Bring It On!
“Oh! The good old hockey game/ is the best game you can name/ and the best game you can name/ is the good old hockey game!”
— The Hockey Song
The Super Bowl corners the market on hype. Nothing compares to the World Series and its rich history. And the NBA Finals have the always-possible gang massacre. But no North American sport can challenge the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Herculean effort needed to win 16 playoffs games over the most grueling two months in sports.
Yes, two months. The last possible date for Game 7 of the finals is June 11. A lot can happen in those two. Hopefully “a lot” means “the Buffalo Sabres wins the Stanley Cup.” (All five hockey writers for SI.com pick the Sabres to advance to the finals. Four of those five pick them to win everything.) I’ve already offered my bachelor party as a sacrifice to the Sports Gods in exchange for a Cup parade in Buffalo. It’s that important. Keep reading this excellent story about Sabres’ co-captain Chris Drury to find out why.
Some people — Canadians, mostly — care about other teams besides Buffalo. Nutty, but true. And the next two months will feature some of the best hockey you’ll see this lifetime. At least half-dozen teams are legitimate Cup contenders. The balance reside in the Western Conference, but Buffalo and New Jersey could win it all. And don’t count out the Pittsburgh tykes too soon. Their skill makes up for their inexperience, but maybe not for their lack of defense.
Over half the teams in the NHL make the playoffs (16 of 30). A scenario with a team other than Buffalo winning everything is possible (technically). As some might consider me horribly biased (all lies), I’ve devised an impartial method of categories and rankings to determine who will make it through Round One. It’s very precise and it involves a lot of Bunsen burners, chemicals and those straw-like glass tubes bent into spirals. But I can assure you of one thing —the Montreal Canadiens were the last team from the Great White North to win the Cup. That was 1993. With only three Canadian teams present (Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary) this year will extend that streak to 2008. Bank it.
Look for the italics to determine who wins a category. In the event of a tie, I’ll pick a winner based on arbitrary criteria. Or maybe not. I’m an ass like that. The team with the most points at the end will win the series. (The total number of players on each roster might be different team-by-team. That variation is due to the number of players each team called up from the minor leagues the day I checked their roster online. Nobody pays me for this, so deal with it.)
Eastern Conference
#1
 |
Vs. |
#8
|
 Teppo Numminen |
 |
|
#2
 |
Vs. |
#7
|
 Richard Matvichuk |
 |
|
#3
 |
Vs. |
#6
|
 Greg deVries |
 |
|
#4
 |
Vs. |
#5
|
 |
 Gary Roberts |
|
Western Conference
#1
 |
Vs. |
#8
|
 Dominik Hasek |
 |
|
#2
 |
Vs. |
#7
|
 George Parros |
 |
|
#3
 |
Vs. |
#6
|
 Brent Sopel |
 |
|
#4
 |
Vs. |
#5
|
 Peter Forsberg |
 |
|
Questions? Comments? Stanley Cups? E-mail me at mlucinski@yahoo.com.
Michael Lucinski lives, loves and works in the Washington, D.C. area. He’s a graduate of the University at Buffalo and the George Washington University. Go Sabres. Go Sabres! GO SABRES!
And hey, check out some of my greatest hits: