GAME 7 PREDICTIONS

The first round of the 2014 playoffs ends with quite a bang. Three Game 7 and here are my predictions. 

San Jose were up 3-0 but were unable to put away the LA Kings, who suddenly found new life and now has pushed the series to a 3-3 tie. I'm not a big believer in history's impact, but the Sharks do have a way of choking in the playoffs. LA clearly has the momentum and are rolling after their poor start so I'm going with the Kings here. 

New York vs Philadelphia is a tough one. The Rangers have won their last three Game 7 but the Flyers are a typical comeback team. Wayne Simmons was great in Game 6 while most of the Rangers were not. I think this one comes down to which of the two goalies can steal the game, Mason or Lundquist. I'm going with King Henrik and his Blueshirts. 

The Colorado Avalanche will host Minnestota in a series which has seen only home wins. The Avs, and especially Nathan McKinnon, have been spectacular at home and I have a feeling they will be again. My guess is this Avalanche will roll to at least the next round. 

THE COMEBACK FLYERS

Once again the Philadelphia Flyers showed what a tremendous comeback team they are. The Montreal Canadiens seemed to have the game under control as they led the Flyers 3-1 in the second period, but then, this Flyers team did what they have done so many times during this season, they erased the deficit to win the game 6-4 and clinching the series in five games. Who ever they face in the conference finals have their work cut out for them.

The fact that Philadelphia has reached the Eastern Conference finals, for the first time since 1997, is amazing considering this team finished dead last just one season ago. GM, Paul Holmgren, and coach, John Stevens, have done a fantastic job with the club.

Pittsburgh host the NY Rangers tonight at the Mellon Arena as they have a chance to eliminate the Blueshirts and go on to fight the Flyers for a place in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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I did pick Montreal as Stanley Cup champions and that didn't happen. I was so looking forward to a Red Wings - Canadiens final. However, the Habs did surprise a lot of people this season and it was great to see and hear the crowd at Bell Centre cheer and applaude their team during the final minutes of Game 5 against the Flyers.

Rookie goalie, Carey Price, did seem rattled in round two of the playoffs, but remember that this kid is just twenty years old. He has many years to shine ahead of him, and he will shine pleanty, trust me.

Crunch time

The fact that the Montreal Canadiens won all eight games against the Boston Bruins during the regular season means very little in the playoffs, this is especially true now that their first round series has come down to a deciding Game 7. The Habs, heavy favourites at the start of the series, have seen a 2-0 slip away and at the chance of wrapping things up at 3-1 they lost two straight. Young Carey Price gave up five goals in each of those games, which were his first consecutive losses since being called up from the minors in February. Momentum is clearly with the B's even if stats still favour the Canadiens. The Bruins have never won a series in which they trailed 3-1. On the other hand, this is the first time they have forced a Game 7 in that situation. Be that as it may, I'm going to stick with my original pick. This will be the ultimate test to see if Price can perform at crunch time, I think he can.

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The Philadelphia Flyers don't have their backs against the wall, at leaste not yet. Though the Washington Capitals took home Game 5 and avoided elimination, the Flyers still have two shots at clinching their first playoff series since 2004. Ovechkin didn't have any goals or assists in Game 5 but he did play perhaps his best game in the post season. Question is if the Caps can win the next one as well without his contribution the scoresheet. The Flyers will have to do without forward Mike Knuble, but they are more than familiar to playing without their stars, they have gotten through most of the season without several of them. I'm not changing my pick here either, Philadelphia look way too tough and if they lose tonight they will win in Game 7. There is something special about these Flyers and, much like those Canadiens of 1993, they will surprise a lot of people on their way through these playoffs.

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Nice to see that Henrik Lundqvist got nominated for the Vezina Trophy. Early on in the season he carried the non-scoring Rangers on his back and, even though he lost his touch around the halfway pointone point, a late push by the Rangers saw him return to his old form. The nomination is his third in a row. Will the third time be the charm for The King?

