NotTheRock Musings

Jesus saves... but Pope John Paul II puts in the rebound!!

Okay, that's enough tempting the heavens to strike me down for one day. It's been a while since I posted here, and in that time a lot has happened. We'll keep this post specific to hockey.

The Rangers finally exited the playoffs after giving us a hell of a lot to get excited about this Spring. They bounced the Atlanta Thrashers in four games in the first round and then put up a great fight against Buffalo, the best team in the NHL, in the second round. The series was 2-2 after four games and in Game 5, the two teams battled scorelessly until about 3:16 was left in the game and Marty Straka made it 1-0 Rangers. This would have been huge, to hold on to that lead. Winning Game 5 in Buffalo's building would have finished them, I firmly believe. Lundqvist was already in their heads and if he'd held on to that shutout, Buffalo would have then lost three in a row while scoring a total of two goals in those three games.

Alas, the Rangers getting the breaks did not continue in Game 5. With under eight seconds to go, the Sabres tied the game up and then won it in overtime on the power play. Series over.

I had said after Game 4 that if the Rangers won Game 5 that I thought they'd win the series but that they'd have to do it in Game 6 and not allow the series to go back to Buffalo. And that if Buffalo won Game 5 it was probably over. Game 5s are always pivotal but this one felt even more critical. And then to lose it that way, well, you just knew it hit the Rangers right in the gut.

It showed in Game 6 back at the Garden. The crowd was bonkers but Buffalo had their legs back and their confidence showed. They put five goals past Lundqvist and held on the furious Rangers rally, as New York kept coming back from two goals down, eventually succumbing 5-4. As far as series that don't go the full distance are concerned, this was a very good one. And the Ranger fans repeated last year's classy send-off by staying in the building at the end and saluting the Rangers one more time, even getting the player salute to the fans one last time for a great season. There's a lot to be proud of and this team is definitely heading in the right direction. How much longer the Jagr window is open is a matter of some concern, though. Look for the Rangers to re-sign Shanahan and Nylander and maybe pick up one or two more proven guys to make a serious run next season. I can't wait.

As for my prognosticating, I'm doing pretty well. After getting seven of eight series correct in Round 1, I had all four right in Round 2, bringing me to 11-1 in picking series winners correctly. Too bad I had no money on any of this. I'm an idiot, for the record.

So how about those conference finals?

(1) Detroit Red Wings versus (2) Anaheim Ducks -- The Duck franchise's decision to lose the "Mighty" from their name seems to have worked wonders. This team got off to a blistering start at the beginning of the season and kept going strong in the talented Western Conference all year long. They've now plowed through the first two rounds of the playoffs and it doesn't look to me like many teams even have a shot at stopping their outstanding top defensive guys, Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer. Those two are just the anchor of a fantastic team. Teemu Selanne up front is still the sniper he always was and J-S Giguiere in net is on absolute fire this postseason. As for Detroit, most people picked the Sharks to upset them in the second round and the Wings were indeed down 2-1 in the series before winning three straight to close out the teal boys from San Jose. If Dominik Hasek is focused and not playing possum, the Wings are near-impossible to beat. They're well-coached, have talent, have solid defensive players and, as mentioned, have an all-world goalie. Only problem is that goalie is 42 and the Wings lost one of their top defenders for the playoffs in Matt Schneider. As a result, 45-year-old Chris Chelios will be getting even more ice time and there's talk of him playing the power play for the first time in probably a decade. While I admire the Wings focus and I think they have one of the best home-ice advantages in all of hockey, I felt since midseason that the Western Finals representative would be Anaheim. Not enough has changed to make me rethink that. The Wings will be tough but in the end they won't have quite enough to overcome a more healthy and equally talented Ducks squad. Ducks in 7.

(1) Buffalo Sabres versus (4) Ottawa Senators -- These teams hate one another. They had one of the best (worst?) brawls all season just a couple months ago. That fight included the goalies going at it, although the Buffalo goalie that night was the since-traded Marty Biron. However, as I said, they hate one another and the bad blood remains. Thing is, this is the playoffs and I think they'll be a little more focused and less interested in taking runs at each other. If the series or a specific game get out of reach, then you'll definitely see some cheap shots. As for the teams, Buffalo just punched in the mouth by the Rangers but remained committed to their game and was able to recover. Ordinarily, I'd say I would be worried about their resolve after seeing how losing those two close ones at the Garden clearly rattled them. However, as I mentioned above, the Sabres seemed to regain their poise, confidence and swagger in Game 6 and took care of business the way championship-caliber teams do. Ottawa, though, has also been methodic in putting away upstart Pittsburgh and perennial power New Jersey. The New Jersey series was particularly interesting since the Sens have a history and reputation of choking in the playoffs while New Jersey is usually a steady winner in the Spring. The Sens seem to have chucked their choker label and are clearly as focused as they've ever been on the big prize. And this is a good year for them, not being the 1-seed, not being expected to win it all. Maybe it's that ability to be under the radar that's helping them. Regardless, I think their ride ends here. The Sabres are just too good and too complete a team. I think they got their one scare in this past round and that they'll run over Ottawa on their way to the Finals. As I said about the Ducks, I felt the Sabres were destined for the Finals months ago. It's an easy pick for me. Sabres in 5.

Labels: me taking sports way too seriously, NHL, playoffs