Playoff Fever

So, NHL playoff time. There are some great matchups in the East, particularly Boston-Montreal and Philadelphia-Pittsburgh. But enough about teams not named the Canucks. The hockey part of my brain suggests that, moreso than any time in recent memory (or perhaps any memory), the Canucks have the necessary pieces (quality goaltending, a defence that can move the puck, two legitimate scoring lines, adequate special teams, reasonable measures of all three of quickness, skill and toughness, and finally, freedom from injury) to make a serious run at the cup.

The little kid inside is just excited to see some potentially meaningful playoff hockey.

The jaded cynic inside (that generally is in charge of writing blog posts) says that if 30 years of being a sports fan have proven anything it’s that excitement is (almost!) always an ill-advised prelude to disappointment. The Blues have played well for the last couple of months, they have a lot of up and coming young talent, the West is full of tough teams, the Canucks are inconsistent, they get trapped in their own end too easily, take too many dumb penalties, their record against the good teams in the conference isn't all that great, Sundin is too old and slow, there are question marks on the defence, etc. etc.

Still, that cynical voice was opposed to even writing this post in the first place, yet here it is, so bring on the playoffs!

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For the record:
Bruins in 4
Rangers in 7
Devils in 7
Penguins in 6

Sharks in 6
Wings in 5
Canucks in 6
Blackhawks in 5