Game 7 Pens Versus Wings

It really doesn't get any better than this folks.

Throw in the subplot of Marian Hossa switching from the Penguins to the Red Wings because he thought that his best chance of winning the Stanley Cup was to go to Detroit. This means that if the wings somehow manage to lose Game 7, then Hossa will have been on the losing end of both years, on the opposite side of the fence. Pretty amazing actually.

That said, it is going to be a very difficult game for the Penguins. They have yet to win a game in Joe Louis Arena these playoffs, and they have been much more successful against Detroit when Pavel Datsyuk is not in the line up.

I think that Datsyuk's foot would have to be cut off for him to miss this game, even then, he might find a way to strap on some kind of crazy skate and play this game. Heck, we might even nickname him 'Stumpy' from then on.

Hockey really doesn't get better than this, two very offensive teams, one a bit more responsible in their own end (I'll let you guess to whom I am referring on this one).

Let's just say that moments like this truly define the career of some of these young players. If Malkin and Crosby can step up and show the world how awesome they have the potential of being, and if Fleury can really shine (man he is going to have to be good), then maybe, just maybe the Penguins can win this game.

I would love to see the Penguins win, that said, Detroit will probably win this game.

My prediction is 5-3 Detroit.

Good luck Pens, I hope I'm wrong.

Quinn-tessential Oiler

Oilers are going to name Pat Quinn new head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. This is a very interesting move as it basically re-unites Tambellini with Quinn from their years together at the helm of the Vancouver Canucks.
Oilers have called a press conference for 12pm local time.

Tom Renney is named to be assitant coach.

Loads of experienced coaching comes in to replace the vilified MacTavish, I think the team will be better off with this change.

I like the East and My Picks

I will have to say that I really enjoyed the 1st round of the playoffs. The teams in the east, to me, were the most entertaining. They were all great games. For the west - the Detroit series I did not watch much of. It looks like I did not miss much. In another sweep, the Boston-Montreal series was really fun to watch and was closer than the sweep indicated. I was in Toronto for a few of the games and there are a lot of Montreal fans in Toronto. The sports pubs were packed and people are freaks about hockey out east. It was really fun to watch hockey in an atmosphere where people like hockey as much as me. I find Oilers fans can be kind of snobs when it comes to hockey in general. It is all about them and they cannot appreciate a good team when they see one – like Boston. In the end, Boston was just too good for Montreal, and is my new choice to win the cup.

Like many people in the hockey world, I am really excited to watch the Penguins-Capitals series. The two teams showcase a lot of talent and it will be interesting to see what team can shut down each other the best. Even though there are lots of goals to be had in this series, I believe it will be goaltending and strong defense that will determine the winner of this series, I can’t see the coaches giving their skilled players the go-ahead to play run-and-gun. The Capitals won the season series 3 -1.

I don’t really have a favorite game that I want to see in the west. Whatever. Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit, or Anaheim all do not really excite me. It may be neat to see the battle between the Anaheim defense and the Detroit forwards. I hope Pronger takes a bunch of cross-checking penalties again and Detroit’s powerful man advantage makes him pay. That would be a good time.

Here are my picks for the second round:

Chicago vs. Vancouver – Chicago in 5
Detroit vs. Anaheim – Detroit in 6

Carolina vs. Boston – Boston in 4
Pittsburg vs. Washington – Washington in 7

Now THAT is Hockey

I had the privilege of watching two excellent games tonight. Canes and Devils, Caps and Rangers. Wow. Next goal wins, fantastic goaltending, goals when the teams need them, hitting, emotion, fine coaching - both games had everything I love about hockey.

And how about that ending for the Carolina-New Jersey game eh? Wow. 1:20 left and the Canes score twice to win it. Talk about sudden death for the Devils and it wasn't even overtime!

Great hockey - I am glad the two teams that came out in the end won. I wanted to see the Caps win a series for once and I like the character of the Carolina team. Good stuff.

I will chime in tomorrow with my choices for the next round. I was 6/8 for this past round with my choice to win the cup - the Sharks - being upset by the Ducks. Next round will be tougher to predict but I am excited to see the next set of games, especially in the west.

Capital Punishment

Hi All,

Look for the Caps to complete the comeback tonight, Ill take my winnings from the previous imaginary gamble I made and roll them over into tonight's game.

Caps - Rangers

I like the Caps tonight, they are dogs (+120) but the got momentum, and with all the junk surrounding Avery and Torteralla, looks like this could be a perfect storm for Washington.

Ill stick 150 of my imaginary 1150.00 bankroll on the caps for tonight.

Devils - Canes

The oddsmakers are saying that the Canes are the huge favorites to win tonight. I can't imagine how they are such favorites. I've watch the games, with the exception of the last game they have been good spirited affairs. Close games all of them. Yet the odds makers are saying that the Canes are -240 favorites. That makes Brodeur and the Devils +205 dogs. Give me those odds all day with Jersey at home.

Ill stick 300 of my imaginary 1000.00 remaining bankroll on the Devils for tonight.

Both of these matchups tonight are going to be tough games, I honestly think that basically both of these are going to be coin tosses, but with the odds paying out as good as they are, it would be easy to place a bet on these games.

My Comments for Tonight

Flames - Hawks
- The Phaneuf-less Calgary Flames will try to force a game 7 tonight as they take on the Chicago Blackhawks. Already without Robyn Regehr, the Flames back end is going to be too weak for Chicago's talent. I think the Hawks will finish off the series tonight.

Sharks - Ducks
- The Sharks have all of a sudden found their touch and have shown flashes of the team that was dominant during the regular season. If Thorton can do what he did last game and the rest of the Sharks can stay out of the box, I see the Sharks having a good chance for the rest of the series. The Sharks are going to win tonight to force a 7th game.

Headline: Duck bites Shark

Well I went 3 for 4 on my picks last night in the NHL. Philly surprised me and pulled out a win against the Pens to force a game 6.

This series is up for grabs now folks, Philly stole a game out of Pittsburgh last night and take it back to Philidelphia for game 6. That should be a good game to watch.

Only one game tonight, the odds makers are saying the the Rangers are heavy favorites to win tonight (average odds -175 favorite), the caps are the dogs (+150 dogs).

Just for the odds alone tonight I think that I would take the caps to win this game.

I'm starting with a pretend 1000 dollar bankroll, and Ill place a pretend 100 dollar bet on the caps to win tonight.

Should be a great game to watch tonight. I'll be flipping back and forth between my Blue Jays (12-5 so far this year) and the Caps / Rangers game.