Polemic Hockey

Out west, I'll say San Jose in 5, Chicago in 6, Van in 5, and Detroit in 6.

---

UPDATE: Some of my thoughts...

I'll just add that the Sharks' history of choking is hardly limited to the first round. They have lost series where they were the heavy favorite in each round over the last 10 years, except the finals, where they have never been. In my opinion, they were the strongest in 2007 when they were minutes away from going up on the Red Wings 3-1 in the 2nd round. They also lost in the 2nd round in 2008, 2006, 2002, and 2000. They lost in the 3rd round in 2004 and did not make the playoffs in 2003. I don't believe they will lose to Colorado, but after that they could be toast at any time.

Vancouver also has no excuses for their playoff performances over the last decade. They have had good enough teams to at least make a finals appearance.

The common denominator in both of these cases is an insistance by the team management to blame everyone except the goaltender even though in both cases that is the only common denominator throughout their ongoing string of failures. Apparently, the Dallas Stars have realized that in their case and are sending playoff choker Marty Turco away. Anyway, there are many goaltenders who are excellent in the regular season. If there is a team that is in the business of collecting President's Trophies, I suggest they pay guys like Turco, Nabokov, and Luongo. But for the teams that want the Stanley Cup, you need guys who can win in April.

Team Canada was a hair's breadth away from an embarrassing spectacle at the Olympics because they chose to put the goalie who played on the Canadian team in ahead of two goalies who both have won something. That dumb luck will not help the Canucks in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but it might get them past the young Kings.

Bryzgalov and Halak are two goalies that are capable of winning in April, and Bryzgalov already has a fairly decent playoff resume, including one of the longest ever shutout streaks.

The one other factor that even enters into my deliberations about who will win playoff series, though, is experience. There is both good and bad experience. The difference between the two, combined with goaltending, is why the Ducks beat the Sharks last year, and, why I believe Detroit will beat the Yotes nothwithstanding Bryzgalov's excellence. As for Van versus LA, I am unsure about this pick, but my gut simply tells me that the carriage has to turn back into a pumpkin at some point and Van is due for a win. Just gut, I guess.

Speaking of all of this, it's tough to think that the east won't come down to the same two teams it did last year, though New Jersey should be in the mix. They haven't been living up to my expectations for them since the lockout. This is the best team they've had since then, and it's probably Marty's best shot to get one more.