Well, round two is upon us. Buffalo is finished destroying Philly and Tampa was thoroughly mutilated by my Sens, and now these two demolition squads are on a collision course. This is gonna be a series of speed. Don't blink or you might miss a few goals. They certainly proved that in the first game.
As for the fact that the Senators blew 5 leads in the game, I chalk that up to the face that we haven't played for a week. I look for them to come out firing but playing much better defensively tomorrow night. I'd bet that Emery will have a better game too.
This is gonna be one amazing series too watch, quite possibly the best one of these playoffs. I've got to believe that the Sens will pull it out, but I know that it will take every second of either six or Seven games. It is also possible that there will be more goals scored in this series that there were in the entire first round.
As for the rest:
Colorado vs. Anaheim: Well, before this series began I would have said Colorado in 5 or 6 games. While technically it is still possible for them to get it in 6, they are gonna have to play much better than they did getting shut out in the first two.
New Jersey vs. Carolina: Another series that has me scratching my head. I woulda believed that with Brodeur in net and their classic stifling defence, Jersey would be able to contain the firepower in Carolina's arsenal for a series win in 5 or 6 games. It worked against the Rangers, why not the Hurricanes, right? And then the go and get blown out 6-0 in game one. I know, I don't get it either.
Edmonton vs. San Jose: This is another great skating series. The Sharks didn't have much trouble with the Predators in round one, but they didn't have a defence corp. like Edmonton has. Pronger is gonna get a lot of minutes in this one. The only problem is what line do you play Pronger against? Play him against Thornton and Marleau burns you. Against Marleau, Thornton and Cheechoo get you. All in all, the Oilers won't have an answer to both lines. San Jose in a damn entertaining 5 or 6 games.
Sunday, May 7
Friday, April 21
It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...
That's right! The NHL Playoffs start TONIGHT!!!!!!!!
I've been looking forward to this for nearly two whole years. Ever since the last playoffs ended with Tampa Bay winning the Cup. Mind you, I thought that it would be back a lot sooner than this, but don't get me started on that whole lockout garbage.
I love how my beloved Senators are favored to win Lord Stanley's Mug but nearly all the analysts. I know this really doesn't mean much, but I like how they are all on the bandwagon.
The puck drops in a little under 2 hours for Game 1 between Ottawa and Tampa. Realistically, Ottawa *should* dominate the Lightning, and defeat them handily. I'm not counting Tampa, but I still figure the Sens will take the series in 4 or 5 games.
The best part is that we've got all the troop back and ready to go for the game (except for Hasek, but don't get me started on that either). We are led by our Captain and the rest of the "Burn Unit", while the Twin Towers on defence will be smashing people around all night. And of course between the pipes we've got the Upstart Emery.
As for the rest of the playoffs, these are my predictions:
Montreal over Carolina in 7 games: The Hurricanes have struggled a little down the stretch, enough to relinquish 1st place in the Eastern Conference to Ottawa. While the 'Canes will no doubt be better in the playoffs, they must still beat the Habs new phenom in goal pads, Christobel Huet, who has been so good he chased Jose Theodore out of town.
New Jersey Over New York in 6 games: With Martin Brodeur in the net and the stifling defence that can choke out the most potent offences, even Jagr doesn't stand a chance.
Buffalo over Philedelphia in 7 games: REALLY close series. Buffalo is solid all the way around and has a quick little team that should give the hulking (and slow) defence of Philly fits. Also, I doubt that Forsberg can stay healthy for that long. Plus I HATE the Flyers!
Edmonton over Detroit in 7 games: Yes, I do hate Detroit too, but this goes beyond that. I'm still not convinced that Detroit is as amazing as the seem on paper. They played 24 division games against the 3 of the worst teams in the league.had they lost even one-third of these game which you'd think they would if they were in any other division, that would knock 16 points off their total, making them finish second in their conference. Edmonton has a knack for bringing down the giant, and are certainly capable of doing it again. The animal is always most dangerous when backed into a corner. Detroit: Beware of Animals!
