Round One recap coming soon!

Kyle Turris winning Game 4 for Ottawa, and tying the series

I'm obviously too lazy to update my blog after every important game in the playoffs, so I'll just make a big recap post as soon as the first round is over. Get ready for my predictions on the second round as well, since my bracket has a good chance of being completely valueless.

Nashville takes Game One 3-2

Rinne and Weber defending against Datsyuk.

It feels kind of weird to cheer for a certain team when you're predicting the opposing team will beat them. This is especially the case when everyone else you see/know is cheering for the same team. That's how today went at Central Michigan University. Everywhere you went, a Red Wings jersey, hoodie, or t-shirt was present, shining out among everybody walking on the sidewalk. I was one of those people, sporting Henrik Zetterberg's #40 all day. I wonder how many people had the same mindset I did, right now I'm not really upset since my bracket's starting out well.

The Predators proved why they have home ice advantage, winning game one over the Red Wings. Aside from some penalties that shouldn't have been called against Detroit in the first period, Nashville seemed to have the stronger game, even with much less shots in the second and third periods. The first period set the Wings back, and the crowd of "mustard-yellow" jerseys (as Mark Lee of CBC called it) were in it the entire game. Detroit's going to have to fight even harder to get past Rinne and possibly mess up my bracket. Hope Helm's alright, currently getting surgery after taking a skate to the elbow. (That'd be a player the Wings will miss)

It's also really odd to have CMU Cable, and get to choose which playoff game broadcast I prefer to watch. The Detroit-Nashville game tonight was on CBC, Fox Sports Detroit, and CNBC. I obviously chose CBC, no brainer there, as soon as Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond started telling stories rather than actually calling the game below them. (For someone whose dream job is hockey play-by-play, something that little can be pretty annoying)

And from what I've seen so far tonight with the first period of the Canucks vs. Kings, Vancouver has played great so far. I certainly wouldn't rule out an upset though, Los Angeles looks pretty focused...I'm still stunned that Pittsburgh would give up a 3-1 lead to Philadelphia, that'll also be a close series.

AND SO THE PLAYOFFS COMMENCE!!

My 2012 Stanley Cup Playoff bracket

Kessel scored a career high 37 goals this season, currently at 99 with the Maple Leafs and 165 overall.

So once again a season where my beloved Maple Leafs fail to make the playoffs, though Kessel did have an incredible season, 37 goals and 82 points overall.

Now let’s stop right there, enough of Toronto, and onto the playoffs!

Here you go, here’s my bracket. You can click on it to zoom in if necessary.

For all the Detroit fans reading, yes I did just pick Nashville to beat the Wings. As much as I will also cheer on Detroit, I’m getting a little apathetic towards Detroit’s playoff hopes these days, esp. after the last 2 playoffs. Therefore, I completely accept my fate of being roasted when Detroit miraculously defeats Nashville in the first round and supposedly ruins my bracket. I’m certainly not one to predict spoilers, I have the #1, #2, #4, and #6 seeds moving on in each of the first rounds. If you’re better than the other team, why would I not predict you to beat them?

The toughest series for me to decide on was definitely Pittsburgh over Philly. If the Pens win that series, I think they can very likely march straight to the Stanley Cup Finals. (After somehow beating Boston of course) I picked them obviously because of Crosby’s return; and now that it’s once again the Crosby-Malkin duo – who they didn’t have either of in the 2011 postseason – I think Pittsburgh can potentially beat the Flyers. If not Pittsburgh, I can see Boston reaching the Finals again, and defending their cup.

Now for the Stanley Cup choice. Vancouver certainly have the experience of last year; a war against Chicago for the 3^rd straight year in a row, and then a drive to the Finals. The Canucks know what went wrong last year, and I feel like this year they’ve been serious, concentrated, and it got them another President’s Trophy. (They haven’t even had much of goal celebrations!) Hopefully, it can translate into a Stanley Cup for the first time in their history. Obviously Daniel Sedin sitting out a while with a concussion isn't helpful, but if they get him back – which I assume they will – they should be the playoff powerhouse.

