Western Conference Finals: Sharks Swim Together

Alright, I'm a day late but SU had me slaving all day yesterday. It won't change my prediction on the Sharks-Canucks series at all.

In the Western Conference Semis, we saw two great series go right down to the wire. The Preds put up a decent fight against the #1 seeded Vancouver Canucks but in the end the better team came out on top.

The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0 series lead on the Detroit Red Wings but Hockeytown wouldn't go down without a fight and came all the way back (a la the Chicago Blackhawks) to tie the series at 3-3 before the Sharks finished them in the seventh game at HP Pavilion. I had the Red Wings winning in decisive fashion but the Sharks proved me wrong.

This brings me to where we are now. The Western Conference Semi-finals.


#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #2 San Jose Sharks

The Sharks blew a third period lead in Vancouver last night but still played well enough to win on the road against the #1 seed in the West. The success of the Sharks relies on the play of Antii Niemi. He has the deep playoff experience that can get the Sharks to the Stanley Cup finals. Virtually the entire squad of the Vancouver Canucks have no experience this deep in NHL post-season play.

I think the Sharks are a deeper team than the Canucks. The Sharks first two lines are nearly untouchable. Having said that, don't think for a second that former Shark defenseman turned Canuck Christian Ehrhoff will want to get a good shot in on Heatley or Marleau as they move into the zone.

I feel confident that the Sharks will get to the cup on the wings of their offense. Devin "The Canasian" Setoguchi has had a good post-season. He's no Sean Bergenheim but he's still playing well. Sharks win 4-3.


Those Bay Area sports fans are spoiled.


-Mikko

Closing Time: Blame Canada!

This might have been the easiest closing time of its short-lived history. While I worked on a paper, I enjoyed the Blackhawks-Canucks and said one of my reasons for cheering for the Blackhawks was USA > Canada. It's just a natural thing, but people got pretty mad at me for cheering for a flatlander team, which I will discuss in detail tomorrow morning with a new poll. As always, thanks for reading.

-Charlie.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: Western Conference

As we enter into an exciting time in American sports with the start of baseball season and the stretch run of the NBA season, we cannot forget about the NHL post-season. While the regular season doesn't get nearly the publicity it deserves in America, ESPN actually pays a pretty decent amount of attention to professional hockey during the post-season.

I figured I would step up and take the challenge of predicting the Western Conference's piece of the pie. The Canucks had a great year, but can they handle the pressure of being the #1 seed? Can they handle the pressure of Canada not winning a Cup since the Montreal Canadians in 1993?


Truth be told, I haven't really followed the NHL this season any closer than the Thursday night "shot-a-goal" games of EA Sports' NHL 11 over on Cramer but, contrary to popular belief, I am not a dumbass when it comes to who could win it all so here goes:

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Chicago Blackhawks

The two squads have faced each other the last two post-seasons with Blackhawks taking the series each time. Not so fast though 'Hawks fans, I think that spells - advantage Canucks. The Sedin brothers are the hottest set of twins since Mary Kate and Ashley, and those two will have something to say. The Canucks are also impossible to beat when they get up early. You can attribute that to netminder Roberto Luongo. I think the 'Hawks have enough offense to make it a series though. Canucks 4-3. If the Blackhawks win I'll puke.

#2 San Jose Sharks vs. #7 Los Angeles Kings

I am fan of both of these division rivals but with Anze Kopitar on the shelf, it might get ugly. The Sharks have a ton of depth at center and feature a guy at that position from Plover, WI named Joe Pavelski who had a HUGE 2010 post-season leading the team to the conference finals. The inexperienced Kings could be in for a long series, or short one depending on how you look at it. Sharks 4-1 


#3 Detroit Red Wings vs. #6 Phoenix Coyotes


Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg has come out this morning and said that he will miss at least the first game of their series with the Phoenix Coyotes. I wonder how big of a factor that could be considering he had 80 points this year. The Coyotes' strength is their goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. The franchise's winningest goaltender is playing very well and we all know what a hot goaltender can do for a team. I like the Coyotes in this one. Coyotes 4-3


#4 Anaheim Ducks vs. #5 Nashville Predators


The Predators also have a lights-out netminder with Pekka Rinne but I don't know if a brick wall could stop Anaheim top line of Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaff and Bobby Ryan. Corey Perry is the league's only 50+ goal scorer this year and is worthy of the MVP. Teemu Selanne is like a fine wine with 80 points as well in 2010-2011. If the Predators can play the shut-down D they showed against the 'Hawks last season, the series could be great. Ducks 4-2


Later rounds to come boys.