NHL Preview 2019-20: Nashville Predators

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's Nashville Predators first line winger Filip Forsberg.)

GM: David Poile (since 1997). 9.5/10
Coach: Peter Laviolette (since 2014). 8.4/10

2018-19 record: 47-29-6, 100 points (1st in Central Division, 3rd in Western Conference). Lost to Dallas Stars 4-2 in Round 1.

Departures: P.K. Subban (D), Wayne Simmonds (LW), Brian Boyle (C).

Arrivals: Matt Duchene (C), Steve Santini (D), Daniel Carr (RW).

Top forwards: Filip Forsberg (30-some goals, 60-65 points), Ryan Johansen (60-70 points), Viktor Arvidsson (55-70 points), Nick Bonino (30 points playing on a second line all season), Mikael Granlund (50-60 points), Craig Smith (30-40 points), Calle Jarnkrok (25-35 points), Kyle Turris (20 goals and 30-35 points).

Must-improve forward: Everyone at centre. Johansen gets paid like an 80-point player; Turris gets paid like a 60-70-point player; Bonino gets paid like a 60-point player - neither of them get close enough to those marks.

Top defensemen: Roman Josi (45-55 points), Ryan Ellis (usually good for 35-45 points, though he will start the season on LTIR), Mattias Ekholm (20-30 points), Dante Fabbro (20-30 points),  Colton Sissons (20-25 points), Yannick Weber (10-20 points, maybe a few powerplay goals now that Subban's gone).

Goalies: Pekka Rinne (90/100), Juuse Saros (81/100).

Top rookies: Dante Fabbro (21, D, 2016 first-round draft pick), Vladislav Kamenev (23, C), Eeli Tolvanen (20, RW).

Analysis:
Did the Preds get better of worse this offseason? Does leadership and team chemistry count?

The Preds' biggest problem the past couple of years has been the sub-par performance of their centre line; they addressed it by going for Duchene, a player who has also never hit the 80-point plateau.

They also gave up term to depth players like Scissons for some reason.

But they're still better than their immediate competition, i.e. the rest of the Central. But if they don't take advantage of their window soon, it will close, because a lot of their players are nearing the age of 30, so they're a couple of years away from the start of a sharp decline.

Prediction: 1st in the Central Division, 3rd overall.

NHL Preview 2019-20: Los Angeles Kings

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's former Los Angeles Kings captain and star defenseman - and current General Manager - Rob Blake, who will deserve much of the blame if the season unfolds like I think it will.)

GM: Rob Blake (since 2017). 6/10
Coach: Todd McLellan (since 2019). 6/10

2018-19 record: 31-42-9, 71 points (8th in Pacific Division, 15th in Western Conference), out of the playoffs.

Departures: Peter Budaj (G), Brendan Leipsic (RW), Dion Phaneuf (D), Willie Desjardins (HC), Brayden McNabb (D), Matt Greene (D).

Arrivals: Joakim Ryan (D), Martin Frk (LW), Todd McLellan (head coach).

Top forwards: Ilya Kovalchuk (30 goals, 50 points), Jeff Carter (60 points), Anze Kopitar (captain, 60-85 points), Adrian Kempe (40-50 points), Dustin Brown (20 goals and 40-45 points), Tyler Toffoli (40 points), Trevor Lewis (25-30 points), Kyle Clifford (20 points).

Must-improve forwards: Every single one of them. You don't finish 30th in total scoring and 27th on powerplay scoring and have a ton of players that can be proud of the season they're having, particualrly not with a handful of Olympians in the lot.

Top defensemen: Drew Doughty (35-45 points), Alec Martinez (40-45 points), Derek Forbort (20-30 points).

Goalies: Jonathan Quick (85/100), Jack Campbell (79/100).

Top rookies: Matt Roy (24, D), Blake Lizotte (21, C), Gabriel Vilardi (20, 11th overall pick in 2017, C), Carl Grundstrom (21, LW), Austin Wagner (22, LW).

Analysis:
Ron Hextall, please have mercy on the Kings and take over for Blake.

This situation looks extremely bleak - and it's going to get worse before it gets better because they're not helping themselves get out of it.

Prediction: 8th in the Pacific Division, 31st in the NHL.

NHL Preview 2019-20: Detroit Red Wings

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's hard-hitting defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who announced his retirement earlier tonight.)

