NHL Playoff Preview

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I do not pretend to be an NHL expert. For years, my loyalties have resided with the NFL, MLB, and NBA. A month ago, I might have been able to name 10 professional hockey players, mainly from hearing names on SportsCenter and from watching the Gold Medal game at the 2010 Winter Olympics. But 30 days ago, on March 11, 2012, I sat down to a Kings-Blackhawks game. I had promised to follow hockey for a week to get a glimpse into its world. But I soon found that a week was not enough. I developed feelings for the Kings, akin to those I feel for the Chargers. My heart pounded in overtime periods and sudden death shootouts. I felt the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. And when the Sharks’ Ryane Clowe, while sitting on the bench, reached over and poked the puck away from a rushing Jarret Stoll, I felt more anger than I had since Ed Hochuli screwed the Chargers in 2008. Mock me if you will. Call me a bandwagon fan for rooting for the Kings (and Clippers). But I am a connoisseur of sports, and when San Diego doesn’t provide me a team, I must venture north to find my own. The Kings have earned a place in my heart.

That being said, I am clearly biased, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. Also, my month of hockey fanship has been focused greatly on the Pacific division, so my knowledge of the rest of the NHL (especially the Eastern conference) is seriously lacking. But I forge on nonetheless.

Western Conference:

Vancouver Canucks (1) vs. LA Kings (8)

Not the first round matchup I was hoping for. Not only are the Canucks the best regular season team in the NHL for the second straight season, but the Kings enter the playoffs in the midst of a downward spiral, unable to protect 2 goal leads in back to back games against the San Jose Sharks (not to mention dropping a shootout to the Minnesota Wild, which should never happen to a playoff team). However, the Kings managed to split the season series (2-2) with the Canucks and if goalie Jonathan Quick plays to potential (league leading 10 shutouts this season) the Kings might have a chance. As much as I would love to agree with Barry Melrose, I find it much more likely that the Kings make an early exit.

Prediction: Canucks in 6

St. Louis Blues (2) vs. San Jose Sharks (7)

St. Louis led the Western Conference for much of the season, but saw a late slide (4-4-4 in their last 12 games) sink them into 2^nd place, finishing just 2 points behind the surging Canucks. The Sharks on the other hand, made a strong playoff push, finishing on a 7-2 run, grabbing a playoff spot after trailing several teams (Calgary, Colorado, Dallas) who did not qualify for the postseason. That being said, the Blues swept the season series 4-0 and the Sharks have clear defensive issues. They will have to score a lot (against the number 1 defense in terms of goals allowed) to have a shot here.

Prediction: Blues in 5

Phoenix Coyotes (3) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (6)

I only paid attention to the Coyotes at the very end of the season, while the Kings were fighting them for the Pacific division. So I only saw them go 5-0 down the stretch, scoring 16 goals in those games. Naturally, I assumed they were an offensive juggernaut. Looking at the season statistics, however, they are run of the mill offensively, but have a startlingly stingy defense. Great. The Coyotes seem to be getting hot at exactly the right time. And despite finishing 4 points behind Chicago, they get home ice because they won their division. I also believe them to be the better team at this moment.

Prediction: Coyotes in 6

Nashville Predators (4) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5)

Kind of like an 8-9 matchup in March Madness. These teams were separated by just 2 points in the final standings. They had the same number of wins; Nashville just managed to lose in OT two more times than Detroit. Not much difference at all. What’s important to note here is that the Red Wings were the single most bipolar team this year, when it came to playing at home and playing on the road. You may remember that the Wings set a record with 23 consecutive home wins, en route to an overall 31-7-3 home record. However, they finished 17-21-4 in road contests, not a mark that would imply enough success to grab a 5 seed. This is why it was so important for Nashville to gain the home ice advantage here. It will be a tough, competitive series, but the Predators prevail in the end.

Prediction: Predators in 7

Eastern Conference:

New York Rangers (1) vs. Ottawa Senators (8)

Look at the preseason power rankings that came out way back in October. Now start scrolling down. Keep scrolling. Little more. And there they are. The Ottawa Senators, all the way at the bottom in dead last. Now, Mr. Scott Burnside, whoever you are, I get it. It is extremely difficult to make predictions like that before real games have been played. But come on man! You have to get the 30 spot right! They don’t have to finish dead last, but your cellar dweller has to dwell somewhere in the cellar. They cannot be in playoff contention, and they certainly cannot MAKE the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see if Burnside gets to do the rankings next year. But I digress. As for the series, not going to be close. It’s great that Ottawa made it this far; it’s great for that franchise and Canada as a whole. But New York will dominate them in the only first round sweep I’m willing to call.

