NHL Season 2 - The Playoffs!

The playoffs are here and the Canucks are up against a red hot St. Louis Blues in the first round. Here are the rest of the matchups and my predictions as usual:

2009 EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINALS

No. 1 Boston Bruins vs. No. 8 Montreal Canadiens
Boston in 6

No. 2 Washington Capitals vs. No. 7 New York Rangers
Washington in 6

No. 3 New Jersey Devils vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina in 6

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh in 7

2009 WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTER-FINALS

No. 1 San Jose Sharks vs. No. 8 Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim in 6

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 7 Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit in 5

No. 3 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 6 St. Louis Blues
Vancouver in 6

No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks vs. No. 5 Calgary Flames
Chicago in 5

Stanley Cup Predictions:
Pittsburgh vs. Vancouver

Winner: Vancouver

It's all about goaltending and I strongly beleive that Luongo is going to show up this year in full force. I might just be jinxing them by writing this here today (woouldn't be the first and won't be the last) but I really don't like to be supersticious like that so I have always tried to just write what I feel, regardless of what magically effect it may have.

Realistically I could see a Boston vs. Detroit final, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the kid named Crosby is going to be on fire this year along with that other stud centre Malkin.

Anyway, I am just happy that the Canucks are actually IN the playoffs this year. That in itself is a win in my books. Hockey season two is upon us and the Canucks will take part. They've got a great team and I look forward to seeing what damage they can do. Maybe it will be one of those runs where everything just lines up perfectly. Other upsets take place paving the way to a Western final against another team who never thought they could get there.

Hockey every night, baseball games for Lola's team and my team makes for some very non-poker fun filled nights of drinking, laughing and hangin' out in the sun. No kids yet, so we've made a priority to make each night count, each weekend a blast and to book more vacations and trips than ever.

Having the time to do this stuff is definitely a luxury that, when I become a parent, I will look back at and wonder what I use to do with my time. I hear people say it all the time "we never have time to ourselves" and I want to make sure we have a blast this summer.

This is probably just my long winded way of saying you probably won't see me too often at the tables in the near future. Golf tournaments, ball games and out door fun is definitly taking precedence over the BBT4.

GL to all of you in the April race and beyond. If you see me at the table, my chips are available for the taking...