Dallas over Colorodo in 6 games: Dallas is a very good, well-rounded hockey club. Colorodo is a shell of their former selves, having lost Forsberg, Foote, and others. While Burnaby Joe still has the passion and the drive to go all the way, he can't do it by himself. Turco is solid in the net, while Theodore is a big question-mark after a dismal season and a heel injury.
Anaheim over Calgary in 7 games: This one is going all the way to the bitter end. And at the end these two teams will be bitter enemies. For starters, this series pits the two goalies who backstopped the last two cinderella teams to the Finals. Calgary is much deeper on defence, and the Ducks are more offensively talented. While it is true that defence wins Championships, it is still necessary to score at least a little bit to win those games. Calgary's offence has been dismal all year.
San Jose over Nashville in 5 games: Poor Nashville is the victim of bad luck on this one. Tomas Vokoun went down with a blood clot that will force him to miss the rest of the season, leaving them with a rookie in net who's barely played all season. And then they match up aginst one of the hottest teams in the league over the last month. And on this team there is the Art Ross trophie winner, the Rocket Richard trophie winner, and a Hart trophie candidate; and then there is Patrick Marleau on the second line. Sorry Silly (Mike Sillinger), this won't be the year either.
Well, that's the first round as I see it. But what do I know, I'll probably be outguessed by that damn TSN monkey. Hee hee hee, monkey....
I've been looking forward to this for nearly two whole years. Ever since the last playoffs ended with Tampa Bay winning the Cup. Mind you, I thought that it would be back a lot sooner than this, but don't get me started on that whole lockout garbage.
I love how my beloved Senators are favored to win Lord Stanley's Mug but nearly all the analysts. I know this really doesn't mean much, but I like how they are all on the bandwagon.
The puck drops in a little under 2 hours for Game 1 between Ottawa and Tampa. Realistically, Ottawa *should* dominate the Lightning, and defeat them handily. I'm not counting Tampa, but I still figure the Sens will take the series in 4 or 5 games.
The best part is that we've got all the troop back and ready to go for the game (except for Hasek, but don't get me started on that either). We are led by our Captain and the rest of the "Burn Unit", while the Twin Towers on defence will be smashing people around all night. And of course between the pipes we've got the Upstart Emery.
As for the rest of the playoffs, these are my predictions:
Montreal over Carolina in 7 games: The Hurricanes have struggled a little down the stretch, enough to relinquish 1st place in the Eastern Conference to Ottawa. While the 'Canes will no doubt be better in the playoffs, they must still beat the Habs new phenom in goal pads, Christobel Huet, who has been so good he chased Jose Theodore out of town.
New Jersey Over New York in 6 games: With Martin Brodeur in the net and the stifling defence that can choke out the most potent offences, even Jagr doesn't stand a chance.
Buffalo over Philedelphia in 7 games: REALLY close series. Buffalo is solid all the way around and has a quick little team that should give the hulking (and slow) defence of Philly fits. Also, I doubt that Forsberg can stay healthy for that long. Plus I HATE the Flyers!
Edmonton over Detroit in 7 games: Yes, I do hate Detroit too, but this goes beyond that. I'm still not convinced that Detroit is as amazing as the seem on paper. They played 24 division games against the 3 of the worst teams in the league.had they lost even one-third of these game which you'd think they would if they were in any other division, that would knock 16 points off their total, making them finish second in their conference. Edmonton has a knack for bringing down the giant, and are certainly capable of doing it again. The animal is always most dangerous when backed into a corner. Detroit: Beware of Animals!
Dallas over Colorodo in 6 games: Dallas is a very good, well-rounded hockey club. Colorodo is a shell of their former selves, having lost Forsberg, Foote, and others. While Burnaby Joe still has the passion and the drive to go all the way, he can't do it by himself. Turco is solid in the net, while Theodore is a big question-mark after a dismal season and a heel injury.
Anaheim over Calgary in 7 games: This one is going all the way to the bitter end. And at the end these two teams will be bitter enemies. For starters, this series pits the two goalies who backstopped the last two cinderella teams to the Finals. Calgary is much deeper on defence, and the Ducks are more offensively talented. While it is true that defence wins Championships, it is still necessary to score at least a little bit to win those games. Calgary's offence has been dismal all year.
