So my previous predictions were way off the mark. Only Montreal made it to the 2nd round. I hope I do better this time around. Here are my thoughts on the first round, and my predictions for the 2nd round.
I was saddened to see my home team get swept in 4 games. Realistically, I did not really expect them to win, but I was hoping that they would take a game or 2. Alas, this wasn’t the year for the Ottawa Senators. Kelly and Fisher were out for the entire series, Alfredsson played 2 games with a level 3 torn MCL and a cracked vertebrae, and Stillman and Spezza played with a level 1 torn ACL. This was not a healthy team. We played some good games, so at least the team didn’t go down without a fight. Surprisingly, Gerber was pretty solid in nets, so he cannot be faulted for the loss.
It was also sad to see the Calgary Flames get extinguished in the 1st round. They fought a hard battle, taking the series to a deciding 7th game. Unfortunately from the parts of the 7th game that I saw, San Jose was in control most of that game. With Ottawa and Calgary out of the running, that only leaves the Montreal Canadiens as the last remaining Canadian team in the playoffs. As proud as I am to be a Canadian, there’s no way I can root for the Habs. In fact, there’s no team out there that I want to root for, there are only teams that I want to cheer against, and the Habs are one of those teams.
Why not cheer for the Habs you ask? There’s a few reasons. Firstly, the Habs and the Sens are developing a big rivalry now that the Canadiens are competitive. Cheering for the Habs would be like asking me to cheer for the Leafs. It’s not going to happen. Secondly, the Hab fans have to be the most annoying and arrogant fans after Leaf fans. It’s sickening to see all these supposed Habs fans crawl out of the woodwork. At least Leaf fans openly support their team even when they suck. The majority of Canadiens fans in this region only seem to make themselves known when their team is playing very well. I can count on one hand how many Habs bumper stickers and flags that I’ve seen in the last 5 years. However, this spring, you can’t see 10 cars without seeing at least one Habs flag. And lastly, there’s that stupidly moronic Ole song that the fans sing at the Bell Centre. I’m all for supporting your team, but singing that stupid Ole song 5 minutes into the first period? Give me a break. That’s what I meant by arrogant.
Out of the remaining teams, the series that interest me the most are the Sharks vs Stars and the Rangers vs Penguins. Those two series are bound to be exciting to watch, as these probably contain the 2 teams that will make it to the finals.
My round 2 predictions:
Looks like I was way off in my conference finals predictions 🙂 I was extremely surprised to see both my picks go down 3 games to none, mount a brief comeback, but eventually falling to the Red Wings and the Penguins.
Luc "Sandman" G. 
