The first regular season of the new "my NHL" has come and gone and later in the week the playoffs for hockey's oldest and most revered prize will start. I have looked at each of the remaining 16 teams still in the hunt and tried to come up with a logical odds-on-favorite to win it all this year. (Which was really hard when my top 3 teams all went in the tank this year.)I can't tell you that I've come up with some over elaborate scientific scheme like my buddy Jes and others who love to calculate the "sabremetrics". But I also didn't pick 'em with the enney-miney-moe strategy. I simply will list the logical reasons and conclusions as to why I've picked the Ottawa Senators as this blog's official Stanley Cup favorite.
- A strong seasonal run will certainly provide a lot of confidence in the Senators offense come crunch time. Spezza, Heatly, and Alfredsson have all got the scoring touch that wins games in bunches at a time.
- The Ottawa defense is dominated by two redwoods on either side. I've watched Zdeno Chara and Andrej Mezaros manhandle any opposing player that wants to camp in the goal crease. Chara is at least 36 feet tall (or 72km for you metric-using Canadians)*. And they sure know how to defend themselves when it actually breaks down to the fighting elements of the game. I don't see anyone capable of chopping down those redwoods.
- The goaltending will be okay. Surely, the Ottawa citizenry had a little worry on their hands when Billy Thompson and newly acquired Mike Morrison were suddenly flung into the starting roles at the end of the season. This leaves a big question mark as to the condition to Dominic Hasek come playoff time. Hasek has really nothing to prove to anybody. He's taken three teams already to the Stanley Cup finals and has won them for Detroit. Hasek isn't the spry goalie that we all once knew as "the human slinky". As long as he isn't taking unnecessary flops on the ice, then "the Dominator" Hasek has more than enough playoff experience to carry this franchise to the promised land.
- It's too bad that the kook fringe of the Caniac Nation had to piss me off. I was pondering the endorsement of the Southleast division champion Carolina Hurricanes, but that whole Cole getting "pwned" incident left a really bitter taste in my northerner mouth.
- I'm also sick of all the Canadian media elites that pout and moan that the Stanley Cup champs are from tropical yankee American city that doesn't see ice 12 months of the year. Perhaps Ottawa winning the Cup will shut these mediots up.
*= And because Canadians have had a terrible record of recognizing my satire, I am compelled to point out that this is another example.
6 comments:
Is Hasek even playing, though? I thought he was still out of commission with a groin injury...what else is new? *rolls her eyes*
I really cannot say if I agree with Ottawa...if Hasek stays out and Emery in, I don't see how the Spartacus' will last past the second round, if they can even get past the first. Hafta admit that I found the Tampa upset bid rather tempting...and have gone with it in both of the pools in which I'm participating. Especially considering how Ottawa has fallen to teams like the Leafs in the past Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Speaking of pools and those not likely to win the Cup...if it makes you feel any better, I really don't know what to think of the Canes' chances. Especially with their uber-crappy play as of late. In one pool, I chose the Canes in seven games. But in another, I chose the Habs. That series could truly go either way...AND if the Canes are still asleep, they are going to be dead meat IMHO. Even though the Canes *did* sweep the Habs during the regular season...that was when they had Jose "It's just hair medicine!!" Theodore. Montreal now has Huet in their deck, and has proven to be quite an ace. It'll be interesting to see how the Canes react to him.
Even if the Canes do eek it out of the First Round, I don't see them getting past the Second...even though I picked Tampa, I hope the Canes get Ottawa. The Canes and Sens matched up better in the regular season, as evidenced by the split 2-2 record. Canes and Bolts on the other hand...4-3? That's actually not as bad as I thought it was. But, I just still don't wanna face Tampa...
One more thing...I realized this: There is something the Canes do not have going for them that they had in 2002: Media hatred.
I know that sounds odd, but just follow me here...in 2002, everyone hated the Canes' guts because they were "that upstart team from the South" that were wrecking the Stanley Cup chances of "more worthy contenders" in New Jersey, Montreal, and Toronto. And what did the Canes do with such lemons as the articles, news reports, etc. that blasted them? They made lemonade out of it all, and poured it down the throats of not only those "more worthy" teams, but also the mediots backing those teams. And dagummit, while the Canes may not have won Lord's Stanley's Prize, they made almost doing that a TON of fun because of what I just talked about, among other things.
