Hockey, eh?

OK, I don’t follow the NHL much at all, but I am aware of it. The playoffs are just around the corner, and some of the races and potential playoff matchups look interesting. I could call in a hockey guest blogger, but I think I can handle this.

Boston vs. Montreal in the first round could be very interesting. Last year, the Habs were the 1 seed while Boston was the 8, and the Canadiens won the series in 7 games (I remember, I was in Boston that night). This time the Bruins have the upper hand and the head-to-head victories over Montreal to back it up. Then again, Montreal is only in the playoffs by one stinking point over Florida with 6 or 7 games to go. I’d not feel particularly confident if I were either team.

I live in a family of Rangers fans, and they know not to expect much of anything from them. If the Blue Shirts win a playoff series, there will be much merry-making in New York but I’m not counting on it. Ovechkin and the Caps will be hard to stop, if indeed the Rangers do face them. The standings are still fluid and there’s still potential for signficant shifting in seedings in these last few games in both the Eastern and Western Conference.

In the West, there are some particularly intriguing matchups that could happen. A San Jose-St. Louis matchup, despite being a 1 seed vs. an 8, has seen those 2 teams play very evenly against each other already this season. They split the season series 2-2 and all 4 games were close. Detroit and Nashville could mean an upset of the defending champs, as the Predators have taken 3 of 5 games (but they play again on April 9).

I still haven’t wrapped my mind around how Florida, San Jose, and Phoenix have hockey teams. I guess as long as you can keep the ice cold and get fans’ asses in the seats, it doesn’t matter.