Interesting story

My wife has been in Minneapolis this week for a library conference and decided, while she was there, to go to the Minnesota-Vancouver game tonight. I exchanged text messages with her the entire game and she had a blast - beautiful arena, packed house, etc. Definitely a good time. She sent pictures, so I thought I would share. Keep in mind, these were taken with her cell phone, so the quality is not so great.

She did miss a 7-1 drubbing of the Thrashers tonight, but I definitely think she got the better deal. I'm very jealous.

Does hockey have potties?

Sorry. That's the question my daughter asked when she had to go during the second period. We didn't actually arrive at the game tonight until 7:30 (2 minutes left in the first period) due to my daughter's 6:30 swim class. We had all four of us tonight and fun was to be had by all. The kids really got into the game and both teams decided to wait until we got there to start scoring. Definitely a win on both counts.

I'm finding it hard to believe that Brad Isbister found a spot on Vancouver's roster. It's a credit to the Canes' depth at forward that this guy couldn't even secure an AHL call-up spot for us and he's playing on another team's regular roster. The guys played very well today - the highlight was definitely the gorgeous cross-ice pass from El Capitan to Rosie the Riveter for a beautiful goal past Luongo.

I won't be at the Buffalo game on Wednesday, so I'll have to catch it on TV.

Hockey fights cancer

I'm sure everyone knows someone who has cancer in one way or another. For me it was my father, who had some form of cancer or another since the time before I was born. According to doctors, my little brother and myself should not have been possible. He finally passed away in 2004, a few days short of his first granddaughter being born.

He watched hockey with me and it made him (and me) happy for him to finally see me play, even in a rec league.

The Hurricanes are having a Hockey Fights Cancer night on Monday, October 22nd - the game versus the Vancouver Canucks. Please make an effort to buy tickets and attend to support this great cause.

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

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.

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