San Jose over Nashville in 5 games: Poor Nashville is the victim of bad luck on this one. Tomas Vokoun went down with a blood clot that will force him to miss the rest of the season, leaving them with a rookie in net who's barely played all season. And then they match up aginst one of the hottest teams in the league over the last month. And on this team there is the Art Ross trophie winner, the Rocket Richard trophie winner, and a Hart trophie candidate; and then there is Patrick Marleau on the second line. Sorry Silly (Mike Sillinger), this won't be the year either.
Well, that's the first round as I see it. But what do I know, I'll probably be outguessed by that damn TSN monkey. Hee hee hee, monkey....
Tuesday, April 11
This is the End...
Well, it's the end of an era here in Ottawa. The Renegades have officially packed it in for this season, and more than likely for the foreseeable future. What a shame, I thoroughly enjoyed attending their games (though admittedly out of the 15-20 games I went to I paid to attend but one contest). Without them here this season, I will be forced to come up with something else to occupy my time this summer.
Perhaps the saddest new of this whole turn of events is that I will no longer be able to see my beloved Green 'Riders come to town. Those were always my favorite games to go to, although for some reason the completely inept Renegades usually managed to somehow come up with the win in these contest, much to my dismay. Maybe I'll try and catch them in Toronto this summer.
With the doomed Renegades now out of their misery, attention can now turn to tomorrow's dispersal draft, where the few decent players from the 'Gades squad can be picked up by other teams. I have great concern that my Roughriders will go out and trade a good player from their roster for the first pick so that they can get Kerry Joseph, an over-rated and grossly overpaid glorified ballboy, to take snaps for them this coming season. The problem I see with this is that Joseph is not even as talented as the two quarterbacks currently in camp, let alone completely unqualified to be by far the highest paid player on the team.
The biggest need that the 'Riders can address in the draft would be to their receiving corp. I won't lie, losing our best receiver in the off-season hurts, and the fact it was to Calgary is like a knife in the back. This deficiency can be addressed nicely in the dispersal draft though as there are a pair of talented receivers available in Jason Armstead and Pat Woodcock. Armstead was one of the few bright spots for Ottawa last year with a ton of return yards and a decent year from the line of scrimmage. To me, the better option would be Pat Woodcock. Only one season removed from winning the League's Most Outstanding Canadian Award, Woodcock had the capability of putting up some crazy good numbers. He was hampered last year by a few injuries and inconsistency, but on that Ottawa team being inconsistent means that he was actually good for a little bit. One downside to him is that he is fairly high paid, but he could potentially lead all 'Riders receivers this season.
The only other glaring need for the 'Riders is at the kicker position, but there is no way in hell they would try and fill that from Ottawa. Anyone who even remotely follows the CFL must know that the kicking game in Ottawa has been a joke since they returned to the league three years ago. I think in that time Ottawa has averaged seven kickers per year, none of which have been any good.
Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed....
Perhaps the saddest new of this whole turn of events is that I will no longer be able to see my beloved Green 'Riders come to town. Those were always my favorite games to go to, although for some reason the completely inept Renegades usually managed to somehow come up with the win in these contest, much to my dismay. Maybe I'll try and catch them in Toronto this summer.
With the doomed Renegades now out of their misery, attention can now turn to tomorrow's dispersal draft, where the few decent players from the 'Gades squad can be picked up by other teams. I have great concern that my Roughriders will go out and trade a good player from their roster for the first pick so that they can get Kerry Joseph, an over-rated and grossly overpaid glorified ballboy, to take snaps for them this coming season. The problem I see with this is that Joseph is not even as talented as the two quarterbacks currently in camp, let alone completely unqualified to be by far the highest paid player on the team.
