I'm feeling pretty good about this Wings/Hawks series, I think the Ducks were the best remaining team and we were pretty fortunate to get by them. Chicago's only chance to pull something off is the man to the left, Nikolai Khabibulin, who you probably remember from his days as the successor to Tim Cheveldae in Winnipeg. As Wings fans, or any NHL fan knows, any mismatch on paper can be neutralized with a hot goalie in the playoffs (see Kiprusoff, Giguere, Kolzig, Roloson, etc.) He took Tampa Bay (do they still have an NHL franchise?) to a Cup win a few years back and if he plays on his head, he can steal a game or two.The Hawks haven't really been relevant since the Chris Chelios, Jeremy Roenick, and Ed Belfour days, but we all know they have the young guns after years of no. 1 picks. Kind of like that hoops squad they also got playing in the United Center. It's a lot like our matchup of the Pens last year, when the opponent had two top players (Sid, Malkin / Kane, Toews) and another complimentary player (Hossa / Havlat) who could be a threat. I feel fine shutting these guys down but the Hawks have some fast dudes in the back like Kronwall who can wet people.
I'm predicting Wings in 5.
And we have Darren Helm, so it will all be okay ---->
Who will the Wings play in the Finals? Looking like a rematch to me, the Pens will dispatch the Canes in a sweep (this one's for you Roarty). This series is a bit of a yawner, the only headline ESPN can come up with is the matchup of the Staal brothers. But honestly, on any single night in the NHL, you can pretty much bet on half the games featuring a matchup between players in the Staal family.
Pete, please tell me you are not a Hawks fan...
It is embarrassing enough to rep Vinny D.N. and the Bulls
I am so excited about Doc Emrick (Gus Johnson with a poetic side) and the NHL on NBC (be sure to check out the NBA on NBC theme in the related videos, too.)