The other two nominees are Martin Brodeur, who will try to win his fifth Vezina, and Evgeni Nabokov who posted a league leading 46 wins this season and was third in the league with a 2.14 goals-against-average and tied for third with six shutouts. Lundqvist, who despite his mid-season struggle, posted a 2.23 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage, also led the league with 10 shutouts.

I would have to say that Nabokov looks like the favourite to win his first trophy as the best goalie in the NHL.

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The Flyers - Capitals game just started so I'll have to wrap this up now.

Caps, Flyers and the Stanley Cup Champions

This season has been a rollercoaster for the Philadelphia Flyers. At one time they were at the top of their division, then later on they went on a ten game losing stretch. They have had myriad of injuries plauge their roster through out the year yet, through it all, they have looked like a playoff team. Because if there is one thing the Flyers don't lack it's heart, they have an abundance of it and they will need it in the post season because my guess is the Flyers will face Pittsburgh in the first round.

Buffalo still have a shot at a playoff berth, however, the Flyers need only two points to keep the Sabres out. Washington, who have left to play Florida and Tampa Bay at home, probably have the easiest remaining schedule and will probably snag third place overall away from Carolina who are on a two-game losing streak. Washington beat Carolina last night and are 9-1-0 in their last ten games and are looking strong after a slow start to the season.

Montreal will end up second and play Ottawa in the first round and eventually go all the way to the Stanley Cup. And I say this despite the fact that the Habs just lost their captain, Saku Koivu, for the season because there are to major factors that favor Montreal. The most important is Carey Price who is in a similar situation to that of Patrick Roy in 1986 and the Canadiens do have a pretty good track record when it comes to rookie goalies. The second reason is the fact that they made no major aquisitions at the trade deadline which, as history shows, is something most previous Cup winners also did not. Another, less fact based reason, is the names on the roster. Whith names like Latendresse, Bouillon, Brisebois, and Lapierre how can not go all the way?

That, along with the fact that they possess the best powerplay record in the NHL, is why I think the Montreal Canadiens will take home the Stanley Cup.

Forsberg closer to comeback

Peter Forsberg is back on ice, but his premiere skate wasn't at last nights MoDo practice. His first practice since leaving Team Sweden just before he was suposed to join them for Karjala Cup took place at MoDo's old arena late at night when everyone had gone home and the staff had locked up. On the ice he was joined by just his old friend Henrik Gradin.

This guy will never cease to amaze or surprise me. When he gave up his comeback last year I was closer than ever to believing retirement was upon one of the greatest hockey players ever. But it was not, he wasn't done. This guys doesn't know the meaning of the word quit, and I am greatful for it.

If everything goes as planned, Forsberg will continue practicing with MoDo before joining Team Sweden at LG Hockey Games. Then, at the trade deadline he will hopefully be joining one of the possible 30 teams wanting his services. According to himself he is in better shape than ever, and a healthy Peter Forsberg is still better than most players, at least on this planet.

The Philadelphia Flyers are still both very interested and hopeful. It seems fitting he should pick the team he feels he didn't give anywhere near his best during the one and a half seasons he played there. Of course that is just his own opinion. Everyone else knows that, even though he was injured a lot during his tenure with the Flyers, when he did play he was their best player.

Lately, with the return of Simon Gagne, the Flyers are looking more and more like a strong playoff team (they are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games). With Peter Forsberg, hungry to prove he isn't totally useless (again, his own words), back in the lineup the Flyers will become a strong Cup contender.

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On a different note, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired John Ferguson Jr and replaced him with Cliff Fletcher, who was made interim general manger. One down, several to go.

Returning Penguins pounded

Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins returned home to Pennsylvania after wrapping up their successful tour out west, only to get a more than warm 'welcome home' from the Philadelphia Flyers, who gave the Pens an early Christmas pounding they won't soon forget.

Joffrey Lupul scored a hat trick and had six points. The last time a Flyer scored six points in one game was against Toronto ten years ago. That time it was Eric Lindros. R.J. Umberger added to the Penguins misery as he also notched three for a hat trick of his own.

