NotTheRock Musings

So normally I rail against media-types who mock hockey by saying nobody watches it and nobody cares and it's fallen behind poker in terms of popularity and TV ratings... but still, I can't argue the fact that I'm not paying attention one bit at this point. I haven't watched a hockey game since the Rangers were eliminated.

However, I'm still interested in telling you what's going to happen so that you don't need to watch, either.

Last round, I did say the Anaheim Ducks would make the Finals but I also said the Buffalo Sabres would get there, too, after taking out the Rangers. I was very wrong about that. Apparently, Ottawa is better than anyone realized.

Anyway, so here we are in the Finals and I'm ready to get on with making my pick.

Anaheim Ducks (2, West) versus Ottawa Senators (4, East) -- Well, as I said, Ottawa is clearly better than anybody realized. They took out the upstart Penguins to start the playoffs and then totally manhandled the Devils in the second round and then amazingly plowed through the Buffalo Sabres, nearly sweeping them in the conference finals. It's truly been an impressive performance for them. And now, they'll pretty much have all of Canada on their side since the country to the North tends to pull together when one of their teams makes the Finals. And on that subject, this is not a bad run the Canadian franchises are putting together. This marks the third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals that has featured a Canadian franchise. Given that there are only six teams left in Canada (Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal), this is not too bad. Granted, Calgary and Edmonton have lost the last two Finals, both in excruciating seventh-game fashion, but still, it's good for Canada to be so well-represented. At least the league is flourishing in one country.

As for Anaheim, they were one of the consistently best teams all season long. They had a stretch where they came back to Earth and actually were overtaken by Detroit for the #1 seed in the West, but they've simply been dominant in the playoffs. They've taken some lumps from some good teams but have managed to hit right back and assertively make their way to the Finals. I thought from about February on that the Finals would be Anaheim-Buffalo and I turned out to be half-right.

Anaheim is just too good, I think. They have two of the best defensemen in the NHL in Pronger and Neidermayer together on the same team. It's very hard for any team to deal with this, plus Anaheim's opportunistic scoring and lockdown goaltending from Giugere.

Sadly, I think it's going to be another "almost" Spring for Canada, as the Sens are going to be overtaken by a simply better team. It's not that Ottawa's going to lose, I don't think; I just think Anaheim is that much better.

Ducks in 6.

Labels: NHL, playoffs