NHL Playoffs 2013 - The Final Eight

Western Conference First Round Recap

Biggest Surprise; The Chicago Blackhawks allowed the Minnesota Wild to actually beat them once on the way to their 5 game victory. Showing what $200 million in off-season acquisitions can get you, besides a league-wide lockout, the Wild put on a daring display of ferocity and puck-moving while in practice scrimmages but were unable to translate that at game time, which to be fair at times would be best to visualize as flock of starlings going up against an Apache helicopter.

Biggest letdown; The Vancouver Canucks who apparently were in the finals 2 years ago but looked like it would have trouble beating the Edmonton Oilers' mothers in a pick-up game. Lacking any sense of passion, scoring or a true #1 goaltender, the Vancouver Canucks rode the apathy train to Sweeptown in losing 4 straight to San Torres Sharks with the only fight from the Canucks appearing in who could get to the team bus quickest in what should have been a much closer series than it was. However, for fans of the Canucks, they have lots to look forward to in the upcoming months as they continually read about potential trade rumors involving Roberto Luongo and discuss in fan forums how the referees, the league and Raffi Torres were out to get them.

The 2nd Round Match ups;

Chicago vs. Detroit 

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On one side you have the Blackhawks, an unstoppable hockey force that plays with it's opponents the way Mike Tyson played with that guy's face in The Hangover. On the other side you have the other Original Six team, the Detroit Red Wings, who have absolutely nothing going for them other than their decades long tradition of being in the playoffs, their incredible depth of European talent and a guy named Jimmy Howard in net who at times has looked somewhat mortal.

Chicago in six because it's Detroit and every sports show loves showing a clip of someone picking up an octopus off the ice. 

LA vs. the other team

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On one side you have a bunch of guys who call themselves the Kings, living in the most conceited city in the world (sorry Toronto), who won the Stanley Cup last year and are coached by the most gregarious Sutter brother. On the other side you have the San Jose Sharks that haven't been seen since they eliminated the Canucks as soon as they signed Raffi Torres. Usually if i had to put a Shark up against a King, the venue would be the deciding factor and so too is it with this match up as most of the Sharks will probably have forgotten where they put their hockey sticks for the last two weeks. 

LA in four because Raffi Torres has never played for the LA Kings and so has no grudge to settle plus Joe Thornton has a '2 rounds only' clause in his contract (possibly).

The Eastern Conference First Round Recap

Biggest Surprise; Everyone (including Pittsburgh) forgot how atrocious Marc-Andre Fleury was in the playoffs last year and decided to use him again for the first four games against the New York Islanders who lit him up for 14 goals in 3 games after a 1st game shutout. Thankfully, the Penguins had a capable back-up in Thomas Vokoun who came in and was able to calm things down in the Pittsburgh net. Little known fact is that Vokoun had the same save % as Roberto Luongo during his time in Florida, going to show that perhaps it's the team in front of the goalie that makes the difference between being an all-star or a back-up.  

Biggest Letdown;  When downgoesbrown asked the hockeygods to give him something, anything to wipe the memory of that fateful night in 1993 from his memory, I am pretty sure he was not thinking of what the Leafs managed to do in Game 7 in Boston Gardens. I admit to returning to my family after the Leafs 4th goal, thinking of how much the refereeing has changed since every series hit Game 4. Not that I'm complaining as it was a return to old-time hockey, like back when Kerry Fraser or Andy Van Hellemond would 'let them play' as Bob Cole would say (see downgoesbrown link) and only a serious decapitation or 'too many men' penalty be called. Yet the amount of diving, interference and elbows to the face of James VanReimsdyk that weren't called was mind-blowing and it wasn't just in the Toronto/Boston series.  

The 2nd Round Match ups;

Pittsburgh vs Ottawa

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On one side you have the Penguins, long acknowledged to be the 2nd place finishers in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Boasting an incredible line up of no longer young stars and Jarome Iginla, the Penguins survived an early scare by the New York Islanders by relying on their back-up goalie. On the other side you have Canada's only hockey team left, which will surprise a lot of Canadians who forgot that Ottawa even had a hockey team. While the Penguins have an assortment of future all-stars on their roster, Ottawa has only their coach's mustache as the most recognizable feature on the team. And that makes them dangerous. Plus there was this little team-bonding event with Montreal...   

Ottawa in six because Jarome Iginla is the poster boy for 'Good Guys finish Last' until Jay Bouwmeester develops some charisma. 

New York vs. Boston 

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Both these teams played 7 games in their 1st round series. Both teams relied heavily on their goaltenders to save every puck shot at them as their star forwards failed to show up to the rink for most of the series. They both have highly talented players that are highly ineffectual and both will be relying on their lunch bucket players to score some goals on those few occasions they are able to get the puck down to the other teams' net. Both will be coming off tremendous highs of having defeated vastly inferior opponents that they should have swept but everybody forgets that once a Game 7 is mentioned. So in reality, you have 2 mediocre teams relying on their goalies. The edge here goes to the Bigger Market New York Rangers, mainly for the 'NHL ratings conspiracy theory' which I do believe is a thing.  

Rangers in seven, because Jeremy Jacobs still needs to feed on the gate proceeds despite sucking the souls out of all Toronto Maple Leaf fans.