bakakame
04-16-2009, 02:10 AM
Sorry I'm a little late making it this year. No offense to this community but I hardly ever check these forums anymore.
Let's take a look at the contestants:
East -
Boston Bruins
Goaltender Tim Thomas had the best GAA and S% in the league this year. The team plays a strong defensive game (the only team with fewer than 200 GA) and was 1 win short of the Presidents trophy.
Washington Capitals
Last year's top scorer Alexander Ovechkin netted another 56 goals this year and set team records (though it fails to do compensate for the fact that he's a trained chimp) but with an unreliable goalie in Jose Theodore they will need all the offense they can muster, having the second most GA out of all qualifying teams.
New Jersey Devils
They are in the playoffs again, which is probably what's to be expected from their slim (albeit faithful) fanbase. If you don't know who Martin Brodeur is I'll have to ask you to leave this thread. No, don't comment, just leave.
Pittsburgh Penguins
After losing the cup finals last season the team was in the midst of total collapse mid-this season. A coaching change and some trades before the deadline helped breath life into the team again as they jumped from 10th to 4th in the last 25 games. Led by NHL poster-boy Sidney Crosby and Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, the team is hungry for success, and hopefully won't be denied this time.
Philadelphia Flyers
Notorious for physical, and usually dirty playing styles, Philly lost their first-round home-ice advantage in the last game of the season. Also playing the first round with bitter sentiments, the team slumped in the waning games of the season and don't appear to have recovered themselves...yet
Carolina Hurricanes
Several key pieces still remain from the 2006 Cup champions, probably most importantly goaltender Cam Ward. Carolina got hot near the end of the season, though a hot team can cool off real fast.
New York Rangers
Dumping, then resigning perenial troublemaker Sean Avery certainly won't win the team any hearts and minds, but may give them the edge they need to win some games instead. With the departure of captain Jaromir Jarg, the offensive bite of this team has been significantly dulled, but they still posess one of the best goalies in the league.
Montreal Canadians
At first pegged to repeat as the number 1 seed, the team was nearly the definition of "epic fail" when for their 100th aniversery, nearly missed the playoffs. Possessing the tie-breaker over 9th place Florida, the team has potential with players like Alexie Kovalev and goalie Carey Price, but I highly doubt they will be able to pull out a miracle for more than a couple games.
West -
San Jose Sharks
Presidents Trophy winners, the team has a bad habit of choking in the postseason. The team also slumped late, entering the playoffs with back-to-back losses to the 13th and 14th place Coyotes and Kings. Expectations are high, though pattern recognition predicts they should be low.
Detroit Redwings
The slimy no-good @!^@&^ who won the cup last year. Again with a high seeding and managing to add young star Marian Hossa to their roster, Detroit looks poised for another run. However, their goaltending has become suspect as of late, Chris Osgood apprears to be showing his age and backup Ty Conklin is a competent, but not geat backup.
Vancouver Canucks
The only Canada-based team to never win the Cup, they have..... ok you know what, it's getting late so I'm gonna stop pretending I know the details about all these teams. I live in Pittsburgh so the only games I ever get to watch are Penguin games and the "NHL game of the week" on NBC. Fans of the teams can fill in their own run-downs.
Chicago Blackhawks
The 4th seed
Calgary Flames
The 5th seed
St. Louis Blues
The 6th seed
Columbus Bluejackets
The 7th seed
Anaheim Ducks
The 8th seed
East seedings:
(1) Boston vs (8) Montreal
(2) Washington vs (7) NYR
(3) New Jersey vs (6) Carolina
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia
West seedings:
(1) San Jose vs (8) Anaheim
(2) Detroit vs (7) Columbus
(3) Vancouver vs (6) St. Louis
(4) Chicago vs (5) Calgary
And so with all that out of the way, my picks:
Boston in 4
NYR in 6
Carolina in 7
Pittsburgh in 6
San Jose in 7
Columbus in 6
St. Louis in 6
Chicago in 5
Let's take a look at the contestants:
East -
Boston Bruins
Goaltender Tim Thomas had the best GAA and S% in the league this year. The team plays a strong defensive game (the only team with fewer than 200 GA) and was 1 win short of the Presidents trophy.
