My First Long Boring Hockey Post for the 2017-2018 NHL Season

On screen: The MN Wild

It seems like it was only yesterday that the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Actually, it was June 13th, - so yeah, almost yesterday. Kind of.

The 2017-2018 NHL Season is here.  Okay, officially it's the Pre-season. I'd hate to be accused of publishing "fake news."

To date, every team has played 1 to 4 games as of Sunday morning. Five games are scheduled for today, Sunday, and at the time of writing this, none of them had a final score or are night games.

I track my own, unofficial "Fantasy NHL" team(s) here, and track my predictions of wins, losses, goals and win/loss in playoff series. Of course I'm a MN WILD fan(atic), but there's really no NHL team I dislike. It's more of which team I want to see win in any particular match-up. And that's always the Wild when they're playing. If you are so inclined, please join in, in the comments section with your NHL thoughts, favorite team(s), predictions, anything. There has to be some NHL fans who stop by here - - join in! Nothing beats hockey talk. Nothing. (Well..."Walking Dead" conversations with other WD-Heads...right up there.)

Newest Addition to the NHL

The following is as of noon, Sunday the 24th (do you realize it's 3 months until Christmas Eve?)

The following teams are undefeated in pre-season games:

Central Div: MN Wild 3-0
Pacific Div: Edmonton 4-0; San Jose 2-0
Atlantic Div: Ottawa 3-0; Florida 1-0;
Metro Div: NY Islanders 3-0; NJ Devils 3-0; Penguins 2-0

Two teams are win-less. Winnipeg (Central) 0-2 and Montreal (Atlantic) 0-4 (ouch!)

What's new, you might ask, this season? Well, a brand spanking shiny new expansion team was added, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. They're in the Pacific Div with 2 wins, 1 loss.

The Metro, Atlantic and Pacific Div's each have 8 teams. The Central Div has 7 teams. Adding Vegas brings the number of NHL teams to a nice, even round number of 31. NHL math...it's so easy.

Back to the newest addition to the league, Vegas. I don't know about you, but the first thing that enters my mind when I think hockey is Las Vegas. How Vegas managed to exist this long without an NHL team is the 8th Great Mystery of the World. I'm joking, I'm happy there's a new team and look forward to watching them play and see how they fare.

Quick recap of last season: The Penguins beat the Nashville Predators taking The Stanley Cup, making it two consecutive wins, something not done since back to back wins by the Detroit Red Wings in 1997-1998. The Preds seemed to float under the radar last year and then boom - were crushing their opponents in every game.

As with all sports, a team is only as good as who is on their injury list. It's way too early to make any predictions, but we can likely expect to see above-average performances by some of The Usual NHL Suspects: The Pens, the Blackhawks, Philly, the Rangers, Boston, Ottawa, LA, Buffalo and one can never dismiss Detroit rocking the ice.

MN Wild owner Craig Leipold said, "anything short of winning the Stanley Cup would be a disappointment." That's jumping the gun. It is not inconceivable that the Wild could win TSC, they played well last season but were eliminated by St. Louis in first round playoffs.

Looking at a list of all the teams, it's just too early to pick who will have a great/good/poor season. I do think we'll see better and improved performances by the Islanders and the Devils, both who had tough seasons last year.

Well, my First Long Boring NHL post is published and the 2017-2018 season is here. Oh yeah, one more thing. You would never see an NHL player diss the American Flag, our National Anthem or an invitation to the White House.

Pittsburgh Penguins are the 2017 Stanley Cup Winner!

"Hey, Ho...Let's Go!"

The parade for the 2017 Stanley Cup Winners (back to back wins 2016 and 2017) is scheduled for Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

I decided not to spend my time ripping the haters that I wrote about earlier. 
Why waste my time ripping those who see success only through a prism of jealousy, envy or anger? Why waste my time, and yours, dissin' on the haters, the whiners, the Pens haters, the Crosby haters...they're just insecure, jealous "never-beens." They shouldn't be watching hockey.

The Penguins genuinely won Game 6 Sunday night. They did not "survive," they won. And of course one must survive to win, but Sunday night, both teams were playing top-notch hockey, the very best of their abilities, and Nashville was beaten by a team with previous Cup Finals, and wins, under their belt.

Nashville played a great game. It just wasn't quite good enough.

Heh - Vegas already is saying that The Pens are the favorite to win next season's Stanley Cup. 

Oh my, some Pens fans are celebrating the victory by eating raw catfish. Doesn't sound appetizing to me, but, to each their own.

Anaheim, Minnesota, Ottawa, NY, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Montreal, Washington, Toronto and Columbus all reached the playoffs. They didn't get there by luck. All of these teams played some damn fine hockey.

And despite the dreamy world of Liberals where "everyone wins and no one loses...", well, that's something that exists existentially and metaphysically. Dream on, Libs, dream on.

This may be my final "Another Long Boring NHL Post" for the 2016-17 season. We'll see what news develops, if any, over the next week or so.

If the Pens are invited to the White House, they've confirmed they will attend.

Savoring the win, back to back. It doesn't get much better than that.

Training for the 2017-2018 season is only a little over three months away. And before you can rhetorically ask, "how did summer fly by so fast," - the puck will once again be dropped on the ice.

Congrats to the all the teams that made the playoffs. The Pens and The Preds had a great series. Honestly, one puck sailing into the net for the Preds instead of bouncing off the metal post and it would have been an entirely different Stanley Cup.
- - -
Revisions 7/2/2017

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS ARE THE 2017 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS! And Fuck Jeff Bezos and His Piece of Excrement Newspaper.

