Well, I know who's getting my vote for Facepalm of the Year, and it's NOT the GM in Philly!
All these years, still no love for Aaron Broten. Since we're going with bad name puns, my advice to Herr Niece in the Detroit-Anaheim series? Your boys better (Jim) Paek it in. ;-)
Well, I know who's getting my vote for Facepalm of the Year, and it's NOT the GM in Philly!
All these years, still no love for Aaron Broten.
...or Paul for that matter, but with a miracle in Ice Gold Medal and over 1,000 NHL games to his credit, I think big brother Neil deservedly gets the most credit.
And really, name one other instance where you can legitimately work Broten into a pun and have it be both entirely accurate and utterly appropriate? It simply *demanded* to be made.
Congratulations to the Nashville Predators for a remarkable stretch drive (one that saw them finish the season on a 10-0 streak on the road) for winning the Central Division, which regained its position as the HFNHL's most competitive division. All five Central teams made the post-season.
Nashville led the way with 112 points, good for second in the West and third overall (on wins behind Florida, which also had 112 points). The Preds climbed steadily throughout the spring from being a bubble team to an undisputed contender.
Columbus secured second spot in the division, fourth in the conference, and fourth overall in the league in points with 109, a significant improvement on earning the eighth seed last year, winning a tie breaker on the last day before upsetting the Blues in Round 1.
Those same Blues were edged out by a heavily reworked Blackhawks squad for 6th in the conference and 11th in the league with 99 points. The play of late additions Kipprusoff and Richards will go a long way to determining how far the Hawks advance.
The Blues are right on Chicago's heels with 98 points to finish 7th/12th, but have to be thrilled with their dramatic turnaround in the second half of the season after being one of the first half's biggest disappointments. No doubt the blues are hoping to play upset in the first round for a change.
And the Detroit Red Wings earned the final spot in the division and the conference with 97 poits, along with the chance to defend the Stanley Cup they won as only slightly smaller underdogs. It was poetic that they won the seed on the final day over the surprising young Dallas Stars, as Niece the Elder managed to edge out Niece the Younger for one more year.
All in all a mammoth season for the Central Division, as they earned a total of 515 points (for an average of 103), despite having to play tough games against one another all season long. The next most competitive Division was the impressive Northeast, where teams scored a total of 479 points for an average score of 95.8.
Thanks Doug, i'm happy my team has finally lived up to its numbers on paper - even though it has overachieved (considering the Avs didn't make, judging by pure quality, i should be out as well...)
The Blues are certainly in a good position, this should become quite an interesting series.
Congrats Doug - and Nick and Drew. Don't let it go to your heads, we all know that somehow you Central division GM's got together with Simon T and rigged the season against us NW'ers' - Good luck in the playoffs.....
And so, the Anaheim Ducks have to try and break the President's Trophy curse by starting off with the defending champion Red Wings. Joy!!!
Nicely done Matt. A deserved win for your Ducks. You've been the most consistent squad all year and held off some big challenges at the end from the Preds and Panthers. Best of luck in the playoffs - may someone finally put an end to the curse...
Hats off to all teams in the northeast. That went down to the wire. Definitely a bizarre season.
The Bruins are ready to step up. The loss of Flash may appear to be a problem - but is it actually a problem? The Quantum nature of the SIM guarantees that nothing is certain. We are all winners....and losers. In fact, by observing results we have already disturbed the sim-space continuim. For example - if you notice a loss - the simple act of observation has produced that result from what was previously a superpostion of states. Is it a win? Is it a loss? Does it really matter? We're all winnerlosers. Find solace 'knowing' that decoherence guarantees that in an alternate universe that loss you observed is actually a win. And if you don't believe me - you do.
Sorry - some of us are having babies and others of us are just spending too much time trying to make them
Well, you know what they say: "If you want something done right, do it yourself", or was it: "Practice makes perfect", or maybe: "If at first you don't succeed, try try again". Or, in the words of the immortal Stevie Ray Vaughn, "If the house is rockin', don't bother knockin'".
Well, you know what they say: "If you want something done right, do it yourself", or was it: "Practice makes perfect", or maybe: "If at first you don't succeed, try try again". Or, in the words of the immortal Stevie Ray Vaughn, "If the house is rockin', don't bother knockin'".
Good luck in the playoffs.....