The biggest need that the 'Riders can address in the draft would be to their receiving corp. I won't lie, losing our best receiver in the off-season hurts, and the fact it was to Calgary is like a knife in the back. This deficiency can be addressed nicely in the dispersal draft though as there are a pair of talented receivers available in Jason Armstead and Pat Woodcock. Armstead was one of the few bright spots for Ottawa last year with a ton of return yards and a decent year from the line of scrimmage. To me, the better option would be Pat Woodcock. Only one season removed from winning the League's Most Outstanding Canadian Award, Woodcock had the capability of putting up some crazy good numbers. He was hampered last year by a few injuries and inconsistency, but on that Ottawa team being inconsistent means that he was actually good for a little bit. One downside to him is that he is fairly high paid, but he could potentially lead all 'Riders receivers this season.
The only other glaring need for the 'Riders is at the kicker position, but there is no way in hell they would try and fill that from Ottawa. Anyone who even remotely follows the CFL must know that the kicking game in Ottawa has been a joke since they returned to the league three years ago. I think in that time Ottawa has averaged seven kickers per year, none of which have been any good.
Well, we'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed....
Thursday, March 9
Deal or No Deal...
No, I'm not talking about the neat game show with the infuriating, jack-ass of a host. I speak of course about this years NHL Trade Deadline. This annual frenzy brings me nearly as much joy as the playoffs do.
Generally, this day sees a multitude of trades rivaling the number of trades of the entire rest of the season. And this year was no different.
My Sens traded an underachieving, oft injured forward in Brandon Bochenski for another apparent underacheiver in Tyler Arnason. But Arnason played for a deadful Chicago team, and has 41 points (second most on the team) and is an amazing +5 for the basement-dwelling Blackhawks. He should do an adequate job filling the second line center ice position and bolster our already quite potent offense.
Add to it all that we also acquired another goaltender to try and relieve some of the pressure facing Emery while Hasek is recovering, and you get that we had a pretty good day. And that we didn't even have to give up anything for the goalie (simply pull him off the waiver wire from Edmonton) makes today a great success. Sure, we may not have gone out and over-spent to bring in some big name player, but we addressed our needs and didn't mess with the chemistry of the team. All this and we didn't sell out our future either. Not a bad days work, Mr. Muckler.
As for the other teams out there, I did notice a few things. Edmonton looked to have done a great job patching the few holes they had. Vancouver seemed to have a monopoly on depth defencemen. Anaheim couldn't decide if they were buyers or sellers so they did both. Toronto did absolutely nothing worthwhile, which also describes the rest of their season.
The biggest deal of the deadline has to be the Theodore trade to Colorodo. I can't imagine what Pierre LaCroix is thinking there. He is usually so shrewd in his dealings, but may have missed the boat this time. The goalie he traded for has the potential to greatly upgrade the Avalanche at the position, with only two minor flaws. The first being that Theodore has played like shit all season and the second being that he is injured until at least the playoffs start. Considering that Colorodo had to trade their current number one goaltender to get Theodore and they are still in a fight to even make the playoffs, this could prove disasterous for the Avalanche.
This truly is my favorite holiday of the year...
Generally, this day sees a multitude of trades rivaling the number of trades of the entire rest of the season. And this year was no different.
My Sens traded an underachieving, oft injured forward in Brandon Bochenski for another apparent underacheiver in Tyler Arnason. But Arnason played for a deadful Chicago team, and has 41 points (second most on the team) and is an amazing +5 for the basement-dwelling Blackhawks. He should do an adequate job filling the second line center ice position and bolster our already quite potent offense.
Add to it all that we also acquired another goaltender to try and relieve some of the pressure facing Emery while Hasek is recovering, and you get that we had a pretty good day. And that we didn't even have to give up anything for the goalie (simply pull him off the waiver wire from Edmonton) makes today a great success. Sure, we may not have gone out and over-spent to bring in some big name player, but we addressed our needs and didn't mess with the chemistry of the team. All this and we didn't sell out our future either. Not a bad days work, Mr. Muckler.
As for the other teams out there, I did notice a few things. Edmonton looked to have done a great job patching the few holes they had. Vancouver seemed to have a monopoly on depth defencemen. Anaheim couldn't decide if they were buyers or sellers so they did both. Toronto did absolutely nothing worthwhile, which also describes the rest of their season.
