by 5:30pm CT on Wed, 11 April (30 minutes prior to the start of the first game between Ottawa and Pittsburgh, For the full playoff schedule: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=298698)

Future rounds (Per game, series possible, total round possible)
Conference Semifinals (3, 15, 60)
Conference Finals (5, 25, 50)
Stanley Cup Finals (10, 50, 50)
Overall Total Possible: 240

Also look for my series predictions on Wednesday.

Last Day of the Season Thoughts

The Wild play their final game of the regular season tonight in St. Paul against the St. Louis Blues. The Wild are flying after back to back wins over Edmonton (though the once mighty oil are a pathetic 1-17-1 since trading Ryan Smith away, and cleary have been mailing it in since).

Tonight's game against the Blues actually will prove a decent test. As the Blues have gotten considerably better since the trade deadline, they will be a force next season, but it's too little too late for them this year. The Wild need to stay focused, and put forth their best effort, which Coach Lemaire says he hasn't seen this week.

Playoff implications... The Wild have already clinched their playoff spot this year, they still have an outside shot at the Northwest division title, but they will need a lot of help. The Wild Can finish with 104 points with a win in their finale tonight. The Northwest leading Vancouver Canucks have 103 and two games remaining. This afternoon at San Jose (3pm CT) and tommorow evening at Calgary (9pm CT). Coupled with a victory tonight, the Wild would need Vancouver to gain one point or fewer in these two games. The Wild would lose the tiebreaker at 103 because they would've won fewer games than the Canucks (45 to 46), but would win the tiebreaker at 104 because they would have identical records (48-26-8), but the Wild have the better head to head record against the Canucks (12 points to 8).

Lou Lamarillo Fires coach and gutless NHL commentators

New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamarillo fired head coach Claude Juilen this morning. Julien was in his first season as the Devils' Head coach, the team has 102 points with 3 games reamaing, leading the Atlantic division and in 2nd place (behind only Buffalo) in the NHL's eastern conference. Lamirillo is going behind the bench for the remainder of the season. He did something similar in 2000 firing Peter Ftorek and replacing him with Larry Robinson with 8 games remaining. The Devils did go on to win the Stanley Cup. However Robison resigned in december of last season citing personal reasons (though now I have to question how voluntary that resignation was), Lamarillo took over as head coach and the 6th seeded devils "upset" the slumping New York Rangers in the first round.

Now I think this is a pretty stupid thing to do with the playoffs starting next week. The Devils are the best defensive team in the Eastern Conference (giving up just 2.47 goals/game). The team has been injury ridden, that had a rather rough March, they were temporarily passed by the hot Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic division race. The Devils have had to battle through injuries to key players like Eilas and Gomez, I just don't know what Juilen did to deserve this, nor do I get what Lamarillo is hoping to gain.

Now I just watched the Versus 1st intermission show with Keith Jones, Brian Engblom, and Bill Clement, and for whatever reason they're defending Lamarillo in this. He is the longest tenured GM in the league, having been with the club since 1987, and they keep saying "he's such a hockey guy he must know what he's doing" and echoes to that effect are popping up all over the 'net. First off all he did was upset a slumping Rangers team last season when he took over as coach, that being the only playoff series they've won since raising the cup in 2003. I just don't know why he gets a pass for being so stupid. And that it seems not one columnist has come out to challege this.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=2823081

If you look closley as this article by ESPN.com columnist Scotty Burnside, he hints that since he won a playoff series over the Rangers last year this move would be considered a success if he can repeat that in this years playoffs. Well anyone that knows hockey well can see plain as day the Eastern Conference playoffs are basically Buffalo, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, and 5 scrubs (maybe I'll give Ottawa some love as a dark horse). But as long as Jersey avoids these teams in the first round (which a #2 team should do, if they finished 4th they would draw Ottawa). there's no way they were going to lose.

I think Lamirillo is just trying to make this about him (see Kobe running Shaq out of town and the success of Miami and the medeocracy of LA since), and he's goign to win an easy playoff series and claim victory, which will make it tough for columnists to take shots at him. Well I think they're all gutless, you know what they're doing in New Jersey is wrong, and I'm not afraid to say it (although I don't have the readership of ESPN.com, I'll admit it). If these team doesn't get to the East finals, this has to be considered a failure, and if they shoudl be beaten by some Eastern conference scrub in the first round, oh should Lamarillo pay for this in terms of being able to hire serious candidates in the future. As for being scared to critisize this and giving Lamirillo a pass, I think the NHL media should all be ashamed, I'm calling all of you out Jones, Burnside, Clement, Engblom.