3-Minnesota vs. 6-Colorado
Who cares?

Ummmm those of us that are Avalanche fans maybe? I mean, just going out on a limb here.

I do have strong hatred for Detroit as well. There's a LOT of bad blood between the Avs and Detroit. I honestly don't care about the rest of the playoffs, though Nashville embarrassing Detroit, even in 7 games, would be nice. I'm not sure how the Avs will do this year. They had a LOT of major injuries this year, and lost their leading goal scorer at the end of the year, but then picked up Forsberg. Dude still has some magic. We'll see.

Oh, and it's the Capitals, not the Capitols.

OMG Caps Caps Caps!

Stanley Cup Filter? Wouldn't that be called a colander?

No Avs slight intended there, eek. It was a more of a personal "who cares", in that I don't have enough invested in either team to get too excited about the match-up. (I really do want the Ducks and the Stars to wail on each other, though.)

Oh, and regarding the Devils/Rangers. I don't like either team, and I really can't stand Jagr. However, Chris Drury is one of my favorite players, and I wish the Avs never let him go. Dude knows how to win, and was the reason Buffalo was in the playoffs last year. It's not about the stats with him, it's about winning, and doing what it takes to win. Mario Lemieux couldn't make a winner out of the crybaby pansy Jagr, Drury just might be able to.

I'm rooting for Nashville, mainly because our AHL team is their affiliate.

Well, my Sabres missed the playoffs this year, so I guess I'll go with the old standby- Detroit.

GO HABS GO to the semis where we get mauled by the Caps.

Stanley Cup Filter? Wouldn't that be called a colander?

That's about the only thing they haven't done to it.

Well, my Sabres missed the playoffs this year, so I guess I'll go with the old standby- Detroit.

Dude...I mean, really? That kind of hurts. A lot. There are no words....

Go Stars!

Well, my Sabres missed the playoffs this year, so I guess I'll go with the old standby- Detroit.

Dude...I mean, really? That kind of hurts. A lot. To think I'd raised a pint with you and all, not too far from the AAC. There are no words....

Go Stars!

It's true, it's a categorical moral imperative to root for the Cup to return to Canada.

Except I'm a Bruins fan, so I have to claim that Bergeron's return will lead the Bs to dominate the Habs. Root for the Flames instead, Rene.

Dude knows how to win, and was the reason Buffalo was in the playoffs last year.

Drury's a fine player, but the Sabres were a great team overall last year. They'd have made the playoffs without Drury. They wouldn't have won the President's Trophy, but they would've still been quite good top to bottom. It was a shame that team got picked apart.

It's not about the stats with him, it's about winning, and doing what it takes to win.

STOP! NO! IT BURNS! THE CLICHES THEY BURN!

(and since my 'yotes aren't in the running--GO WINGS!)

Aw, crap. Didn't mean to double up there amidst editing. Still, I stand with my statement like Turco on his head this coming week (hopefully).

But what's with all the Wings love?

The Cliches Burn Indeed!

*sigh*

oh well.
(NOW can Gallisano fire Reiger? Please? Or will he stay on until the the Sabres are nothing but Ryan Miller and a couple hobos they found milling about outside asking for change and accusing stop signs of looking at them funny?)

WEST
1-Detroit vs. 8-Nashville
Detroit. (since I don't suspect we'll be seeing a lot of Boston after this round they're my cup hope. second poorest city has to root for the first poorest. You folks with economies don't know what it's like when a good hockey team is LITERALLY the only thing your city has going for it.)

2-San Jose vs. 7-Calgary
Sharks.

3-Minnesota vs. 6-Colorado
Colorado. Since I follow either team and know little about them, this is a random guess. I'll say... um... my reasoning is... hm. The colorado players are better acclimated to the high altitudes, leaving them with a greater-than-usual home ice advantage. (how's that for some sciency bs)

4-Anaheim vs. 5-Dallas
Ducks. Because my hate for the Stars burns like the fires of a thousand suns.

EAST
1-Montreal vs. 8-Boston
Habs. Won't go to seven games. Which is unfortunate since I love the idea of the Bruins. Just, well, kind of fizzles in the reality. If they made it I'd totally be rooting for them all playoff season. Since I have family there and hold a chance in hell of getting to a game, and props to anyone who has their own theme song written by the dropkick murphys.

2-Pittsburgh vs. 7-Ottawa
Pittsburgh.