GM: Steve Yzerman (since 2019). 9/10
Coach: Jeff Blashill (since 2015). 5/10

2018-19 record: 32-40-10, 74 points (7th in the Atlantic Division, 14th in the Eastern Conference). Third consecutive season outside the playoff picture.

Departures: Martin Frk (LW), Niklas Kronwall (D), Luke Witkowski (D), Thomas Vanek (RW) Wade Megan (C), and GM Ken Holland.

Arrivals: Valtteri Filppula (C), Patrik Nemeth (D), Calvin Pickard (G) and GM Steve Yzerman, fresh from making the Tampa Bay Lightning perennial contenders.

Top forwards: Dylan Larkin (30 goals, 70-80 points), Andreas Athanasiou (30 goals and 50-60 points), Anthony Mantha (30 goals and 50 points), Tyler Bertuzzi (45-55 points), Michael Rasmussen (30-40 points), Evgeny Svechnikov (30-40 points), Filppula (30 points), Frans Nielsen (30-35 points), Luke Glendening (20 points).

Must-improve forward: Rasmussen is still young and will grow into a regular contributing role, but at this point, you'd have to think Jacob De La Rose can smell he's at a crossroads between a middle-six role, a bottom-three assignment, or going back to Europe. If he keeps insisting on contributing less than 10 points per season and finishing in the minuses, there will be no room for him in the NHL when he reaches the age of 25 in a year and a half.

Top defensemen: Mike Green (30-50 points, depending whether he misses 15 or 35 games), Danny DeKeyser (30-35 points), Filip Hronek (25-35 points), Dennis Cholowski (20-30 points), Trevor Daley (10 points).

Goalies: Jimmy Howard (83/100), Picard (79/100), Jonathan Bernier (79/100).

Top rookies: Taro Hirose (23 years old, LW), Filip Zadina (19, LW/RW), Axel Homstrom (23, LW).

Analysis:
With Niklas Kronwall's retirement, that frees up one space on defense to mold a youngster into an NHLer for when the Wings are ready to aim at the playoffs in two or three years.

Most of the "bad contracts" at the forward position will expire at the end of the 2020-21 season (Darren Helm) or the following year (Nielsen), while those on the back end expire next summer (Green, Jonathan Ericsson, Daley), so the team is in a position to restock on young talent quickly and proceed to better days with the young veteran core of Larkin, Mantha and Bertuzzi already in place, and one hopes Zadina, Rasmussen and/or Svechnikov will also become a star forward, leaving Detroit rich in high-end talent for the better part of the next decade - provided Stevie Y. doesn't go overboard and overpay for these kids.

This will, however, have to happen with a better coach. Maybe Yzerman's waiting for Jon Cooper to be available if/when Tampa chokes in the playoffs again, but he missed out on quality candidates like Alain Vigneault and Joel Quenneville this summer, so you'd have to think the next crop of recyclable coaches will be of lesser quality, probably featuring the likes of Claude Julien, Bruce Boudreau and Peter Laviolette. Then again, Guy Boucher might get the call; refusing to go ahead with the Ottawa Senators' joke of a teardown last year with the only assurance being that he'd be out of a job the following month showed a decent amount of spine and balls.

Prediction: 7th in the Atlantic Division, 27th overall.

NHL Preview 2019-20: Washington Capitals

This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's former Vezina winner Braden Holtby.

GM: Brian MacLellan (since 2014). 8.5/10
Coach: Todd Reirden (since 2018). 7.5/10

2018-19 record: 48-26-8, 104 points (1st in the Metropolitan Division, 3rd in the Eastern Conference). Playoffs: Eliminated in Round 1 by the Carolina Hurricanes in seven games.

Departures: Brooks Orpik(D), Matt Niskanen (D), Dmitrij Jaskin (RW), Brett Connolly (LW), André Burakovsky (F).

Arrivals: Richard Panik (RW), Radko Gudas (D), Brendan Leipsic (RW).

Top forwards: Alex Ovechkin (captain, 70-85 points, look for him to flirt with the 50-goal mark again), Nicklas Backstrom (75-85 points), Evgeny Kuznetsov (70-80 points), Tom Wilson (45-50 points), T.J. Oshie (25-30 goals, 50-55 points, missing 10 games to injury), Panik (30-40 points), Carl Hagelin (30-40 points), Jakub Vrana (30-40 points), Lars Eller (25-30 points).

