Hockey Thoughts: Conference Finals

Haven't blogged much lately because all I've been doing is working.  I haven't had much time to do anything else, including eating and sleeping.  As a result I haven't been able to follow the last round of the Playoffs as closely as I'd have liked.  In fact, I didn't see one single game all the way through, and mostly got my info from On the Fly every night before bed or in the morning--or some combination.  I did see the end of the final San Jose vs. Detroit game, but that's about it.  I tried watching the Flyers vs. Bruins tonight, but fell asleep, as I did attempting to watch the Habs vs. Pens a few nights ago.

Anyway, the results are in and what an interesting turn of events we have.  No spoilers in the West necessarily as we end up with the #1 and #2 seeds playing each other.  The East, on the other hand, was a whole mess of surprises with the Habs pulling TWO series out of their asses through 7 games.  First they knock off the league leading Capitals, then take out the defending Cup Champion Pens.  What a story this has been for those guys!  The Flyers also shocked a bit making it past the first round, but particularly after pulling out of this series after falling 3-0 against the Bruins.  That requires 4 straight wins, both at home and on the road and is statistically almost impossible.  In my opinion, it was even more interesting considering the Bruins aren't that spectacular and had enough trouble getting out of the first round themselves.  To go up 3-0 in the series was a stunner in and of itself.  To fall that badly makes me not feel *quite* as bad about the Caps collapse.  This leaves us with the exact opposite of the West, with the #7 and #8 seeds facing off for the Conference title.

Back in the West I'm not sure what to make of that final matchup.  I think the Sharks have learned the lessons they needed to learn from last year, and all throughout these series, and I just have a hunch they will make it through to the Finals.  As for the East, I think the Habs are just on fire, and even though both teams have a great underdog story, I don't think the Habs had to work nearly as hard to make it happen as the Flyers did.  I'm going with the Habs in that series, and I'm going to stick with them through the Finals if they do advance.  Even though they took out my precious Caps, the Caps did more to beat themselves than anything else.  Plus, if Nashville ever makes a deep Playoff run it will be more akin to what the Habs have accomplished this year than anything else.  Its not like they will ever be the favorites or enter the Playoffs as a high seed. 

Regardless of who makes it through on either side, there will be a major mismatch once the Finals come.  Without knowing how this round turns out its impossible to weigh in on the emotional toll the teams will have been through.  But for either the Habs or the Flyers to have to play either the Hawks or the Sharks is going to be really interesting--just can't call yet if it will be interesting in a good or bad way.  I do think that the Habs would have the best chance of seeing it through, as they had to face two of the hardest teams to get where they are and the Flyers played two mediocre teams that were inconsistent at best and did not play according to their regular season pattern. 

So, in sum, I'm rooting for the Habs all the way and the Sharks in the West.  I will still miss the first several games in this series, but by the end of the week things will be back to normal and I'll be able to catch the end of both series, as well as all the Finals games.  Not to mention get to sleep and enjoy other activities which lead to blogs of a more interesting nature.