Conference Finals Preview!

My critics have often called me out as being someone that "rides a team." Well, duh I'm a hockey fan, I'm obviously going to have teams I like, and teams I don't like. That said, every single team I was pulling for in the previous round lost. A big oh for four. That said, I have to figure out who I am rooting for in the last two rounds. I can't sit back and just watch the games, I have to pick a team I want to win, and cheer for them.

I personally don't like either team in the West at all. I think Anaheim has used a bunch of cheap tactics to get here (I'm still irked over the wimpy suspension in the Kim Johnson incident), and I think Detroit has some of the biggest fairweather fans in the league. What does that say about the sport when "Hockeytown" can't sell out any playoff hockey games?

In the East, there's two teams I respect. Unfortunately, Buffalo has the worst fans in all of hockey, in terms of being rude, obnoxious stains on humanity, and both being fairweather fans. Ottawa, I nothing. They are kind of like the DC of Canada, in that they aren't as big as some cities, but they are the nation's capital, and that all the other "Big Cities" (Montreal and Toronto in this instance), tend to overlook them and look down their nose at them. I bet Ottawa is an awesome party city too. Unfortunately, there aren't really any players on Ottawa I like. Again, lots of guys I respect, but no one I particularly love. I shall definitely be pulling for them to win, but I'm going to have a hard time making myself get excited about them.

So what do I do? A simply solution. I'm pulling for the refs. There are certainly refs I like, and while I haven't seen a list of which officials are going to be on the ice for this round, I hope they do a great job, like some of them actually ARE capable of doing. I hope the NHL was smart enough to put Bill McCreary in the next round, as he is the most consistant official in the league. I want a situation where the losing team can sit back and say "we lost because we didn't play hockey as well as the other team," not another situation where fans are whining about a goal that shouldn't have counted, or a penalty that should have been called (are you listening Dean Morton?). I just want people at the end of the day to go "You know what? That officiating wasn't too horrible," because in the end, that would be a victory for hockey fans.

Hot and Cold for the Week of February 14!

Ok, I'm trying to get back to running this on Sundays like I originally intended, so let's see what's cooking and what's chilling in the NHL this week!


Hot:

1. Jaromir Jagr - I hate you like a cancer. Because you are one. But you pulled off your 1500th career point this week, and that's commendable. You may not have any heart. You may not be any type of leader. You may be a bigger baby than everyone of the Muppet Babies combined. You do have talent, and for that, I commend you.
2. Rick DiPietro - Has a GAA of 1.5 in his last 5 starts. Unfortunately, the Islanders have only won two of those games. If that team makes the playoffs, it'll be entirely up to the Rick.
3. Calgary Flames - Taking over first in the NW division makes them hot. Their logo makes them flaming.
4. Bryan Murray - Closing in soon on 600 wins, this former Capitals, Red Wings, Panthers, and Ducks Coach, and current Senators coach is also rapidly closing in on his 6th career playoff win.
5. Dallas Stars - The Fallopian Tubes (no really, they used to use that logo) are climbing up on the rest of their division contenders, the Sharks and the Ducks. Of course . . .

Not:

1. Ladislav Nagy - Why does one acquire someone underachieving this horribly in a contract season? Isn't their any concern his moodiness will throw off the rest of the team? I know they were desperate for scoring, but wasn't Petr Nedved on waivers just a month ago?
2. The NHL Schedule - Weeks with one game are boring. Why does a team have 4 games in 7 days, and then one game in 7 days? This is my way of shifting the blame for a lack of updates.
3. Anaheim Ducks - Going 3-7 in their last 10 makes one wonder if they should go back to being "Mighty?"
4. Red Wings Goaltending - Osgood? Injured. Hassek? Injured. So they've got two guys in there that have less experience than your average 15 year old. Do I need to link to another pic of the Muppet Babies, or do we get the point?
5. Olie Kolzig - A knee injury has him out for three weeks. Caps fans officially cancel parade that they never really got around to start planning.

End of Weekend wrap-up.

In liue of actually having anything intelligent to say, let's see what other people are saying about what happened in the organization over the weekend.

The Caps lost on Friday night to the Ducks 6-1, in a game where the score really says all you need to know about what happened. It wasn't that the Caps as a whole were that bad, but they weren't that good, and Olie had a rough night.

"Win Streak Ends at 4" -The Washington Post
Ducks End Caps Streak -The Washington Times
The Caps Report -The Washington Times
Ducks Win This One for the Road -The LA Times

On Saturday, the Caps and Flyers played a back and forth game before Norris Trophy Candidate scored the game winner in the second half of the third period, while Princess Pettinger Put the icing on the cake in the last minute for a 5-3 victory.
The New Broad Street Bullies -The Washington Post
Capitals Find Hard Way To Win -The Washington Times
Caps Report -The Washington Times
For Flyers, A Losing Experience -The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News
Lack Of Firepower Dooms Flyers In Latest Loss -Camden Courrier Post


Down on the farm, Hershey knocked off the Norfolk Admirals in OT 3-2. The Game winner came from Eric Fehr. The two teams square of again this evening, once again in Hershey.
Bears Solve Admirals -The Harrisburg Patriot News

Down in Carolina, the Stingrays knocked off the Charleston Inferno twice over the weekend sweeping the home and home series with scores of 3-2 and 5-2.

Salutations to all my longtime readers! It's time once again for the most insightful of columns, "Ask FS!" Today's question comes to us from Emilio in California who asks,

Do you think Goldberg from the Mighty Ducks would be more effective than the Flyers current goaltending?

Well Emilio, wilhe Goldberg would certainly be an improvement, I think this character would be even better. Heck, Millhouse blowing at the puck would be an improvement over what they have in Philly right now.

Thanks for writing in Emilio! And if you have a question you'd like answered in the future, email me, or just drop it in the 'comments' section below! Let's go Caps!