Watching Pittsburgh implode and get bounced by the Habs in game 7 made me feel better. Not great, but better.

Watching Boston go up 3-0 and then lose the next 3 games, then go up 3 goals in game seven, and then let in 4 unanswered goals in an historical upset, made me feel better about losing the series after going up 3-1.

It still hurts, but I feel much better now. You?

I see a few upsets and a few series' that can go 7 games. Here are my predictions. I'm  going to update each round, and then get some math-head to put together my success rate. Feel free to disagree, but know that you're wrong. So sayeth the donkey.

Washington in 4: I don't think there is a team in the East that can beat the Caps 4 out of 7 times, if key Caps players stay healthy (like Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, Green, and Laich). Montreal isn't going to like what they find coming at them. It's going to be glorious.


NJ in 6: Philly's best chance lies with Mr. Boucher. I remember Boucher in OT, wee hours of the morning, and felt sorry for him when they lost. Can he turn it on again? Maybe. NJ hasn't been too consistent. Philly will start by riding the high of having beaten NY to make it into the dance. Question is, how long till they get a tap on their shoulders? (Note, this is the only pick I don't feel 99% about. I think Philly could pul off an upset based on the way NJ has been playing recently. I don't want them too, but Richards always makes me question myself.)


Buf in 6: This one has a potential to go to 7 games. Buffalo plays good D but has some problems up front. Boston has troubles up front as well, but has a better (if not dinged up) blueline. They go to 7 because it becomes a goaltending duel, thus a low scoring affair. Miller gets the edge. I kind of hope Boston wins so that Jersey and Pitt match up in round 2, if the Pens win.


Ott in 7: Ottawa enters the post season on a high, playing well, and firing on all cylinders. Sure, not having Kovalev isn't ideal, but he wasn't doing enough to make the team better anyway. They'll be fine without him. The Pens aren't the team they were a year ago, and though they are still formidable, and you shouldn't bet against the champs, I would rather they get bounced and think Ottawa can do it. 7 because Crosby is clutch, like it or not.

Sj in 5: Colorado is young and fiery. SJ is seasoned, gritty and powerful. SJ slacks off in game 4, up 3-0. Thats the only time Colorado wins. Unless things go typically in SJ, again.


Chi in 6: Great team with formidable offense should make light work of competition. I look forward to seeing Kane and Toews play. After the Caps, Chicago is the most fun to watch.


LA in 7: It's not that Luongo is overrated, its that LA's in your face style is more suited to the playoffs than Vancouver's heavy reliance on the Sedins. Neutralize the Sedin line, things get tough for Van. I like Van, and wish them the best, but I see an upset here.


Phx in 7: I put nothing past this team. They've been consistent all season and thats why I think they'll pull off the win; they didn't eak their way into the playoffs. Detroit is healthy, and skilled, and successful, but Phoenix has three words of power to see them through: Bippity Boppity Boo.

No rhyme or reason to NHL's 'discipline'

I don't typically go to ESPN for news, especially hockey, but was sent a link. Thought I'd pass it along.

I know that Colin Campbell has to go because he just doesn't have a clue what he's doing. He doesn't have any qualified advisers, or he refuses to listen to them, or he's listening to the wrong ones. Whichever it is, it makes him detrimental to the league, to the players, and to the fans.

I'm most concerned about the Cooke and Downie hits, though you can't call Downie's a hit. How is there no one leaning in, and saying, "Colin, you can't ignore this and focus on Ovechkin. It shouldn't even have been a game misconduct. Look at what this idiot Downie did. What if Crosby goes down in a week and it’s the same knee that Downie targeted? Think, Colin. Take care of Downie and regain some face." Again, maybe the question is how could that advise go unheeded?

By the way, its not a stretch of the imagination to consider a headshot an 'intent to injure', especially if the entire disciplinary practice is going to be so arbitrary. Thus, the Richards, Cooke, and Downie hits could have been suspensions, (and Downie's can only be seen as an intent to injure). The issue, then, is that Colin Campbell doesn't see these acts as worthy of league intervention, or, he isn't smart enough to come up with a solution, and that, friends, is the problem.

Despite being adrift in all this fog and ambiguity, we can see one thing clearly: the league's refusal to replace Campbell signals a complete failure in leadership. Team NHL either has no captain, or it has one that isn't fit to man the helm.