NHL 2nd Round Picks

Here are my picks for round 2 of the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens

Despite the Habs sweeping The Tampa Bay Lightning, I think Boston goalie and likely Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask will play up to form, and take the Bruins over the top. (Bruins in 6)

Pittsburg Penguins vs. NY Rangers

The Rangers are my sleeper pick in this year’s playoffs. They have been playing great hockey since late in the regular season. They are better than the Columbus Bluejackets, who wore the overconfident Penguins out. (Rangers in 6)

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild

The upstart Minnesota Wild pulled off a 1^st round upset over a young and inexperienced Colorado Avalanche team. Every game was close, and most went to OT. The Chicago Blackhawks, on the other hand, are the defending Stanley Cup Champs, and are filled to the brim with playoff experience and talent. Chicago isn’t the best team in this year’s playoffs, but they should be able to win this series. (Blackhawks in 7)

Anaheim Ducks vs. LA Kings

The LA Kings are red hot right now, coming back from a 3 game deficit to win 4 straight, and I don’t see the overrated Anaheim Ducks stopping their momentum any better than the San Jose Sharks did. (Kings in 4)

©2014 Denim McDemus

Avs vs. Canucks

My two favorite hockey teams played each other tonight, the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks. I wasn't sure who to root for, so I guess it's fitting that they were tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time.

The Avs needed the points. They went into the game being 3 points behind the Chicago Blackhaws for the NHL's Western Conference 4th seed and home ice in the first round of the playoffs. Chicago had already lost to the Eastern Conference #1 seed Boston, so Colorado really needed to come away with 2 points.

The Canucks needed the points too. Vancouver is still holding out hope for clinching a playoff spot, coming into the game in 10th place in the West with 78 points (8th seed Phoenix has 84).

It was tied 1-1 after the 1st period, on goals by Vancouver's Yannick Webber (PP) and Colorado's Matt Duchene. After 2 periods, the game was tied 2-2, after goals by Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog and Vancouver's Zack Kassian. The 3rd period was scoreless, taking the game to overtime.

Colorado's Tyson Barrie scored the game winner 55 seconds into overtime, to give the Avs the win and 2 points. Vancouver gained 1 point for the OT loss. The Avalanche improved to 13-6 in OT. Vancouver fell to 11-11.

The game was close all the way through. Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov saved 29 of 31. Vancouver's Eddie Lack saved 25 of 28.

With the win, the Avs have 98 points, only one behind Chicago. The Canucks are now tied with the Dallas Stars for 9th place in the Western Conference with 79 points, 5 points out of the final playoff spot.

©2014 Denim McDemus

NHL Overtime Rules

I agree that there should not be ties in professional sports. Every game should be won and lost. But I hate how the NHL currently handles overtime. Here's why:

1. I hate that OT is 4 on 4 hockey. I don't think this makes it easier for teams to score. In my opinion, it makes it harder to score. Plus it is a perversion of the game. The winner should be the best team at 5 on 5 hockey. The rest of the game was 5 on 5, so why allow the winner to be chose by a different format?

Also, 5 minutes isn't very long for a period that is supposed to decide the game's winner.

2. No hockey game should be won or lost by a shootout. That is not the game. The game is 5 on 5 hockey. The team who wins a shootout isn't necessarily the better team. Both teams will send their best shooters, and if there was a great disparity between the teams, the game wouldn't still be tied after regulation and OT. Sure, there is some skill involved in a shootout, but it's a lot more luck than anything. Why should the game be decided by luck in a non-game situation?

Yes, sudden death OT periods could go on all night, but that's the beauty of professional sports, keep playing until someone wins.

3. My biggest problem with the NHL's OT rules is teams gaining a point for an OT loss. A loss is a loss, it doesn't matter how long it too to happen. Teams shouldn't be rewarded for losing.

And if the winning team is competing for a playoff spot in the same conference, they are being punished for winning by their opponent gaining an undeserved point. Playoff spots and seeding are based on points, not wins as it is in other major sports. This made sense back when there were ties, although as I said, I am not advocating bring ties back.

This causes a problem if teams get a point for OT losses. This means a team with fewer wins can have more points than a team who actually earned theirs through victories. Teams with less wins can beat out teams with more wins for playoff spots and in playoff seeding, simply because they LOST more games in OT. Say what?!

Want an example? Based on their 86 points, the Chicago Blackhawks are tied for first place in the Central Division, and would be the number 3 seed in the Western Conference. But they have 14 overtime losses. That means 14 of their 86 points are from games they lost!!! Say what?! Without being rewarded for losing, the Hawks would only have 72 points, knocking them down to 4th place in the Central Division, and making them the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Is this fair to the other teams in their division and conference?

If you take the OT loss points away from their rivals, none of which even come close to exploiting this rule as much as Chicago, the Blackhawks would still only be 3rd in their division, and 5th in the conference.

The NHL is an exciting league for an exciting game, which unfortunately doesn't receive enough respect or exposure in the US. I don't think rewarding teams for losing games has any place in professional sports, and should be reserved for pee wee leagues.