In the new NHL, where you can't ice the best team money can buy, the differences between the top teams and the middle-ranking teams aren't as great as the standings suggest. That's the lesson Walt has learned from the first round of playoffs, which saw a number of surprises and, last night, a sensational shock!
First, let's see how Walt fared with his fearless predictions.
Western Conference
Walt called Sharks in 6. Right on the money!
Nashville in 7? Dead wrong. The Cinderella story is over. Chicago wins in 6.
Walt predicted Vancouver in 7. In fact it took them just 6 to dispose of the hockey players who would be Kings.
However, it took Detroit 7 games to dispose of the pesky Coyotes, the suprise of the West.
Walt's record: .750.
Eastern Conference
Walt correctly predicted the Flyers-Devils matchup would be over in 5 games. Picked the wrong team though.
Same for Boston and Buffalo. Apparently there's no O in Buffalo and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller couldn't stop pucks and score at the same time.
It took the Penguins one more game than predicted to finish off Ottawa, the perennial first-round drop-outs. Good hockey though. Give Walt a W on this one.
And now for the sensational shock! Walt, thinking with his head rather than his heart, didn't give the Montréal Canadiens a chance of winning even one game against first-seeded Washington. In fact they showed extraordinary guts and exceptional goaltending in coming back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series last night. Les Canadiens sont là! To quote Damien Cox in today's Toronto Star, hail the conquering heroes! [Did he make that up? ed.]
Walt's record: .250.
Total for the first round: 1.000. Lifetime average: .983.
What??? Hey, figures don't lie! .750 + .250 = 1.000. You can look it up!
Footnote: CBC-TV took a pass on the Montréal-Washington series, electing instead to show Buffalo vs Bruins. What dummy made that decision? What did I tell you about the CBC being dominated by the Toronto crowd? "It's a Canadian thing!"
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