the other press Sports retty hard to bet against that. rediction: Colorado in seven. a ell, it’s time. The most wonderful time f the year. The NHL playoffs. I mean, let's be honest why Canada isn’t support- ng the US in their war against Iraq. If the tates were to attack Iraq in July or eptember, hey, no problem, we're there. ut when it’s the NHL playoffs—sorry, e can't fight during the playoffs. Man, re you crazy? Call us in late June if still eeded... All kidding aside, this year’s task of pre- icting the playoffs prior to season’s end is little bit easier. Last year, if you remem- er, going into the final weekend, and our inal OP deadline of the scholastic year, obody knew who was playing whom, nd we didn't even know if the Canucks ould make the playoffs. Well, this year, ith the odd exception, we know who's ade the final dance, and in most cases, he match-ups. And yes, the beloved anucks are definitely in the dance this ear, hopefully (at press time we didn’t ow) first in their division. And let me e the first to admit I didn’t expect the anucks to win their division, even hough I predicted they would finish fifth n the Conference. How well they do in e playofts...well, you're going to have ait three (at least) more paragraphs, ince I will predict the East first, because e now know the match-ups over in that onference. tern Conference: ttawa is the first Canadian team to win e President’s Trophy (first in the NHL egular season) since Calgary did it in 989. That being said, if they don’t get to t least the final four, nobody in Ottawa, r Canada, for that matter, is going to e, and Pierre Martin will be fired, espite the fact he may win Coach of the ear. Ottawa has the same demons to efeat this year: first off, escape the first ound, which shouldn't be a problem, ince they'll be playing an Islanders team t “backed” into the playoffs. Yes, the slanders didn’t earn their spot; they fin- shed eigth thanks to the Rangers losing. e Senators should win that series in five ily. Meanwhile, the Devils won't have y trouble knocking off the Bruins, also http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca olorado has more depth up front while St. Louis has two of the best defenders in e league in Pronger and Al Macinnis. The only difference in the series could prove o be goaltending. I’m not one of the people who questions Chris Osgood’s ability o play in big games. I think he’s definitely capable of guiding the Blues deep in the layoffs. However, Patrick Roy is the best goalie in the history of the league. It’s in five. The “who cares” series of the play- offs matches surprising Tampa Bay vs. Washington, but with the “Boulin” wall in net, expect the Bolts’ amazing season to continue with a first round victory. The best series of the first round out east will be Toronto vs Philadelphia. Both teams spent a ton of dough at the trade deadline beefing up for the playoffs, and despite Toronto officials telling Brian Burke to “shut up” when he said that one of those teams will probably fall in the first round, looks like Burkie was correct. In fact, I predict that whichever team loses this round will fire their manager, so either Bobby Clarke or Pat Quinn will be looking for work as of May 1. And I would expect one of those guys to end up as manager in San Jose, but that’s another story. My prediction, or maybe my hope, is a Toronto victory, so we can have the Leafs play the Senators in the second round, And who will win that series? I'll go with my heart, instead of my gut, since I cant cheer for anything that’s from Toronto: the Sens will reach the final four, only to fall to New Jersey. Martin Brodeur should get league MVP (sorry to all you Naslund fans) considering how he has car- ried that team, and you can tell he wants one more cup. The Sens are probably one more year away from contending for the Cup, but if they reach the final four, all their past demons will be exorcised. Eastern predictions: Semi-final: Devils over Sens in six Games. MVP: Brodeur. Leading scorer: Patrick Elias. Conference dark horse (team to watch for upsets): Tampa Bay. Western Conference: As for the West, at press time, we weren't sure of the match-ups, but let’s be honest here: the top four will consist of Detroit, Dallas, Vancouver, and Colorado. And I can't see any of those four getting upset, although Vancouver's goaltending situa- tion concerns me. Plus, add the fact that the Canucks still had to win against LA on Sunday to clinch the division, and I just couldn't