Stanley Cup Picks

[vansmack]

They were the last team to beat the Wings and certainly the last team to make a series out of it....

[godsshoeshine]

They were the last team to beat the Wings

that was 2 years ago

and with hasek, not osgood

[vansmack]

OK - I'll stop for the next week. 

Take this series to 7 (I won't even make you survive until the last three minutes of the game) and I'll never bring it up again.

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

Smackie, it's a lost cause. Eastern Conference fans will simply refuse, despite all evidence to the contrary, to acknowledge the 3-4 best teams in the West are generally better than whoever the East throws out there. It's like a mantra for them, act shocked -- SHOCKED!! -- when the eastern conference squad gets manhandled in the finals, then act like whoever it was is still the #2 team in hockey.

[godsshoeshine]

you really like making unprovable statements

[sonickteam2]

the best team in the East had a crappy week and isnt playing for the Cup.

[godsshoeshine]

the best team in the East had a crappy week and isnt playing for the Cup.

and somehow thats more important than osgood

[Julian, Alleged Computer F**kface]

you really like making unprovable statements

Yes, it's unprovable, because a bracket doesn't allow for the second and third place western conference teams to play the eastern winner in a pointless bragging rights match post-finals. All sorts of anecdotal evidence does point to it like pretty much every year in recent history the western conference champion (and Stanley Cup champion) facing a much sterner test from a conference foe then from their finals opponent. It's backed up by simply watching the playoffs and using the old eye-test. I don't know alot of unbiased people who can sit here and go, "Oh yeah, Pittsburgh would've beat Anaheim this year" or "Pittsburgh would've beat Dallas last year," or "Ottawa would've beaten Detroit 2 years ago."

[godsshoeshine]

sorry but i could care less about a hypothetical match up between the ducks and pens or whoever while my team is in the stanley cup finals. its completely immaterial

[walkonby]

julian, go back to fashion.  it's more interesting.  nothing like a sport where they are allowed to beat each other up for whatever reason, just to make it entertaining enough to watch.  like nascar with the wrecks, and wrestling with the chairs over the head and george the animal steele chewing on the ring.

[vansmack]

the best team in the East had a crappy week and isnt playing for the Cup.

No good team in the west has a crappy week.  They're that good.

[saintangelsin]

Next to The Victors, I think Don't Stop Believin' is becoming may 2nd favorite sports song.

other than the line about the boy being born & raised in south detroit, i don't understand how the wings can get away with playing this song.

A friend of mine who's mom is from Detroit hates that song, all because nobody from the southern areas of Detriot say that they're from "South Detroit."

OK onto the finals predictions...

I'll take whoever wins four games first to win the cup!

But seriously, lets go out on a limb and say pens in 6.

AGREED! Or I'll say Pens in 7...just like how their series with the Caps went.

the best team in the East had a crappy week and isnt playing for the Cup.

No good team in the west has a crappy week.  They're that good.

I thought the Blackhawks were having a crappy week last week. But I guess I'm wrong?

[sonickteam2]

I don't know alot of unbiased people

[Driveway]

Zebras in 7.

[sweetcell]

i meant as far as underachieving on the ice.  As a Canadian, i wish half the league was back there but we dont want the Coyotes, thank you.  Unless its just payback for the Nationals!

OH!

I think Balsillie would throw so much money into the team (and have such unlimited resources if he puts it where he's talking about) that they'd turn around nicely. The Coyotes weren't bad for most of the year, and hockey futures ranks their farm system as really good (EDIT: #4 in the league). You add to that actually spending somewhere near the cap ceiling and I don't think it's a long turn around for the Winnipeg Jets Redux at all.

Also, unfortunately, I think if Canada wants more than 6 teams, the only way that's happening -- barring Bettman dropping over dead and someone completely different coming in as commissioner -- is for a terrible southern team to move up there. Might as well be this one.

Potential owner Jim Balsillie has filed an application for the relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes, a move expected to happen later this week: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4223269