Tag: NHL

2013 Stanley Cup Finals Predictions

As always, before I make my prediction for the upcoming playoff round, let me recap my predictions from the previous rounds.

Considering that I correctly predicted the winner of 11 out of the 12 series in the first two rounds, the third round looks like I did a crap-tastic job.  In the Conference Finals I picked:

Boston over Pittsburgh.  Boston won.  I was right.  Oh thank the hockey gods and all that, I was right.
Los Angeles over Chicago.  Chicago won.  I was wrong.

Those damn Blackhawks.  They brought my winning percentage down!  I’m now a measly 12 out of 14.  Thanks to friggin’ Chicago my percentage dropped from about 91% all the way down to 85%.  The pukes.

I guess I’ll just have to move on and keep living life, day by day.

Right, on to the prediction for the Stanley Cup Finals!

Like there is any doubt who this Boston native is going to pick.  Hey, did you notice I changed the image in this page’s header?  What is it, you ask?  Well it’s just the ice at the TD Garden.  I took that pic just after warm ups on 3/15/2008.  The Bruins hosted the Flyers that day.  Gee… so who is Robbie picking in the finals?  I have a tough decision here.  Should I wear my black Bruins jersey tomorrow (because it’s better and it almost fits… sort of) or should I wear the white one (which is too small, but is the same color that the Mighty Boston Bruins will be wearing in game one tomorrow night)?

What was I talking about?  Oh yeah, predictions!

The Blackhawks vs The Bruins.  Chicago has been awesome this season.  Remember the way they started the season?  Damn, that was impressive.  They came back to the pack somewhat, but they still won the West and the President’s Trophy, easily.  They are an amazing team.

Sounds familiar, right?

The Penguins are an amazing team too.  On paper they beat up the Bruins in every measurable way.  Who won that series?  It kinda reminds me of another series, about two years ago, where the Bruins faced a President’s Trophy winner.  What happened in that series?  Well the Bruins beat the Canucks in seven games and won the 2011 Stanley Cup.  Yeah, sounds similar.

Let’s be honest here.  Given all of the strengths in the Blackhawks line up, they should beat the Bruins.  They really should.  Fortunately for Boston, you can’t go by that.  The Pittsburgh series proved that beyond a doubt.  If that series had been closer I might be ready to give up on my home town team, but the Bruins dominated the entire series.  Game one was close most of the way, but the Penguins just came unglued and acted way out of character.  The Bruins got under their collective skin almost immediately.  Game two was a joke.  Game three was better, game four was awesome, but was it ever really in doubt?  Was the series ever really in doubt from the moment Crosby poked Rask, or Malkin picked a fight with Bergeron?

The similarities are clear, and the Bruins came out on top before.  It will be more difficult this time, but there is no reason to think that they cannot do it again.  Rask is on fire like never before.  Two goals in four games against the highest scoring offense in the playoffs.  That’s an inhuman performance.  The Bruins defense was outstanding.  The offense came through when it was needed.  They were just amazing.

The Blackhawks were amazing too.  The Blackhawks are definitely good enough to win this series.  The Bruins, however, look like a machine that cannot be stopped.

I’m picking my Bruins.  I’m picking my Bruins to win the Cup for the second time in three years.  The Bruins will beat the Blackhawks.  It’s going to be ugly.  It’s going to be painful.  It’s going to be brutal.  For us, the fans, it’s going to be uber stressful.  The team, and the fans, are up to the challenge.

Go Bruins!
Go Bruins!
Go Bruins!

Stanley Cup Finals Schedule

Here is the schedule for the Stanley Cup Finals.  Why there is two days off between games one and two and not two and three (when there is travel involved) I will never know.  Oh wait, I do know.  Television.  The NHL whores itself to television and whatever television wants, television gets.  Okay, I get it now.  Anyway…

Game 1: Wednesday at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Game 2: Saturday at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 3: June 17 at Boston, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 4: June 19 at Boston, 8 p.m. (NBC)
Game 5: June 22 at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBC)-x
Game 6: June 24 at Boston, 8 p.m. (NBC)-x
Game 7: June 26 at Chicago, 8 p.m. (NBC)-x
x-if necessary

So don’t bug me during those times!  Hey kids, no Disney channel on those dates and times.

Go Bruins!

Chicago Wins the West

It’s over out West. The Chicago Blackhawks just clinched the Western Conference with a double overtime win in game five against the L.A. Kings.

