11 Memes That Explain the Heat-Celtics Series

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-Turnbull

2012 NHL Playoffs: In Which We Analyze The Finals Potential Of The Frozen Four

(Photo via bloguin.com/puckdrunklove)

If you picked the four teams poised to battle it out in this year's edition of the NHL Stanley Cup Conference Finals, you're a better man than me. Not even the pundiest of hockey pundits got this one right. It's been an awesomely odd playoff thus far that gave us several great moments: Giroux's 6 point game, top seeds and perennial contenders dropping like flies, and goaltending dominance by the expected and unexpected. With 2 rounds in the books, we move to the Cup Semis where childhood dreams will be made, or will bust like Fabian Brunnstrom.

Before I jump into this, I need to talk pools. I'm happy to say that thanks to fantastic seasons by Malkin, Giroux, and Spezza, I won my office pool. Brimming with confidence, I jumped into 2 playoff pools: one box and the other draft. My draft pool is already toast. I now have 0 players remaining after Nashville got turfed. My box pool? D.O.A. (calling my box team "Alexandre Daigle" didn't bring the mojo I was looking for!). My strategy for both teams was based on a tried and tested method: I predicted the final four and loaded up my team from those rosters. The teams in question were: Nashville and Vancouver in the West, Pittsburgh and Boston in the East. 3 of those were eliminated in the 1st round, 1 in the 2nd. Moral of this tragic pool story: anything can happen in the Playoffs, but go with your gut. Additionally, watch way more hockey next season.

Moving on to the analysis of the Frozen Four..

Eastern Promising: The 93 Point Dash To The NHL Playoffs

(Photo via washingtonpost.com)

93. This is the magic number for all NHL clubs. This has been, in recent seasons, the average number of points needed to get access to the second season. Most teams have about 10 games left to play and, in my view, this is one of the most exciting times as a hockey fan. The playoffs are tops in any fans heart, but the lead up to the first round is where winners and losers are made.

The Race In The East

After A Terrible Start, The Bruins Are Back In Championship Form

H-Orr-ton (Photo via bruins.nhl.com)

The Bruins ended a whirlwind of an off-season on a high. A summer of hanging out with the Stanley Cup (shirts optional) and celebrating is tough work. And wearing those heavy championship rings can make even a conditioned athlete tired. Boston were suffering from a serious case of cup hangover when the season kicked off. They limped to a 3-7 start in October and many were wondering what happened. Did the loss of Ryder, Kaberle and Reechi have that deep of an impact on this club?

Sidney Crosby Is a Special Athlete. Recognize.

(Photo via theglobeandmail.com

As you've surely read, the Kid is back. And he's still hands down the best in the business. He joins a Pittsburgh Penguin team that is currently 1st in the Eastern Conference (3rd in the league) and are poised to make a great run at Lord Stanley's Cup. All this talk about how he was afraid to return to the fastest game on the planet or cringed at the prospect of taking a major league hit have hovered over his head since his last game in January 2011. He let it all out in his debut this season.

Crosby's stat line for his return against the Islanders (which is a perfect game for his comeback: Sid has 66 points, including 20 goals, in 34 career games vs the Isles) was nothing short of awesome: 2 goals, 2 assists with 8 shots while taking in 15 minutes of ice time. It took him less than 6 minutes to score his first goal (on his first shot) with an amazing backhander that made it's way top right shelf. Crosby makes it look so easy and that's what all of the greats do. He's a student of the game, and will eventually become the head master of the sport.

For any of you that want to hate on Crosby and claim that he's a cry baby or a whiner, keep that shit to yourself. If your club of choice acquired him through a very unlikely trade, you would be ecstatic. You would say all of the things that I've written in this post. My advice: sit back and enjoy what the Kid is accomplishing in his career and for hockey. Sidney Crosby might play for the Penguins, but he's here for all of us puckheads to enjoy.

