I asked (begged, pleaded with) the Bruins to prove me wrong about my fears for their playoff existence in game seven. They came through for me.
They also kept me over .500 for my first round predictions. For a few minutes there I thought I had a shot at going zero for the round.
Nope, 5-3 will do me for the conference quarters. Here are the results:
Washington vs the Rangers. I picked the Rangers. I picked wrong. Never again will I pick a New York team.
Philadelphia vs Buffalo. I picked Philly and I picked right. Unfortunately.
The Glorious (lucky lucky lucky) Boston Bruins vs the hated Montreal Canadiens. I picked Boston (duh) and somehow, magically, wondrously, in game seven Boston won. Oh thank you Boston Garden Ghosts!
Pittsburgh vs Tampa Bay. I picked Tampa Bay for some reason (Crosby anyone?) and they won.
Summing up the Eastern Conference. Three correct, one incorrect. Not too shabby for an East coast fan. Now on to the West!
Vancouver vs Chicago. I picked Vancouver, but I have to admit... when they blew the three games to none lead and Chicago forced game seven, I became a true blooded, through and through Blackhawks fan. The Bruins blew a three game lead and lost last year, but I think on some level it would have been even more pathetic if #1 seed Vancouver did the same to #8 seed Chicago. That's bullshit, of course, but in my injured little mind (I have not forgotten the pain of last year, and neither should you, Boston fans) it would have made last year slightly less horrible. But, Vancouver won it.
San Jose vs Los Angeles. I once vowed never to pick San Jose again, but with the injuries in L.A. I had to, and I was right to do so. San Jose won.
Detroit vs Phoenix. What the hell was I thinking when I picked Phoenix. Wrong, wrong wrong.
Anaheim vs Nashville. I picked Anaheim. Nashville won. Shoulda seen that coming.
So in the West I was 2-2 which makes me 5-3 over all. Not as good as I would have liked, but not bad. Hey, I have a better winning percentage than the Boston Red Sox!
Now, on to the second round!
The Washington Capitals vs The Tampa Bay Lightening. Washington is going to blow Tampa out of the universe. That's not going to deter me from going out on a limb and picking Tampa Bay. Why? Because Washington is the San Jose of the East and we all know they are going to choke, so why not choke against a former U Lowell goalie? Dwayne Roloson will make the Mill City (that he probably doesn't even remember) proud by knocking off the Caps. Lightening win.
The Boston Bruins vs the Philadelphia Flyers. Oh no... not again. Last year my heroic Bruins earned their spot in history as the biggest choke artists ever, and they did it against the Flyers. Folks around here are talking about how this will be revenge for last year and how we now have a chance to exorcise last year's demons. To that I say, bullshit. Nothing will ever make up for last year's implosion. Nothing. Ever. It will always be with us. A Stanley Cup win this year will make me happy, but it will not make me forget about the horrors we witnessed last year. Nothing will. Ever. That being said, I am picking the Bruins to win this series. Mostly because I am a total homer, but partly because I want some revenge over those damn Flyers.
On to the West!
The Vancouver Canucks vs the Nashville Predators. There are four teams left in the West. Two of them have developed reputations in recent years for choking like insufferable losers. Conveniently there is one in each series. In this case it is Vancouver, who despite having a goalie god, have not been able to get out of the second round. Luongo is the man. Why then does he suck so bad in the post season? He's like Joe Thornton with leg pads. Still... I cannot pick against Vancouver in this one. Nashville has a goalie god of their own, but I just don't see that being enough. Unless Luongo's play earns him a spot on the pine, Vancouver should win this one. Even if he does end up riding the bench (see the first round) they should win. I'm picking Vancouver.
The San Jose Sharks vs the Detroit Red Wings. And here we have it. San Jose. The uber chokers. Every year a magnificent collapse (although they have yet to blow a 3-0 series lead, like a certain team I happen to root for). Detroit, the model franchise. The pride of the NHL. Yeah, like San Jose has a prayer. Detroit wins, and they probably win easily. San Jose has beaten Detroit in the post season before... but not this time, Charlie. Detroit wins this series.
There you have it, my totally unintelligent and completely pointless picks for the NHL Conference Semi Finals! I'm 5-3 so far, let's hope I don't get worse (like I always do in the second round)!
Go Bruins!
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