Puck Junk

Round 2 of the playoffs was by far the best hockey I have seen in a long time. Three of the 4 series went down to the bitter end and were settled in 7 games. The fourth series went 6 games, but like the other series was also very close.

Here is the breakdown of my Round 2 predictions and the actual results.

Series: Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4)

My prediction: Red Wings in 7.

What actually happened: Red Wings in 7.

Thoughts: You can’t get much closer than this. Most of the games were within 1 goal, but the Red Wings did win by 3 goals in Game 4 and Game 5. Regardless, I was right about this one going 7 games. Feelin’ pretty smug…

Series: Vancouver Canucks (2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (3)

My Prediction: Blackhawks pull UPSET in 6.

What actually happened: Blackhawks pull UPSET in 6.

Thoughts: Oh yeah! There are some games in this series where the Blackhawks looked lethargic–namely Games 3 and 4 in Chicago. But in Game 2 they were dynamite. The Hawks had their ups and downs in the series, but when they did good, they did really good. Their big guns like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews came through, but so did depth players like Adam Burish and Dustin Byfuglien. And the fact that the scored 7 goals against Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo is pretty amazing,. I also correctly predicted that this would be settled in 6 games. The smugness continues!

Series: Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (4)

My Prediction: Bruins in 5.

What actually happened: Carolina UPSET in 7.

Thoughts: I guess the Hurricanes are a better team than I give them credit for. But what the hell happened to the Bruins? They were the best in the East, and self-destructed a la the Sharks. I’m kind of disappointed, because I would have loved a Bruins vs. Penguins conference finals. I’m a little less smug, now…

Series: Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3)

My Prediction: Penguins UPSET in 6.

What actually happened: Penguins UPSET in 7.

Thoughts: The Penguins-Capitals series by far was the best of the playoffs so far, and might prove to be the best series of the playoffs, period. The first 6 games were close, and both Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin were awesome. Pittsburgh’s 6-2 win in Game 7 was the only real decisive victory in the series.

This round, 3 of my 4 predictions were correct, as far as series winners go. That’s another 75% for me–same as last round, where I correctly picked 6 of 8.

Round 2 of the 2009 NHL playoffs start today. I was 6 for 8 in my first round predictions; let’s see if I can be 3 for 4 in my second round picks.

Series: Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (4)

My Prediction: Red Wings in 7.

Thoughts: The underachieving Ducks–who finished 8th in the Western Conference–knocked off the Sharks in 6 games. Can they repeat their success against the Red Wings? Nope! I don’t know why the Sharks keep sabotaging themselves each year, but the Red Wings don’t seem to have this self-destructive tendency. I’m not saying the Ducks will go away that easy; this series will go down to the wire.

Series: Vancouver Canucks (2) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (3)

My Prediction: Blackhawks pull UPSET in 6.

Thoughts: Yes, I’m pulling for my team here, but they’ve won two and lost two against the Canucks during the regular season. The Hawks will win if they can steal a road game early–if it goes to seven games, then the Canucks will draw upon the power of playing on their native Canadian soil and win the series.

Series: Boston Bruins (1) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (4)

My Prediction: Bruins in 5.

Thoughts: If you use your imagination, you can pretend it’s a Bruins-Whalers matchup (there I go again, living in the past). While Carolina upset the Devils, the Bruins averaged 4 goals a game against the Canadiens. Tim Thomas is having a hell of a playoffs (1.50 GAA so far), so the Bruins will make it to the Final Four.

Series: Washington Capitals (2) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (3)

My Prediction: Penguins UPSET in 6.

Thoughts: This one will be interesting. Capitals rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov kicked ass in goal against the Rangers. Can he continue to do so against the Penguins–a team who will push him to his limits. I think Alexander Ovechkin is a better player than Sidney Crosby, but I think the Penguins have the better team.

After two weeks, the first round of the playoffs are finally over. There were some surprises, like the President Trophy-winning Sharks getting usurped by the 8th-seed “mighty” Ducks. And an exciting, “it-ain’t-over-’til-it’s-over” comeback by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here are the predictions I made two weeks back, and how the series actually played out:

Series: Sharks (1) vs. Ducks (8)

My Prediction: Sharks in 6

What actually happened: Ducks won in 6 games

Comments: Wow…It’s funny how it seems that, more often than not, that the team with the best record in the regular season fizzles in the playoffs. I really thought this would be the year for the Sharks. I know they’ve come up short in past seasons, but I really believed that the Sharks would go all the way.

