Playoff Picks - Round 2

OK, five out of eight isn't so bad. The only series I got completely was Buffalo in 5, everything else being an unmitigated mess. I'll try to do better this round.

Eastern Conference Semifinals
Buffalo (1) vs NY Rangers (6) - Buffalo in 6
New Jersey (2) vs Ottawa (4) - Ottawa in 6

Western Conference Semifinals
Detroit (1) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6
Anaheim (2) vs Vancouver (3) - Anaheim in 5

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Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
Buffalo (1) vs Ny Islanders (8) - Buffalo in 5
New Jersey (2) vs Tampa (7) - Tampa New Jersey in 7 6
Atlanta (3) vs NY Rangers (6) - NY Rangers in 6 4
Ottawa (4) vs Pittsburgh (5) - Pittsburgh Ottawa in 6 5

Western Conference Quarterfinals
Detroit (1) vs Calgary (8) - Calgary Detroit in 7 6
Anaheim (2) vs Minnesota (7) - Anaheim in 6 5
Vancouver (3) vs Dallas (6) - Vancouver in 5 7
Nashville (4) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6 5

Ice Hawks 4, Stars 2

We rebounded well in the "consolation bracket" by winning a surprisingly tight game against the Stars. They have steadily progressed this season and should be pretty tough next season. My pre-season goal has almost been realized - I took the team lead in points after chasing Bruce all season. We've been tied for the past month, but I finally pulled ahead with one game left to go. I know it's kind of silly, but I set a goal for myself at the start of the season and it's kept me focused.

We broke down defensively for a short span of the second period, where the Stars took the lead. That lasted less than three minutes as Flood tied the game, followed shortly after by my go-ahead goal. I should have had a third goal, as I had plenty of opportunities - the best being a short-handed breakaway - but their goalie stood up to the pressure nicely. Our normal goalie decided to skate out this game, which was kind of funny. He's obviously not used to it, but he managed to get an assist out of the ordeal.

Game Details

Scoring	1	2	3	Total
Ice Hawks	1	2	1	4
Stars	0	2	0	2

Shots on goal

Ice Hawks	31
Stars	18

Scoring Summary
Period 1
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran (Dan Smyrski) , 1:15

Period 2
The Stars - Chris Tilly (Jeff Kimbrough) , 5:15
The Stars - Chris Tilly (Errol Binda) , 6:25
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood (Brian Shaw, Dan Smyrski) , 8:05
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran (Dan Smyrski) , 11:40

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Bruce Borer (Chris Ellis) , 0:10

Penalties
Period 1
The Stars - Jeff Kimbrough - (Holding Minor), 2 min , 2:50
The Stars - Scott Corcoran - (Roughing Minor), 2 min , 5:45
Ice Hawks - Matthew Leech - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 8:30
Ice Hawks - Dan Smyrski - (Roughing Minor), 2 min , 16:19
The Stars - Michael Rumpf - (Interference Minor), 2 min , 19:29

Period 2
Ice Hawks - Brian Shaw - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 17:47

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Dan Smyrski - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 2:16
Ice Hawks - Matthew Leech - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 17:52

We're off to see the wizard

Whitney re-signed for three years for around $3.55 millon per. That was quick. He mentioned that it was the easiest negotiation he had been involved with and he probably could have done it without his agent. That's always nice to hear.

I've been watching as many playoff games as possible in the meantime. When the Canes aren't directly involved, I find that I develop my favorites somewhat organically. I watch several games and discover who I am cheering for. I was cheering for Vancouver and Pittsburgh so far. That's not to say those are my Finals picks, but those are the teams I have been pulling for. I'm watching Buffalo and the Islanders right now and I haven't quite picked one yet; the same goes for the Rangers and Thrasher - my heart's just not in it. I have a soft spot for Nashville, so I'll be keeping an eye on their series with San Jose too.

Blades 4 Ice Hawks 1

Well, our playoff aspirations were short lived. You can tell by the shot count that it wasn't really as close as the score would indicate, although we had several chances that we couldn't quite convert on. It could have been a closer game. I got the only goal for our side - I picked up a rebound in the slot and popped it over the sprawling goalie.

