It's the most wonderful time of the year!

The NHL playoffs are upon us, and even though our beloved Oilers are planning their draft picks, their minor league championship, some world championship contributions and tee times, I am still extremely excited.

The next couple of weeks are the hockey equivalent of the March Madness that college basketball brings us.  Nightly there are at least two meaningful, high intensity hockey games with loud home crowds, sell outs, and players leaving it all on the ice.  This is what it is all about.  The fact that our team isn't there takes a little of the excitement out of it, but not much.

So, because I love hockey and want to have it in writing in case I am right, here are my round one predictions.


West:

Vancouver (1) vs Chicago (8) - Hawks in 6, how could it be any other way :)
San Jose (2) vs Los Angeles (7) - Sharks in 4, LA doesn't have it, at most their D and G steal 1.
Detroit (3) vs Phoenix (6) - Phoenix in 7, I keep calling it so I have to be right eventually.  Goaltending steals it.
Anaheim (4) vs Nashville (5) - Nashville in 5, Anaheim battled hard to get there, but without their top two tenders they fall quickly.

East:

Washington (1) vs New York Rangers (8) - Washington in 5, Rangers barely made it, Washington has been building up to this.
Philadelphia (2) vs Buffalo (7) - Buffalo in 7, this one is a toss up, Flyers struggled to the line and Miller will be the difference.
Boston (3) vs Montreal (6) - Bruins in 6, too tough for the Canadians, but Price holds them in longer than they deserve.
Pittsburgh (4) vs Tampa Bay (5), Lightning strikes in 7, Pitt puts up a good fight, but even if Crosby comes back this Tampa team is for real.

Round two start with Sharks/Hawks, Coyotes/Preds in the west and Caps/Sabres, Bruins/Lightning in the east.

I love this time of year!