Series: Red Wings (2) vs. Blue Jackets (7)

My Prediction: Red Wings SWEEP in 4

What actually happened: Red Wings win in 4 games

Comments: We knew the Wings were going to win this series. They’re pretty much the same team as last year, only now they have Marian Hossa. Columbus is one of those “dog shit” teams that should not have won a game in the series, and they didn’t.

Series: Canucks (3) vs. Blues (6)

My Prediction: Blues in 6

What actually happened: Canucks won in 4 games

Comments: Wow, another sweep in the Western Conference. I thought that the Blues would pull of an upset, because while the Canucks are good, they still seem like a very beatable team. Instead, the Blues curled up and died like the Blue Jackets. Maybe having the word “blue” in your team name dooms you to mediocrity.

Series: Blackhawks (4) vs. Flames (5)

My Prediction: Blackhawks in 5

What actually happened: Blackhawks won in 6 games

Comments: Yeah, I’m pulling for the ‘Hawks because they’re my team, but I knew they’d win in less than 7 games. Most of the games were very close, and it was a very entertaining series. I thought Dustin Byfuglien would do well in the series; in actuality, he did OK getting one assist and one empty net goal. He was a presence near the crease, which did lead to some goals while he hovered near Kiprusoff.

Series: Bruins (1) vs. Canadiens (8)

My Prediction: Bruins SWEEP in 4

What actually happened: Bruins win in 4 games

Comments: I’ll admit, I didn’t want the Canadiens to win because this is their 100th season of existence, and frankly they are not that good of a team. If the Canadiens did pull off an upset, then we’d have to hear about how it has something to do with the whole “magical-ness” of this being Montreal’s 100th season, blah, blah, blah. Besides, the Bruins are a damn good team, so they deserved to win.

Series: Capitals (2) vs. Rangers (7)

My Prediction: Capitals in 5

What actually happened: Capitals won in 7 games

Comments: This one was close, and we all have to give the Capitals credit for clawing their way back from being down 3 games to 1. Rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov came out as the hero after Jose Theodore started and lost Game One. Could this make Varlamov the next Cam Ward…and Theodore the next Martin Gerber?

Series: Devils (3) vs. Hurricanes (6)

My Prediction: Hurricanes UPSET in 6

What actually happened: Hurricanes win in 7

Comments: I knew that the smoke-and-mirrors known as the New Jersey Devils would not make it far. Some “Anonymous” poster–who thinks I’m living in the past–pointed out that the Devils don’t play their neutral zone trap anymore. Who cares? They’re still a boring team. The ‘Canes, on the other hand…scoring two goals in the last 90 seconds of play…going from about to be the losers to the winners. Now, that’s what playoff hockey is all about! I think the last time the Devils made a play that exciting, Kirk Muller was wearing the “C” (OK, maybe I am living in the past). Plus, we won’t have to hear from the Devil’s “fat goalie” anymore. No party for Marty.

Series: Penguins (4) vs. Flyers (5)

My Prediction: Penguins in 5 (though I really wanted a 7 game series)

What actually happened: Penguins won in 6

Comments: The Pengiuns were the better team, and have way too much offensive firepower to be brushed aside by the Flyers.

Anyway, I picked the right winners for 6 of the 8 series, so I guess 75% isn’t too shabby. On Thursday, I’ll give my predictions for Round Two. And eventually, I might even write something about hockey cards again.

In September of last year, I mentioned that my grad school–DePaul University in Chicago–has an ACHA Division 2 hockey team. Since attending their first game, I have covered the team throughout the season for the school newspaper, The DePaulia.

It’s cool being a hockey writer, even if it was for what one might consider the “minor league” of college hockey (DePaul does not have an NCAA hockey team, just ACHA “club” hockey).

But to me, hockey is hockey. I wrote quite a bit about the Chicago Wolves when I was an undergrad, and put the same effort into it as if I were covering the Blackhawks. Same deal here. When you love a sport, you always want to do your best to “spread the word” and try to win over a few new fans for it.

Speaking of winning, DePaul’s hockey team had a winning season. They won both games at the Regional Tournament, then went 2-1 at the National Championships, finishing 7th. Mind you, only 16 out of 170 Division 2 teams make it to the Nationals, so that places DePaul within the top 5 percent of teams nationwide.

After that, a few of their players were invited to the All-Star tournament, capping off a very successful season for the team.

Of course, it’s always easier to cover or follow a winning team than a losing team. Win or lose, I plan on covering the team next season too.