Prediction: Rangers in 4

Boston Bruins (2) vs. Washington Capitals (7)

The Bruins seem to me to be pretty solid. They are 2^nd in goals scored, and 6^th in goals allowed. We all know that Tim Thomas can get hot (see 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs). And it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Bruins make another deep playoff run. The real question here is the Capitals. This was a team that was supposed to breeze to the Southeast division title (they had won it the past 4 years straight). This was a team, led by Alex Ovechkin, that was supposed to compete for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. This was a team that started 7-0-0! And yet this was also a team that nearly missed the playoffs, and a team that was sloppy and disorganized and unmotivated. I do believe that Ovechkin is good enough to propel his team to a couple wins, but consistency wins out for Boston.

Prediction: Bruins in 6

Florida Panthers (3) vs. New Jersey Devils (6)

Well we are finally going to have an upset here… technically. The Panthers took advantage of the Capitals inconsistency by snagging the division title with just 94 points (perspective: the Kings finished with 95 points… and the 8 seed in the West). That is the lowest point total for a division winner since the Tampa Bay Lightning won that same Southeast division with 93 points in the 2002-2003 season. Much unlike the 3-6 series in the Western division, the 6 seed seems much more the safer bet. The Devils racked up 102 points, 8 more than Florida, and touted one of the league’s best defenses (ranking first in the penalty kill). And to top it off, the Panthers had a goal differential of -24, which is absolutely mindboggling. Obviously the lowest for a playoff team. And there were even 5 teams that missed the playoffs (Buffalo, Winnipeg, Montreal, Dallas, Colorado) who had a better goal differential than Florida. It’s kinda like when the Seahawks won the NFC West with a 7-9 record and a -97 point differential… except that they went on to beat the Saints in the playoffs. Don’t expect similar results here.

Prediction: Devils in 5

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (5)

Fun fact: Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are 304.6 miles apart, which is dumb because I was under the impression that they were right next to each other. I mean, Pennsylvania is not a large state. But you could not have picked two spots farther apart that both resided inside it (well you could, but just humor me). Philadelphia and New Jersey would actually have been a closer series, by some 200 miles. Anyways, this series is really a coin toss. And when that happens, you have to ask yourself “Which team has that guy?” In this case, that guy is Sidney Crosby.

Prediction: Penguins in 7

As the Page Turns

Maybe you were stuck on a family vacation, a la National Lampoon, with no TV or Internet connection. Maybe you were 6 Malibu shots deep on a beach in Cabo. Maybe you were out in the world doing something worthwhile and fulfilling, like poking coconuts out of a tree in Nicaragua. Whatever your excuse, I don’t want to hear it. The only thing I want to hear is your praise and thanks, as I deliver to you my own variation of “In Case You Missed It”

As the calendar turns from March to April, we look forward to Easter, the invigorating warmth of the Spring and Summer months, and the impending close of the school year. Likewise, we eagerly await the arrival of baseball, postseason basketball, and playoff hockey. Get your fill now, America, because this exciting period lasts only through May/June.

But we will start, as always, with the NFL.

Over the weekend, Jimmy Buffet held a concert while touting a black and gold “Free Sean Payton” t-shirt, which is absolutely ridiculous and completely inappropriate. First of all, Sean Payton is not enslaved. He does not need to be freed. He is not Tibet. He is the head coach of a football team who got caught rewarding players for illegal/unnecessary hits on opponents. Secondly, he is only suspended for one year, and seeing as Williams is indefinitely suspended (read: forever), it could be a lot worse. Get over it, New Orleans. The franchise messed up. He messed up.

As for you, Mr. Buffet, what is wrong with you? You’re a Saints fan? Awesome. Why don’t you go post on an ESPN comment board about how cute Drew Brees’ son is, and leave the political bullcrap at home? I don’t recall seeing Falcons fans wearing “Free Michael Vick” t-shirts. You know why? Because he screwed up. Vick served his time and I’ll be the first one to credit him for that, and for his on-field skill. It’s not jail time, but Payton needs to do his time regardless.

