NHL Playoffs: Round 1 Predictions
Everybody does it... And I am, too. Because I am susceptible to peer pressure.
Actually, most of my family makes predictions every year, and we compete to see who picked things the most accurately. So this can also be an opportunity to make my victory a matter of public record!
Here are my selections:
Western Conference
Vancouver (1) vs. Chicago (8)
Vancouver in 5.
San Jose (2) vs. Los Angeles (7)
San Jose in 5.
Detroit (3) vs. Phoenix (6)
Detroit in 7.
Anaheim (4) vs. Nashville (5)
Anaheim in 6.
Eastern Conference
Washington (1) vs. New York Rangers (8)
Washington in 6.
Philadelphia (2) vs. Buffalo (7)
Philadelphia in 5.
Boston (3) vs. Montreal (6)
Boston in 6.
Pittsburgh (4) vs. Tampa Bay (5)
Tampa Bay in 7.
Playoff Time Approaches
It's almost playoff time!
The last games of the 2010/2011 NHL regular season will be played on Sunday, so as soon I know which teams are in, and what the matchups are, it's going to be prediction-making time.
I'll probably share some thoughts on how things are going as the playoffs progress. There are several teams I'm interested in seeing go far, but of course my two big favourites are the Canucks and the Lightning. I'd love to see Vancouver beat Tampa Bay in the finals.
First the Canucks have to stop losing to teams like Edmonton, though. They clinched the President's Trophy, so it's not like it means anything at all, but it's still a little disheartening to lose twice to the worst team in the league.
As for the Bolts, I want to see Stamkos pick up his game. It's great that Lecavalier has been stepping up big time, but they need all of their top scorers to be rolling, and Roloson to stand on his head, if they want to go deep this year. It's going to be tough for them, I think, but they have the tools they need. It's time to put it all together, though. Now's when it really matters.
Stay tuned for lots more hockey talk over the coming weeks!
Oh, also, I'm getting married in 24 days. Huh.
Chinatown and the All-Star Game
Yesterday Larissa and I went to Fan Tan Alley in downtown Victoria's Chinatown, which claims to be the oldest Chinatown in Canada. (It may also be the smallest, but there's some cool stuff there.)
We bought some paper lanterns for wedding decorations and also found a cute little white basket for the flower girl.
While we were downtown we stopped by a board game store to look at Ticket To Ride. A couple of nights ago we played Ticket To Ride Europe for the first time with some friends, and it was awesome, so we were curious how many different versions there were and how much it cost. Turns out it's like $60. Seems like a lot for a board game, but when I compare it to a new video game, it sounds much more reasonable. I think I know what I'll be asking for when my birthday rolls around...
Over the weekend I also watched the NHL All-Star skills competition and game. Seeing Michael Grabner win fastest skater and Daniel Sedin win the accuracy competition was pretty cool. I didn't pay full attention to the game, though. Patrick Sharp won MVP by fan vote, mostly on account of a strong first period. He didn't seem to do as much in the second and third, but first impressions are powerful. But it doesn't really matter. It's not like any NHL All-Stars really need to win a $25,000 car. They earn that much in a game or two. It's basically a feather in their cap, and I think feathers look silly in men's caps, as a general rule.
The rest of this week looks pretty routine, other than my book release. Oh, and my cousin's getting married on Saturday. Yay!
More Hockey at Midnight
This past Saturday I played midnight ice hockey again and had a great time. My brother was there this time, but we didn't get to play on the same team because we had different coloured jerseys. We'll work that out better next time. I scored a couple of goals from in close on rebounds. I guess maybe I'm a power forward! Hah...
I felt much better this time. I tied my skates more comfortably, the rest of my gear was a bit more comfortable, and I felt like my stamina held up a bit better, though that may just have been because we got kicked out at 1:30 AM instead of 2:30 AM. I missed a few passes on my backhand, I think because I'm used to the placement of my stick when I'm not on skates, so I feel like the blade of the stick is closer in to me than it actually is. But I'll get used to the longer stick with time.
I can't take a slapshot. I don't have the balance at this point. I don't know when I'll get much of an opportunity to work on it, either. When we play, we're just doing scrimmaging, really, no skill work, and that's fun, but I'd like to take a couple of practices and see how much I benefit. Maybe I'll get an opportunity for that at some point.
Can't wait until next time!
Physical Two-Way Players
Some of my favourite NHL players are the physical two-way players who put up points while shutting down and wearing out the opposing team's scorers. They are the classic breed of NHLer: they score, they make plays, they have excellent positioning both offensively and defensively, they block shots, they hit, and they'll fight if they have to. They're out against the other team's best lines five-on-five, they're on the powerplay, and they anchor the penalty-killing unit. These players are always leaders on their teams: they make excellent captains). I don't think any team can get by without having these kinds of players in their line-up.
Here are my favourite players of this type:
Ryan Kesler (Alternate Captain of the Vancouver Canucks)
Mike Richards (Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers)
Mikko Koivu (Captain of the Minnesota Wild)
Tuomo Ruutu (Carolina Hurricanes)
Jordan Staal (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Brenden Morrow (Captain of the Dallas Stars)
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