This season's Canes have actually gotten the mediots on their side for once...hell, even Barry "Mullet Prince" (Jagr will always be the "King" in my book thanks to his Pens days) Melrose finds himself dancing to the Caniac beat lately, despite the fact that the Canes have not looked all that wonderful in the last month. As a matter of fact, my brother told me today (4/19) about how Melrose was constantly praising the Canes during SportsCenter's look at the Eastern Conference side of the playoffs...this was/is the same man who considered the Canes a joke during their 2002 run? I can't help but feel that, in addition to the other mediot praise, is going to make for bad mojo. Afterall, I don't think Melrose's track record of favorites picked to win the Cup actually winning Lord Stanley has been good.
But then again, I could very be wrong...
Shut up? The Mainstream Mediots would never run out of things to complain about. If Ottawa wins, Toronto mediots will bleat about their team until kingdom come.
Still bitter towards some 'Canes bloggers eh? Just to make this conversation even more high-brow, I'll ask you to recall that the Molson Miracle of '02 was made possible, in part, by the generous grant of a bench penalty award to then Montreal coach Michael Therrien. He's now where? Anybody? Beuhler?
One thing about the past Ottawa Leaf's match ups in the post season was the Hate Factor, that caused them to fight too hard in the first round. Either team who made it to the second round or third round was worn out from the war. Ottawa has a chance to "coast" to the finals this year as they are not going through the usual road block of the Leafs.
This year they are playing a zero history, no hate, opponent in the Lightning... Even though they lost the last 12 games of the season or whatever, Ottawa should easily win that series with a first line alone.
However I don't think Ottawa has got a Stanley Cup winning, go all the way playoff team at this moment.
Problem A - Goalie who "IF" he plays has not played since the olympics.
Problem B - All they have is a first line and really nothing backing them up.
Problem C - Playoff History dictates a CHOKE!!!
"Problem B - All they have is a first line and really nothing backing them up."
Spoken like a true Sens-following neophyte. They hear one analyst make this claim in December, and then begin to parrot it ad nauseam like the gospel truth.
I don't really consider having a 20-goal scorer on every line to be "having nothing to back them up".
This isn't a one-dimensional team, with only a high-scoring first line. They possess fierce two-way players (Fisher and Vermette), serious PK and SHG ability (Schaefer and Vermette again) and grit (Neil and Volchenkov). And of course, there's that little issue of owning one of the best D-lines in the league.
Who stepped up when the big line stopped producing? Who held this team together while Havlat was injured for the majority of the year? Guys like Vermette, Fisher, Kelly and Schaefer -- in other words, hardly your prototypical firstliners.
Oh, but if an analyst said we're a one-line team four months ago, it has to still be valid, right?
People don't watch this team, but they'll listen to others talk about it, and feel they can confidently comment about the roster situation.
Watch a playoff game. There's far more to this team than just Heatley, Alfredsson and Spezza.
And I also don't buy that there's zero history/hate between Ottawa and Tampa. Have you ever spoken to a Lightning fan? (Yes, they exist.) They take great joy in constantly reminding Sens fans that even though both teams came into the league at the same time (1992/93), that it was the Ning who struck silver first.
P.S. Re: Problem A -- Emery's the man. It's already been decided, and the masses (for the most part) are fine with that. Ray is very capable, and as the other playoff rosters have demonstrated, we're no worse off than anybody else (with the exception of NJ) in respect to experience. As for Problem C -- we're not playing the Leafs. We can't play the Leafs. Who else have we choked against? I don't really classify pushing NJ to a game 7 in 02-03 after being down three games to one, as a choke.
Well, I hate the Sens but you would have probably guessed that much as I am from Leafs Nation. I will be cheering for the other 3 Canadian Hockey teams but I will never even cheer for the Sens. I will be cheering against all through the play-offs and I hope they lost in the first round, haha, I would be so happy if that were to happen. I think if the Habs ride Huet then he might carry come them to the Cup, if that happens then again Leafs Nation will never the end of that, I would rather have the Oilers win or the Flames. I will also cheer against the damn Canes any chance I can get as they cost my Leafs the play-offs!!!!
Feel free to visit my blog
http://www.liberalsrule.blogspot.com
Post a Comment