consider this my hockey fan post.

it's been great having hockey back this year. i've made the most of my directv center ice package, which gave me access to a ton of games i otherwise couldn't have seen. alayna & i have been to 6 stars games this season, whereas in the past i've never been to more than 2 games in a season. there's a great article at yahoo! sports that kinda sums up the return pretty eloquently. fox sports has a great season recap as well.

so this friday the playoffs start. two years ago here on my blog i made my picks for each series, so i might as well do the same again. cbs sportsline has their latest power rankings up, with the stars at #5. yahoo! NHL has their power rankings with best and worst case playoff results for each team.

as far as team matchups, sportsline has a handy bracket. ESPN has terrific western & eastern playoff recap sites. the best all-around playoff schedule i could find was this one at sportsline.

and in the spirit of my april '04 predictions...

west
(1) detroit vs (8) edmonton - edmonton, schmedmonton i say. red wings are just too damn good. detroit in 5.

(2) dallas vs (7) colorado - the stars had kind of a lacking end to the season, but sorta for good reason since they had next to nothing to play for. i think the avs are pretty over-matched here, and i can only hope that the stars don't get torched like we did in the first round 2 years ago. the avs aren't the same team they were... stars in 5.

(3) calgary vs (6) anaheim - the ducks made a late surge but fell off a bit. it's easy for the flames to get stale now and then, which i think will keep the series closer. the experts are picking this one to be the most entertaining west matchup of the first round, which i'd agree with. i say calgary in 7.

(4) nashville vs (5) san jose - the preds lost their top tier goalie in vokoun and the sharks have been on fire lately. nashville just drew a bad hand being matched with the sharks. san jose in 5.

east
(1) ottawa vs (8) tampa bay - just as easy to call as the western 1-8 matchup. if i had to pick a sweep i'd go for this one. senators in 4.

(2) carolina vs (7) montreal - carolina had a shitty end to the season, but unlike the stars they still had plenty to play for. i think they're built for the long run though and the canadiens just can't match 'em. hurricanes in 6.

(3) new jersey vs (6) NY rangers - the devils were down 3 goals in their last regular season game and came back to win and capture the atlantic division title. they're even hotter than the sharks lately and the rangers have been slipping. new jersey in 6.

(4) buffalo vs (5) philadelphia - this one's probably the toughest to call. both of these are northeastern teams that are done with most of their games by 8:30pm local time, so i haven't gotten much exposure to them. the sabres have been more consistent over the year and have better goaltending, so i'll say sabres in 6.

so i guess that would make my bracket having the wings, stars, flames and sharks moving to the next round. i'd say wings over the sharks and stars over the flames. then the wings overs the stars. in the east the senators, hurricanes, devils and sabres move to the semis. the senators beat the sabres and devils over the canes, then devils over the sens. so with the red wings and devils in the finals... red wings win the cup.

as a diehard stars fan i hope detroit is overrated.

--j