The only Penguin to really stand up in this game was the forty-one year old Gary Roberts, who gave Ben Eager (who is half his age) a really good ass-kicking. I am not a big fan of fighting in hockey (I don't think it belongs there more than it belongs in football, baseball, or any other essentially non-fighting sport), however, I can't say enough how valuable a guy like Roberts is to his team. After some twenty odd years in the NHL he has gathered more experience than half the team put together, and he is putting it to use every night, on every shift he plays. He plays with heart and will always back up a teammate and as we saw last night he will also never back down from a fight.

Unfortunately, the Penguins weren't ignited by the incident and the Flyers could maintain their momentum and cruise to a 8-2 victory. The win snapped a five-game winless streak at home for the Flyers.

Big E calls it a day

After 14 injury-filled seasons in the NHL Eric Lindros is finally hanging up his skates for good. What will his legacy be? I guess time will tell.

A more interesting question is whether or not he should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. If you ask me, the answer is yes.

Why, you might ask. And I can totally see where those are coming from who say he shouldn't. Eric Lindros is not the greatest advocate for the game, nor is he a great team player. He isn't the most liked guy in the league, and he constantly put himself ahead of his team, twice refusing to play for the team that drafted him.

The simple reason that I believe he should be a member of the Hall is that Cam Neely is. Neely was a fantastic power forward, much like Lindros, and his career stats are about the same as those of Lindros, but he never got to hoist the Stanley Cup with his beloved Bruins, just like Lindros never did with any team he played for. I think it will be hard to keep Lindros out since they did induct Neely.

I also think one reason that the Boston center was inducted was much thanks to his popularity. Cam Neely was a gentleman player who was well liked all around the NHL by both fans and players, which again, can't be said about Big E. But surely that is not reason enough to not grant him a place in the Hall of Fame.

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Some facts about Big E,

In 1990 he refused to play for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League and was traded off to the Oshawa Generals. Then in 1992, after being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, he once again refused to play (he even refused to wear the Nordiques jersey at the draft). This eventually led to one of the most one-sided transfers in NHL history as Lindros was shipped off to Philadelphia for, among others, Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Chris Simon, Mike Ricci, a couple of draft picks, and $15 million.

In his first five seasons with the Flyers he was a dominant presence on the ice, averaging around a pointy per game. He was awarded both the Hart Trophy, as the league MVP, and the Lester B. Pearson Award in the shortened 1995 season. In 1997 he captained the Flyers to the Stanley Cup final, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings in four games.

Eric Lindros also played with the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Dallas Stars and has 372 goals and 865 points in 760 games between 1992 and 2007.

New Flyers rebound in D.C.

Last season the Washington Capitals were 4-0 playing the Philadelphia Flyers. That's not going to happen this season. It can't happen. This team is so far from last years sad bunch, and I say this because if there is anything one expects from the guys from Broadstreet, it is that they play with heart. Last year they weren't even close.

Trading for Jason Smith and also making him the captain is the smartest move the Flyers have done in years. Smith personifies the Philadelphia Flyers with his ability to play through pain and block shots. Last night he wore the marks of a puck to his face from the previous game. That sort of thing earns you respect.

Capital's goalie Olaf Kolzig, who faced 23 shots in the last two periods, said these Flyers were a very different team from last season, something his coach, Glen Hanlon, also had pointed out before the game.

But, Philadelphia isn't the only team to improve from last season, the Capitals, too, are vastly better, and they raced out of the gates against taking a first period 1-0 lead, outscoring the guests 14-6. Then, late in the first period, Mike Richards took a 5 minute penalty for fighting which seemed to ignite his team. He later returned, with 12 stiches on his nose, to score the tie-breaking 2-1 goal.

Daniel Briere, booed every time he had the puck for the second straight game, later put the Flyers up 3-1 before Alexander Ovechkin got the Caps within one goal with a blast from the point. A late surge from the hosts didn't result in any more goals and Philadelphia stood as victors with a 3-2 score.

The Flyers continue to impress and Washington continue to play well but lose.