2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round Two Predictions. . .

Round One is over!

In the East, I predicted 3 out of 4 series correctly - missing only our home town Rangers.

In the West, I predicted 3 out of 4 series correctly - missing only my adoptive team in the desert.


Now a very difficult task. Round 2 is going to have some great matchups, or so I think. So we'll make this very quick. I'm going with.

Eastern Conference:
Washington in 6
Boston in 7

Western Conference:
Vancouver in 6
San Jose in 7


Enjoy the games everyone. Best, best time of year!! :)

2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Round One Predictions. . .

Eastern Conference:

(1) Washington vs. (8) Rangers

Rangers in 6. I'm going Rangers here, because, well just because. I think Washington is ripe to be knocked off, until they can prove otherwise. I think if Hank can get hot, and if all the Rangers scoring doesn't disappear at once, they can take this. Washington is a good team, and Ovechkin can't be taken lightly, but they don't scare me that much.

(2) Philadelphia vs. (7) Buffalo

Philadelphia in 5. I don't think Philadelphia is as strong as last year, but I don't think they are going out in the first round either. Although if they did, Rangers fans wouldn't complain.

(3) Boston vs. (6) Montreal

Boston in 7. I really feel strongly that Boston will win, and it may be sooner, but I'm going on history and ugliness and grittiness and thinking this series will go the distance. This is the series, besides the NYRs, I'll be keeping my eyes on the most.

(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay in 6. I just don't think Pittsburgh has anything to threaten right now. Tampa Bay can fire on all cylinders when they want to (Thank you again, Tampa!) and have such a threat of scoring from so many different players. True, Fleury can get hot and can make this series last longer, but I just see it as an early exit for Pitt this year.


Western Conference:

(1) Vancouver vs. (8) Chicago

Vancouver in 5. I think it'll be an interesting series, due to rivalry reasons, but Chicago limped into the playoffs. Vancouver, perhaps more than ever, seems poised for a long run. I'm going to go with them until they prove me wrong.

(2) San Jose vs. (7) Los Angeles

San Jose in 6. I am not counting L.A. out, because San Jose has proven little over the long term, but I think I give the Sharks the benefit early in the playoffs. Injury to Kopitar did not affect L.A. as much as I expected in late games, but playoffs are a different story.

(3) Detroit vs. (6) Phoenix

Phoenix in 7. I think it'll be another long series, and I'm hoping the Coyotes can pull it off in this year's rematch. This is really just a hope/heart pick, I'll be honest.

(4) Anaheim vs. (5) Nashville

Nashville in 5. I think Nashville is an underrated team with a great goalie. If Rinne gets hot, Anaheim go home. It's that simple.

Results of Pre-Season Playoff Predictions. . .

First time, long time! All year in fact. It's playoff time hockey fans!!

So, if you see below, looks like I actually picked 6 of 8 teams correctly in both conferences before the season began. That actually may be the best I've ever done, certainly in the West. Now * star means correct playoff pick, ** stars means the spot selection was correct. I'm particularly impressed with the Top 3 in the West. (No really, that was just dumb luck on my part). Regardless, we'll take it. Take a look:

Eastern Predictions:
1) Washington**
2) Pittsburgh*
3) Buffalo*
4) Ottawa
5) New Jersey
6) Boston*
7) Flyers*
8) Rangers**
_____________
9) Tampa Bay
10) Montreal
11) Carolina
12) Atlanta**
13) Toronto
14) Florida
15) Islanders


Western Predictions:
1)Vancouver**
2)San Jose**
3)Detroit**
4)Chicago*
5)Phoenix*
6)Los Angeles*
7)Colorado
8)St. Louis
_______________
9) Nashville
10)Anaheim
11)Calgary
12)Dallas
13)Columbus**
14)Minnesota
15) Edmonton**

Next up - 1st Round Playoff Predictions!!

Happy New Year / Explainations...

Alright, it's apparently been over a month since I've blogged. And, I guess I don't really have an excuse. Life got busy - in good ways, I assure you. Time got away from me. I apologize for that. And I also apologize because I'm not sure how quickly that may change. I hope it does, but I don't want to promise.

So, as if I wasn't already, I'm taking a more formal hiatus from Natural Hat Trick Productions. Not a formal closing as I certainly hope and expect to be back, so let's just call this a hiatus. I hope to check in from time to time, but apparently even my best intentions of promising simple new entries have fallen flat. So no promises, but I do hope to check in soon!

I wish everyone well and look forward to a happy, hockey filled New Year in 2011! Best wishes everyone and Happy New Year!

Oh and Go Rangers!!



**P.S. Although also more infrequently updated than before, @NHTProductions is still on Twitter. Visit me there.

In Case You Missed It - Paul Bissonnette. . .

Presenting a new segment at Natural Hat Trick Productions. So many times, a day goes by and you're too busy to check updates on Twitter, the blogs, etc. (Goodness knows I've been, hence the regrettable lack of posts in either medium).

So...every day (or realistically every whenever-I'm-able-to) I'll post something cool that you may have missed. It may be one thing, or two, three on a rare occassion. But just random, fun things that you - may have missed.

To start, In Case You Missed It:

Paul Bissonette interview in the Vancouver Sun

Really fun look at the man behind PaulBizNasty or @BizNasty2Point0 - as he's known on Twitter. From my having watched the Coyotes quite a bit over the last few years, I feel like I certainly know him more than those who only know him from Twitter. But, after reading this interview, I feel like I know him even better. Seems like a really human, very relate-able, down to earth type guy. He's gained fans on Twitter because he's so likeable. Because he gets it. And he doesn't try to pretend. And I certainly respect that.

And, plus, you know, he's got personality. It's been said here - I like that in my hockey players.

Enjoy the man behind the name. You just may learn something.

Five Things About the Rangers/Oilers....

Granted, please note, we know this was against the Oilers, but...

1) Gaborik! Gaborik! Gaborik! I know you've been gone seemingly forever, and I'm so glad you are back. But 3 goals! Yay for Gaby! Let's keep it going!

2) How much did I love Christensen going over to Gaborik when Gaborik scored and went into the side of the net (collective sigh/distress at MSG) and give him a hug. Amazing how much more comfortable a player Christensen is with Gaby in the lineup. Think about it.

3) How good was that Frolov, Christensen, Gaby line. I mean Gaby was Gaby, but Frolov looked like the season started, Christensen looked happy and included. It was a good thing - ney, a great thing - for the NYRs to have another line, save Dubinsky/Anisimov/Callahan scoring.

4) Can't be overlooked how important Boyle's secondary scoring has been. He's using his size and talent more. And he's confident. All of which makes for a threat. 8 goals on the year on November 14th. Who would have thought he'd have 8 goals all year. Cheers for Boyle!!

5) As long as no one gets hurt, I love the scrappy fisticuffs that went on in the tail-end of the game. Avery/Smid, Prust/Stortini, etc, etc. It's good. It's good to show a pulse. And, frankly, every once in a while it's good to just enjoy the spirit of a team fight, a team game. It may not have been good hockey, but it was entertaining!!

HNIC Wrap-Up. . .

(Apologies - there have been no Five Things for the recent games. And it's really too late now, so...you get this instead):

Boyle on HNIC's Inside Hockey talking about training with skater Barbara Underhill:

INSIDE HOCKEY

Goodness knows all Rangers fans can see the difference this has made! And good for Boyle. Like this guy a lot. Right attitude. And effort. And now results. Great to see.