Fairley Ridiculous

Real quick, I don't have much time before I need to head up North, but I want to tell you guys my thoughts on the pick of Nick Fairley...

I don't like it. I know where it makes sense, having two guys up front in Fairley and Suh for years to come is a great plan, but there are other positions needed to make a great defense, one of those being corner. Prince Amukamara was the guy I wanted and the guy I felt the Lions needed to pick. They have one of the worse corners and secondary in the NFL, and it needed improvement.

Fairley was the best talent available, however Prince was right there with him and he filled a need. I don't agree with picking a guy that's a stretch (like Jimmy Smith if he were the best corner left) just to fill a need, but Prince is no slouch, rated 10th on Mel's big board I believe.

What concerns me is that Fairley slid for a reason. He was top five talent that went 13th overal and I don't know why. I also don't like the fact that he played under Gene Chizick, was a JUCO transfer, and really was a one year guy like Cam Newton (13 games played his first year, 2 starts.)

Prince has the potential to be a damn good corner, and I still feel that he was the better pick.

Look for the Lions to address linebacker or cornerback in round two, my money being on Brandon Harris, the corner from Miami. But if Akeem Ayers (LB UCLA) or Aaron Williams (CB Texas) if they're still there when the Lions pick.

Best First Round Ever

Hockey playoffs are something I look forward to every year. Every year I predict the Wings to win the Cup, this year is no different, and every year I'm never disappointed by all the great hockey. Okay, so 2009 was a huge disappointment, but hey, the Stanley Cup going seven games, does it get any better?

Round one of this years postseason has been beyond the shadow of any doubt, the best first round in my lifetime and probably many people's lifetime. It had everything a hockey fan could ask for. Tight games, tight series, heated games filled with emotion, it had everything.

Let's recap things real quick.

Wings took care of business and swept the Coyotes, who reportedly have played their last games there. (Read a story, can't find it, saying that Phoenix is moving, announcement Friday I believe.) Detroit get's the much needed time off to get guys healthy.
Washington took care of the Rangers in 5, the games were good and tightly matched in this series and Lundquist played fantastic in every game.

Those were the boring series, now let's get to the good stuff. Real quick fun fact though, the first round featured 9 straight days with a game going to overtime. Does it get any better than that?

We saw the near collapse of Luongo at the hands of Chicago. The Blackhawks continue to be the bane of Vancouver's existence. The Habs and Bruins met in the first round... again... and The road team won the first four games, then the home team won the next three, advancing Boston to the second round.
San Jose went to overtime three times in their six game series with LA. LA went 0-3 at home, and I blame the jerseys.
Tampa Bay rallied from down 3-1 to beat the Crosby-less Penguins in 7. Nashville took out the Ducks in 6 in a series I was excited about, but could rarely watch. Buffalo almost pulled off the round one upset over the Flyers, they lost game six at home in overtime and then got destroyed 5-2 in game seven.

Four of the Eight first round matchups went seven games, and every series was filled with great hockey that was fun to watch. One can only hope this continues on to the next round. And on a side note, I got 7 out of 8 round one winners right, so I got that going for me which is nice.

Real quick round two predictions.

Washington-Tampa Bay: Capitals in Six: Key Matchup: Ovechkin vs Stamkos. Stamkos started to show up, but he's been absent for the most part going on 30+ games. Alexander, however, has been doing his thing. In round one he didn't carry the load because he didn't have to, but he will if need be. Tampa won't stop him.

Boston-Philadelphia: Boston in Six: Key Matchup: Boston special teams vs Flyer Goalie situation: Both of these were awful in round one, the Flyers goalies being worse of the two. Boston needs to get the powerplay going to win this series.

Vancouver-Nashville: Canucks in Six: Key matchup: Luongo vs Rinne. Will Roberto collapse, and can Rinne stand on his head because he will have to if Nashville wants to pull off the upset.

Detroit-San Jose: Detroit in Six. Key Matchup: Lidstrom and Stuart vs Thornton line. Also key to watch here is the play of Jimmy Howard. If he plays like he did in round one, we'll be fine. But the matchup to watch is Lidstrom's pairing verse the Thornton line. San Jose is loaded with other weapons, but if this line gets going, the Wings are in deep trouble. They also have to do a better job at staying out of the box and a better job of killing penalties. That was the one thing they did poorly in round one and it will kill them against the Sharks. However I'm taking the Wings. I think they're a better team, and I'm counting on San Jose to do their thing and collapse in the post season.

Don't you guys love playoff hockey?

Eastern Conference Preview

The East... Everything crazy that happens in the playoffs comes out of the East... A 7 vs 8 in the Conference Final, the Flyers coming back from 3-0 to beat the Bruins. Every year it's something different from the East. But one thing remains the same every year... It's going to be one entertaining postseason.

With all the wild and crazy Hockey that goes on in the East, predicting this mess is going to be tricky... but damn it sure will be fun! Let's have at it, shall we?

Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers: Capitals in 6
A pretty interesting 1-8 matchup, Rangers got the last spot over the Cam Wards and as their reward, they get the Alexander Ovechkin's. I stated in another blog that I usually go for the team with the better goaltender... but I can't pick against the Caps (yet.) They're peaking at the right time. Henrik Lundqvist is one of the leagues best and is capable of stealing games, but is he good enough to steal the series? Yes, but not this one. The Caps offense is too strong.
Key Matchup: Capitals Powerplay vs Rangers Penalty Kill/ Lundqvist
Washington had one of the best powerplays... last season. This year it inexplicably struggled. Ovechkin struggled running the point, then they traded for Dennis Wideman and Jason Arnott, which was supposed to allow Ovechkin to no longer need to run the point. But with an injury to Wideman, Ove finds himself right back on the blue line. The key here is can they get the powerplay going or will it continue to struggle. The Rangers have a solid penalty kill (10th in the league at 83.7%) and if they can shut down the Caps powerplay, they have a chance.