Must-improve forwards: Hagelin has all the tools to be a point-per-game player except one: a deadly shot. He does everything else well, has a good hockey sense, is super-fast and can control the puck at high speeds, but he seems to never be able to finish or set up perfect goals. With all his tools, he's a middling forward, but I'll always expect ONE jaw-dropping, 60-65-point season from him.

Top defensemen: John Carlsson (50-60 points), Dmitry Orlov (30-40 points), Michal Kempny (25-35 points), Jonas Siegenthaler (20-30 points), Gudas (15-20 points), Christian Djoos (10-15 points).

Goalies: Braden Holtby (92/100), Pheonix Copley (77/100).

Top rookies: Axel Jonsson-Fjällby (21 years old, LW), Alex Alexeyev (19, D), Martin Feherevary (19, D).

Analysis:
GM McLellan didn't like losing to the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 1, so he revamped his middle-six and added grit in the form of Gudas on the back end. The direct result is a net loss on the talent front (unless some talented rookies take the place of the departed, in which case the Caps will actually have improved) and possibly even the locker room chemistry.

But as long as they have a healthy trio of Ovie, Backstrom and Kuznetsov up front, they have a chance. So much so that despite falling back by roughly 5-7% in raw talent, they probably still can win the Metro because their competition either regressed (Pittsburgh Penguins, Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets), remained stable (New York Islanders) or didn't improve enough (New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils). All of these teams are good enough to challenge for a playoff spot if the stars align, but none have a real shot at un-seeding the Caps.

The X factor is Holtby and Backstrom entering their final contract seasons, and Ovie having just another year left after this one, meaning contract negotiations and retirement talk may cause distractions.

Prediction: 1st in the Metropolitan Division.

NHL Preview 2019-20: New York Islanders

This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's young forward Anthony Beauvillier.

GM: Lou Lamoriello (since 2018). 9/10
Coach: Barry Trotz (since 2018). 10/10

2018-19 record: 48-27-7, 103 points, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, 4th in the Eastern Conference. Eliminated in Round 2 of the playoffs.

Departures: Robin Lehner (G), Dennis Seidenberg (D), Luca Sbisa (D), Valtteri Filppula (C).

Arrivals: Semyon Varlamov (G), Jared Coreau (G).

Top forwards: Mathew Barzal (65-70 points), Anders Lee (60-65 points), Jordan Eberle (50-60 points), Beauvillier (50-55 points), Joshua Ho-Sang (40-45 points), Josh Bailey (40-45 points), Brock Nelson (40-45 points), Casey Cizikas (15-20 goals, 30-35 points), Andrew Ladd (10 goals and 25 points).

Must-improve forward: Ladd even got some AHL time last season, where he had 5 points in 2 games to show he wasn't washed-up. He needs to regain his composure in the NHL and show he can at least be a third-liner and a leader.

Top defensemen: Nick Leddy (45-50 points), Johnny Boychuk (30-35 points), Thomas Hickey (30 points), Adam Pelech (15-25 points), Ryan Pulock (20-25 points).

Goalies: Varlamov (85/100), Thomas Greiss (80/100).

Top rookies: Kieffer Bellows (19, RW, 2016 first-round draft pick), Sebastian Aho - not that one - (23, D), Noah Dobson (19, D, two straight Memorial Cups), Otto Koivula (21, C), Oliver Wahlstrom (19, D).

Analysis:
Barry Trotz is the best coach in the NHL. He rallied his team behind the departure of star and captain John Tavares to lead them to second place in their division and, even more impressively, from the last-place team defensively to first overall.

We'll see with Varlamov in net if his system was most responsible for Lehner's rise as a Vezina runner-up or if Lehner also had a say. I expect a slight drop-off - not because Varlamov's not able to bring it, but because now opposing teams will better know what to expect of this team and will be better prepared; I still expect the Isles to finish around 5th overall defensively.

They're lucky to play in the Metropolitan Division, because the top teams got slightly worse and there are no longer any bad teams in there - just no perfect ones. It'll be dog-eat-dog all season in the Metro, and I'm confident that when all is said and done, the Isles will be among the last teams standing.