Game Details

Scoring	1	2	3	Total
Blades	3	0	1	4
Ice Hawks	1	0	0	1

Shots on goal

Blades	46
Ice Hawks	13

Scoring Summary
Period 1
Blades - Paul Silveira (David Irons) , 2:30
Blades - Josh Richmond (Matthew Houpt) , 13:53
Blades - John Chang (Paul Silveira) , 16:05
Ice Hawks - Chris Caran (Matt Casulli, Bruce Borer) , 17:10

Period 2
(No scoring)

Period 3
Blades - Brian Jones (Tom Vislocky) , 4:50

Penalties
Period 1
(No penalties)

Period 2
Blades - Brian Jones - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 7:15
Blades - Paul Silveira - (Elbowing Minor), 2 min , 14:23
Ice Hawks - Joe Rizza - (Interference Minor), 2 min , 19:22

Period 3
Ice Hawks - Matthew Leech - (Hooking Minor), 2 min , 9:06

Playoff Picks - Round 1

Eastern Conference
Buffalo (1) vs Ny Islanders (8) - Buffalo in 5
New Jersey (2) vs Tampa (7) - Tampa in 7
Atlanta (3) vs NY Rangers (6) - NY Rangers in 6
Ottawa (4) vs Pittsburgh (5) - Pittsburgh in 6

Western Conference
Detroit (1) vs Calgary (8) - Calgary in 7
Anaheim (2) vs Minnesota (7) - Anaheim in 6
Vancouver (3) vs Dallas (6) - Vancouver in 5
Nashville (4) vs San Jose (5) - San Jose in 6

Finishing with style

The Atlanta game was disgraceful, but the game tonight was actually a special way to end the season. I don't know what it is about the Panthers, but they are the Washington Generals to our Harlem Globetrotters. They always look like this will be the time they beat us, but the third period was just downright silly. Tanabe was on fire, the Staal-Cole-Ladd line looked great, and the Captain finished it in overtime.

This is the offense we've been looking for (barring the first two periods) all season. That is the energy we've missed. We'll see what moves we make in the offseason and how everyone heals up and gets some rest.

Vertigo 3, Ice Hawks 0

This was a very poor way to end our regular season. The team as a whole just didn't have anything. Our backup goalie was in and he played well, all things considered. We also resembled a walking MASH unit after the game. Greg hurt his knee, possibly his MCL; Ray went head first into the boards after making an amazing defensive play to stop a break-away and hurt his shoulder; I took a stick to the neck and started the game with some extra support on my right ankle due to pain. We're a mess.

This ends the regular season for us. The playoffs start next week. I ended the regular season tied for the team lead in scoring with Bruce. He has two more goals than I do and I finished with 1 less assist than Greg, who has the team lead in that.

The Ice Hawks are the five seed in the playoffs, so we play the fourth-seeded Blades next week.

Vertigo MVP: #41, Richard Haag (G). 0.0 GAA, 21 Saves, 1.00 Sv%, 1 SO
Ice Hawks MVP: #55, Kevin Kleber (G). 3.0 GAA, 17 Saves, 0.850 SV%

Game Details

Scoring	1	2	3	Total
Vertigo	0	2	1	3
Ice Hawks	0	0	0	0

Shots on goal

Vertigo	20
Ice Hawks	21

Scoring Summary
Period 1
(No scoring)

Period 2
Vertigo - Rich Tigbayen (Nancy Difedes, Bob Buchko) , 8:21
Vertigo - Bob Buchko (Mike Hanlon) , 11:38

Period 3
Vertigo - Dave Alston (unassisted) , 10:18

Penalties
Period 1
Vertigo - Bob Buchko - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 7:28
Vertigo - Jim Gonzales - (Slashing Minor), 2 min , 17:33

Period 2
Ice Hawks - Chris Flood - (Interference Minor), 2 min , 9:10

Period 3
Vertigo - Kevin Brienzi - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 2:59
Vertigo - Mike Hanlon - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 12:36
Ice Hawks - Dan Smyrski - (Elbowing Minor), 2 min , 13:37
Vertigo - Jim Gonzales - (Tripping Minor), 2 min , 16:17
Vertigo - Jeremy Grissom - (Too Many Men Bench Minor), 2 min , 17:28

And we're done

Well fought game - they tried their best, but it wasn't good enough. At least my tickets for next season are paid for.

Revised scenario

We have to take everything into account to determine our real chances; most importantly, tie breakers. Atlanta has actually clinched, despite no official designation. If they dropped their last three games and Toronto won their last three, they would be tied with 41 wins. Atlanta gained more points in the head-to-heads, so they win that tie-breaker and are in.

Solid
NY Rangers - Four points ahead and winning the tie-breaker against Toronto with 3 to play. The magic number for them is 2. It would take a complete meltdown for them not to make it.

