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..

Sharks vs Red Wings - NHL Playoffs - Western 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 allpro.com)

2

VS

3

2011 Season Series

San Jose won 3-1

What's the Story?:

The Red Wings cannot be denied. They played through Phoenix with some key injuries to important offensive players (Zetterberg, Franzen).

Canucks vs Predators - NHL Playoffs - Western 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 sports.yahoo.com)

1

VS

5

2011 Season Series:

Tied at 2

What's the Story?:

Nashville is the only team in the West to take out a higher seed in the first round. They knocked the top heavy 4th seeded Ducks in 6 games and accomplished a franchise first: won a playoff series.

NBA Playoff Preview Part 2 - Western Conference First Round

The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers are set for opening round playoff action
(photo via espn.com)

Part 2 of our NBA Playoff Preview, breaking down the Western Conference series matchups:

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

This is it! 1,230 games have passed 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 canucksarmy.com)

1   

VS

8

2011 Season Series:

Tied at 2-2

What's the story?:

Like the Rangers in the East, the Blackhawks benefited from a team's loss to slip into the final playoff spot.

Quick Shot Predictions for the Western Conference - NHL PLayoffs - Round 1

My full post for the Western Conference isn't ready yet, so I'm giving you my predictions very quickly in this post since the playoffs start tonight.

Don't want y'all to think that I'm cheating on my predictions by letting a full day of action pass by! ;)

1-Canucks vs 8-Blackhawks

Canucks win in 5

2-Sharks vs 7-Kings

Sharks win in 7

3-Red Wings vs 6-Coyotes

Upset! Coyotes win in 7

4-Ducks vs 5-Predators

Ducks win in 5

The complete Round 1 post for the West will be ready tomorrow.

-Paqman

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?