Sens Fever

To Hook or Not To Hook: Should Chris Chelios ever find himself in need of an industry change, he should get into retail. Did you see him sell that hook with two and a half minutes left in Game 6? It resulted in a much-needed power play for Detroit in their attempt to come back from a 3-0 deficit.

I’ll start with this: What an exciting final 10 minutes of Game 6! Both teams were physical; both teams knew exactly what was on the line. The fans were awesome - chanting “LETS GO DUCKS” and waving their orange rally towels. Even the play-by-play announcers…the final 2 minutes it sounded like I was watching horse racing, not hockey (if you’ve ever actually watched the 90 seconds that is a horse race, which you may have taken the time to watch this past Saturday, since hockey got turned off, you’ll know what I mean). What an exciting end to the Conference Finals!

So where does that leave us? Anaheim Ducks vs Ottawa Senators.

Ducks
What can I say? I’ve seen this team 8 times against my Stars, in fact, the Ducks almost lost their #1 seed in the division to both Dallas and San Jose; but they didn’t. They’re a strong team led by an amazing goalie, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Speaking of their goalie, wow! Watching him all season long you knew that he was going to be someone to watch, but he has really blossomed through the post season, showing that he can take the pressure of the game, and the pressure of family life. The Ducks won’t go quietly, but they will go.

Sens
The Senators are killer this post season. They are the best they’ve ever been. They’re goalie is the best he’s ever been. Their fans are louder than ever. I … I don’t know what else is worth saying. These guys are the shit … they are going to bring the cup to Canada, they are going to win it for the first time - ever. Heck, I’m so excited watching them this post season that I think I might have Sens Fever.

Round 3, FIGHT!

26 teams down, 3 to go. The 2^nd round of this years playoffs was an exciting non-stop race and, not to talk in clichés but the best teams did in fact win.

Red Wings v Sharks
Hockey Town USA has had a hard time selling out their games, but that hasn’t slowed down their game. Coming into this series many people expected to see the Sharks come out on top, and why not? They’re a strong, young team whose drive can’t be beat … but experience won out in this series and Round 2 went to Detroit … maybe next year Shark Tank, maybe next year.

Ducks v Canucks
It’s not that I’m happy the ‘nucks didn’t make round two, I don’t hold a grudge against them for taking out my Stars in 8 games in Round 1, really, I don’t. It’s just they were nowhere near the stronger team going into Round 2. Vancouver is one of the best teams I’ve ever seen at adapting to new situations and play styles, but just like we can say about Dallas in Round 1, you can’t expect your goalie to win every game for you. And not for nothing, this Ducks team is amazing.

Sabres v Rangers
My heart sat in Maddison Square Garden this series, and after a rough opening 2 games I had given up, but when the Rangers brought it home, they brought out the big guns. Goalkeeping was strong in both Miller, and one of my favorite goalies Henrik Lundqvist. Leadership was strong in both Jagr and Drury (who went to high school in my home town, by the way). I was incredibly proud of the Rangers, they were amazing in Round 1, and they didn’t give up in Round 2 fighting to tie it at 2-2 before losing, but the Sabres were strong all season. I’ve said it before, these guys played the ENTIRE SEASON to win it all, and they just might (maybe).

Devils v Senators
This one was an easy call for me. Martin Broduer is one of the best goaltenders the NHL has ever seen, but you can not rely on your goaltender like that: played 78 games, totaled over 4600 minutes averaging OVER 60 minutes per game. Not only that but you can NOT take away the man that brought your team to the playoffs with three games left in the regular season. And lets not discount a Senators team that is playing the best they’ve played all season who have a goalie (I’m sensing a theme) who is playing his top game. Maybe around the All-Star break I’d have given more props to the Devils for this series, but in my opinion they didn’t have a chance – heck, I was surprised they beat the Lightning!

So where does that leave us? That’s right, Conference Finals are here - and in no way are these games easy to pick.

Red Wings v Ducks
My favorite in this series is the Ducks, but let me reiterate how hard it is to make these decisions. Maybe I’m just upset that the Hockey Town USA isn’t pulling its weight in ticket sales, maybe I just want to see the Pacific Division make the playoffs – but watch for a long, fast paced, high shooting series, and expect the goalie who can keep his cool the longest to win.

Sabres v Senators
I feel like I’m cheating and I think I’ve flip-flopped on this decision as many times as most of the senators in the House of Representatives on the War in Iraq, but here’s my call and I’ll stick with it through the end of the series. The Sabres will lose; the Senators will make the Stanley Cup Finals. Yeah, that’s right – they already won a spectacular Game 1, 5 to 2 (honestly beating Miller 4 times) and it’s going to continue. Don’t get me wrong, this will be a dog fight; after this game the Sabres will come back swinging, but in the end we will see one Canadian team in the finals.