Prediction: 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.

The Birth Of Father's Day

For most of my life, on Father's Day, my Mom would take us to my grandparents' place so the entire family could celebrate with the Family Elder. I'd wish every dad a "Happy Father's Day" except my grandad, who got the "Happy Grandfather's Day" greeting instead. Only from me, not any of his other grandkids.

I "met" my own father when I was 20. Before then, I had a succession of men volunteering for the job with varying levels of conviction; only one of them had some level of success, my brother's dad, who lived with us for over a decade. I learned many Life lessons from him; he was a lawyer, a sports fan, a history buff, a grammar nazi and a music aficionado - all things I could relate with or grew at least a passing interest in.

Still, I realized when I got to meet my biological father that we had even stronger bonds despite never having spoken to each other prior - he was court-ordered to never (ever, not even after I reached adulthood) contact me before I'd learned to speak, as I'd just begun taking my first few steps. We shared the same mentality, the same animal instincts, the same food preferences, a penchant for alcoholized drinks, the same irrational fear of skunks... and so much more.

So I've been celebrating Father's Day with him for the past 20 years as well, but also with my grandpa.

A couple of weeks ago, my girlfriend gave birth to my very own son. I was going to get celebrated for Father's Day for the first time, myself. We had things planned out, first on my girlfriend's side for lunch and early-afternoon activities, then an evening with my dad and his lady.

Except that on Father's Day eve - Saturday morning - my Mom called, telling me my grandfather, who'd been living in an assisted-living facility for the past couple of years, took a turn for the worse during the night and was entering his final few hours.

He hung on for as long as he could and waited for every one of us to each have our moment alone with him before taking his final breath, and I left his building around 7 PM on Sunday without having seen my own son on my very first Father's Day.

Life wanted me to close out the "Grandfather's Day" chapter of my life before I was to enter my own "Dad" moment. It was bittersweet, it was sad, and I wasn't at my best when I finally saw my kid a few minutes ago, still going on two mostly sleepless nights and a tear-induced headache, but I came home to my own family to begin a new chapter, having closed one a car ride prior.

Like a well-written TV series script, there will be repercussions from this weekend in the coming weeks, months and years - my grandmother still lives in the same facility, for one, and some family members were forced to re-open some old wounds that will require new stitchings when facing the Family Elder, but Life has a way of tying together loose ends that works a lot better than anything J.J. Abrams or M. Night Shyamalan can cook up.

Onwards and forward.

Happy Father's Day to those who can have that - and a nice stroll down memory lane to those who can't.

NHL Playoffs: Third Round MVPs

Two teams remain, at 18 skaters and two goalies apiece.

Here are the players who have led the way so far...

Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins: the single most dominant player on the ice in almost every game he's suited up for in these playoffs. It's not even close. There's Rask, then there's a list we have to make of the rest.

Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues: oh, he's for real, for now. As long as the season doesn't end, neither will his fairy tale.

Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins: urgh. Next.

Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues: the best skater on the Blues in these payoffs. He saved the team's behinds many a time when Binnington was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins: played without mentor Zdeno Chara in the deciding game against the Carolina Hurricanes and showed everyone that he was actually the guy making the back end work on the best defense still standing.

Jaden Schwartz, St. Louis Blues: he's about to break Brett Hull's team record for single-season playoff goals. Then again, Hull never even made it to the Conference Finals in St. Louis...

NHL Playoffs Predictions 2018-19: The Stanley Cup Final

It's all come down to this...

Two teams that have consistently finished among the top-10 in the regular season for most of the past decade in wins, overall points, goals against, even hits...

Two teams that usually boast at least a half-dozen Olympians on their rosters (though the boys in blue are usually of the Team USA choking kind while Boston employs Canadians, Finns and over-achieving Slovaks)...

So... here we are.

Boston Bruins vs St. Louis Blues

THIS SEASON
Each time has won a game against the other in the regular season.

The Bruins were safely installed in second place in the Atlantic Division pretty much all year and finished with a 47-30-5 record, while the Blues, last overall in January, fought tooth and nail just to make the playoffs, replacing both their head coach and starting goalie in the process to finish third in the Central Division with a... 45-28-9 record. Just two wins fewer.

