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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Hope I'm semi-right
First-round picks a bust, so... I'll try again
Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens will be playing Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of playoffs. (CP)
Robert Luongo (CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES)
Jonathan Toews
Zdeno Chara
Boy, how about that wacky first playoff round, eh?
All that roller-coaster riding, the upsets, the Coyotes taking the Red Wings to the brink. Geez, I can't believe that my predictions could be so spot-on. It's like I'm Kreskin or something. A soothsayer. The Nostradamus of the NHL..
Deep, authoritative voice: Excuse me, Mr. Turner.
Me: Yes?
Voice: Sorry to interrupt your little speech, but I'm with the Department of Pundit Errors. DOPE. Our mandate is to monitor picks made by "sports writers" such as yourself to see how honestly they are reflected after each series. You know, to see if they try to pass off picks that readers have already forgotten about and weren't even remotely accurate.
Me: (Oh-oh).
Voice: Anyway, we at DOPE would like to remind you, Mr. Nostradamus, that you picked Washington to beat the Canadiens.
Me: But, but...
Voice: In five games.
Me: OK, so how did I know that Jarolsav Halak would go all Dominic Hasek on the Caps? The guy saw more flying rubber than the Indy 500. And who thought Alex Ovechkin would choke twice in the same year?
Voice: So what's your explanation for calling New Jersey to beat the Flyers in six?
Me: Come to think of it, I was feeling a little light-headed that day. Maybe a touch of the flu or...
Voice: And how about picking the Sabres to take the Bruins in five?
Me: Well, the Bruins won in six, so that's pretty much the same thing, right?
Voice: No, it's not the same thing. In fact, it's the opposite of the same thing. Guys like you are always tossing out predictions, then pretending it never even happened.
Me: Outta my way, because I'm going to do it again for Round 2!!
Sharks (1)
vs. Detroit (5)
IT took seven games for the Red Wings to get serious, eliminating the plucky Phoenix Coyotes in a 6-1 drubbing that Wings coach Mike Babcock described as the best game his charges have played all season. About time.
Clearly, all the playoff savvy accumulated by veterans Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Brian Rafalski and Pavel Datsyuk, et al. was a deciding factor in Game 7. Not to mention that Wings netminder Jimmy Howard, widely considered Detroit's weak link, survived his first NHL playoff exam. Although he's got some more cramming to do.
The Sharks, meanwhile, rebounded from an early scare against the Colorado Avalanche to ratchet down the annual San Jose Choke Artists debate. So the choice is between a Wings outfit that has been to the last two Stanley Cup finals (winning in 2008) against a highly talented Sharks squad that could have Underachiever written on the back of their jerseys. In fact, the Sharks are to their fans what Lucy is to football holding. Just when you get around to trusting them again, they pull the ball away. Good grief.
Out of principle, I'll take the Wings in seven.
Chicago (2) vs. Vancouver (3)
ROBERTO LUONGO hasn't looked right for some time, posting a tepid .893 save percentage against Los Angeles. Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler were non-factors in the first round, too, although the Canucks desperately need them to take some pressure off the Sedin twins, who have dominated with the promotion of countryman Mikael Samuelsson to their line.
These are the same Blackhawks, remember, that left Luongo in tears after ousting the Canucks last season. Apparently, Roberto wasn't crying after Team Canada's golden overtime victory over Team USA at the Vancouver Olympics. Jibed Luongo to Team USA's Patrick Kane: "We'll see you in the playoffs."
So we could throw out a lot of useless stats, but this series has all the makings of a coin-toss, where the veteran-laden Canucks will be facing a Blackhawks team anchored by some of the most dynamic young players in the game, including Winnipeg's Jonathan Toews, who has followed up his superb Olympic performance with eight points in Round 1 against Nashville.
The Canucks have paid their dues, however, and you have to wonder how long the Hawks can last with unproven rookie Antti Niemi in net. Not that I'm anti-Niemi or anything. He's just inexperienced, is all.
Canucks in seven.
Penguins (4) vs. Canadiens (8)
FRESH off an incredible come-from-behind quarter-final series victory over the No. 1-ranked Capitals, the Canadiens are "rewarded" with the Penguins. Thanks for nothing.
Two questions: Is Halak an illusion who will wake up one morning soon, look in the mirror, and realize he's not Patrick Roy? And even if Halak continues to play Superman, will the Penguins' vastly superior offence win the day regardless?
Because, let's face it, the Canadiens didn't advance because they outplayed the Capitals. The Habs allowed 134 shots on Halak in the last three games alone. Not to take anything away from the upset or Halak, but come on, you can't juggle chainsaws on a unicycle forever and not expect to lose a limb eventually.
Stranger things have happened, though. Just ask Ovechkin. And to be honest, the prospect of at least one Canadian team advancing (perhaps all the way to the final) in the wake of the Olympic gold is tempting.
But the head wins over the heart. Penguins in six.
Bruins (6) vs. Flyers (7)
GEEZ, how's a person to decide between two teams he picked to lose in Round 1?
With the Flyers, goaltending always seems a roll of the dice and go figure if Brian Boucher didn't outplay New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, whose Stanley Cup playoff mystique is fast becoming the stuff of ancient history. That's bad news for the Bruins, who are offensively challenged in the first place.
But perhaps this series is just a matter of better late than never. After all, both the Flyers and Bruins were highly touted last year after the Flyers acquired Chris Pronger and the Zdeno Chara-led Bruins finished atop the East, only to be eliminated by the upstart Carolina Hurricanes in the conference semifinal. So it's not like either team doesn't have potential, despite such uneven seasons. And clearly, one of them will advance to the final four.
The difference? The Flyers lost two vital components against the Devils -- sniper Jeff Carter (broken foot) and the oft-injured Simon Gagne (broken toe), the latter of whom might return later in the series. The Bruins, meanwhile, are welcoming back their most potent offensive weapon in Marc Savard (concussion), and goaltender Tuukka Rask is so far proving to be yet another mistake by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Stanley Cup playoffs are a battle of attrition. And the Flyers are running out of breaks.
Bruins in six.
more nhl playoff coverage c4-5
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 30, 2010 C1
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