2017 Stanley Cup's Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins Win 2017 Stanley Cup; Two in A Row.

Wow - what a game number six, huh?  I should have figured that a game six wouldn't have a final score as I predicted, Nashville 6, Pittsburgh 5 in double OT.

The reality was Penguins 2,  Predators 0.  That's more akin to a final score than my prediction of 6 to 5. Then again, Oddsshark and Vegas Insider had Nashville 12, Pittsburgh 11.

Game 6 Sunday night was everything any hockey fan could ask for (I hate  ending with a preposition). I know..."for which any hockey fan could ask."

This is The Pens second win, back-to-back, thereby erasing the Detroit Red Wings back-to-back Cup wins from 1997 and 1998, the last team to do this.

I'm going to write more later on this game, but I'm in disbelief at how many stories, at legit sites, are downplaying The Pen victory and making excuses for Nashville's loss.

Look, it was a win or die for The Preds. They died. Their play was immaculate and spectacular for the entire game, except, The Pens managed to get the puck into the net of The Preds, twice...and that is that.

I am appalled at how so many stories are downplaying the Pens victory. May I REMIND YOU they beat the Preds last Thursday SIX to ZERO.

The most egregious story , by Neil Greenberg, completely downplays the Pens' strength and their win, is from -- no surprise -- The Jeff Bezos Daily Turd:

Article headline: The Penguins were badly outshot during their Stanley Cup run. Here’s why they won anyway. [ "Anyway"...as opposed to what "other" way? WINNING???!!! - DD ]
You could argue the Penguins survived, rather than won, the playoffs. Pittsburgh lost its top defenseman, Kris Letang, to injury before the playoffs began. Goaltender Matt Murray missed the first two rounds of the playoffs before making 27 saves in the series-clinching win in Game 6, his second straight shutout. Center Nick Bonino sustained a broken tibia in his left leg during Game 2 of the series blocking a slap shot from P.K. Subban in the first period.

Yet Coach Mike Sullivan stuck with his game plan that allowed the Penguins to capitalize on chances despite often watching their opponents dominate possession. The secret was making sure his forwards, rather than the team’s defensemen, were putting quality shots on net. And as we can see clearly after back-to-back Cups, shot quality has trumped shot quantity.

Okay...written by Greenberg. I have to presume he's a kike (probably a Liberal one), who has never laced the skates, hit the ice and played any hockey.

..."survived, rather than won,?"  What does that mean? If Hillary Clinton had won by winning one more electoral vote than required, would that have diminished her victory any less? Of course not. Still ecstatic she LOST.

"Yet Coach Mike Sullivan stuck with his game plan[.]" What the fuck does that mean? That Sullivan should have abandoned what is very carefully planned over an agonizing amount of hours by any coach playing for The Cup?

More bullshit, this time from NHL.com. From NHL.com!!!!!

Headline: 5 Reasons why Pittsburgh Won the Stanley Cup. There's only one reason Pittsburgh won = They Were The Better Team last Sunday night.

Reason number 1 listed is: "1. SIDNEY CROSBY TOOK OVER." Actually, he really didn't and I'll go into this more on a later post.

Headline: "5 Reasons: Why Predators were eliminated." There's only one reason they lost...it's because they DIDN'T WIN.

There's no shortage of "Sidney Crosby hatred" showing up in story comments and downplaying his role. Even a Village Idiot knows enough not to diminish the incredible talent of Crosby.

What...you don't like Crosby because he's young and his name will be spoken  along with other, legendary names when the name of other NHL greats are talked about:  Hull, Hull, Howe, Orr, Shore, Esposito, Esposito, Lemieux, Gretzky, Dryden, Clarke, Chelios, Lidstrom, Bucyk. Do I need to continue?

So your life didn't go as planned and now all the Crosby-haters are crawling out of the woodwork like the blood-sucking ticks they are. Well isn't your sad, miserable fucking life just too bad?

Let me guess...you're a diehard Red Wings fan and it just killed you to see your 1997-1998 double Cup win crushed by The Pens. Oh...that's so sad. Leave a comment with an address. I can send you a box of Puffs.

"Futureworld"; Bezos, circuitry matrix upgrade required.

Bezos, one of the first successful cross-breeds between bug-eyed aliens and some sort of semi-human-animal zygote, now has his newspaper playing politics in the sports section.

NHL.com - reading their stories today - were obviously leaning towards Nashville winning The Cup this year.

Well, that didn't happen.

More on The Cup later on Tuesday.

In the meantime --- ALL you PENS-haters and Crosby-haters = suck it, you lost. Let it live rent-free in your heads for the rest of your lives.

NHL Game 7 , Game 6, 7 , SIX on Sunday Night...or Do I watch The Tony Awards?

My deeply conflicted quandary: Do I watch the NHL game and record The Tonys for viewing later, OR, do I watch The Tonys and record NHL Game 6?

I'm certain that forcing someone to watch the fabuluth Tony Awards  is against the Geneva Convention.

Hmmmmm, let's see...The Tonys hosted by late night park cruiser Kevin Spacey or...NHL Hockey. Yeah - real tough decision.

I want the Penguins to play like tonight is Game # 7, even though it's actually Game # 6.

Those who watched Game # 5 Wednesday Thursday night saw the Penguins playing as they should be playing...shredding the Predators Six to Zero,

Penguins goalie Matt Murray is slated to start tonight.

Huge Kudos to Murray for not allowing one, single puck cross the crease. He played fantastic on Wednesday night.