OFFENSE
On offense, the Bs can now roll four lines without fear of looking outmatched at any point, but the bulk of the scoring comes from the first unit, comprised of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. For those keeping tabs, that's the best two-way center in the world for the past decade flanked by two 40-goal players. Luckily, one of them has a temper and can be sent to the penalty box.

The Blues can counter that with Brayden Schenn flanked by Vladimir Tarasenko (a 40-goal man once thought to be the heir to Alex Ovechkin, before we realized Ovie would just never stop scoring) and Jaden Schwartz, who is one goal away from tying Brett Hull for the team's single-season playoff record. Yeah, just throwing those all-time snipers' names out there.

The second and third lines are also tightly matched, slightly favouring Boston:

Jake DeBrusk / David Krejci / David Backes
Marcus Johansson / Charlie Coyle / Danton Heinen
                vs
Samuel Blais / Ryan O'Reilly / David Perron
Patrick Maroon / Tyler Bozak / Robert Thomas

Each team has a rejuvenated hometown boy (Coyle and Maroon), some sandpaper (Backes, Johansson, Heinen, Maroon, Blais), two-way acumen (Krejci and ROR) youth (DeBrusk and Blais), and players who are no longer the top guys they once were (Backes and Bozak).

St. Louis has better fourth-line depth, though, with players like Ivan Barbashev, Alex Steen and Oskar Sundqvist ready to take on bigger roles if needed, while the Bruins are content keeping Joakin Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner at just over 10 minutes apiece.

DEFENSE
Zdeno Chara / Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug / Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk / Connor Clifton
     vs
Joel Edmundson / Alex Pietrangelo
Jay Bouwmeester / Colton Parayko
Vince Dunn / Carl Gunnarson

At first glance, this also looks like an even matchup with a slight advantage for Beantown. However, while Pietrangelo has played the most minutes in these playoffs (by far_, he's also the second-most exposed defenseman this season after Erik Karlsson. Something's just terribly off in the way he misses passes, turns the puck over, doesn,t backcheck quickly enough and constantly fails to clear the zone safely in the dying minutes of a period, instead provoking icings that cost his teams goals and games. The Blues should be playing Parayko (perhaps the best defender still standing) a lot more and Pietrangelo a lot less.

Chara's no longer a true factor for the Bs, meaning even if he sits a few games out with an injury, whoever takes his palce will be able to provide the same defense he can. But no one has his blast from the blue line. McAvoy's the real star of this blue line (perhaps very close to Parayko as the best still playing), but Krug - while he makes a lot of defensive mistakes - can also create a lot of offense.

Also, never underestimate "it" factors, like the fact that the Blues are handicapped with two former Toronto Maple Leafs players (Bozak and Gunnarson), who are known to avoid winning a Stanley Cup at all costs.

COACHING
Hey, I'll admit Craig Berube has done a hell of a job with his Blues, matching what Bruce Cassidy has been able to achieve with a Bruins team that was supposed to have to go througha  rebuild after the Claude Julien years. It's dead even here.

GOALIES
Jordan Binnington's faced better goalies than himself in two of three rounds (Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Ben Bishop of the Dallas Stars) and came out on top, and he also put the San Jose Sharks' Martin Jones back in his place. His name can now be uttered in the same sentence as Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Ron Hextall, Cam Ward and Steve Penney (in that order) as the best rookie goalies OF ALL TIME in the playoffs. As a matter of fact, should the Blues win the Stanley Cup and he be in nets for all of his team's Ws, he'd break Roy's record of 15 wins as a rookie goaltender (1985-86).

The reason that won't happen will be facing him for at least 60 minutes per night, though.Tuukka Rask's name is thus far alone in the hat for the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP, win or lose. His performance is reminiscent of former Bruins star Tim Thomas (2011) in how dominant he's been relative to the competition. Not that there haven't been other examples in recent memory (Corey Crawford in 2013 and 2015, Jonathan Quick in 2012 and 2014), but to have two goalies from the same team be so much better than the competition in the same decade is something I don't remember seeing before, let alone Boston's. Even in the years of Grant Fuhr, Andy Moog and Bill Ranford with the dynasty Edmonton Oilers, so many other players were better than their peers by position that the goalies didn't matter as much. After all, we're talking about an era (now) where a team is lucky to score three goals per night, and where most games finish 2-1. Ain't no Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Paul Coffey or Mark Messier playing in this day and age.

