My Flyers won and clinched a spot to the semi-finals in a nail-biter last night. Thus proving that the Caps were a joke, unworthy of being in the playoffs like all teams from the Southleast again. It was probably the only “upset” I got right too. Not bad, I was 5-3 on the first round by underestimating the Rangers, Avs and Stars. As much as I don’t care for the Stars, they did prevent the Ducks from returning. The fans in Montreal rioted over beating the Bruins. If they win the Cup this year, the Canadian government may need to hose down all of Quebec to curb the enthusiasm. At this point, I don’t care of the Habs beat my Flyers. Holmgren’s decisions have proven to be effective enough for this season. Now to build upon this success with the next year. Knowing my luck, the year I chose to opt out watching the playoffs intensely is the time these Flyers end the Cup drought and I will have to throw away my Cheesesteak of Suffering. I doubt it though. This Montreal team has speed which remains a weakness on mine.
The news from the Western Conference was equally thrilling. My fave, Jeremy Roenick, finally made a difference for the Sharks. He scored four points with two goals and two assists, tying him with a few other players on Game Seven points, namely his former coach Wayne Gretzky. Defeating another former coach helped, that jerk Mike Keenan who JR may not have a grudge with but I do over his treatment of Tony Amonte. I’m too happy about the Sharks advancing to bother picking on Calgary’s coach. Roenick is one step closer to having his name etched on Lord Stanley’s Prize.
Here are my predictions for the next round:
For the West:
- #1 Detroit v. #6 Colorado: Detroit Red Wings in 6, definitely a great grudge match but the Avs just aren’t the team they used to be.
- #2 San Jose v. #5 Dallas: San Jose Sharks in 6. Dallas is aging and not as deep.
For the East:
- #1 Montreal v. #6 Philadelphia: Montreal Canadiens in 6. Sure, the Flyers are my team but this isn’t their year.
- #2 Pittsburgh v. #5 NY Rangers: Pittsburgh Penguins in 5. The Rangers shocked everyone over the heavily favored Devils but the Pens won’t be such a pushover.
Stay tuned in two weeks to see how much of this I got wrong.