A day late...

... a dollar short... you guys are lucky we're still paying attention, at this point!

My thoughts on the final?

Emotionally, speaking from the heart, all that, you have to want Ottawa to win. Canadian, right?

What I've seen all season has suggested to me that Anaheim will be the team to beat. They're more physical, they have an intriguing mix of youthful energy and a ton of playoff experience. While their big line has been a bit disappointing since losing Kunitz, they're not ineffective, and they've seen players like Getzlaf and the other kids, their big D-men, and their shutdown men step up. Their only downfall (as exhibited by Game 1) will be a lack of discipline. We've seen other teams teeter on the edge between playing aggressively and playing dirty before - it's all good fun.

Ottawa on the other hand, has been more unpredictable. There are a lot of wild cards in play here. Emery. The big line. The coaching. What I'm going to point to (since I have nothing original nor insightful to say about the team itself) is that Ottawa hasn't been particularly successful this season against Western Conference teams. Put another way, of the six Western Conference teams they played this year who qualified for the playoffs, they had a 2-3-0-1 record. Of the remaining four teams, Ottawa went 2-2 against them. Make of that what you will.

But it doesn't matter, right? Playoffs are a whole new story...

Huzzah! The end is near...

We will see.

Oh, it is on.

Did this catch anyone else's eye this morning?

Personally, I'm not too excited about the Sens, but that's just because they don't play in the Western Conference. They do deserve props for being another team that's going all the way. And am I hallucinating when I take extra note of the fact that the three Canadian teams to have gone all the way recently are all classified as small-market?

Anyways. We can't have them think every hockey fan in Toronto pulls for the Buds. And while I don't have a death wish, people have wondered before. So I'm going to have to rally the Toronto Chapter of the Flames blogosphere, for some Cup final goodness. We'll prop up some empty chairs for any Calgary-or-elsewhere-based bloggers who want to be there in spirit. And cheer for the Sens or no, I don't really care...I still need to see who comes out of the West.

Drop me a line once the schedule for the last round comes up to let me know what your availability is... we should also pick a bar and whatnot. I guess.

Job application

I'm trying out for the position of HG's link bunny.



(Courtesy of the Herald of course)

Thoughts on the third round

Are we done yet?

I was going to present my third round predictions, but then I realized that a) I had nothing new, b) my picks do not have any bearing on logic, reason, or any of that good stuff, c) if I publicized them no one (I'm looking at you, Anaheim) will off Detroit for me. What's a girl gotta do to get a good dose of revenge 'round these parts?

So, I have two main realizations.

Ottawa vs Buffalo. Despite living in Leafsland, I've been exposed to this matchup too many times this year. Yeah, yeah, it's emotional after that one game earlier this year...but...they played each other eight times total. I can't pretend I'm too interested. Blame scheduling, blame Bettman, blame the onset of spring and my resulting apathy.

Anaheim vs Detroit. There is no reason Anaheim shouldn't win, right? So why did they play a shit game yesterday? I'm not going to make any other comment on this besides that every time I watch Detroit in action this year, they win another series.

And my conclusion? Well, there's a fantabulous world championships going on, Canada just advanced to the gold medal game, and Lombo is having a helluva coming-out party. I'm delighted for him, though a bit apprehensive about what this means for him and his full time gig.

I've believed steadily in his potential at least since he came back from injury in '05-06 - there's at least one guy out there who will still blame me bitterly for picking him up for fantasy hockey. I'm liking what I see of his defensive play as much as his much-vaunted charge-down-to-the-other-end offense - I just hope that the Flames front office can figure out how to use him the way Andy Murray clearly has.

So...go Canada, and let me know when we're into the last round....

Lombardi Lights the Lamp

Our boy Lombardi keeps lighting it up...2 goals so far in today's game. Phaneuf's got 2 assists also.

Go Flames Go!

Lombardi! Oh, so dreamy.

Our Matthew "Dreamy" Lombardi has two goals so far in today's game versus the USA! Go Matty Go!

I don't even care that he was born in Quebec.

Edit: Hat-trick!

Three Lines Free

Yo! Luongo! Your name is now Dan Spence

Sorry WI, that your new boys didn't make it. Who knew?

Goddammit San Jose, what do I have to give you to buy me a little revenge?

Parliament, you suck. You wouldn't need to do an about face if you just watched hockey at the bar like the rest of us.

Oh, just fire him already. I need to get on with my summer

Playoffs: lovin' it. How many good series have there been?

It's all on Ottawa now. No choking please, I need to recertify before I can give anyone the Heimlich again.

Phaneuf. And Weber. Drool. Or. Quake.

Breaking news (Maybe. Please?)

I got an IM from HG who got a call from Duncan, who I guess might have sources.

And then I called Dave, and he posted, then I posted, then I deleted his post, because I'm a meanie.

Stay tuned...