The Official ScottsPicks.com Blog - A Sports Handicappers Blog » Hockey http://www.scottspicks.com/blog ScottsPicks.com owner, Scott Endsley blogs about sports Sun, 10 Apr 2011 21:54:59 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 NHL Playoffs 2009 http://www.scottspicks.com/blog/nhl-playoffs-2009 http://www.scottspicks.com/blog/nhl-playoffs-2009#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:35:51 +0000 Scott http://www.scottspicks.com/blog/?p=20 There are many great things in sports – great drama, great venues, cinderella stories, dominant favorites, etc, etc…
Playoff hockey is right up there on that list. And if it’s overtime it moves very close to the top of the list, make it OT in a game 7 there is nothing better! Next goal wins…it simply doesn’t get any better than that.
So the 2009 version of the Stanley Cup Playoffs start this week and for me the NHL post season is the best of all the sports. NBA is good but it’s too made for TV and way too long because of it. MLB is solid but too often teams can go from 5 starters to 3 starters in the playoffs and it takes away a bit from the true overall depth and talent of teams. It also gets too late into the fall and the weather becomes too much of a factor at times. Lastly like the NBA – it’s too made for TV and stretches out too long. The NFL is exciting, yes but the week off before the Super Bowl is terrible and the Super Bowl itself is too much of a show and corporate BS than a good old football game.

I would go extensively into who I like or don’t like to win the Stanley Cup. Because we don’t offer picks on hockey games I don’t follow every team as closely as I used to but here’s what I see:
In the West it’s tough to deny how impressive the Sharks have been and they have the experience to get it done. Give them home ice throughout and they are very dangerous. The Red Wings obviously have the experience as defending Stanley Cup champs. The offense shouldn’t be an issue but defense wins championships and I’m not sure Detroit is strong enough on D. I hesitate to mention goal tending but I’m not sure Osgood has been sharp enough this season. But the guy has 3 Stanley Cups so it’s tough to say he can’t get it done. Vancouver in the 3 seed is a solid team but not on the same level as San Jose and Detroit. And I think there is another big drop-off for seeds 4-8 so I don’t expect upsets – should be Sharks and Red Wings battling it out to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the East Boston looks almost unbeatable when they play their best hockey. But overall in the East the 3-8 seeds look stronger than in the West so teams in the East could get tested and an upset or two wouldn’t shock me.

Still, I expect San Jose to take out Boston in the finals. I hope for 7 games but I’ll call it in 6 as home teams in recent history have not gotten it done in game 6′s.

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