Europeans in the NHL

I need to touch on a growing concern of mine that I can't stand hearing, and that is people saying that "a European Captain will never win the Cup." What the hell is that? I love Don Cherry, but I don't appreciate his past prejudices nor do I appreciate idiots around me making the same stupid comments. In today's NHL, there are many European captains and who the hell are you to say that they're not good enough or don't have the leadership to guide their franchise to a Stanley Cup? Granted veterans Mats Sundin and Marcus Naslund probably won't be doing that any time soon, but wait a minute...isn't Nicklas Lidstrom Swedish? Well holy crap Batman! Keep your stupid comments to yourselves when you have absolutely no grounds for said comments.

I remember people saying back in the day that a European goaltender will never win the Cup. Well, Detroit's Dominik Hasek did it in '02 and in '04 it wasn't a question with Kiprusoff facing off against Khabibulin.

What should be brought away from my rant here is that people shouldn't make such stupid comments with no basis for their reasoning and nothing to back them up. When you are about to speak you should probably think for a second.

Detroit vs. Pittsburgh

Well, the Stanley Cup Final is set and it`s pretty much an All-Star game. I`m actually not decided on who will win this one. I`m cheering for Pittsburgh simply because Sid the Kid is such an awesome player and I want him to start winning Championships early. This is a really tough call though.

We look at Pittsburgh who is an overall offensively minded team with threats like Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Sykora and Jordan Staal up front. There defense hasn`t been too shabby during the playoffs either, with veteran Hal Gill playing well, and of course Gonchar, Whitney and Sydor back there too. Fleury has been absolutely dynamite so far and if he can keep that up versus Detroit, Pittsburgh should have a great chance here.

The Western Conference Champion Detroit Red Wings are an incredible squad, winning the President`s Trophy bosting the best record in the NHL. Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Holmstrom are probably the top line in the NHL and have been nearly impossible to stop. With Hall of Fame defensemen Chelios and Lidstrom not to mention an on-fire Chris Osgood between the pipes, Detroit is a super-scary opponent. They`ve got home-ice advantage in this one and the sea of red will be pretty intimidating for the Pens.

I`m not going to go into the depth of these teams as we all know what they have to offer. This should be a ridiculous series and it`s definitely going either six or seven games. I`m going to take Detroit in this one simply because of their superior veteran leadership and also because this way I can`t lose. If they win my prediction is correct, but if they lose Pittsburgh wins and I`m happier with the result. So Detroit in seven games is my pick, I really hope Sid the Kid can pull it out though. Gretzky had to lose a couple before he won, so we`ll see what goes down. I`ll throw Maggie`s pick up once I have it. I`m 9-5 so far in the playoffs (pretty awful really) and she`s 8-6.

Peace and much love to you.

Damn Dallas

I know it's not over 'til the Fat Lady sings, but Dallas has now proven me wrong three times! First I said Anaheim would defeat them, then San Jose, and after they proved me wrong both times I thought to myself, "Hey, these guys are pretty good." Alas they prove me wrong a third time and don't even show up versus Detroit. The series is at 3-0 Hockey Town and look for Detroit to finish them off tonight. Dallas has proven to be a one-Morrow team and Detroit has pretty much been toying with them. You win this round Maggie.

Peace and much love to you.

Maggie's Picks

Okay, the long-awaited picks by Maggie the Monkey are as Follows:

Eastern Conference: Pittsburgh Penguins
Western Conference: Detroit Red Wings

Everyone seems to be picking Detroit to come out of the West, but after watching Dallas in the first two rounds I have to go with big D. Morrow and Turco have been nothing short of outstanding in the playoffs and Robidas has been stellar as well.

That's it, that's all, that's all there is. FRESH!

Peace and much love to you.

Maurice and Swirsky

I'd like to first and foremost state my disappointment in Coach Paul Maurice on two very mediocre seasons. He was one of the best and most professional coaches I've ever seen in interviews, but apparently his talent for impressing didn't translate into the locker room and thus we've gone three consecutive seasons (two under Maurice) without a playoff run. This is unacceptable in Leaf Nation and I hope the next coach can turn this around.

Why Chuck, why? Chuck Swirsky A.K.A. "The Human Bobblehead" is one of my favourite Raptors even though he isn't in uniform, and now after years of fantastic commentary, he moves back to Chicago to announce for the Bulls. I'm really going to miss Chuck and I'm very disappointed I never got a Chuck Swirsky bobblehead. If anyone has one they want to part with, drop me a note.

That's it for now.

Peace and much love to you.