Evangi Malkin has eyes like a hawk. He was Wednesday night's MVP, even though the NHL doesn't designate an MVP per game.

Malkin had a huge game, posting a Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a fight — in just 14:03 ice time, but what made his comments perfect were how it seemed to ignite the rest of the Penguins.

His goal is available to view and it's just magnificent. The guy has eyes like a hawk, like a hawk I tell ya.

Game # 5 Predictions - let's see how "we" fared:

Dave Stevenson at Fansided, had not made a prediction on Game 5 at the time of publishing.

Both Oddsshark and Vegas Insider predicted a Pens win over the Preds with a final score of 10 to 9

My Prediction for the final score of Game  # 5:  Pens 5,  Preds 3

Yeeesh. With Game 5's final score of Pens 6, Preds 0 ... no one came close on predictions.

I did get the Bonus Question right: "Will a catfish be tossed onto the ice tonight?"  I predicted "yes" and it happened.  I want to say that two found their way onto the ice, but my memory is sketchy. Luckily, the one - and if there were two the same applied - they hit the ice whole and not filleted and gutted like it was in Game 1.

Nashville goalie Pekke Rinne was benched after the Pens sailed the puck past him into the net three times out of NINE shots. Every goalie has their off day. He was pulled from the game and replaced with Juuse Saros, who seemed to handle himself quite well.

I'd like to write more on Game 5, but time is short.

Preds v Pens

On to Game # 6 Predictions:

As of publishing this post, there was no Game 6 prediction I could find at Fansided.

Both Oddsshark and Vegas Insider Predict Nashville 12 and Pittsburgh 11.

I don't know on what basis both Odds and VI are predicting their final scores, but their predictions for past games have also been a tad bit high when it comes to final scores.

I have been saying this series will go the full seven games and I'm sticking to that.

My Prediction for tonight's final score:  Nashville 6, Pittsburgh 5 in 2 OT's.

Game 8  7 (if the Pens lose), returns to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, June 14.

Bonus Question: Will a catfish be tossed onto the ice tonight?  My prediction: Yes.  How many?  Three! 

Happy Hockey.

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other
- - -
Grammatical and other errors fixed 6/13/2017

NHL Game 5, Penguins v Predators

Of course a post on the Stanley Cup playoff takes precedent over the Comey trial. Damn, I know what really matters in life.

Game Number 5 is tonight, just a few hours away. Pittsburgh is back on their home ice tonight and it's always better playing at "home".

Political pundit Nate Silver's fivethirtyeight site writes about the NHL!? Who knew? Silver is the one who was way off on the presidential election. He couldn't make an accurate prediction of rain in a downpour. His presidential election prediction was for Clinton. So much for "fivethirtyeight". Pffft. Garbage.

Pens coach Mike Sullivan confirms Matt Murray is tonight's starting goalie...at least at the time of this publishing. Preds goalie Pekke Renne also slated to start tonight.

The Penguins have to win tonight's game if they have any hope at all of winning the Cup in two back-to-back seasons. If the Pens lose tonight, they must win the next two games to win the Cup.

Nashville will be looking to capitalize on any slight Penguin error or flub. Pittsburgh  has to play - to strive for - an error-less game. Murray will have to be totally in the zone and in the moment.

Conversely, Renne is an amazing goalie. I have nothing against Nashville winning the Cup -- I'm pulling for the Pens only because I want to see a team repeat win for two consecutive years.

The only motivational inspiration that I can think of for The Pens, on these last three games of the Cup series, is the above quote of Herb Brooks from the Miracle on Ice.

Okay - on to Game 5 predictions:

Dave Stevenson at Fansided ,at the time of published, had not made a prediction. At least I couldn't locate any story he'd written with a Game 5 prediction.

Both Oddsshark and Vegas Insider are predicting a Pens win over the Preds with a final score of 10 to 9.

Both of those sites have had rather high number final scores. I can't see any of the remaining games with final scores as high as those predicted by Odds and Vegas.

The Pens Fans are going to be rocking the foundation of the PPG Paints Arena. I imagine it will be deafening.

My Prediction for the final score of Game 5:  Pens 5,  Preds 3

Pens, you were born to be a player, you are meant to be here, this moment is yours. You are meant to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. This is MEANT TO BE. If not now, when will a future opportunity arise for you to win two years straight? Pens - this is your Stanley Cup.

Happy Hockey!

Bonus Question: Will a catfish be tossed onto the ice tonight?  My prediction: Yes.

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.

Penguins Flail on ice in Game 4, NHL Cup

Nashville again dominated their home ice in last night's Game 4 of the Cup playoff winning  4 to 1 against Pittsburgh.

Let's get the ugly and woefully incorrect predictions "we" made for last night's game out of the way:

Fansided: Predators 4, Penguins 2

Oddsshark and Vegas Insider: Predators 8,  Penguins 7

My Game 4 prediction:  Pens 8, Preds 7 in one OT.

Fansided came the closest.

The Preds win evens the series with two games apiece. So, they start all over again, all coming down to three final games. Game 5 is Thursday, June 8 in Pittsburgh. I'm going to hold off on any predictions until Thursday.

I think the Refs and game Officials tended to favor the Preds in the first two periods BUT I am someone who does believe you can't blame losing on the Refs, in any sport. Maybe, if the game score had been 4 - 3 and in its second OT, and the Preds won, I'd say there was preferential favoritism towards them. But not with a final score of 4 - 1.

