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Much thanks, Mr. Hossa
Is there a better time of the year than right now? Baseball is in full swing -- pun intended -- and the NHL playoffs are heating up.
With two rounds in the books and two more to go, the NHL is left with its version of the Final Four, featuring Detroit, Dallas, Philadelphia and ... drum roll, please ... Pittsburgh.
Detroit and Dallas should be an awesome series, although between this job and the Penguins/Flyers soon-to-be street fight, I'm not so sure that I'll have the time to watch.
That said, let's start by briefly catching up and learning a bit about these two series.
The Mule. 'Nuff said.
Detroit's Swedish power forward Johan Franzen -- nicknamed “The Mule” -- leads all postseason scorers with 11 goals. He's also tied for second with 14 points.
Little of this was expected after the top-seeded Red Wings' two big guns, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, combined for 189 points during the regular season.
For the Stars, keep an eye on Brenden Morrow, a gritty left wing who has totaled 11 points and seven goals in the playoffs. Morrow scored the game-winning goal in quadruple overtime in Game 6 to clinch a series win against San Jose.
Dallas goaltender Marty Turco will be tough to beat, and Morrow will play a physical game against Detroit. Still, I think the Red Wings have too much offense for the Stars to handle. I like Detroit in six.
The next series, featuring the second-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins and the sixth-seeded Philadelphia Flyers, will last seven games ... assuming all of its participants make it that far.
The Flyers had the Penguins' number during the regular season, winning five of eight Atlantic Division contests, but the Penguins have outscored their opponents in the playoffs 31-17, and they've won eight of nine.
The orange-clad goons from the other side of Pennsylvania ended Washington's playoff hopes in the first round and took out top-seeded Montreal in the second. Pittsburgh swept left-for-dead Ottawa and bounced New York in five.
(Insert logical argument here.)
That's right. I don't have one. I don't want to have one. The NHL playoffs are too exciting, and it's way too much fun to be a wide-eyed, over-optimistic kid that's totally devoid of any sense of reality.
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