Tag: postseason

It (Probably) Ends Tonight

Game four of the Stanley Cup final. Tonight. Game time is 8:00… which was 18 minutes ago… and the game hasn’t started yet… Screw you, TV coverage. Just drop the damned puck.

Well… it’s going to end tonight, I think. Probably. The Panthers are probably going to complete the sweep over the Oilers tonight. You know the Oilers, right? The team I picked to win it?

I really don’t want the NHL season to end. I loves me some ice hockey and once Florida finishes destroying my dreams it comes to an end. At least the next regular season game I see will be the Bruins so that’s nice.

The Panthers have bounced my Bruins out of the postseason for two years in a row now. I hate them dearly. I don’t New York Yankees* hate them, but I really hate them. It is going to royally suck to have to refer to them as Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

Put my hockey season out of it’s misery.

Stupid friggin’ Oilers and Panthers.

*The Red Sox and Yankees are playing each other this weekend. Tonight is the second game of the series and the Red Sox are up 5-2 in the bottom of the third inning. That’s a good thing, but given the state of the two teams it’s probably going to end in tears for my Red Sox.

Shit.

Game Three – Tied in the Second

Game three of the Stanley Cup Final. It’s tied at one about four minutes into the second period.

At what point do I just give up hope and accept the fact that the team I’m rooting for, Edmonton, is not going to win.

Crudsville, population me.

I suppose the Oilers could figure it out tonight and actually score some goals and win a game for a change. It could happen. I mean, they are in the Stanley Cup Final fer crying out loud. It’s not like they suck, you know?

Come on, Oilers. Let’s make this happen.

NHL Playoff Predictions: Stanley Cup Final

I can’t remember a time when I was this blah for the last two rounds of the NHL playoffs. Blah, I say!

The Conference Finals are over. It is time to review how my predictions did in round three, and to make my pick for the Stanley Cup Final. Over the first two rounds I had correctly chosen the winner in six of 12 series. 6/12 is terrible, but it is WAY better than my coin flip control group which has been correct in three out of 12 series. That is just pathetic.

So how did we do with the two series in round three?

Rangers vs Panthers. You know, this is what happens when you live in Boston and put your faith in a friggin’ team from friggin’ New York. Of course the Rangers lost. Assholes. You guys suck. That sound you hear off in the distance is me screaming in hockey related frustration. I hate the Florida Panthers so much that I cannot accurately put it into words. I hate them so much that I was rooting for New York. Argh! I picked the Rangers and was wrong. That puts me at 6/13. The coin, the prick, picked the Panthers. It is now 4/13.

Stars vs Oilers. I feel a little better about this one. I am ambivalent about the Stars and I kinda find the Oilers enjoyable. That’s why I picked the Oilers. The coin flip picked Edmonton too. That puts me back at 50% at 7/14, and moves the coin to 5/14.

I guess that means that now it’s time to make my pick for the final.

Panthers vs Oilers. As I previously stated, I hate the Panthers with the burning passion of 1000000000 suns, and I kinda like the Oilers. I am making this pick with my heart and not my head and I’m picking the Oilers. Let’s bring that Stanley Cup back to Canada, shall we? For the coin flip, heads goes to the higher seed, which is Florida. The coin flip is tails. That means the coin and I both picked Edmonton.

You heard it here first, kids. The Oilers are going to win the cup this year. Pretty please, at least. We have a long wait for game one, as the series doesn’t start until Saturday. Five days from now. Hey NHL… WTF is up with that? What is this, the NBA? Damn it!

NHL Playoff Predictions: Round Three

This sucks, man. My team lost and New York’s team won? Talk about a crap fest.

My predictions in the first round were not very good. I picked four series correctly out of eight. The coin flips I used for a control group (or something) picked three out of eight.

How did I do in the second round? Not very good.

Panthers vs Bruins.  The coin and I both picked the Bruins. This sucks. I am now 4/9 and the coin is 3/9. Screw you, Panthers.

Rangers vs Whalers. I picked the Rangers, even though it hurts my soul to pick any team from New York, and the coin picked the Whale. The Rangers won. I am now 5/10 and the coin is 3/10.

On to the West…

Stars vs Avalanche. The coin and I both picked the Avalanche and they lost. The Stars moved on and the Avs made me look bad. I am now 5/11 and the coin is a dismal 3/11.

Canucks vs Oilers. The Bruins are out. The Avalanche is out. There’s only one team left that I would actually want to root for. It’s the Oilers. I picked them to win and the coin picked Vancouver. Who won? The Oilers won. Oh thank goodness. I am back up to 50% at 6/12 and the coin is completely shut out in this round and is now at 3/12.

Now let’s move on to the Conference Final round. Round three.

Rangers vs Panthers. Oh good, the team that beat my team for the second year in a row against a team that I absolutely hate. Yippee. I want them both to lose. I am going to pick the Rangers but not because I plan to root for them. In this series I am rooting for the Zambonis. For the coin flip, heads goes to the higher seed and tails goes to the lower. It is tails. The coin picks the friggin’ Panthers.

Stars vs Oilers. At this point I think the Rangers are going to win the cup, but the Oilers are the only team left that I actually like so I am picking them. That’s me going with my heart instead of my head. The coin picks the Oilers too, which guarantees they will lose?

So I am predicting a Rangers vs Oilers matchup in the Stanley Cup Final. You heard it here first.

Blah.

They Lost

The Bruins lost.

Crud.

My hockey heart and hopes have been smashed against the rocks. Now the Conference Finals matchup in the East is the team that beat us vs the team from New York. I can’t root for either of them!

Crud.

Still Alive

Oh thank the Old Garden Gallery Gods, the Bruins live to see another day!

They beat Florida tonight in game five of their second round playoff series, 2-1 to stave off elmination!

Oh, happy day!

Florida still leads the series three games to two, but game six is Friday (Friday? Not Thursday? FUUUUUUUU) back in Boston.

Oh happiness! Oh sweet hockey rapture! We get another game!

WOOHOOO!!!!

Game Four: One Period Down

We’ve played one period at the TD Garden in Boston. The Panthers have been MASSIVELY outplaying the Bruins thus far. The ice is literally tilted toward Jeremy Swayman. It’s been tough to watch at times.

However… magically… having said all of that…

The Bruins are actually up 2-0.

It’s a miracle. Truly, a miraculous miracle.

Down By One in the Second

We’re about five minutes into the second period and The Bruins trail the Panthers 1-0. We’re going on the power play though, so let’s be optimistic.

Jen and I watched The Offer on Paramount+ this week. It’s actually the second time we watched it. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s the story of the making of The Godfather. Now that we’re finished with the show we’re watching the movie. Clemenza just left the gun but took the cannoli’s.

The Godfather is on the living room TV. The Bruins are on my iPhone via the streaming app formerly known as HBO Max. I’m trying to multitask over here, but it’s tough when the movie is so legendary and the iPhone screen is so teeny tiny. Even if it is an iPhone 14 Pro Max.

The Bruins did not score on the power play. Crud.