make exact predictions. So, after Much-More Educated uess—NHL Playoff Predictions April 9, 2003 ANY FOOT- $ 1 * 00 OF F ANY FOOT: | | LONG Buy Any Regular Foot Long Sandwich LONG | | SUB And Receive $1.00 Off The Regular Price, SUB | | 74-8'"Street Or 0.50¢ From Regular 6” Sandwich. _—_Limit: One coupon per | ! . customer per visit. : ee The Pace Where Fresh Ie The Taste Not valid with any |! in front of Douglas College other coupons, | | Tel: 522-7823 SUBWAY promotions or | | Fax: 517-8795 meal deals. my next comment, just assume that the Canucks won the division, and play Anaheim first round. However, if the Canucks blow it, and finish in fourth, St. Louis will beat them. Why? Simple: Canucks have only beaten Osgood once ever. Once. True, Osgood sucks right now, and doesn't look like he could stop a bas- ketball from going through his legs. However, when a goalie has your number, it's tough to overcome that. Do you think the Sens would have lost to Toronto last year if Cujo weren't in net? No, but the Sens are convinced they can’t beat Cujo. Another example: Tommy Salo of the Oilers just can’t beat Dallas. It’s unfortu- nate, but true. So, if the Canuckleheads screw up and lose to LA, they basically deserve an early tee time, and you will see them on the golf course in two weeks. But, let’s pretend they won their divi- sion, and everything's fine. In that case, Detroit will slaughter whoever they play, the Stars will survive their series with or without Modano, and the Canucks will probably need six games to overcome Anaheim or Minnesota. For the second round, I predict the Canucks will beat the Wings, but lose to the Stars. As you choke on your coffee, let me tell you why. We have Cujo’s number, so believe me; I am hoping the Wings finish second. Twelve goals in three games vs Cujo this year. Did you know that Cujo has only beaten the Canucks 12 times in his career (regular season not including overtime)? And that includes four seasons when he played for Edmonton, and we had the worst team in the league. And for those of you who say, “the playoffs are different?” Uh, well, we smoked him first round in 1995 when we knocked off St. Louis too. Detroit’s only hope is to start Manny Legace against us... but they won't. They spent ten mil- lion a year to get Cujo—the Cup is on his shoulders. Too bad it will fall into Lake Michigan after the Canucks finish light- ing Cujo up. However, I can’t see us beating the Stars. Their suffocating defense will kill us. Every time we've played against a boring trapping team this year we've lost. Minnesota, Calgary, Columbus, and Dallas teams that turn the neutral zone into a phone booth will kill the Canucks. So, for us to make the final four, we need Detroit second round. Simple. Which means we would probably play Dallas third round, and again, we'd be doomed. But hey, final four? I can live with that. Next year, the Cup, baby. We'll be okay. So yes, much as I hate to admit it, I predict Dallas will win the West and (yuck) play the New Jersey Devils for the Cup. Western Predictions: Semi-final: Dallas over Vancouver in seven. MVP: Marty Turco. Leading scor- er: Todd Bertuzzi. Conference dark horse: Minnesota. Stanley Cup: Yes, remembering 2000 will be the theme of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals. Dallas vs. New Jersey. The only difference is that both teams are a little better offensively, so it shouldn't be as dis- gustingly boring as 2000. But once again, goaltending will be the key, and I expect to see Brodeur add both a Conn Smythe and another Stanley Cup ring to his col- lection. Every game might go into over- time, but the Devils will win in six, and Brodeur will win MVP. So there you go. If I’m wrong, remem- ber, it’s just a bunch of predictions. Anything can happen, stars can get injured, goals can go in from centre ice, and who knows what the final outcome will be. As a Canadian, I would love to see Ottawa play Vancouver for the Cup, just to piss off the Americans—and it could happen next year, but it won't happen this time around. However, remembering 1996 (when Florida went to the Finals as a third year expansion team) and last year (when Carolina, as the third seed, went to the Finals), maybe we'll see the Minnesota Wild take on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Cup, eh? Uh... hell, I hope not. Never mind Gary Bettman jumping off a cliff, you might see hockey fans all over the world reaching for that gun, and Canadians racing to go fight in Iraq... page 25 ©