Well, poop. lol, I failed that round so badly. I didn't even get one right, lol. * facepalm *

I'm quite annoyed with Detroit. They had it, and lost 3 in a row. The only team left in the playoffs that I don't despise is Pittsburgh, so apparently I'm a penguins fan now. lol

Predictions:

Boston vs. Pittsburgh - Pitt in 5

Chicago vs LA - Chicago in 7

Yeah, I fully admit that Chicago got super lucky in that last game. Hopefully this means that the Kings will have an easier time taking them out.

mrfe : You think YOU are annoyed with Detroit? Yeah, right. I see what Elara is saying about them getting lucky, but let's not forget that they had that goal taken back with less than two minutes left in the game. But still, we should have won in game six. However, the first two goals in the third period were both terrible defensive plays by Smith. And not to mention, the penalty shot was questionable. And of course, the head shot right before the OT goal for Chicago... but we had a chance and we didn't do it. 

   Well, time for predictions! The only team left that I wouldn't hate to have win is Boston. I don't want a back-to-back cup win for the Kings, I don't want Chicago to go on, and I don't want Pittsburgh to go all the way either.

Boston vs. Pittsburgh - Pitt in 7

Chicago vs. Los Angeles - LA in 7

   UPSETS EVERYWHERE!!! I think now that the Penguins are finally facing a team that can truly compete with them, I think they will have a hard time. And who knows if Vokuon can keep it up, but I believe he will. I always thought he was a better goalie than Fluery, especially when he was with Nashville. And the Kings have enough firepower to take down the Hawks. I think both of these series will go the distance.

Well, Boston has been demolishing the Penguins, and the Blackhawks may be losing ground on the Kings. 
Keith is also out for the Blackhawks in game 4.  If the Kings want to switch the momentum, they need to win game 4.

I hope both series go 7 games as well. The first 2 games with Boston were terrible. Obviously Boston fans are happy but beating a team that soundly isn't nearly as satisfying as winning a hard fought series.

Pens played a much better game last night... where was that team in Game 1 and 2?!

We still lost, so down 3-0... which means we have to win the next four to get out of this. Can we do it? Possibly, if we keep up how we did last night. Now if only we can stop hitting that goal post!

   The game last night was amazing. I can't believe it went that long. And I must say, Rask's performance was probably the best I've seen in the playoffs this year. So I can only see Pittsburgh winning one game in this series, but that's it. They haven't played well, and even from what you saw last night, they couldn't finish it off.
  
   And now with the LA series, I think they will tie up the series. I now think Chicago will most likely win, but I'm not changing my answer, because that's not fair. But you never know what's going to happen. LA hasn't done as well as the Wings did, like I would have expected. Well, I can't wait for the game tonight. 

I think the frustrating thing about watching the playoffs for the last few years is how the rules change in the playoffs. The teams that are built for speed and skill get destroyed by the teams built for size and grit. The refs put away their whistles and allow hits and hooking and holding that would have been called every time in the regular season.

Games during the regular season are so much more about the skill of the teams playing and that gets shut down during the playoffs. It's not like the players aren't used to the way things are getting called during the regular season so it's not like we would have 100 penalty calls during the playoffs. Instead we would have the teams who were successful in the regular season playing a certain way getting beaten during the playoffs by teams that were worse in the regular season. It just seems like a big disconnect to me.

   geeogree: Yeah, it's really annoying with what the refs do. They also have to wait five minutes to just drop the puck. I wasn't able to watch the game last night, so I don't know if that played a part on that game, but how many penalties are called in the playoffs compared to the regular season is crazy. And Not to mention, the over the glass penalty is still the one of the dumbest penalties ever, along with the trapezoid.

   And also, I heard that the league was looking at a new icing rule. It would go like this: if the defense was winning the race by the faceoff dot, the play gets called dead, and icing. But if they are even, like when everybody seems to get injured, they will let it go. So, it seems like it won't help anything if you ask me.

patar4097 : I have heard a modification to the over the glass rule that I like - if a team flips the pick over the glass then they can't change (like the icing rule). It would give the offensive team a change but the defensive team doesn't get to change. It would probably mean that more teams would end up flipping the pick over the glass but like in the case of icing it wouldn't be much of an advantage. You would get 30 seconds to rest and then you would be playing again. I prefer that to a penalty and I think a lot of people will feel the same way.

The icing rule is also kind of strange. I'm not sure how many injuries that would actually prevent.

geeogree : That variation is definitely better than what they have. Over the last few years that it's been implemented, quite a few games were either won or lost because of a penalty of that kind. As for that icing rule, why don't they just take off the trapezoid? It would be able to stop a few of those injuries, and more than what this rule would.

I would like that version of over the glass much better than this penalty BS.

Looks like I will be crossing my fingers for the Kings pulling off a major upset. I will admit though that Rask was... well, he was awesome. Boston owes that man big time for getting them to the Finals.

Elara : I'll be rooting for the Kings to make a comeback as well, even though it looks unlikely. But either way, I want Boston to go all the way. I don't want a back-to-back win for the Kings, and I don't like any Chicago teams for any sports.

Well, I was SUPER surprised with Boston's sweep. I really thought it'd be the Penguins in 5. That's a bummer.

And, the game tonight's going into overtime thanks to a goal by Richards (LA) with 9 seconds left. I'm going for Chicago, just because I hate them less. LOL!

Edit: Absolutely amazing goal by Kane with a sweet setup from Toews to win the series in double OT.

Well... looks like the hockey gods hate me. I think I will be leaning towards Boston for two reasons.

1) Rask deserves the cup for how well he has played.

2) As a good little Pittsburgh fan, I would rather see Marian Hossa get denied than the team that took us out of the playoffs.

Elara : yeah, I'm torn with this final. Part of me wants to see Boston win because of how absolutely outstanding he has played.

It's still Boston though. I have a hard time cheering for them. I cheered for Toronto over cheering for Boston which shows how much I don't like Boston

And I don't care too much about Hossa anymore. I got the laugh out of his swapping teams and not winning the cup. Now that he has won I don't care too much anymore. Considering how good Chicago has been all year I think they deserve it as a team far more than Boston just because of Rask.

Seeing as how I'm pretty close to Chicago at the moment...
GO CHICAGO.  I really hope they can win the Stanley Cup again.  My hometown Blues aren't good enough to do it yet.

geeogree : I know what you mean, though I have found Boston easier to like now that Thomas is gone.

I don't know why I don't like Chicago aside from Hossa, but there is just something about them that I don't like.

And this may sound crash... but I am getting sick of people saying Boston deserves to win because of the bombing. What happens in your city has no bearing on how much you deserve a Stanley Cup. How you play determines how much you deserve it.

Deserve because of the bombing? Give me a break. Use it to inspire people to work together for a common good I can understand but using it in relation to sports is crass.

That makes me want them to lose even more.