Going Back In Time - Part 1

Here were the predictions I made before each playoff round.
Bold is who I chose.
Slate is who won.

Round 1

West	East
SJ vs COL	WSH vs MTL
CHI vs NSH	NJ vs PHI
VAN vs LAK	BUF vs BOS
PHX vs DET	PIT vs OTT

SJ 4-2
CHI 4-2
VAN 4-2
DET 4-3
MTL 4-3
PHI 4-1
BOS 4-2
PIT 4-2

I was being really optimistic about the Coyotes, and I thought the Kings would be the spoiler in the west. I figured the Caps, Pens, and Devils would win FOR SURE. Wow, silly me.

Round 2

West	East
SJ vs DET	MTL vs PIT
CHI vs VAN	PHI vs BOS

SJ 4-1
CHI 4-2
MTL 4-3
PHI 4-3

I wanted the Sharks to win, but I just thought the Red Wings had a better chance of not choking. Yeah, sorry. I wanted the Canadiens and the Bruins to win, but I figured the Pens were going to defend their Stanley Cup. I think the only reason I chose the Flyers to win was because I thought they would get more physical and take the Habs down. I also thought they sacrificed their bodies (i.e. blocked shots) more than Habs players. When the Sharks and the Habs won, oh. my. god.

Round 3

West	East
CHI vs SJ	MTL vs PHI

CHI 4-0
PHI 4-1

I thought the Habs had this one. Upset of the east, right? Nope, they blew it. I was SO mad. In a way they were the upset of the east! Know what made me feel a little better? The Blackhawks swept the Sharks. Unbelievable. The Sharks had played so well up 'til this round, what the hell happened?


I didn't predict who would win the Final because I didn't want to jinx it. Of course I wanted the Blackhawks to win. OF COURSE! They won the series 4-2!! IN OVERTIME!! The craziest overtime ever.

Edermton? Plus a PHX/NSH Match-up From the Start of the Month

Edmonton Oilers have THREE wins this year! I listened to the game against the LA Kings last night on my way home from work, but it was 0-0 early in the second when I got home. Reading up on the game, Grebeshkov scored the first goal of the game at 13:38. Penner scored the second goal in the 3rd period and it was a PPG. Shortly after, Brown scored to make it 2-1. Then Smyth tied it 2-2. Eek! Had I been able to watch/listen to the game, I would have been a wreck.
I also read:

In the dying minutes of regulation, the Oilers net was dislodged and the whistle blew but Drew Doughty took the shot anyway. The puck flew into the net and Deslauriers took exception, pouncing on the young defenceman. The surprising brawl resulted in unsportsmanlike conduct and roughing minors and two minutes of four-on-four.

haha Way to go, D! Anyway, the game went to a 10 round shootout and Visnovsky had the winning goal. It's a shame shootout goals don't count like regulation goals.
Final score 3-2

I've been meaning to talk about this Feb. 2nd game, but I've been bogged down with illness and homework. Coyotes and Predators played equally well, which would explain why it was 0-0 after overtime. (And silly me thought shutouts would be handed out AFTER a shootout!) Each team had good shot opportunities, but honestly I don't know exactly how good they were since I was doing a Mng. Finance test. Fun! There were few penalties¹ and stopages of play, so that contributed to the fast periods.
So, there was a shootout². Every time someone was going against Bryz, I was saying, "Don't make it, don't make it, don't make it!" and every time someone was going against Rinne I was saying, "MAKE IT MAKE IT MAKE IT!!" Aucoin had the game winner in the 11th round. Talk about anxiety!
Final score 1-0

¹As a matter of fact, there was one tripping penalty against Rinne of all people in the first period, and then there was a delay of game penalty in the third against Michalek.
²Boxscore

Predators Have Become the Prey

Before the game started
-Kane had 7 more points than the person on the team with the 2nd highest
-Kane also had 4 goals in 4 games, 3 of them game-winners
-Niemi has faced 143 shots and only allowed 5 goals
-Niemi has won his last 5 starts!
-Blackhawks had a 6 point cushion with the Predators
-Blackhawks had won 151 faceoffs and the Predators had won 143
-Blackhawks had 33 points at home which is more than any other team!
-And finally, B'hawks have a 7-0-2 back-to-back games record


Some pretty sweet stats :) The first goal was scored in under two minutes from the start, and that was by Goc. About five minutes later Kane tied it up. The Preds scored in the second and then the third will be a period to remember for ever. Hamhuis scored to make it 3-1, then the Blackhawks woke up and Madden scored twice. Then Campbell scored on a power play to make it 4-3. Franson scored to tie 4-4 and at 19:17 Kane scored!!! It was a beautiful goal, too. He shot the puck, it rebounded, and thankfully he didn't move an inch because it went right back to his stick, he lofted it high, and it went in over Ellis' shoulder. Brilliant.

Watching these last couple of games, it has come to my attention that the 'Hawks are outshooting the opponents A LOT. Is this a good or a bad thing? Are they getting tons of opportunities but the goalies are making great saves? Or are they just blindly shooting and hoping for a goal? Other teams seem to be more conservative... like that game against San Jose where the SOG was 45-14 and the Sharks won. How does that happen? I'll have to ponder it later, I have more things to talk about.

There were a couple calls I wasn't pleased with, but obviously I saw them differently than everybody else. For one, Sopel got penalized for tripping, I believe, but in reality it appeared the guy ran into his stick on purpose. I don't know... Then there was the one where a Pred got penalized for taking down Madden, though to me it looked more like Madden took himself down.

It's too bad Niemi hasn't played enough games to be listed on any standings sheets, but I think he made it on to a shutout standing right behind Bryzgalov.

If I didn't love Pat and Eddie so much, I would have liked to have listened to the game on the radio last night. I did listen to the intermissions though, so that was something :) Again, P & E talked about food. I remember Saturday Eddie talked about wanting some banana cream/creme (?) pie and yesterday they talked about ice cream and Pat said he doesn't eat ice cream :\
Saw some great signs for them last night! One said HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM DA HAPPY HUMANS! hahaha and another said I ♥ FOLEY! (Apparently it was someone he knew) Pat also said "brainbucket" when talking about a player getting his helmet knocked off. I like that ;p

Final score 5-4