Nashville's Frederick Gaudreau's goal was reviewed for perhaps not being a goal where the puck did not fully cross the goalie crease. After review, it was ruled the puck fully crossed, and awarded another point to the Preds. And it was downhill for the Penguins  for the rest of the game.

I can't see this series going less than the full seven games; three remaining. And if I were a betting man - which I am not - I'd put money on The Pens. I have to believe in my hockey heart of hearts, they have a unfathomable burning desire to win two Cups in a row, which hasn't occurred since 1997-1998 season by the Detroit Red Wings.

Last night, as they looked on Saturday night, the Pens couldn't put anything together. They played like hell, but nothing happened. They lacked focus. They looked like they didn't know what to do on the ice (I've said this before).

I have to think the Pen will win game 5 at home.

Pens Coach Mike Sullivan isn't saying which goalie will start Thurday night; the 'new kid" Matt Murray or Marc-Andre Fleury who hasn't seen ice since game 3 of the Penguins loss to the Ottawa Senators.

I really enjoyed seeing former NBA star Charles Barkley in the booth between the second and third period. Hell, I think he should replace Mike Milbury!

Game 5 will be an intense and hard fought game. Again, I have no horse in this race, but I would like to see the Pens repeat.

Here's some advice for The Pens from one of the greatest NHL luminaries of the game, Herb Brooks: 

His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S.Olympic Hockey team at Lake Placid. At the games, Brooks' US team upset the heavily favored Soviet Union team in a match that came to be known as the 'Miracle on Ice'.

Before the game, Brooks read his players a statement he had written out on a piece of paper, telling them that...

"You were born to be a player. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours."

Pens: "You are meant to be in this year's Cup Final. This back-to-back championship is yours."

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.

NHL Stanley Cup; Game 4 - Monday June 5

We are about 35 minutes from Game 4 of the Nashville Predators against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tonight, as was Game 3, is at Nashville.

All Game 3 Predictions were way off:

Fansided predicted: Predators over Penguins 3-1.

Oddsshark and Vegas Insider both predicted a Predators win over the Penguins 6 - 5.

My Game 3 prediction:  Pens 5 , Preds  4

Nashville won 5 - 1.

The Preds must be reading my NHL posts. They honed in, "playing in the moment and only in the moment", and outplayed The Pens not long after the 1 - 1 tie, which was the closest the Pens would get for the rest of the night.

Why did the Pens collapse Saturday night? They looked as if they were playing too fast. Way too fast to think about executing a play or simply setting up their offense taking shots on goal awaiting a puck rebound that they could sail into the net. They kept up with the speed of the Preds, but the Pens seemed to be "speeding" around on the ice without any idea of what they were doing.

I've never seen a hockey team whose skating speed kept up with their opponent but did nothing with it. That's what Pittsburgh did wrong.

What did they do that was right? Well...they took their "Spank Us And Make it Hurt so Bad it Leaves Red Marks" out of the way, hopefully for the remainder of this series.

Pittsburgh has had at least one game in each playoff series where they have been ridden hard and hung up wet. (Sorry if that's too descriptive for you). But that's what happened to them Saturday night.

The Pens looked lost from the middle of the second period to game end. They kept up with the pace and speed of the Preds, but the Pens were unable to put together any coherent strategy and execute it. Their offensive attempts were met with a strong Nashville defense and goalie Penne Rinne played one of his best games in the series with amazing Gumby-like stretchability. He was in such a deep groove with such intensely, I don't think he would have noticed the Goodyear blimp - or a helicopter - crashing into the arena.

Nashville Predators v Pittsburgh Penguins, 2017 Stanley Cup.

Okay - Game 4 Predictions...let's see how wrong we can all be:

Fansided predicts: Predators 4, Penguins 2

Both Oddsshark and Vegas Insider predict Predators 8,  Penguins 7

The Pens do not do not do not do not in any way, want to go home with a 2 - 2 series for Game 5 in Pittsburgh. I think tonight we'll see the Pens return to playing like the championship team for which they're known.

My Game 4 prediction:  Pens 8, Preds 7 in one OT.

Happy Hockey!

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.
- - -
Grammar fixes 6/6/2017

Saturday Night NHL

Game 3 of the NHL's Stanley Cup Playoff is set for tonight.

The game is at Nashville, as is Game 4. They have no wins and are down by 2 games against the Pittsburgh Penguins, four time Cup Winners who are looking for a win this year and their second consecutive Champions Championship.

No one came close to being right on their score predictions for Game 2:

Fansided predicted:   Preds 3; Pens 1
Vegas Insider:   Pittsburgh 4, Nashville 3
Oddsshark:     Penguins 4, Predators 3.
Yours Truly:   Pens 5, Preds 4 in one OT
 
Repeating game 3 predictions that were made Thursday: 

Fansided predicts:   Predators beat Penguins 3-1.  (Fan had not made a prediction last Thursday).

Both Oddsshark and Vegas Insider maintain what they predicted on Thursday; a Predators win over the Penguins 6 - 5.

My Game 3 prediction is:  Pens 5 , Preds  4

Pred goalie Pekke Rinne is expected to start tonight. He was pulled from the net during the third period on game 2's Nashville 4 - 1 loss.

We'll have the score results around seven hours from now.

I kind of expect to see a high-scoring game that takes one or two OT's during this playoff, but maybe not.

I still think Nashville's biggest problem is psychological; they are not playing "in the moment, for the moment." They seem to be chasing after the second Period the minute the puck hits the ice at the start of the game. Instead of looking far-range, they need to micro-focus. If not, the Pens will make this a 4 - 0 series.