The biggest deal of the deadline has to be the Theodore trade to Colorodo. I can't imagine what Pierre LaCroix is thinking there. He is usually so shrewd in his dealings, but may have missed the boat this time. The goalie he traded for has the potential to greatly upgrade the Avalanche at the position, with only two minor flaws. The first being that Theodore has played like shit all season and the second being that he is injured until at least the playoffs start. Considering that Colorodo had to trade their current number one goaltender to get Theodore and they are still in a fight to even make the playoffs, this could prove disasterous for the Avalanche.
This truly is my favorite holiday of the year...
Thursday, March 2
Whole Lotta Shaking....
Yes, the rumors are true. I did survive the great Ottawa earthquake of '06.
I was on the phone at the time and I believe that my exact words were 'Holy crap, I think I'm in an earthquake!'.
Needless to say, an earthquake registering 4.5 on the richter scale was more that sufficient to break my boredom last Friday night.
I was on the phone at the time and I believe that my exact words were 'Holy crap, I think I'm in an earthquake!'.
Needless to say, an earthquake registering 4.5 on the richter scale was more that sufficient to break my boredom last Friday night.
Saturday, February 25
She's So Pretty...
My love, thy name is Serra.
My quest to create an all foil Angel Magic deck took a good step forward today. I aquired 10 cards towards that end in a trade today. Yes, I had to give up two very good and valuable cards; but look at her, She is so lovely.
She also instantly becomes the most valuable card in my collection, having been forced to trade the the old champion in order to aquire her. But I have no reservations over the trade, especially since I haven't seen a Serra like that go for less than $45US on eBay.
Well, 10 down, 35 to go...
Anyone wanna give me money to get more cards???
No? Dang...
My quest to create an all foil Angel Magic deck took a good step forward today. I aquired 10 cards towards that end in a trade today. Yes, I had to give up two very good and valuable cards; but look at her, She is so lovely.
She also instantly becomes the most valuable card in my collection, having been forced to trade the the old champion in order to aquire her. But I have no reservations over the trade, especially since I haven't seen a Serra like that go for less than $45US on eBay.
Well, 10 down, 35 to go...
Anyone wanna give me money to get more cards???
No? Dang...
Monday, February 13
The Coming Demise...
No, I'm not talking about the death of Team USA at the hands of the Canadians in Olympic hockey, I'm talking about society as a whole. I haven't quite worked out all the fine details, be it a nuclear holocaust or a plague or whatnot, but it is coming, and a lot sooner than everyone thinks. Well, except for that crackpot who thinks it'll be in 7 years when fossil fuels run out.
The end will come when the youth of today begin to take power in the world in round about 30ish years from now. When the teens of today become the world leaders of tomorrow, start counting the days.
Anyone who rides on public transit or goes to a mall has seen exactly what I am talking about. All those incoherent little bastards yammering 10 decibles less than a jet engine, dressed like thug rappers, tripping oner the waistbands on their pants. Really inspires you with confidence, don't it?
The little monsters even smashed the glass in the local bus shelter this past weekend, obviously too stupid to realize that without the glass, they are gonna get cold while waiting for the bus. That the fact of wind in February is cold is unknown to them fills me with fear and dread.
And before you start saying 'ah, he's just some crotchety old geezer', at 24 I am no more than 10 years older that these morons.
I'm gonna go start planning my nuclear bomb shelter/quarantine room now. Send me a message if you want in on it (subject to age verification).
The end will come when the youth of today begin to take power in the world in round about 30ish years from now. When the teens of today become the world leaders of tomorrow, start counting the days.
Anyone who rides on public transit or goes to a mall has seen exactly what I am talking about. All those incoherent little bastards yammering 10 decibles less than a jet engine, dressed like thug rappers, tripping oner the waistbands on their pants. Really inspires you with confidence, don't it?
The little monsters even smashed the glass in the local bus shelter this past weekend, obviously too stupid to realize that without the glass, they are gonna get cold while waiting for the bus. That the fact of wind in February is cold is unknown to them fills me with fear and dread.
And before you start saying 'ah, he's just some crotchety old geezer', at 24 I am no more than 10 years older that these morons.
I'm gonna go start planning my nuclear bomb shelter/quarantine room now. Send me a message if you want in on it (subject to age verification).
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