The Final Four 2014

After a rousing, self-esteem building 7 of 8 correct playoff predictions, Ogie found himself a little sadder this evening, despite going 3 for 4 in the semi-finals. Not Teemu Selanne sad or even Milan Lucic 'I'm going to Kill You' sad. Just... more grounded. Maybe because I'm not a betting man but I would have made some pretty good coin in Vegas this year. It's just that Ogie's go-to contender Eastern contender the Bruins, and therefore Jarome Iginla, are out. In the West, the Ducks succumbed to the charismatic Darryl Sutter-led LA Kings. So no Stanley Cup being handed off to either Iginla or Selanne one last time as they fade out into hockey hall of fame sunset, which would have made for a nice 'Ray Bourque crying' 15 years later retrospective on TSN.

So the final four comes down to 'Conspiracy Alley'. Perhaps the four biggest hockey markets in all of NHL-land - New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Canada. True, Canada  would have been there anyways but now, to the chagrin of most of English-speaking Canada, the Montreal Canadians are in the mix.

But yeaaaaa NHL public relations! We'll skip over the plethora of conspiracy theories out there. And by out there I mean on my notepad by the TV. Let's skip that LA goal that moved them past a stunned but consistently disappointing Joe Thornton-led San Jose Sharks. These anonymous refs that either let them play like they are in the 80's again or make them play like they are in the regular season again. I'm lucky to remember that in the 80-90's Hockey Referee Hall of Fame (if there is such a thing) legends Andy Van Hellemond, Bruce Hood, Terry Gregson, and even Kerry 'hair-helmet' Fraser wouldn't even bring their whistle out of the dressing room after the 2nd period intermission.  Man... those were the days...

But that's neither here nor there. Here is the Final Four! There is the golf course and summer cottages that so many NHL'rs now have to suffer in as these Final Four teams vy for Ogie's glory.

The Western Conference;

Chicago Blackhawks vs LA Kings

 VS  

Somebody forgot to tell these two teams that they are supposed to let other teams try winning the Cup this year, so says the form letter sent out by Joe Thornton. It's crazy that once again, the Western Conference has to play host to what should be the real deal Stanley Cup Finals while the Eastern Conference goes through the motions to see who will lose in the real deal to the eventual Stanley Cup champions (to be cont'd).

So what we have here is two great teams with big names on them; Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Keith. Carter, Kopitar, Gaborik, Doughty, Quick. That's an insane amount of talent on either side. They are both coached by perpetually disturbed looking coaches.

Would you rather play for Angry Dad...

Or Disappointed Dad?

So what we have here is a series with both teams having a history of being recent Stanley Cup champions with their core still relatively intact. The Kings have the edge in playing Game Sevens while the Blackhawks have the edge of not needing to go to Game Seven. The Kings have the edge in Jonathon Quick while the Blackhawks have the edge in most everyone thinking that Corey Crawford is their weak link. The Kings have Ogie-Olympian MVP Drew Doughty while the Blackhawks have Ogie-NHL MVP Marian Hossa. The Kings Marian Gaborik is proving once again that he knows how to score, the Blackhawks Patrick Kane is still proving that he likes games going into overtime. In the end, I think it's going to come down to this guy;

What he lacks in on-ice positional awareness he makes up for in enthusiasm. 

Seriously, the amount of hockey-related erections that will be happening in this series will be sky-high. Literally and figuratively.

Ogie says Blackhawks in six.

Bonus Little Known Fact;  Did you know the LA Kings beat the New Jersey Devils for their only Stanley Cup win?


And speaking of the East or 'Second Place'...

New York Rangers vs the Montreal Canadians

              vs              

Everybody loves a Cinderella team; the team that isn't supposed to be there, the team that gets there due to hard teamwork, dedication and everybody pulling together. And of course, an over-achieving goaltender. The problem is they both aren't supposed to be in the same conference.

Montreal will be more insane than it usually is and that's saying something. Reporters are often asked to form a queue outside the dressing room after preseason games so imagine the intensity in the hallways now as hundreds french-speaking hockey reporters all clamor to ask questions in French about the state of Carey Price's dogs to either French-speaking coach, Michel Therrien or Alain Vigneault. Meanwhile, the English reporters, having received precedence from the NHL will be able to jump the queue and still be able to get to the poutine stand before it closes for the night.

Je suis heureux! Les chiens est bon.

Je ne sais pas ou les chiens sont...giggle giggle

The question of 'mounting pressure' will be an hourly mantra as all of Canada pins their hopes on the one Canadian-based team to finally make it to the Stanley Cup and 'bring it home', much like all of Canada did with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, the Ottawa Senators in 2007, the Edmonton Oilers in 2006, the Calgary Flames in 2004,

Meanwhile in New York, tickets will be hard to come by as every Big Bank/Wall Street/NHL public relations rep has already claimed them and giving them to faithful clients to attend their first hockey game or just sell them on Ebay at 500% mark-up value. For the ordinary New Yorker, Mark Messier will come and watch the games at your apartment for $20 and systematically ruin your night by continually reminding you about his 'guarantee' back in 1994 while leaving Lay's potato chip crumbs in your couch pillows.

Luckily New York will finally be playing in front of a truly passionate fan base. Unfortunately they will all be during their away games but still it's going to be memorable for them.

Who wants to drive the zamboni between periods?

In all honesty, the Rangers don't have a lot to play for as baseball season has already started, as is apparent if you ever focus on Rick Nash during these playoffs.

He's the 6'4 guy here being protected by 2 others from Matt Cooke...

But despite the Nash factor and the passing of Momma St. Louis, they can only milk that emotional roller coaster for so long. And while the older Canuck fans find their loyalty divided by a team that beat them for the Cup back in '94 and their all-time winningest Head Coach leading the charge this year after his ungraceful firing last year, it's going to come down to who's between the pipes, in a repeat of Olympic Gold.

And Shania Twain...never count out Shania Twain.

That said...Montreal in seven.

Once the rest of the team returns from looking for Price's dogs.

Bonus little Known Fact; Do you know the last team the Montreal Canadiens beat for the Stanley Cup? The LA Kings!