And that's the end of the NHL regular season.
The Boston Bruins will be facing their archenemies, the Montreal Canadiens, in the first round. This best of seven series scares the crap out of me. As a huge Bruins fan, I don't like when these two teams play. It's the most heated rivalry in sports' history and the Canadiens have the edge historically. A huge egde. But this season the Bruins are clearly the better team. Tim Thomas is having an incredible year, making history with his .938 save percentage statistic. He surpassed goalie great Dominik Hasek's seemingly unbeatable record. They have the biggest defensemen in the NHL and their front lines are versatile, physical, and aggressive. The Canadiens, however, have one thing the Bruins don't: speed. Montreal is a super fast team; if the Bs can't keep up, they're going to have a difficult series.
The Florida Panthers missed the playoffs for the 10th, that's right... 10th, straight season. I'm pretty sure that has never been done before. They fired their coach earlier this afternoon, their goaltender is a free agent starting now, and I'm sure he wants to get the hell out of Florida, they have no veterans on their team anymore especially after trading McCabe, and their young players don't really have much experience. I don't know. This team as a long way to go. I give them four or five years until they become a real contender in the playoffs again.
Regardless, this year is going to be a crazy post-season. The teams are scarily talented.
To win the East: I really want to say Boston. When you look at all the teams in the East, only Boston has not had a ridiculous up-and-down season. Philly has lost Pronger and has slumped recently. Washington is dangerous, but I really think they're going to lose to New York; they haven't played well against the Rangers this season. Even if they get past New York, their weakness is goaltending. That's something that Boston boasts. The Bruins also bolstered their blue line by adding top-tier defenseman Tomas Kaberle and forwards Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly. Basically, they have the team and tools to win the Cup this year.
To win the West: Vancouver. Not even a question.
To win the Stanley Cup: Vancouver over Boston in six games. That really hurts to say, but I think Boston might need to wait another year.
There's nothing like playoff hockey, guys. The only thing I've found to come close is World Cup soccer. But even that pales in comparison. Watch a few games; hopefully you'll see what I mean.
Best, Jonathan
