Fresh from NHL headquarters: 2008 EASTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL
SERIES M
#2 Pittsburgh vs. #6 Philadelphia Friday, May 9, 2008
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh Sunday,
May 11, 2008 Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Pittsburgh at Philadelphia Thursday, May 15, 2008 Pittsburgh at
Philadelphia *Sunday, May 18, 2008
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh *Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Pittsburgh at
Philadelphia *Thursday, May
22, 2008 Philadelphia at Pittsburgh
2008 WESTERN CONFERENCE
FINAL
SERIES N
#1 Detroit vs. #5 Dallas Thursday, May 8, 2008 Dallas at Detroit
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Dallas at Detroit Monday, May 12, 2008 Detroit at
Dallas Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Detroit at Dallas *Saturday, May 17,
2008 Dallas at Detroit *Monday, May 19, 2008 Detroit at Dallas
*Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Dallas at Detroit
I will take Philly in seven, Detroit in six and Detroit over Philly in a rematch of a few years ago with Detroit in six. Forsberg, Sakic, Roenick and Modano all retire. Franzen and Osgood are SC Finals co-MVP's.
First of all, I would like to congratulate the Flyers and their fans on beating my Habs. It was a well fought out series and the better team won...This time!!
Dallas and Detroit, I'll go with Dallas in 7. I said earlier that the winner of the Stars-Sharks would go on to the finals and I'm sticking to my guns on this one. Dallas has won 4 of 6 games on the road against Anaheim and San Jose, that cannot be ignored. Also, Turco is playing exceptionally well.
Pittsburgh and Philly; where Montreal was unable to capitalize on their scoring chances, I believe Pittsburgh will be more opportunistic. Biron will probably outgoal Fleury but will that be enough. The slow Flyer defense adjusted to the speedy Montreal offense by tightening around the goal and blocking a ton of shots (83 going into game 5). They'll have to do more of the same against Crosby & co. I don't think it will be enough,
Penguins in 6.
Too many days with no hockey. There is no reason to stretch the Cup run out as far into June as this. It could be done quicker, I know TV runs this show, but this is nuts. Has been throughout the playoffs.
What great match-ups.
Stars in 6. Does Dallas have enough in the tank? They do have a few days off here. I just have been so impressed with Marty and Morrow... (erasing the captaincy controversy).
Pens in 6. Those who are mourning the lack of Canadian content think again. Check this out... 5 of the 6 "C"s and "A"s are Canadians (the only one who isn't is local Pittsburgh hero Ryan Malone). Not only are there 27 Canadians on the rosters of the 2 teams (12 Pens and 15 Flyers), you've got great West-East coverage... You've got Albertans - Joffrey Lupul, Scottie Upshall, Braydon Coburn and Jason Smith... Maritimers - Randy Jones and Sidney Crosby... Quebecers - Pascal Dupuis, Georges Laracque, Maxime Talbot, Kris Letang, Dany Briere and of course the two goalies - Marty Biron and M-A Fleury. Then lots of Ontarians - Jeff Carter, Steve Downie, Mike Knuble, Mike Richards, Tyler Kennedy and Gary Roberts...
That ought to keep interest North of the border
Last edited by flamesfaninvancouver on May 7th at 9:06 PM.
I think the Wings in 6. But if Dallas beats the Wings, I'll cheer Dallas. I hail from Hockeytown. But I can't help but remember the fact Turco has some serious issues winning games at the Joe Louis Arena. Plus with role players such as Frazen on absolute fire, and solid goaltending, the Wings have a VERY balanced attack going in this years playoffs. GO WINGS!!!! But the true Hockeytown fan still cheers for Modano (Detroit native).
WHY THE LONG WAIT??? Stupid NHL for letting the series fans sit around with nothing to do. Letting the casual fan forget that the NHL is still going on.
Wings in 5 or 6.
-- Wings defense is stronger than the sharks, the wings should have more left in the tank and Detroit's two scoring lines have been scary and aren't about to stop scoring.
Penguins in 5 or 6.
I say the goal tending is about even both starting goalies have never done anything. I wana give the Penguins the advantage for the defense, but let's just say that they're about even... but where I say the difference lies is in the Penguin's forwards. If Simone Gagner was 100% healthy and playing it would be a lot more even on the forward lines, but Hossa is playing a lot better playoff hockey than people expected and he's joined by Malkin, Crosby, Malone and Sykora.
It'll be a more of a contest of who can score more goals and take less penalties and I'm gonna give that to the Penguins.
I'll take Dallas in 6. Hot goalie, tight D, Detroits old goalies gotta be tired.
On the other side: Pitt in 5. I like what Philly has done, but I think the Pitt offense is too much for Philly's D. Love what Marty Biron has done too.
You really think that 35 is old? That's Osgood's age.
Of course being a die hard Wings fan I'm picking the Wings in the West. But I agree with DetGiggy. If Dallas does make it past Detroit, I'll be backing them for the final. Lots of homegrown Michigan guys on their roster!
The Penn final is going to be very interesting. I look forward to watching that matchup as well. I'm going to say Philly in seven.
Being a Philadelphia sports fan, I would love to say Flyers take it all. I am, however, a Philadelphia sports fan, so I know it will be heart break again. Flyers over Pens. Detroit over Dallas. Finals...another Detroit sweep just like last time.
the delay is painful, lets play! Goodnight Philly, Pens palying both ends of the ice. Biron will keep the games close, but Pens in 5.
West is a toss up. Detroit in 7
I've always found the delay too long myself. In the NBA this year New Orleans and San Antonio played game 1 of their round two series the night BEFORE the Celtics and Hawks played game 7 of round one. Now that's a bit too much to ask of the NHL, but surely they don't need to schedule out the playoffs as if every round will have a 7 game series, instead of altering it as results dictate.
Michel Therrien was on CKAC radio today and he said that Briere would be a marked man if anyone on the Flyers team took a run at one of his star players!
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