Now how's that for not being yet Another Long Boring NHL Post?

Happy Hockey.

Via allposters.ca

As The Puck Glides; the NHL Cup Game 2 Review

It's just so not fun to write about politics and current events when the Stanley Cup Games are going on.

And how can anyone not like hockey? It's just like golf, if golf were played on ice fields and instead of a round ball you had a puck and instead of a club you had a stick.

Game 2 on Wednesday night closed with a Penguins win over the Predators of 4 to 1.

Let's look at winner and score predictions for Game 2:

Game 2, Stanley Cup - Penguins v Predators at Pittsburgh:

Fansided  predicts:  Preds 3; Pens 1

Odds at Vegas Insider: Pittsburgh 4, Nashville 3

And sports bet guru Oddsshark aligns with Vegas' prediction of Penguins 4, Predators 3.

The Pens do not want to head into Nashville for Game 3 with the series tied 1-1.

My Game 2 Prediction:  Pens 5, Preds 4 in one OT

But it was Pens 4, Preds 1 and the Pens leading in this series 2 game to zero for Nashville.

Wednesday night had the Pens returning - almost all the way - to the Cup-winning team that we've seen in the past. They did sink into their "complacent mode" for a while after being 2 points ahead. Then the Pens woke up, re-energized and dominated the rest of the game.

The Pens played well, but they still face some hurdles. SB Nation:

Pittsburgh was outshot, 38-27.

[.]

The Predators were the better team in the second period just like in Game 1, this time holding a 14-7 advantage in shots on goal.

Nashville looked tired and overwhelmed in game 2. "First time Cup Jitters"? I can't place it or define it.

Games 3 and 4 play at Nashville. Maybe home ice and hometown fans will energize the Preds and bring them back to playing as the team they had been playing in earlier rounds of the playoffs.

Nashville Predators v Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens know the territory, they're four time Cup Winners - most recently last year - and they want to repeat, which hasn't been done since 1997-1998 by the Detroit Red Wings.

If the Pens can be consistent and play like they played Wednesday night, wow - I'm thinking the Pens could win four in a row.

Nashville needs to re-transform and play the way they played against the Ducks, Cup winners in the 2006-2007 season.

Don't forget, in the first round series, Nashville eliminated 3-time Stanley Cup winner the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4 game sweep.

So it's certainly not like the Preds lack experience in beating other Cup winners.

Image via pinterest.com

Okay - on to Game 3 Predictions:

Fansided, at least at this publishing time, had not made a Game 3 prediction.

Odds at Vegas Insider for Game 3 are Nashville 6, Pittsburgh 5.

Oddsshark concurs with Vegas of a 6 -5 win by Nashville.

I'm not sure, but it might be that Oddsshark makes their prediction using Vegas Insider, since Odd has had the same score predictions as Vegas Insider.

IF Hockey Karma infuses the Preds at home for the next two games, I still see this series going seven games. If not, this could be a four game sweep by the Pens. In previous brackets, the Pens bounced back every time the pressure was on them, and the pressure was intense.

Game 3 is Saturday, I don't really like making a prediction this early, so I'm going to leave open the option to update and change my prediction by Saturday.

But for now, my Game 3 prediction is:  Pens 5 , Preds  4

I maintain that the less than stellar play of the Preds in games one and two is psychological; they're not playing in the moment. They need to treat each game from this point on as "just one game we have to win." "Just one period, then the next, and then next; then...another game." They need to stop "projecting" ahead. If they can do this, they will be a very formidable opponent to the Pens.

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.

As The Puck Glides, an NHL Stanley Cup Soap Opera

Hey - I mean "soap opera" in the best way.

This entire NHL Playoff Season is one of the most memorable in recent years. This year's playoff brackets saw teams returning to The Cup who've played and won, and lost, in the past. We also saw some teams making their first appearance in the playoffs.

We have the Nashville Predators, a new, or expansion team from 1998-1999  making their first Cup appearance. Were they even on anyone's radar at the start of the season? They are tearing a$$ in the playoffs and are now playing the Pittsburgh Penguins, four time Cup Winner .

Previous game 1 predictions made by sports betting sites and yours truly, were all wrong:

Who will win Game 1?

Fansided predicts Penguins over Predators by 3 - 2, in one OT.

Odds at Vegas Insider have Pens over Preds by  2 - 1.

And sports bet guru Oddsshark echoes Vegas with a Pens win over Preds by 2 - 1.

My Game 1 Prediction:  Predators 1,  Penguins 0.

The final score Monday night was Pens 5,  Preds 3.

I thought that what we'd see Monday night is a game where 0 - 0 is the score up until the middle of the Third Period. One of those games where for two-and-a-half periods defense on both teams is unstoppable, ending with one goal by Nashville where Pittsburgh wouldn't have sufficient time to tie the score, or win. That was my rationale and why I picked Nashville on Monday.

Monday night's Game 1 was a tale of two teams in constant mode shifting. Nashville's P.K. Subban made the first goal of the game, temporarily giving the Preds 1 and the Pens 0. Pittsburgh challenged the shot based on Subban's teammate Filip Forsberg being offside.  Nashville's point was taken away, returning it to a scoreless 0 to 0 game.

Watching the agonizingly slow and repeated viewings of the offside, in slo-mo and stop action, it had to be a very difficult call for the Refs. But, as I say in so many times on all different subject, all things being equal, they made the right call.