Truly the most exciting moment of the 2011 playoffs, Alex Burrows wins Game 7 in OT against the Blackhawks...

So there you go. Here’s my top 3 selections for the Champion:

1. Vancouver

2. Pittsburgh

3. Boston

It’ll be very interesting to see how the Blues do with home-ice advantage in the playoffs, something that hasn’t occurred since 2002. They haven’t won the Central division since they had the best record in the league in 2000. Definitely a valiant effort by the Blues; and maybe a run to their first cup awaits if their stellar goaltending holds up. Plus, the Rangers haven’t been to the conference finals since 1997, can it happen again?

Make your own bracket before Wednesday night! See how yours holds up!

Edmonton still struggles

Oiler Shawn Horcoff battles for the puck in last night's 4-2 loss to Anaheim

I couldn't help but noticing a bit of an insightful statement from ESPN's NHL Power Rankings. (Which are superb compared to SI's) We find the Oilers ranked 28^th out of 30, one position better than last week's 29^th. Their caption reads: “The Oilers have lost three of four while keeping their eye on the lottery pick.”

What?!? You've gotta be kitten me right meow. For a team that started off the season great at 8-2-2, Edmonton has plummeted to 25-34-6, with 56 points and well out of a playoff spot. Even the Blue Jackets are catching the Oilers! Even the Canadiens are catching the Oilers!

What's more surprising, Edmonton is looking at the possibility of three straight seasons of being rock-bottom in the league. 62 points in the last two seasons, and maybe a few more than that this season. With four of the main scoring contributors still under 23 years old, Edmonton is looking at its third straight season with a high draft pick, potentially #1 once again.

But really, what does this even mean for the Oilers? What have the past two seasons even done to prove their success with draft choices? I'm certainly not ignoring Hall and RNH's success, but the team overall is still doing miserable. What is a third straight top draft choice going to do for them? What will happen when the Oilers acquire someone like Nail Yakupov, or Ryan Murray in this year's draft? How close is this team – which hasn't graced the playoffs since their 2006 cup bid – to contending in the playoffs? (Don't forget, on that 2006 run, Edmonton was still ranked 8^th in the West overall, hardly even in the postseason)

Regardless, they still have an extremely loyal fan base, which believes it will have an incredible NHL team a few years down the road. We'll have to wait and see.

A New Look

Carlyle behind the bench last night against the Canadiens

The Maple Leafs had good leadership with the new Randy Carlyle, and defeated the Canadiens 3-1 last night, with Toronto taking 42 shots at Carey Price, compared to Montreal's 22. Compared to what we saw of Wilson for most of his 310 games, Carlyle was lively, up and down the bench, and did a great job in his first day on the job. Grabovski certainly had a great showing, collecting the game winner, and then his 20^th of the season. Toronto has a legitimate chance of still making the playoffs, though they've got to pass 4 teams in the standings in order to do it, Buffalo, Tampa, Washington, and Winnipeg, who they sit only 3 points behind. It's a tight race.

Gustavsson failing to stop Erik Cole's wide open shot in the first period. Cole scored his 23rd goal of the season on this one.

One thing Carlyle needs to improve first is the play of Toronto's defense, and their recent shaky goaltending. The first few minutes looked like a complete joke last night, not only did Gustavsson slip all on his own against the boards, he tipped the puck right in front of his open net! Had to have been the biggest clown moment of the year, I thought I was already watching SNL at 7:30 or so. If defenceman like Schenn flub their passes, and Gustavsson continues to misplay the puck, or keep falling over, Toronto, as Bob Cole once said, “won't last three games!” (in the playoffs, of course if they make it)

Speaking of Buffalo a minute ago, Vancouver sure looked like a joke in the first period last night, especially for the best team in the league right now. Toronto has to play Buffalo twice more before the end of the season, so they'll have to deal with Ville Leino, of course if he's still scoring like that in a month.