Looks like we are getting an original six match up in the Stanley Cup Finals. Bruins and Blackhawks. Word is that game one will be Wednesday in Chicago.

GO BRUINS!

Bring the Cup Back to Boston!

I gotta tell ya… I still can’t believe it.  As hard as it was to imagine the Bruins beating the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, the idea of seeing them win in a sweep was just too incredible to consider.  I mean… the Penguins just plain rule this year, and the Bruins have been this schizophrenic mess for pretty much the whole season.

But…

They did it.  Four games to none.  The Bruins are the Eastern Conference Champs and they have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals against the winner of the Blackhawks/Kings series.  The ‘Hawks are up three games to one, but I still have hope for the Kings to come back and win it.

Last night was insane.  A one to nothing win on a third period goal by Darth Quaider.  What a game.  What a game!  What a series!  I am one shocked Bruins fan, I gotta tell ya!

Here’s the highlight video from last night’s game.

It’s time to bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston, where it belongs!

Being the Cup Back to Boston!

Bruins/Penguins Game Four Tonight

I used to think that a three games to none lead in a seven game series was a lock.  Then in 2004 the Red Sox came out of a 3-0 hole and beat the Yankees in the American League Championship series.  On the flip side there was 2010 when the Bruins blew a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers in the Conference Semi Finals.

Especially for Boston fans, three games to none series leads will never again feel safe.  We know better.

The Bruins have a three games to none lead over the Penguins and game four is tonight.  They took a 3-0 lead against the Flyers in 2011 and finished the sweep.  They took a 3-0 lead in the last round against the Rangers and finished the series in five games.  I should feel pretty confident.  I do not feel confident.  Cautiously optimistic, yes.  Confident?  No.

I need the Bruins to win tonight.  They have Pittsburgh down and they have to put them away without giving them any hope.  They have to finish them off quickly.  The Penguins showed us in game three that they are not going down without a fight.  However, in game two they showed us that if you rattle them enough they will cave in.  If the Bruins can jump out to a quick lead the way they have in the past two games… maybe that will do it.  Maybe that will break what’s left of the Penguins spirit.  Regardless, the Bruins have to play as if their life depends on it or else risk falling into that mean ol’ 2010 trap.

Win it tonight, Bruins.  Put them away while you can.

 

Go Bruins!

The Difference Between Hockey and All Other Sports

Have you seen that commercial where a hockey player goes to the trainer and says he has a splinter.  The trainer reaches for a pair of tweezers and then looks up and sees the player has a hockey stick stabbed clean through his arm.  The player says something like hurry up, I’ve got to get back on the ice?  Have you seen that?

Watch this:

The injured player, Gregory Campbell, is out for the rest of the season. I believe I heard that he broke his leg while blocking the shot. His team was on a penalty kill in a playoff game. What did Campbell with his broken leg do? He got up and played his position, covered his man, broke up a pass, continued to kill off a penalty against the best offense in the NHL.

Holy Crap!

Now compare that to most other pro sports where hang nails keep players out for days, or a nasty case of turf toe (rug burn?) can derail a season, or where players flop around like they’ve been shot at the slightest contact (ok, looking at you Montreal Canadians as well as every soccer player and basketball player I’ve watched over the last few years).

Greg Campbell… on a broken leg… Damn!

Double Overtime Hangover

I gotta tell ya… I have the worse case of the double overtime hangover.  I feel like I haven’t slept for days.

But what a game, eh?

You can watch the highlights here.

I was in the car when Krejci scored the first goal.  I saw the Penguins goal on TV.  There was still more than half a game to go at that point.  Before the third period ended I was listening to the radio.  I’d had enough of Pierre McGuire, and everyone in the house was asleep so I kept it quiet.  It seemed like four months went by waiting for one more goal.  The Penguins owned the third period.  The Bruins owned most of the overtime.  This was not a push over win like game two, this was playoff hockey at it’s most stressful.  Each time the puck came into our end I was panicked.  Each time it was in their end I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see who would be the hero.

The Penguins brought it for real last night.  The Bruins were not up to their level of play they showed in the first two games.  Still, the heavily favored Penguins could not find a way to beat the Bruins, and now Boston is up three games to none.  Game four is Friday.  Again, I ask, please please please please please put them away on Friday.  Memories of 2010 are still fresh.  You lost game four to the Rangers after winning the first three and there was pain and suffering in Bruins Nation.  Spare us more of that pain with a win on Friday.

Go Bruins!