I should have been laying money down in Vegas at the start of the playoffs. While my Western conference picks have been less-than-stellar, my East prognostications have been downright astounding. Sure, before last series, I thought Carolina would topple Buffalo in seven games, as, I'm sure, did many other hockey pundits. How many people, though, picked the Canes seven-game victory over the Sabres in the conference final before the playoffs even began?
Damn, I'm good. Just don't ask me my feelings on the West anytime soon.
The series came down to the final period and the game winner was decided as I figured it would be:
The intangible will be, once-again, Rod Brind'Amour. He is the heart and soul of the Hurricanes and has proved he can elevate his game when his team has needed it most.Indeed he did.
However, I was also impressed with the elevated game of Ray Whitney and Dougie Weight. Both were cast-offs from their former teams this season and both have shown how invaluable experienced play can be when experience counts for most. That they are playing so well with uber-talented rookie Andrew Ladd shows the smarts of coach Peter Laviolette of not only getting the rookie some important playing time, but also preparing him for the future when he and Staal will be taking this fantastic Canes club to a few more exceptional playoff heights. Hats off also goes to rookie 'minder Cam Ward, who has shown he is merely as good as he has to be and has given his team a chance to win every night. The thing is, I don't believe they've played their best hockey yet, and I don't think they believe it either.
While I'm at it, I have to commend the Buffalo Sabres for showing so much grit and pride even while their top four defensemen were out of the line-up. That was a shitty piece of luck on their part, the only silver lining of which was the emergence of future all-star Brian Campbell, he of everlasting Umberger fame, who logged over 25 minutes last night and played the game of his life.
As for the Oilers, well, what can I say? I figured the wrong goalie would be the difference, and I guessed that the wrong team would be the tenacious fighters. The long wait after round two hurt the Ducks but it shouldn't have hurt them that much. They did out-play the Oil on more nights than not (or, so I was told, as I missed the first three games and only caught the results in newspaper reports) and might've had a chance had they had more finish in their offense. The one poor outing of Roloson proves that he was beatable, if only the Ducks could get to him.
But they didn't, the Oilers scored when they had to, they sacrificed the body, and now they're sitting somewhere in New York state and booking rooms at the Raleigh Super-8.
It was a hell of a series. I give Anaheim all the congrats in their post-season success, and I wish the Oilers all the best, provided they lose in 5 games or less.
