Totally Random NHL Playoffs
Ok Hockey fans, it’s what you’ve all been waiting for all
year. This is my annual Totally Random
NHL playoffs. As is always the case,
factors such as merit, talent, home ice, history and team quality have absolutely
nothing whatsoever to do with the picks here.
Picks are completely random. Of
course, when you pick randomly, you can get different results each time you run
the tournament. The way around this is
to have an official tournament and it is run once and only once.
It is sad that my Bruins executed one of the epic
end-of-season fade outs of all time as they completely died and threw away a
fairly solid playoff position. Now they
will be watching on TV or, I suppose, sunning themselves on a beach somewhere. And without Montréal in the playoffs as well,
I have no one to truly hate except for the Rangers and Flyers and. . .well you
get the idea. Red Wing fans were
resigned to missing the playoffs for the first time in forever. They had come to terms with it. What they didn’t count on was the Bruins
complete ineptitude down the stretch. My
Bruins finished where I thought they would at the start of the season. But my hopes and expectations were lifted for
the first 2/3 of the season. Then,
splat! With all that said, let the
luckiest team in the random tournament win.
Round 1
In the west the Stars, Blues, Predators and Kings
advance. Yes, the Sharks manage to
disappoint yet again. Between the Sharks
and the Capitals, I don’t know who is worse.
It would be great to see a Sharks Capitals final because at least one
tortured fan base will be happy while the other will be even more
tortured. But alas for the random
tournament, the Sharks bow out early.
The Blues and Blackhawks played a classic 7 game series which came down
to a 4-3 game 7 win for the Blues.
Bye-bye Blackhawks. . .finally.
In the East the Capitals survive a little scare to beat
the Flyers in six games. The Penguins,
Panthers and Lightning join the Capitals with the Lightning and Penguins
requiring seven games to do so. This was a good round for me because both the
hated Rangers and Flyers bit the dust.
Round 2
After sweeping the Wild in the first round, the Stars are
themselves swept by the rampaging Blues.
The Kings take out the Predators in six games to bring on a Blues, Kings
showdown in the West.
Meanwhile the Capitals have the best record in the
NHL. It doesn’t matter. The Capitals do what they always do in
reality. They choke going down to the
Pens in six. Meanwhile the Islanders
only manage one token win against the Lightning who easily advance to take on
the Penguins.
The Semi-final
Just when Blues fans got excited, the Kings did it
again. Yes it’s another great playoff
run for them as they down the Blues in five.
The East has a far more exciting series with the Lighting defeating the
Penguins 2-1 in Game 7 to advance to the Stanley Cup.
Kings v Lightning for the Cup
The Random Stanley Cup Final is a dud. Those Kings just cannot be stopped in the
playoffs. They blow the Lightning off
both their home ice, and Tampa ice sweeping them 4-0. Yes, the Kings have done it again, saving
their best for the playoffs.
Congratulations to the Los Angeles Kings for winning the Totally Random
NHL playoffs. And the rest of us
groan. Not again, we say.
In the real world, I have picked the Ducks to walk away
with the goods this year. Time will
tell. The NHL playoffs are always
exciting and the closest thing in American sports to a random tournament. You never know. That’s what makes them
