So, which of the four will be the Conn Smythe winner? Marty Biron (the nicest NHL player I have ever talked to, followed closely by Brendan Shanahan, with Martin Brodeur a distant last); Brendan Morrow; Evgeni Malkin; Johan Franzen
At the start of the playoffs, I would have said Henrik Zetterberg - the MVP of the first half of the regular season - would have the hardware at Second Season's end. Now, not so sure.
However, I have him on the top 3 plays of the playoffs so far. In no order, his XBox 360-like goal against the Avalanche; R.J. Umberger's second-chance effort against Montreal, and Evgeni Nabakov's then-season-saving save in the 1st overtime period against Dallas in their elimination game. That save was nuts.
Predictions
Pittsburgh in 6. Detroit in 7. Isn't that everyone's prediction?
I successfully predicted no correct series in the 2nd round. James "Boomer" Gordon on XM got them all right (albeit in the wrong number of games). I am no expert, folks, but atleast I have a nice ass.
Why Detroit? Because they outscored Dallas 12-5 in the regular season. Because they have the best collection of Swedish players assembled since they won the Gold medal in 1994 when (unknown) Peter Forsberg beat (highly touted Rangers prospect) Corey Hirsch (35-4-5!!!) in a shootout. There are so many people who can score on Detroit. If Zetterberg or Franzen aren't doing it, Tomas Holmstrom, Nik Lidstrom, or Mikael Samuelsson (also once a Ranger, remember him?) can do it. What I love most about this team is that Dom Hasek had a bad game and hasn't gone back in yet. Seriously. I like Chris Osgood a lot more than Hasek.
Why the Penguins? Because Gary Bettman said so. Personally, I hope it's Flyers in 4 and that Marty Biron outplays M.A. Fleury. I hope Randy Jones knocks Sidney Crosby off of his game and that Riley Kote beats Gary Roberts back into 1989.
Corey Hirsch... LOL. It's a shame New York missed out on years of watching Hirsch and Eric Fichaud trade saves. And by saves, I mean "many, many soft goals".
ReplyDeleteI think that Nabokov save might have been the best save I've ever seen. Though it sort of reminded me of the Endy Chavez catch in 2006 - an unbelievable play that would have been practically God-like had their team actually won the game.