The Pens then scored three goals before the end of the first period. The first, by Evgeni Malkin, has to be the 8th Greatest Goal Wonder of the World. How he saw the opening -- a channel, a tiny galactic black hole path big enough only for the size of a puck --  and glided it past Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne was poetry in motion. It was a spectacular shot and Malkin has the vision of a hawk.

The Second Period began with a gutted catfish thrown onto the ice . An arena employee was dispatched with a snow shovel to scoop up the chum and play of the game resumed. Who threw the fish? Well, so far all evidence points to Russia.

Anonymous gutted catfish.

The rest of this period was unremarkable. The Pens did what I've seen them do before with a 3 - 0 lead; they get a little bit complacent and then they become vulnerable.

Nashville outplayed The Pens during the second half of the second period. Near the middle of the Third Period, the stat was noted that the Pens had gone 26 (36?) minutes without a shot on goal. Then in the Third Period, Nashville sailed two goals past goalie Matt Murray, making it Pens 3, Preds 2.

I first thought, this will run into at least one OT. But a little over three minutes left, Jake Guentzel glided the puck past Rinne making it goal 4 for the Pens.

Pens # 13 Nick Bonino's following goal put the Pens up 5 to 3. And that would be the final score. Nashville pulled Rinne, but it was too late. Game 1 belongs to The Pens.

Neither team scored during any of their power plays. This is an ongoing - years - problem with the Pens. The MN Wild have this problem too. And I've never been able to figure out why. At one point, the PP favored the Pens by 5 on 3. What did the Pens do with this power play? Nothing. Well, at least they prevented Nashville from scoring, which would have been very embarrassing for The Pens.

Tonight, look for Nashville making serious adjustments in their strategy on all future games, especially on offense. They've got the speed, the "bodies", an excellent goalie. Their mantra needs to be, "one goal at a time," instead of, what seemed Monday night, a long-range vision of the series as a whole. The Preds will rebound and they will be a different team tonight from the team we watched Monday.

Going by shots on goal - or the lack of them Monday night - Pittsburgh should never have won. The Pens need to do what they have been doing - mainly, when they have a 2 point lead they need to keep it and stay focused. Their ability to come from behind and win playoff games that they seem destined to lose is their second most strongest ability (at least that how I see it). Pittsburgh has Cup experience, they've  won The Cup before, they know the mental acuity that comes with The Cup series and their "bodies" don't take a second seat to Nashville.

l

Okay - Prediction time.

Game 2, Stanley Cup - Penguins v Predators at Pittsburgh:

Fansided  predicts Preds 3; Pens 1

Odds at Vegas Insider Pittsburgh 4, Nashville 3

And sports bet guru Oddsshark  aligns with Vegas' prediction of Penguins 4, Predators 3

The Pens do not want to head into Nashville for Game 3 with the series tied 1-1.

My Game 2 Prediction:  Pens 5, Preds 4 in one OT

Watch for the Pens to be slamming the puck every chance they get for a shot on goal.

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other. Not responsible for material at linked sites.

The Stanley Cup Begins. (Or, Another Long Boring NHL Post.)

Tonight, Game 1, between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing at Paints Arena  in Pittsburgh.

Potentially injured players  unlikely to play a major factor. Those listed "out for the season" were known factors prior to today and the others fall into the category of "[Will Play] Prob[ably] Monday."

Who will win Game 1?

Fansided predicts Penguins over Predators by 3 - 2, in one OT.

Odds at Vegas Insider have Pens over Preds by  2 - 1.

And sports bet guru Oddsshark echoes Vegas with a Pens win over Preds by 2 - 1.

The Pens are the defending champions, a back-to-back win for them would be the first since Detroit in 1997 and 1998,  so in a way, I'd like to see the Penguins win The Cup this year.

This is Nashville's first appearance in The Cup. So, in a way it would be nice to see them win.

I have no horse in this game or either teams.

"Predators" v Penguins

During the playoff season, I made my predictions off of what I thought was conventional wisdom and current stats (injuries, etc). But, just guessing, my predictions are probably running 40/60, with me being wrong 60% of the time.

My Game 1 Prediction:  Predators 1,  Penguins 0.

Happy Hockey!

Disclaimer: The above is purely guesswork on my part and is not in any way to be taken as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other. Not responsible for material at linked sites.

Nashville vs Pittsburgh for The Stanley Cup

Nashville v Pittsburgh for The Stanley Cup

The Penguins won Game 7 against Ottawa by 3 to 2 in double overtimes.

My prediction was Pens 3, Ottawa 2 in ONE OT.

Score correct; number of OT's wrong.

Game 1 for the Cup is Monday night with The Nashville Predators playing in Pittsburgh.

These two teams are so determined, I believe this series will run the entire seven games.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Pens winning because every time in the playoffs that they needed to win in order to win, they won.

Time is short, more later!

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.

NHL Only

Haven't had time to go back and review my stats on picks, so we'll just jump right into where it is now.

Nashville put the Ducks away closing their series 4 - 2. Nashville, I'm sure, eagerly awaits to play the winner of Game 7, either the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Ottawa Senators.

Game 7 is Thursday, May 25 and The Sens are playing in Pittsburgh.

And Game 7 is an enigma; this series has been an enigma.

The Pens beat the Sens in Game 5, 7 - 0. Thats Seven to Zero.

Then, The Sens beat The Pens 2 - 1 last night , saving themselves from elimination and bringing the series  3 - 3.

Final Scores in previous games are all over the place, ranging from:

2-1;  1-0;  5-1;  3-2. And of course the above, 7-0 and 2-1.