I bet you want to know my picks for the Cup, don’t you? Too bad, that’s for me to know, I’ll share it with you in a couple weeks.

Conference Finals Schedule

Congrats to the Sabres, Senators, Ducks and Dead Wings. Biggest surprise to me, the Dead Wings. I really believed that San Jose had a team to make it to the conference finals however I didn't believe they would have been able to knock off the Ducks to go to the Stanley Cup. So, here is the schedule and my pick's below:

2007 Eastern Conference final
Date Time (ET) #1 Buffalo vs. #4 Ottawa
Thursday, May 10 7:00 p.m. Ottawa at Buffalo
Saturday, May 12 8:00 p.m. Ottawa at Buffalo
Monday, May 14 7:00 p.m. Buffalo at Ottawa
Wednesday, May 16 7:00 p.m. Buffalo at Ottawa
*Saturday, May 19 2:00 p.m. Ottawa at Buffalo
*Monday, May 21 7:00 p.m. Buffalo at Ottawa
*Wednesday, May 23 7:00 p.m. Ottawa at Buffalo

2007 Western Conference final
Date Time (ET) #1 Detroit vs. #2 Anaheim
Friday, May 11 7:30 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit
Sunday, May 13 7:30 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit
Tuesday, May 15 9:00 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim
Thursday, May 17 9:00 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim
*Sunday, May 20 3:00 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit
*Tuesday, May 22 9:00 p.m. Detroit at Anaheim
*Thursday, May 24 7:30 p.m. Anaheim at Detroit

* if necessary --

In the West, look for the Ducks to clinch in 5 or 6 at the most. They have been playing very solid with minimum or no injuries and have only lost 2 games in the first 2 rounds. Look for low scoring close one goal games. The East is not so simple to predict. Both teams have every opportunity to make it to the Stanley Cup and it is going to come down to capitalizing on odd man rushes, power plays and penalty killing. Both the Sabres and Senators can score so look for fast high scoring games decided by one or two goals. Tune into Episode 36 on Monday as Jay and I discuss the results of round 2 and how we feel the Conference finals will go.

Ding Ding Ding...Round 2

Since nobody asked us when to begin round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I thought I would let you know that they start tonight - April 25th. Here are the schedules and just because the Stars aren't playing doesn't mean you have to stop watching hockey. Yes I know, it is painful to not be watching our home team, but please do root for the next best team, whomever it may be.

Eastern Conference

#1 Buffalo Sabres vs #6 NY Rangers
GM 1: Wed. April 25 at Buffalo
GM 2: Fri. April 27 at Buffalo
GM 3: Sun. April 29 at New York
GM 4: Tue. May 1 at New York
GM 5: Fri. May 4 at Buffalo *
GM 6: Sun. May 6 at New York *
GM 7: Tue. May 8 at Buffalo *
* If necessary

#2 NJ Devils vs #4 Ottawa Senators
GM 1: Thu. April 26 at New Jersey
GM 2: Sat. April 28 at New Jersey
GM 3: Mon. April 30 at Ottawa
GM 4: Wed. May 2 at Ottawa
GM 5: Sat. May 5 at New Jersey *
GM 6: Mon. May 7 at Ottawa *
GM 7: Wed. May 9 at New Jersey *
* If necessary


Western Conference

#1 Detroit Red Wings vs #5 San Jose Sharks
GM 1: Thu. April 26 at Detroit
GM 2: Sat. April 28 at Detroit
GM 3: Mon. April 30 at San Jose
GM 4: Wed. May 2 at San Jose
GM 5: Sat. May 5 at Detroit *
GM 6: Mon. May 7 at San Jose *
GM 7: Wed. May 9 at Detroit *
* If necessary

#2 Anaheim Ducks vs #3 Vancouver Canucks
GM 1: Wed. April 25 at Anaheim
GM 2: Fri. April 27 at Anaheim
GM 3: Sun. April 29 at Vancouver
GM 4: Tue. May 1 at Vancouver
GM 5: Thu. May 3 at Anaheim *
GM 6: Sun. May 6 at Vancouver *
GM 7: Tue. May 8 at Anaheim *
* If necessary


Good luck to the remaining 8 team still alive. Be sure to check out Episode 34 which will be released Monday, April 30th to hear our picks for the Conference Championships.

-Scooter
http://dallasstarspodcast.com/