Next Rnd Stanley Cup Predictions!

So during the first round we picked 7 of 8 winners but not all in the right amount of games.
Here goes for the next round!

Eastern Conference:

Pittsburgh in 7 over the Capitols
Boston in 6 over the Hurricanes

Western Conference:

Detroit in 6 over the Ducks*
Vancouver in 6 over the Blackhawks

* this series could go either way.  but we’ll go with the depth of the Wings over the depth of the Ducks.

NHL 2009 Trade Bits & Bites #1

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’ll more than likely know already that the NHL trade deadline is fast approaching.  Here’s some food for thought that weve been chewing on of late:

• The Pittsburgh Penguins need a Scoring Left Winger Badly.  Ever since Ruslan Fedotenko went down with an injury they’ve had ziltch for scoring from that position.
• The Vancouver Canucks are looking at having a lot of UFA’s leaving their roster come the summer.  Look to see a couple of moves made.
• The Ottawa Senators still need a number 1 goalie.  If they can trade Spezza for one on at least a 2 year deal, jump on it!
• Yes Virginia, Dominic Moore (unless he signs a long term deal) and Nik Antropov’s days as Maple Leafs are numbered.

More Trade Talk to come!

Ladies, Start your Engines!

We’re off to the Autoshow today.  What will be there?  Never been and with the industry in a nosedive…who knows?  But we’ll report back here later 2nite. Congrats to Kenseth for the Daytona win!  Now we start our Fantasy Nascar season from the back row! Whoops!  Speaking of Nascar, we predict this is the last season for the COT.

Canucks win! Burrows shines!  Brilliant!

Michel Therrien fired!  Just like we predicted in October:

Also, we predict the Penguins will fire their coach Michel Therrien by the end of the season.  We’re still at a loss as to why this guy got an extension after failing miserably in the cup finals last season.

About freakin’ time! What was the final straw… a loss to the Maple Laffs? More news at 11.

You Don’t Want to Give up a Soft Goal Here

We watched a listless Leafs in the first period last night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  It was horrid hockey to watch.  Not much until the final minute of play from the Leafs meant we bailed to watch chick flicks the rest of the night. It was V day so the trade off was valid.  Lo’ and behold, we see the Leafs pulled out a 6-2 win!  Looks like they exploded in the 3rd in a big way!  Vesa got booed coming off in the first after allowing 2 goals quickly.  He shut the door from there on which is his usual forte.  “Allow a couple of easy ones then decide to show up.”  Just recently he hadn’t even been doing that.  Perhaps a return to form then?  Well, at least for one night…

Moving on, we’ve been watching Jockey’s.  Tis an enjoyable horse racing show on Animal Planet.  4 episodes in and we’ve learned a lot about the inner workings of being a jockey.  Breaking into the scene in Southern Cali is the main theme we are hearing and its been particularly tough on the the newbies who’ve come there having already been successful at home and then having to start again from scratch.  They are constantly weighing the pros and cons of staying or returning to their former place of glory. We found it particularly odd that they showed one male newbie getting his first win and being “initiated” afterwards but then when the female Aussie won her first race there was no “initiation” shown.  Old boys club?  hmmmm?  Did they ignore her first win or did they do something that couldn’t be shown?  Who knows?  Just very odd that it wasn’t even addressed.  By ignoring it, the producers have left it open to speculation so away we go!  Next week, Chantel the Canuck races against her boyfriend… which could and should be interesting.

Today, the Canucks face the Habs.  Les Canadiens are struggling betweeen the pipes and team confidence is at an all time low.  Guy’s time at the helm may be coming to a close as it would appear the team is tuning him out.  That’s just a theory though.  But judging by his mannerisms the last few games and his recent interviews, he seems like a man defeated.  The Canucks have to take advantage of the situation cuz its not going to get any easier this coming week on the road.  Since they seem to historically let the foot off the pedal against weaker opponents, this would be a key time to do the opposite.  Key to victory = get the puck on net.  Shoot often ‘Nucks!

Finally a Hills shout out to our first sponsor!  Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company!  Delicious!!!  OH YEAH!

CBJ vs. Sens Recrap

We sat down and watched the Ottawa Senators vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets last night.  OK, don’t ask us why.  We just did ok?

What a snoozer of a match!  Auld got the start for the Sens and was ok.  He didn’t play bad which we think is a good thing if you are a Sens Fan.  Auld needs to be the number One Goalie in Ottawa for his confidence’s sake but he also can’t play every night.  He’s never been the best goalie endurance wise so giving him 60-70% of the starts is the perfect way to go.  Lets hope Hartsburg keeps him fresh.  At the other end, Steve Mason made some key saves late but was otherwise untested in this 1-0 shutout.  His surprising 7th of the season.  Whether it was Ottawa’s sputtering offence or the Hitchock inspired defensive plan that made this game so boring is up for debate.  It took the Sens half the first period to muster a shot on net and the most exciting thing to happen was Chris Neil got sent off with a game match penalty for being the 3rd man in during a silly scrum.  The following PP resulted in what was the only goal of the night. Onwards to 2nite’s games that feature the Pens vs. Leafs and Minny vs. Nucks! We predict 4-3 Pens and 5-3 Minny. AV’s last game as coach? We’ll keep hoping!

500 Channels & There’s Nothing On

The NHL is their own worst enemy.  They just enjoyed their most successful game in 13 years on American TV, the 2009 Winter Classic on New Year’s day. You’d think the league would want to “capitalize” on some newfound buzz and interest and highlight a tilt with tons of storylines, talent and importance.  The Washington Capitals vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Crosby vs. Ovechkin.  Malkin vs. Ovechkin.  Malkin vs. Semin.  Over achieving team vs. under achieving team.  Struggling goalies vs. powerhouse goal scorers.  Sounds like a great game doesn’t it?  Add to the mix the recent drama/feud between Malkin and Ovechkin and what’s there to lose?  EVEN IF YOU MADE THE TV SCHEDULE IN AUGUST THIS GAME BETWEEN THE PENS AND CAPS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE TV ALL ACROSS NORTH AMERICA!

A quick look at the TV sked sheds the light that the game will be nowhere to be found unless you subscribe to a NHL Centre Ice package or live in Washington or Pittsburgh.  Not even Canadians are excluded from this slight as TSN decides to air an important matchup between 2 of the worst teams in the NHL.  Yeah, Sens vs. Thrashers are featured in the Draft Cup as the Top Prospects play in Oshawa.  Coincidence?  We think not. 

NHL, you are your own worst enemy and truly are missing the boat on a fantastic match up.  WTG!  We’d compare this blunder to missing a breakaway with the game on the line and then having the opponent come back up the ice and score.  You have no one to blame but yourselves for the situation you find yourself in.  Enjoy!