Strong
Tampa Bay Lightning - Three points up with three to play. It gets a bit more dicey for the Bolts. They also have the tie-breaker over the Leafs, so their magic number is 3. Their last three are against the Canes, Panthers, and Thrashers. It's not out of the realm of possibility for them to lose their last three - the Canes are desperate, the Panthers are playing very well, and Atlanta is headed into the franchise's first post-season appearance and want to do well.

The Scrum
Montreal Canadiens - One point up with three to go, they are in the thick of it. They play Boston, the Rangers, and Toronto to close the season. Their biggest advantage? The large number of wins is the first tie-breaker.

Toronto Maple Leafs - One point back (effectively two) with three to go. They play Philly, the Isles, and Les Habs to finish the season. Their low win total is a liability for tie-breakers, so they need to win the spot outright.

Carolina Hurricanes - Two points back (effectively three), three games to go. They also lose the main tie-breaker with Montreal, so they need to get three more points than the Canadiens and two more than the Leafs to qualify. They finish with Tampa, Atlanta, and Florida. The win last night gave them a burst of life that will hopefully become a win streak. They still need some help. Luckily, the two teams they are chasing play head-to-head to finish the season. It may come down to that.

NY Islanders - Four points down, four to go. They face the Rangers, Toronto, Philly, and New Jersey. That's no easy path and they're already in a tailspin because of their goalie situation. They need wins and help.

A pulse

Going into the third period tonight, the Canes were on their last leg. Down 3-1 with no chance of anything. A short handed goal by Brind'Amour followed by the game-tying goal by Rosie gave the team a burst of life they exploited in overtime with a rare 5-on-3 power-play. Unlike every other power play this team has squandered in the past few games, Whitney came up big and got the all-important two points. To make things even nicer, the Rangers smoked Toronto tonight.

3. Atlanta (93 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, TOR, BOS, WAS, CAR, TB
6. NY Rangers (91 pts, 3 GR) - NYI, MON, PHI, TOR, NYI, MON, PIT
7. Tampa Bay (90 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, CAR, WAS, CAR, FLA, ATL
8. Montreal (88pts, 3 GR) - NYR, OTT, BUF, BOS, NYR, TOR
9. Toronto (87pts, 3 GR) - CAR, ATL, PIT, NYR, PHI, NYI, MON
10. Carolina (86pts, 3 GR) - TOR, PHI, TB, FLA, TB, ATL, FLA
11. NY Islanders (84pts, 4 GR) - NYR, NJ, BUF, OTT, NYR, TOR, PHI, NJ

Minor miracle required

I've been out of town so I haven't been able to update. I missed the game Friday, selling the tickets to the neighbors of a co-worker. I found out that the Canes lost late on Friday, pretty much crippling any chance they have to get into the playoffs. It would essentially require them to win out and have both Montreal and Toronto lose the majority of their games. Considering Montreal and Toronto end the season against each other, we know at least one of them will gain two points. That has to be the only win essentially, regardless of who it is. They're as officially done as they can be without being officially done. The crazy thing is that we've moved up from 11th to 10th thanks to the Islanders.

The "miracle" scenario: The Rangers win their next three against Toronto, the Islanders, and Montreal; Montreal loses out, Toronto loses everything except the last game versus Montreal, leaving them at 89 points and 39 wins. Carolina then needs to pick up 5 points in their last 4 games with at least two victories (giving them the tie-breaker).

The "minor miracle" scenario: The Rangers win their next three (95 points), Montreal wins 1 of 3 (90 points, 91 with an OTL), Toronto no more than 2 of 4 (91 points), Carolina wins out (92 points), the Islanders lose at least 1 of 4 (no more than 91 points).

As you can see, neither scenario is particularly likely.

3. Atlanta (93 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, TOR, BOS, WAS, CAR, TB
6. Tampa Bay (90 pts, 3 GR) - FLA, CAR, WAS, CAR, FLA, ATL
7. NY Rangers (89 pts, 4 GR) - NYI, MON, PHI, TOR, NYI, MON, PIT
8. Montreal (88pts, 3 GR) - NYR, OTT, BUF, BOS, NYR, TOR
9. Toronto (87pts, 4 GR) - CAR, ATL, PIT, NYR, PHI, NYI, MON
10. Carolina (84pts, 4 GR) - TOR, PHI, TB, FLA, TB, ATL, FLA
11. NY Islanders (84pts, 4 GR) - NYR, NJ, BUF, OTT, NYR, TOR, PHI, NJ