Washington Capitals
Last year's top scorer Alexander Ovechkin netted another 56 goals this year and set team records (though it fails to do compensate for the fact that he's a trained chimp) but with an unreliable goalie in Jose Theodore they will need all the offense they can muster, having the second most GA out of all qualifying teams.
New Jersey Devils
They are in the playoffs again, which is probably what's to be expected from their slim (albeit faithful) fanbase. If you don't know who Martin Brodeur is I'll have to ask you to leave this thread. No, don't comment, just leave.
Pittsburgh Penguins
After losing the cup finals last season the team was in the midst of total collapse mid-this season. A coaching change and some trades before the deadline helped breath life into the team again as they jumped from 10th to 4th in the last 25 games. Led by NHL poster-boy Sidney Crosby and Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin, the team is hungry for success, and hopefully won't be denied this time.
Philadelphia Flyers
Notorious for physical, and usually dirty playing styles, Philly lost their first-round home-ice advantage in the last game of the season. Also playing the first round with bitter sentiments, the team slumped in the waning games of the season and don't appear to have recovered themselves...yet
Carolina Hurricanes
Several key pieces still remain from the 2006 Cup champions, probably most importantly goaltender Cam Ward. Carolina got hot near the end of the season, though a hot team can cool off real fast.
New York Rangers
Dumping, then resigning perenial troublemaker Sean Avery certainly won't win the team any hearts and minds, but may give them the edge they need to win some games instead. With the departure of captain Jaromir Jarg, the offensive bite of this team has been significantly dulled, but they still posess one of the best goalies in the league.
Montreal Canadians
At first pegged to repeat as the number 1 seed, the team was nearly the definition of "epic fail" when for their 100th aniversery, nearly missed the playoffs. Possessing the tie-breaker over 9th place Florida, the team has potential with players like Alexie Kovalev and goalie Carey Price, but I highly doubt they will be able to pull out a miracle for more than a couple games.
West -
San Jose Sharks
Presidents Trophy winners, the team has a bad habit of choking in the postseason. The team also slumped late, entering the playoffs with back-to-back losses to the 13th and 14th place Coyotes and Kings. Expectations are high, though pattern recognition predicts they should be low.
Detroit Redwings
The slimy no-good @!^@&^ who won the cup last year. Again with a high seeding and managing to add young star Marian Hossa to their roster, Detroit looks poised for another run. However, their goaltending has become suspect as of late, Chris Osgood apprears to be showing his age and backup Ty Conklin is a competent, but not geat backup.
Vancouver Canucks
The only Canada-based team to never win the Cup, they have..... ok you know what, it's getting late so I'm gonna stop pretending I know the details about all these teams. I live in Pittsburgh so the only games I ever get to watch are Penguin games and the "NHL game of the week" on NBC. Fans of the teams can fill in their own run-downs.
Chicago Blackhawks
The 4th seed
Calgary Flames
The 5th seed
St. Louis Blues
The 6th seed
Columbus Bluejackets
The 7th seed
Anaheim Ducks
The 8th seed
East seedings:
(1) Boston vs (8) Montreal
(2) Washington vs (7) NYR
(3) New Jersey vs (6) Carolina
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Philadelphia
West seedings:
(1) San Jose vs (8) Anaheim
(2) Detroit vs (7) Columbus
(3) Vancouver vs (6) St. Louis
(4) Chicago vs (5) Calgary
And so with all that out of the way, my picks:
Boston in 4
NYR in 6
Carolina in 7
Pittsburgh in 6
San Jose in 7
Columbus in 6
St. Louis in 6
Chicago in 5