So who will win Thursday night? I have no idea. Here  are all the stats. I totally underestimated Ottawa's tenacity and their ability to rebound.

The Pens on home ice, Game 7, against Ottawa:

My *pick:  Pens 3;  Sens 2 in one OT

*Pick being made on Wednesday, May 24; 4.24PM; publishing date of May 25.

Image via: background-pictures.picphotos.net

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.

NHL Quick Saturday Update

The Pens evened up their series with The Sens, each team with 2 wins.

My pick on this game was Penguins 3,  Senators 1.

The reality is:

Pittsburgh beat Ottawa 3 - 2 on Ottawa ice. Penguins goalie Matt Murray performed very well. NHL.com:

Matt Murray made 24 saves in his first start of this postseason, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Ottawa Senators 3-2 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.

The series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 at Pittsburgh on Sunday.

"It's not an easy thing to do," Murray said of joining the Stanley Cup Playoffs in progress. "All I can really do is kind of jump in and try not to think about it. Just try and play with the flow of the game and kind of let yourself get lost in the game a little bit.

Murray's a pretty solid guy.

Ottawa still plays well, but the Pens grabbed this one.

As I write this Nashville is playing in Anaheim and it is scoreless for both teams after the First Period.

This is game # 5 for them and each team had two games.

This is the pick I made yesterday for tonight's game:
Pick:  Anaheim 3;  Nashville 2

Happy Hockey!


Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.
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Grammatical correction(s): 5/21/2017

NHL Puck Pivot

I don't know what pivots faster these days, the puck or the actions of today's Liberal Politicians.

Nashville lost to Anaheim last night, 3 to 2 in OT.

The series is now tied with 2 games apiece.

I'm going down the line and speculating on all remaining games, both West and East.

Picks below made Friday, May 19; potential future player injuries not taken into consideration as they are unknown at time of publishing.

West: Preds vs Ducks: this series is going the full seven games.

Game 5, Saturday May 20; Nashville plays at Anaheim.
Pick:  Anaheim 3;  Nashville 2

Game 6, Monday May 22; Anaheim plays at Nashville.
Pick:  Nashville 5;  Anaheim 4 one OT

Game 7, if needed (yes), on Wednesday May 25; Nashville at Anaheim.
Pick:  Predators 4;  Ducks 1

Nashville proceeds desiring to possess the Stanley Cup.

East: Penguins vs Senators:

I don't know what to make of this series. With the Sens taking Game 3 by a score of 5 to 1, it's hard for me to make a case for The Pens.

Mostly, Pittsburgh winning is in the gloves of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.  But at the time of publishing this, back-up goalie Matt Murray is tonight's starting goalie, a first for him.

Ottawa leads in the series 2 to 1. I originally was typing below that the Pens would win the next three games and close out this battle.

The Pens have to win tonight to avoid that hellish battle of winning three games in a row.

High stakes for both teams. I'll say this series plays all seven games as well.

Game 4, Friday May 19;  Pittsburgh on Ottawa ice. 
Pick:  Pens 3;  Sens 1 

Game 5, Sunday May 21;  Ottawa on Penguin ice.
Pick:  Pens 2;  Sens  0

*Game 6, Tuesday May 23; Penguins on Senators ice.
Pick:  Sens 5;  Pens 3

*Game 7, Thursday May 25;  Ottawa at Pittsburgh.
Pick:  Pens 4;  Sens  2

*(if necessary)

The above, if accurate (yeah...right), has Nashville and Pittsburgh vying for The Cup.

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.
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Format changes 5/20/2017
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Typo fix 5/31/2017 

NHL Bust

My Game 3 pick between The Sens and the Pens was:
Pens 2, Sens 1 in one OT.

The reality was the Pens lost 5 to 1, (ahem, cough, cough, bad pick) NHL.com:

Ottawa Senators scored four first-period goals in a 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3[.]
.
Marc-Andre Fleury allowed four goals on nine shots and was replaced by Matt Murray, who made 19 saves in his 2017 Stanley Cup Playoff debut.
.
[The Penguins' Sidney] Crosby scored on the power play at 6:07 of the third to make it 5-1.

"You can't expect to win games getting a start like that, especially in the playoffs," Crosby said.

Well...maybe The Pens don't have it in them. Yes, it would be difficult to win games that begin being down 4 points to ZERO,  but you do have TWO and a HALF PERIODS left...to do anything but remain scoreless. And making your only point in the game a goal in the third period...well, you can't expect to win games like that, especially in the playoffs.

Fleury had an off-night? Okay. Still...down by four not long after the puck is dropped? In the First Period? And your only goal in the Third Period with six minutes left on the clock? That's painful.

Game 4, tomorrow night, Pens playing in Ottawa. Pick to be made tomorrow.

Game 4 of the Western Conference playoff has Anaheim playing at Nashville tonight.

My pick yesterday was:  Ducks 2; Predators 1. While I'm not "changing" that, I'll say that Nashville is more likely to win. I have no horse in any of these races. I would like to see the Pens win in order to be the first two Cups-in-a-row repeat since the Detroit Red Wings back to back wins in 1997 and 1998. 

The Pen are struggling more than I, and I think anyone else, ever thought they could. We'll see.

Given all the above, if Nashville wins tonight, they likely move on and win their Conference (sorry, Ducks). Nashville is a dominating team, has been since Round One and show no let-up and no lasting vulnerabilities. Barring any long-lasting player injuries, Nashville is Cupward bound and this is reflected in their game. They are this year's Powerhouse. Then again, Ottawa is in the zone and I haven't really given them the credit I should. I didn't think they would beat the Rangers and totally underestimated the Senators. So much depends on the glide of that chunk of vulcanized rubber. And that...that, is hockey.

