URBAN LEGEND: LORD STANLEY

*Originally Posted April 7, 2008*

Do not listen to your average Joe. This is a great time for sports. Baseball, the world’s greatest sport, has just gotten underway. The NFL Draft, possibly the best sports weekend of the year, is a few weeks away. The NBA playoffs, which is way better than March Madness, is about to begin. Finally, the Stanley Cup playoffs, which is perhaps the best playoffs in all of sports, is also about to begin. All Penguin fans are very excited for good reason; they see that a Stanley Cup is within reach. I will break down who I believe will raise that cup and have really long beards by the beginning of June.

I firmly believe that the best teams in the Eastern Conference come from the Atlantic Division. The Senators still scare me, but the Penguins should get by in a longer series than the experts prognosticate. I see the Flyers shutting down Ovechkin and getting by the Capitals. The Rangers and Devils is by far the best series in the first round. New Jersey still has, and it seems will forever have Martin Brodeur, but the Rangers are hot, very good, and have Jaromir Jagr. I like the Rangers in seven. I think Boston is dangerous and they have a very solid goaltender in Tim Thomas and Montreal is a weak one seed, but give an edge to the Habs in a long series. This leaves the Canadiens against the Flyers and the Penguins against the Rangers. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Flyers and Rangers won these series, but I am picking the two favorites. The Penguins will beat the Canadiens, and it should be their easiest series of the playoffs.

Who cares about the Western Conference? Detroit, San Jose, and Anaheim are very good, that’s all I know. I like the Red Wings, Avalanche, Ducks, and Sharks in the first round. The Red Wings and Sharks in the second, and I like the Sharks to upset the gay Wings in the Conference Finals.

The Sharks beat the Penguins in overtime a few months ago and they really impressed me. I think they could do the same again. Their suffocating defense has the possibility of slowing Crosby and Malkin down. They definitely have play makers with Thornton and Cheechoo and a solid netminder in Nabakov. I’ll be rooting for the Penguins hard, but my gut tells me that the Sharks win in six. Why they hell does San Jose, California have a professional hockey team?