3-Washington vs. 6-Philadelphia
Washington

4-Devils vs. 5-Rangers
I still can't figure out how NJ even made it this far, so Rangers.

mullacc, Drury has been on winning teams all his life. Pitching for the little league world champions, on the state champion high school hockey team, on the college national champion hockey team, on a Stanley Cup winning team. To me that says the dude brings more to the game than just skills. Guys like Jagr put up the big numbers year after year, but they don't win championships in Hockey. Yeah, I know it sounds like sports cliche talk, but Drury obviously knows what it takes to win. I'd take him over Jagr, and most of of the statistically top players. It'll be interesting to see how far the Rangers go.

3-Washington vs. 6-Philadelphia
Washington

I really expect to Caps to let down and go out early. But I'm still *ecstatic* with how the season turned out. I mostly wanted them to make the playoffs just so there wouldn't be any doubt regarding Ovechkin and the MVP. I can wait until next year for the Cup to come to DC.

Jagr has two Stanley Cups. And a gold medal too.

And Drury has the one Stanley Cup from '01 and...he won a Little League World Series.

But he had a string of pretty dramatic game-winning playoff goals. He's had 15 game-winning playoff goals total in his career--that's certainly more than was probable given his overall playoff stats (which run pretty close to his regular season stats). But it's not such an anomaly that it needs an explanation. Though four of his game-winners came in his rookie year; that was certainly an anomaly and it makes his subsequent game-winners look more in-line with his stats. Also, Drury is the kind of player that excels in the playoffs: a gritty two-way forward (he's a perennial Selke-award competitor).

So he's a good player whose style of play is well-suited for the playoffs. Aside from the effects of luck, his accomplishments don't seem out of place compared to his statistical production.

I think the myth-building of Chris Drury has also been exaggerated by the fact that he was traded for Derek Morris, who, despite being a solid defensemen, was a bit disappointing and not nearly as marketable.

I think Drury is a great #2 or #3 weapon. But I don't buy into this "he just knows how to win" intangible stuff.

Why is every team called by town except the Devils/Rangers? Why isn't it Sharks/Flames or NJ/NY? (The Islanders are from LI, so no confusion there.)

(The Islanders are from LI, so no confusion there.)

Why isn't there confusion? The Islanders play on Long Island but the name of the team is the New York Islanders. I think the sports pages use NYR and NYI to distinguish between the two teams.

But it is interesting that only the Devils/Rangers are mentioned using their mascots. I'd guess it stems from the fact that both teams are generally considered NYC-metro area teams. I'd guess a Nets/Knicks match up would get the same treatment.

Why is every team called by town except the Devils/Rangers?

Because I'm a lazy sod, rather than type up each and every match-up myself I cut and pasted the matchups (with a minor correction for East Coast bias) from Slap Shot, the NY Times hockey blog .

If it's from the NYT, I think that explains it.

The Islanders play on Long Island but the name of the team is the New York Islanders.

I have never heard them called this. I have also never heard their team name without "suck" afterwards, so YMMV.

Anyone else think they should have gone with the original plan and instead named the Islanders the Long Island Ducks? Think of the headlines: "Ducks Basted" "Lord Love a Duck" "Ducks Amuck" (and from '80-'83: "Great Day for a Duck"). And we wouldn't have had to put up with the nomenclatural abomination that was the Mighty Ducks.

I have never heard them called this. I have also never heard their team name without "suck" afterwards, so YMMV.

All the more reason to have called them the Ducks.

But it's playoffs, so no time to be speaking of Islanders.

Dude...I mean, really? That kind of hurts. A lot. To think I'd raised a pint with you and all, not too far from the AAC. There are no words....

A little history about my hockey preferences:

1. Born & raised in Buffalo = Sabres fan. Nuff said.

2. When I moved from Fort Worth to Detroit in 91, the Stars were still the Minnesota North Stars; there was no hockey in Dallas.

3. Lived in Detroit from 91-97, and watched an Original Six team grow from mediocre to Stanley Cup Champs.... yeah I became a fan.

4. When I moved back to Fort Worth in 97, I was clearly a Wings fan much more than a Stars fan; from my perspective, the Stars were the enemy. Daryl Reaugh (best analyst in the NHL) is doing his best to change that, but the Stars are still, at best, No. 3 on my list behind the Sabres and Wings.

We all have our baggage I guess.