On a different, equally as enraging note, Ryan Leaf was arrested twice this past weekend. That’s right, twice. On Friday, he was charged with stealing a golf bag, from an “acquaintance,” that housed a number of oxycodone pills. He posted a $76,000 bail. He then proceeded to break into another home and steal more prescription pills. He was brought in again on Sunday after authorities found 89 pills stuffed in a bathrobe pocket. The most surprising part of all this? ESPN managed to find a clip of him throwing a TD pass to show during the story. I didn’t think such a thing existed.

Moving right along. We wrapped up the college basketball season last night, with possibly the most anticlimactic, predictable finale in recent memory. The Kentucky Wildcats finished a 37-2 season with an easy victory over Kansas in the NCAA tournament championship. There was never a time during the year when Kentucky wasn’t in the top 3 in the AP poll, and they only spent 3 weeks in the 3 spot. They took the number 1 spot away from Syracuse on January 23 and they never gave it back. They were the number 1 overall seed. They had the player of the year. And I don’t care what anyone says, they had a great coach in John Calipari. So why is everyone so mad? Because this not what March Madness is about. Example: I participated in three separate tournament challenge leagues on ESPN, encompassing 14 different entries (including my own). Of these 14, only 2 had Kentucky winning it all. It’s just not fun to pick chalk. And in the end, it was Kentucky and Kansas, two of the most powerful and successful programs in history. There was no Butler. There was no VCU. There was no madness. Not in the end.

Personally, I am not upset. I hate to be the old stick in the mud, but I would rather see a team that played well all year and dominated a good conference win a deserved championship. It’s great to watch upsets when we see an underdog take advantage of a better team’s flaws. But Kentucky had no flaws to attack. We all waited for the slip-up, and it just didn’t come. I have no problems with the “Kentucky Koronation” except for the obvious fact that it is a terrible use of the English language.

I don’t want you all to think I’m forgetting about the women. Baylor and Notre Dame advanced through the final 4 this weekend (with wins over Stanford and UConn respectively), and will play each other for the championship tonight. The only thing you need to know is that Baylor’s Brittany Griner has bigger hands than LeBron James and will block any shot taken within a 3.5-mile radius of her.

In NBA news, Jeremy Lin is out for at least the remainder of the regular season. And unless they beat the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs, he probably won’t play again for a while. But the Knicks will make the playoffs, because they have Carmelo Anthony and because the rest of the East is all competing for a lottery spot, instead of the 8 seed. That is where the list of reasons ends. Linsanity is dead, so unarguably dead. I was so, so right and I told you so.

Additionally, the Clippers have won 6 straight, including the destruction of possible first round opponent Dallas last night. And tiny-handed LeBron James defended his 0 assist game against Boston by saying that his teammates need to make shots in order for him to record assists. While that is true, the better answer would have been that he is just a giant, selfish a-hole.

Last night also saw the Los Angeles Kings win 2-0 over the Edmonton Oilers. Goalie Jonathan Quick recorded his 10^th shutout of the season (leading the NHL) so, all evidence considered, he is the best goalie in the world. Q.E.D. The Kings strengthened their hold on the Pacific division lead and the third playoff seed and need only to win 1 of their remaining 2 games (both against San Jose) to clinch a playoff berth. San Jose, Dallas, and Phoenix are all hot on their heels, however, with only three spots (and 4 teams total) to go around.

Lastly, on the verge of the regular season, Indians pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez received a 5 game suspension for beaning Troy Tulowitzki in the back during a Spring Training game. I find this ridiculous. How many batters get nailed every season? No one gets suspended for that. It’s part of the game, whether intentional or not. And you can tell me all you want that Ubaldo was bitter that Colorado chose to pay Tulowitzki instead of him, I don’t care. Shouldn’t matter. On the bright side though, this suspension is totally meaningless, seeing as Ubaldo wouldn’t have pitched again for 5 games anyways. So good work Bud Selig, you are practically worthless.

Tune in on Thursday for MLB opening day and support our beloved Padres before they are statistically eliminated in early June.