Here are the Crosby highlights from the game. His effort on the second goal is ridiculous, especially the "turn on a dime" on the half boards making Milan Jurcina look the fool.

-Paqman

The Number Of The B-East - P&B 2011-12 NHL Preview - Eastern Conference

The warm up is over. All of y'all that were keeping track of the pre-season, it's time to reset your clocks. Bring on the new NHL season!

(Photo via mancavesports.org)

Top 3 Contenders

Bruins vs Flyers - NHL Playoffs - Eastern Conference Semi-Final

This is it! 1,230 games have been completed and the 2nd season begins. 16 teams participate and 1 will hoist the most coveted trophy in professional sports: the Stanley Cup. This is one of the toughest tournaments in the world and P&B will be your round by round guide.

Chara clears the pucks passed a forechecking Giroux (Photo via zimbio.com)

2

VS

3

2011 Season Series:

Boston won 3-1

What's the story?:

The Bruins battled back from a 2-0 hole against the Habs to win a la dramatique in a game 7 overtime classic.

Capitals vs Lightning - NHL Playoffs - Eastern Conference Semi-Final

This is it! 1,230 games have been completed and the 2nd season begins. 16 teams participate and 1 will hoist the most coveted trophy in professional sports: the Stanley Cup. This is one of the toughest tournaments in the world and P&B will be your round by round guide.

(Photo via hfboards.com)

1

VS

5

2011 Season Series:

Washington won 4-2

What's the story?:

Tampa has showed the world that they are ready to be players again. The reasons?

NBA Playoff Preview Part 1 - Eastern Conference First Round

The Knicks and Celtics will battle in First Round NBA Eastern Conference Playoff action
(photo via espn.com)

The National Basketball Association 2010-11 Playoffs begin today.  Let's break down the four Eastern Conference series matchups:

Where Legends are Made : NHL Playoffs - Eastern Conference - Round 1

This is it! 1,230 games have been completed and the 2nd season begins. 16 teams participate and 1 will hoist the most coveted trophy in professional sports: the Stanley Cup. This is one of the toughest tournaments in the world and P&B will be your round by round guide.

(photo via imageshack)

1

VS

8

2011 Season Series:

New York won 3-1

What's the Story?:

The Rangers barely squeaked into the 8th seed thanks to Carolina's inability to capitalize in game #82.

The West is the Best: Stats (Like Hips) Don't Lie

This is the best picture that I can find that represents East vs West. Nuff said. (photo via smartassradio.com)

For those of you who don't know, I'm an Ottawa Senators fan. I don't need a shoulder to cry on or any type of consolation for this Club's luck (or lack of it) this year. 29th overall. Worse than the always crappy Islanders. Not doing much better than the young and rebuilding Oilers. And most painfully, the Leafs are in the hunt for that 8th seed in the home stretch while the Sens are planning their strategy for the 2011 Entry Draft. 1st or 2nd pick? Nugent-Thompkins, Laarsen, Landeskog, or Couturier? Not the kind of conversation you want your team to have at this point in the season. For more of my Sens ranting, check out my other blog Stranger In Leaf Nation.

The Race is On

I can't remember the last time the NHL Western playoff race was this tight. As of Saturday, March 12th, 8 points separate the 11th seed from 4th. Within that range we are looking at the Kings, Stars, Flames, Ducks, Predators, Coyotes, Hawks, and Wild. The top might change with Detroit, Vancouver and the Sharks sitting comfortably in the top 3 seeds, as the red hot Hawks are knocking on the door. The craziest part of the Western race has to be the 12th seeded Blue Jackets playing with a winning record at 31-26-8. Flip it to the East in the same spot, we're looking at the Devils at 31-32-4. The spread from 4th to 11th on the Atlantic side of the league is 18 points. The West continues to be the strongest side in the NHL year over year. But I've also noticed this trend in the NBA. Was Jim Morrison right all along? Is the West the best?