Grabovski scored two goals last night, joining Lupul and Kessel  this season at the 20-goal mark. Clarke MacArthur is next up to potentially reach the mark, currently sitting at 19 goals.

New Leafs Head Coach

Burke recently said Wilson was being "tuned out" by his players, it sure looks like it in this great perspective of a shot

1-8-1 in their last 10?

Well, that about does it for the Maple Leafs once again, I'm giving up hope on them for the 2012 playoffs. For a team that was in 7^th/8^th place and is now 5 points out a month ago, it's over. I've seen enough attempted comebacks and seen them all fail, each of the last 4 or so springs. Poor Toronto will be without the NHL playoffs once again.

As we look ahead to tonight's match-up against the Canadiens, Ron Wilson is no longer with us. After coaching 310 games for the Leafs with a mediocre record of 130-135-45, he's been ousted, a move I'm not surprised has come. (FI-RE-WIL-SON being yelled at home games probably helped, plus Schenn's awful pass a couple of nights ago) The Leafs look for some last-chance leadership with Randy Carlyle, coach of the Anaheim Ducks from 2005-2011.

Doesn't look too bad in blue and white, does he?

I'm not too worried about the coaching shift, Carlyle isn't a bad choice, since he was once a Maple Leaf himself, for a short time back in the late 1970's. He went on to have tenures with both Pittsburgh and Winnipeg. He has also coached Anaheim to a Stanley Cup, and who was working as his GM at the time? None other than Brian Burke. They obviously go way back, I feel this move could be one of the “missing pieces” for Toronto. Hey, maybe they have a chance after all.

NOW we're gonna win a Stanley Cup!

Time for a trade?

Leafs celebrating Wednesday night's win over the Oilers in OT

After looking at a Toronto Star poll showing that 81% of fans think the Leafs need to make a trade before the deadline; I remembered how big of a question this is. Usually, I’m not someone who likes trades in February, taking a player who’s been around all season, and exchanging him for someone new and unfamiliar to the team’s chemistry.

But of course, Toronto has only one victory in their last five, and is only one point ahead of Washington for 8^th place, and only two points ahead of 10^th place Winnipeg. This is pressure time, and not trading could mean a continued slide for the Maple Leafs, and ultimately not making the playoffs for the seventh season in a row. With that, after hearing the Mikhail Grabovski trade rumors, I think it’s absolutely a bad idea to get rid of Grabovski. He’s #3 this season in goal-scoring for Toronto, and even though he would be a free agent this summer, it’s hard to replace him now with that playoff spot looming in the distance. Who says you can't re-sign him anyway?

Kulemin, the Leaf's active leader in games played for Toronto. He has 5 goals and 18 assists on the season.

As hard as it is for me to say, I think if any Leaf HAS TO get traded, it should be Nikolai Kulemin. There are only 3 players left on the Leafs roster from fall 2008, Grabovski, Schenn, and Kulemin; all of whom have spent their entire tenure under head coach Ron Wilson. (Fun fact, Kulemin leads active Leafs in games played, with 291) From what I’ve seen recently, Kulemin hasn’t been making the biggest impact, especially compared to last season. Whereas Kulemin had 30 goals last season, he currently sits at 5 for this season. And with the Leafs’ season 70% done, Kulemin would have 7 goals if he continues his pace until April. A drop of 23 goals? Now that’s something to be concerned about.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Kulemin has been essential to Toronto in the post-Sundin era, and one of the few who has actually stuck around. He is a very clean player, and still manages to score some good goals, and set up some too. (He also one of my favorite Leafs)But with what could be considered underperforming, if anyone’s getting the boot, Kulemin should be the one to go. That being said, I would rather just see everyone step up their game and surge towards a playoff spot, therefore there wouldn’t be inevitable trade talk…Let’s see how the Leafs fair against the Canucks…