NHL Quarter Finals Predictions

Here are my predictions for the second round of the 2009 NHL playoffs.

• Boston vs Carolina -- Boston should not have too much trouble here. My only concern is that Boston may have become a bit rusty while they waited for Carolina to wear away at the Devils. However, Boston is a fundamentally strong team, while Caroline is a fundamentally average team that has been on a hot steak recently. I do not expect Carolina's streak to continue.
• Washington vs Pittsburgh -- This is going to be a great series, and it could go either way. I am rooting for the Caps, so I am going to predict that they will win, but it will be a long, hard slog.
• Detroit vs Anaheim -- Detroit is the heavy favourite here, but the Ducks will surprise everyone and knock them out.
• Vancouver vs Chicago -- Vancouver has a history of falling apart when it matters. I am a little surprised that they have even made it this far, so I will be even more surprised if they get past Chicago. I predict that the Black Hawks will eventually win this series.

2009 NHL Playoff Predictions

Here are my predictions for the first round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

• Boston vs Montréal -- Boston, but it will be a nail biter, and I will be rooting for Montréal.
• Washington vs New York Rangers -- The Caps will win this one without too much difficulty.
• New Jersey vs Carolina -- Carolina may pull off a surprise, but I predict that the Devils will ultimately win it. In a perfect world both teams would lose.
• Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh -- Pittsburgh will discover that they actually have talent and pull off a win.

• San Jose vs Anaheim -- This will be the big upset series. San Jose will lose, and probably lose convincingly.
• Detroit vs Columbus -- Don't let the regular season fool you, Detroit will walk all over Columbus, much to my disappointment.
• Vancouver vs St Louis -- Vancouver never fails to pull defeat from the jaws of victory. I do not expect this year to be any different. St Louis will win.
• Calgary at Chicago -- Chicago is a team on the rise, but I do not think that this is the year that they rise out of the first round. Calgary will win.

So, Do yo agree with me? Let's see how well I do, and don't forget to visit my sponsors.

California Squidding

I found this article about jumbo squid this evening. California may be losing its human population, but it is gaining in its squid population. This will make me think twice about trying surfing when I am in Pasadena in June.

Go Caps

The Washington Capitals won their division yesterday, but they did it in a very unsatisfying way. They lost a game in an overtime shootout. The NHL awards one point to a team that loses a regular season game in overtime, so the Caps got one point. That unsatisfying point was enough to clinch the Southeast Division, which guarantees that the Caps will place at least third in the Eastern Conference. I would have liked to see them win the conference, but that is almost certainly impossible at this point. So, let's hope that they take the rest of this week to pull themselves together for a play-off run. I expect the Caps to make it to the quarter-finals, and perhaps even the semis, but I doubt that they will make it further than that. Their play has been off for the past few weeks, and they are going to be up against some stiff opposition. However, let's hope that I am wrong that that the Caps bring Lord Stanely's Cup to DC. Go Caps!