Philadelphia Flyers vs Buffalo Sabers: Flyers in 6
To be honest, I am completely unimpressed with the Flyers. They're a solid team, a good team. Jeff Carter is a damn good player, and they've been playing good most of the year. But who's in net for them? Seriously? Which goalie are they going with? Bobrovsky? Leighton? Boucher? Worst goalie situation in the playoffs. Then we look at Buffalo, who has the best goalie in the NHL between the pipes. But they have zero offense. They made a great turn around, but they aren't good enough to make it past the first round. Miller will steal a few games.
Key Matchup: Bobrovsky vs Miller
Bobrovsky doesn't have to out perform Ryan Miller, because he won't but if he struggles the Flyers will lose. As for Miller, if he doesn't stand on his head and play like the best goalie in the league then the Sabers will lose. One goalie needs to be average, the other needs to be amazing.

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens: Canadiens in 6
I told the boys at the OU hockey show I liked Boston to win the East, but I was mostly sticking to my preseason prediction. Now that we have the match-ups, I have to go with the Habs. Despite my feelings of Carey Price he has had a fantastic year, the I love the Habs style of play. This one is mostly a gut feeling, no big reason why besides I like the way the Habs have been playing and don't think the Bruins are good enough lines 1-4.
Key Matchup: Tim Thomas vs Carey Price
Will Tim Thomas be able to keep up the play? Will Carey Price crumble under the pressure like usual. Whichever goalie maintains their solid play will determine the winner of the series.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Tamba Bay Lightning: Lightning in 7
This is probably going to be the best series of the first round. Both offensive minded teams with a young core, this should be a series filled with exciting action and a lot of goals. Why am I picking Tampa? No Crosby, No Malkin. Oh and that Steven Stamkos guy is pretty good.
Key Matchup: Pittsburgh Defense vs Stamkos line
THe Penguins only shot at winning this series depends on how their defense handles the Stamkos line. If that line is allowed to get rolling and start scoring. Game Over.

Western Conference Preview

Hello my friends, tis I, the Beard(less) Fellow. I am indeed clean shaven, but that's because it's time to shave and grow a new beard for the playoffs. It's been far too long since I've posted, but those are details not meant to be expanded upon in this post.

You know you all want to know my take on the playoffs, so let's do this, who's going to win it all? Who's going down in flames? And who will grow the fiercest beard?

Let's start in the West, because that's the conference that shall yield the Stanley Cup Champion: Yeah I said it, deal with it.

Vancouver Canucks vs Chicago Blackhawks: Vancouver in 5
Vancouver has been the best team and most consistent team in the NHL all year long. The powerplay is the definition of damn near perfect. Chicago will not be able to stop the Canucks powerplay. They lost much of their core from last year, so this is a much different team, also factor in a rookie goalie, and you're looking at a quick and quiet exit from the defending champs.
Matchup to watch: Sedin twins vs Seabrook and Keith
During the Wings game this pairing was on the ice for almost every one of Datsyuk's shift. Expect the same treatment.

San Jose Sharks vs Los Angelas Kings: Sharks in 6
This was a tough series to call. I could easily see the Sharks dropping to the Kings. But I believe the Sharks take one in LA and win all three at home. Should be a good series though. The difference is Anze Kopitar, or lack there of. Without him, the Kings will fight, but ultimately not advance.
Key Matchup: Drew Doughty pairing or Jack Johnson pairing vs Thornton line
Doughty and Johnson are both talented young defensemen, which ever pairing goes against Jumbo Joe's line will be tested all series long. If they stop that line, they can stop the sharks. (Key is stop the LINE, not just Jumbo.)

Anaheim Ducks vs Nashville Predators: Predators in 7
4-5 match-ups are always interesting. This series is one I will be watching closely. Both teams are tough, physical teams and are always tough outs for their playoff opponents. The Ducks have been red hot lately, and will come out hot in this series. I want to pick the Ducks, but when I looked at the teams, there's one big difference between them: Goaltending. Pekka Rinne is far superior to Jonas Hiller. Won't be shocked if the Ducks win, but I have to take the team with the better goalie.
Key Matchup: Pekka Rinne vs Jonas Hiller
Hiller has shown some signs of brilliance (Switzerland vs Canada) but is overal, inconsistent and an average goalie. Rinne is one of those guys that can stand on his head and steal a game or two, or even a series. This series will be decided by which goalie plays better.

And the only series you guys really care about...

Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes: Wings in 5
Last year these teams met in a thrilling 7 game series in which the Wings won. Now we have a rematch, and this time Detroit has home ice. All match-ups in today's NHL are relatively even, and that goes for this one too... However having said that, Detroit is the deepest team in the NHL, in my humble opinion... Sure they've struggled lately, but this is the time that we get things together. Hank being out hurts, but we can survive without Hank for a couple of games, but Kronwall is back which will help sure up the blue-line, which has been sloppy to end the season. Call me a homer if you must, but I do believe that Detroit is going to hit their stride and make a deep run. It starts with this series, and I believe Detroit is a better team in almost every key area than the Coyotes.
Key Matchup: Red Wings powerplay vs Ilya Bryzgalov
The Red Wings have this nasty habit of running into a hot goaltender in the playoffs. The key to this series will be Detroit's ability to get goals on the man advantage. If they don't have a successful powerplay against Phoenix and Bryzgalov starts making big saves, it could spark the Coyotes and propel them to a few wins.