EPIC

If there were music playing in the background of the San Jose/Dallas Game 6 last night it would have to be Muse. The epic Game 6 lasted 129:03 - more than two full games. It was fitting that Brendan Morrow, Captain and leader of the Dallas Stars ended the game on a power-play in the fourth overtime for a 2-1 win, and a 4-2 series win. I had been out at the movies and came home and watched highlights of the game, only to be informed by The Score that the game was in the second overtime period. Naturally I stayed up and watched the rest of the game. Morrow hit Milan Michalek with less than ten seconds to play in the third period and took him out of the game. With one less forward in the lineup, the Sharks still seemed to dominate the game, however a focused Marty Turco had an answer to everything the Sharks threw at him. Definitely the best game of this playoff season and one for the ages, recorded as the eighth longest game in NHL history! Props to the Dallas Stars fans for not only staying for whole game, but standing for the whole game as well!

Pittsburgh has taken out the New York Rangers in five games, and it took until about 7 minutes into the first overtime to end this one: nowhere near the four overtimes the other game went to. Still an entertaining game overall, Hossa potted a pair with Malkin adding the other and Crosby adding two assists (he has been in on 5 of the 8 game winning goals by the Pens in the post-season) in a 3-2 win and a 4-1 series win.


CONFERENCE FINALS

Eastern Conference: Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh*

The battle of Pennsylvania will be front and center in the Eastern Conference as the Pittsburgh Penguins will take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals. The high-flying Pens went 3-5 versus the Flyers in the regular season, but don't let that fool you. This will be a high-flying series where both sides will wear their hearts on their sleaves. The Pens will take the series in six games but don't be surprised to see it last seven. This one could really go either way, but I think the overall skill on the Pens outweighs that of the Flyers. Biron will have to play like he did against Montreal for the Flyers to even have a chance against Crosby, Malkin, Hossa and the rest of the Pens. Look for veteran Gary Roberts to play a major role in this series, setting the tone with some big hits and hard play in very few minutes played.


Western Conference: Dallas* vs. Detroit

To me, the most surprising team in the post-season has been the Dallas Stars. After surprising the Anaheim Ducks in five games and shocking the favoured San Jose Sharks in six games, the Dallas Stars have fought hard to get the the battle of the West. Their opposition, the Detroit Red Wings took out Nashville in five and proceeded to sweep the injury-riddled Avalanche in four. Their rode to the Western Conference finals has been an easy one and look for them to struggle in Game 1. This series will go six games and the Dallas Stars, yes thats right: the Stars will prevail. I have gone against them the whole post-season, and that has led to a mediochre 8-4 record with predictions in this post-season. That being said, Maggie the Monkey: I'm smoking you. Maggie has now gone 6-6 versus my 8-4 record. Maggie's picks will be posted when available.

Joe Sakic Tribute

There are so many highlights they need to play the song twice, and they don't even post Canada highlights! Check out the jersey about 5 minutes in. You know what I'm talking about.

"And the Bruins are out here in Colorado"

Great announcing, once you realize that the Avalanche play in Colorado you should be golden! On that note, I'm so glad I didn't watch that game. 8-2 final for a 4-0 series win and a giant spanking by Detroit on the Avalanche. It appears that the Avalanche/Red Wings bitter rivalry of the past remains a thing of the past. Franzen was unbelievable: 9 goals in 4 games, 11 in the playoffs so far! 27 goals in 72 regular season games, now 11 in 10 games, on that note: he also has 26 in the last 26 dating back to the regular season. Fantabulous!

On a personal note: I have never met you, but Joe Sakic, PLEASE don't retire. You and Steve Yzerman are my two favourite players of all time, and it would be so sad to see you go too. I think you still have a season or two in you and I hope you consider playing again. If you do decide to go, congratulations on all your success! Two Stanley Cup rings (1996, 2001), CHL Player of the year (1988), Conn Smythe (1996), Lester B. Pearson (2001), Hart (2001), Lady Byng (2001), NHL Plus/Minus Award (2001), M.A.C. Award (1998), NHL All-Star MVP (2004), NHL First Team All-Star (2001, 2002, 2004), Olympics MVP (2002), Olympics All-Star Team (2002), Olympics Gold (2002), World Cup of Hockey Gold (2004), World Juniors Gold (1988), World Championships Gold (1994), the list goes on and on. 623 goals, 1006 assists in the regular season, 84 goals, 104 assists in the playoffs including the record for most overtime goals in the playoffs. Joe Sakic: you are the man, and I hope to see you on the ice again next year. Much love.

Okay, I'm done praising Joe for now, onto the Rangers/Pens, Jagr with a pair and the Rangers with a 3-0 win to stay alive. Malkin: your penalty shot was a joke and you should be ashamed. That's all I really have to say about this game. Pens better take Game 5 or it's going to be a series.

Peace and much love to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Sakic