MY VERDICT
This one goes to Boston. The Blues have played too many games for the week-long break to matter and give them an advantage over Boston. Rask will be Rask, he's shown us the good stuff for nearly a decade at this point, but there is a legitimate risk that Binnington might get cold with the time off. With the Bruins carrying a small advantage everywhere else, Rask tips it in their favour.

Bruins in 5 6 5 6 5 6.

NHL Playoffs: Second Round MVPs

The picture's getting clearer as to who means what to which team in these playoffs. Here are the most valuable players so far...

Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins: reminiscent of recent dominating playoff performances in front of the crease, in particular those of former teammate Tim Thomas (2011) and Jonathan Quick (2012 and 2014).

Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks: the word "clutch" doesn't even do these guys justice. A ton of points at the most opportune moments led a team of perennial underachievers to victories they probably didn't deserve.

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes: possibly the best performance by a defenseman in the 2019 playoffs, Slavin is showing part-time hockey enthusiasts just what fanatics and Canes fans have been enjoying for years, which is the best current-day imitation of Nicklas Lidstrom-esque perfection.

Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues: I always hesitate to put a rookie goalie in the mix, because as we've seen with Cam Ward, a state of grace can be fleeting. But without his daily heroics, the Blues never get through Ben Bishop and the Dallas Stars.

Let the third round begin!

NHL Playoffs Predictions 2018-19: Round Three

Here we are, with no team that really excites me in the third round, the Conference Finals. Chokers vs Chokers, Goons vs a Bunch of Jerks.

Western Conference Final:

San Jose Sharks (2nd in the Pacific Division) vs St. Louis Blues (3rd in the Central Division):

The San Jose Choking Sharks are trying to re-write History and perhaps using their talent and depth to win with a head coach, Peter DeBoer, who usually also likes to fail big. Former captain Joe Thornton would want nothing more than to face the other team he captained, the Boston Bruins in the Final, but has the ever-the-bridesmaids St. Louis Blues in his way in Round Three.

The Sharks needed the referees to cheat in their favour to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Blues outworked an exhausted Dallas Stars team to the point where they forced Stars goalie Ben Bishop to deliver a historic performance just to keep the series tight.

I may not like them, they probably should not have made the playoffs, but I feel the Blues at least somehow kind of deserve to be there, at least. I wouldn't mind if they made the Final, considering what the opposite means.

Blues in 7.

Eastern Conference Final:

Boston Bruins (2nd in the Atlantic Division) vs Carolina Hurricanes (WC1):

Sure, the Canes' story is cool. They pissed off Don Cherry, got seats in the stands, rallied each other through an overblown Team-Building Exercise. But I will never forget 2006, when Justin Williams tried to take Saku Koivu's eye out in the first round and some other asshole injured would-have-been playoff MVP Dwayne Rolosson when the Edmonton Oilers led the Cup Final. They bullied and injured their way into an undeserved Cup win, led by a goalie who would never play a single game as good as during that run in the 14 years since. I still refuse to count that Cup as legitimate, and will always root against them for as long as they remain in Carolina.

Don't get me wrong - I'm no fan of the Bruins. Goons to the core, with Brad Marchand (as dirty as ever in these playoffs, punching people in the back of the head after a whistle and ridiculing journalists after games) and Zdeno Chara leading the way, but Tuukka Rask is looking like a legitimate Conn Smythe winner in their net.

Rask is what you get when team management, the media and the fans are all honest about the way guys are playing, showing them their flaws instead of sugarcoating the truth (or outright lying about his performaces) to positively reinforce his mental game. Even with a Vezina trophy in tow, because he's not at his best against the Montréal Canadiens (particularly in the post-season), Rask scared his side so much that they went and acquired Jaroslav Halak to back him up this year, and both goalies split the games nearly 50-50 (46 to 40 for Rask with Halak having the best statistics out of the two, top-5 in the NHL where it matters most) in the regular season, which left Rask full of energy for the playoff run - and the Bs with an option should he falter.

I didn't think Boston would get through the Columbus Blue Jackets, but that's exactly what they did: they plowed through them, nice and slow, methodically, until it was over. They're now the top seed, the top team, and they very well might win their second Cup this decade.

Bruins in 6.