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..

2012 NHL Playoffs: My Top 4 1st Round Series You Need To Watch

(Photo via sports.yahoo.com)

Here we go again! The most wonderful time of the year. Round one of the NHL playoffs kick off this week and puckheads could not be happier. If your household is like most, you need to fight for that precious TV time. Choose your battles wisely, my friends. With that said, here are four 1st round series that you need to watch:

HBO's 24/7 Is Back: Road to The NHL Winter Classic Featuring the Flyers and Rangers

(Photo via buzzonbroad.com)

For the second year in a row, the NHL and HBO are offering the very excellent 24/7, which chronicles the lead up to the Winter Classic in the City of Brotherly Love on New Year's Day. The Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers are the featured teams this season. There are some interesting storylines developing for each side with Giroux's concussion (I said it before, but this really sucks for my pool...and the Flyers too) and Avery's yearning for male modeling.

Here is the complete schedule for 24/7 - Flyers and Rangers:

Episode 1 - Dec. 17 -6:00PM ET / MT (replay)

Episode 2 - Dec. 21 -10:01PM ET / MT

Episode 3 - Dec. 28 -10:00PM ET / MT

Episode 4 - Jan. 5 -10:00PM ET / MT

If you have TMN/HBO On Demand, you won't have to be a slave to this schedule as they post the episodes fairly quickly.

I won't divulge anymore information about the first episode because you need to experience it for yourself. The NHL doesn't give its fans this level of access often, so please take advantage of this beautifully produced mini series...and John Tortorella is the shit. Scratch everything I said. Watch it to witness Torts unleashed behind the scenes. Watching him go off on Gaborik during a game was priceless.

If you're still not convinced, here's the sneak peak:

 

-Paqman