NHL Game 3 Western Conf: Ducks 1 - Preds 2

Tuesday night Nashville beat the Ducks in Nashville with a final score of 2 - 1 with a power play to the Preds advantage with less than 3 minutes left in the third period. Again, a final score and winning team that made my prediction appear terribly amateurish. I'd predicted Ducks 3, Preds, 2;  in one OT.

This leaves Nashville ahead in the series by 2 - 1.

Game 4, in Nashville, tomorrow night.

My pick for Game 4:  Ducks 2, Preds 1

Game 3 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators is tonight. 

I have to go with The Pens because of their (relative) consistency in winning games on the road.

My pick for Game 3:   Pens 2,  Sens 1 in one OT

Now, Game 4 is Friday the 19th and also at Ottawa. I don't like making a prediction this early, not that waiting until the day of the game - or the day before - has made my selection of winners and scores any better...so yeah, let's wait until at least tomorrow before we look ahead to Game 4.

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other. (In other words, if you were to bet real money based on my picks, you're an idiot).

NHL Tuesday Prediction

I was right with my win of The Pens winning Monday night, but way off in my prediction of a final score.

Actual final score of game 2:  1 - 0
My final score prediction: 4 - 2 
 
It was a scoreless game until with just under seven minutes left to play, The Pens Phil Kessel got the puck past Sens goalie Craig Anderson. And the Sens could not tie it up during the remaining minutes of the third period.

The Pens have Bryan Rust and Justin Schultz with injuries.  Their return described as "day to day". 

Game 3 is in Ottawa, Wednesday, May 17.

Image via: funny-pictures.picphotos.net

Tonight, The Ducks play in Nashville, their series also tied 1 game each.

Nashville has a good win record playing on home ice. The Preds have shown consistent team speed which the Ducks have lacked in games one and two.

The Ducks not ever to be underestimated. Their series with Edmonton went a full seven games and the Oilers were brutal to the Ducks, they certainly didn't let the Ducks off easy.

And the Ducks came from behind, beating Edmonton and winning in overtime in Game 4 and Game 7, a double OT game.

This third game in Nashville tonight... it could be one of those 7 - 5 or  7 - 6 games with either team winning, or it could be one of those low scoring games with both playing tough defense and both goalies being totally tuned in.

I think the Ducks are going to psyche themselves into a "we need to win this one game, this one game in Nashville and that's all we need to do right now," mindset.

And Nashville...they're going to be all over the Ducks.

Tonight's Game:  Ducks 3,  Preds  2 in one OT.

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.
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Typo fixed 5/17/2017

NHL; Returning to Predictions

The Ducks evened their series 1 - 1 against the Predators and the Pens lost 2 - 1 against Ottawa in 1 OT.

Sunday was a beautiful day, here in Minneapolis/St.Paul, way too nice to blog. So I didn't get around to making a pick in last night's Ducks - Preds game.

I figured the Ducks would HAVE TO even-up the series before game 3, in Nashville, on May 16, and they did.

Ottawa beat the Pens 2 - 1 in one OT, AND - - - my pick on this one was RIGHT ! Except I didn't predict it in OT:

"My prediction yesterday was
Ottawa 2,  Pittsburgh 1."

As we speak, at 8pm Eastern Time, the Pens host the Sens in Pittsburgh for Game # 2. Ottawa leads the series 1 - 0.  The Pens KNOW they have to win this one - they can't go to Ottawa down 0 - 2.

If the puck hasn't hit the ice in Pitts, it will any moment.

My pick tonight, Game 2:  Penguins 4, Ottawa 2

Mike Milbury

After the Pens loss on Saturday night, NBC NHL commenter Mike Milbury was really critical of The Pens. He said they looked tired.

Well, yeah, after a full SEVEN game series with the intense and phenomenal Washington, I suppose they might be a bit tired...Mike. He also said stuff like the Pens have to take control right now or they risk losing the series. They lost 2 - 1 in OT.  It's not like Ottawa came in and thrashed them 7 - 1. Milbury...can be an ass at times. Or he has some grudge against The Pens...who knows.

Don't forget, the Ducks beat Calgary 4 - 0 in round one of the playoffs.

I think I mentioned it before, but Nashville is playing superb hockey. I think this is their year; I pretty much think they are unbeatable, barring major injuries.

Disclaimer: These NHL predictions are not any way intended, or to be taken, as advice on sports betting or engaging in gambling or wagering; legal, illegal or other.
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Grammar correction  5/16/2017

Predators over Ducks in Game 1, plus Overtime!

I predicted a Ducks win over the Preds by 5 - 4 and the reality is that the Ducks lost 3 to 2, in Anaheim, in Overtime. It was brutal for Duck's goalie John Gibson. NHL.com:

Nashville outshot Anaheim 15-6 after one period, 32-17 after two and 46-29 in the game.

93 shots for Edmonton, and 52 for Anaheim. Yeah.......a bit of a discrepancy there, not a shot span any coach likes to see.

The Ducks have been rendered ineffective when the power play has been to their advantage. (This is common with the MN Wild also, and I just can't figure out why). When you have that extra man advantage, you have to, somehow, work that puck into your opponent's net.

The Puck hits The Ice tonight in Pittsburgh hosting the Ottawa Senators in Game 1 in their series.

My prediction yesterday was
Ottawa 2,  Pittsburgh 1.

Let's see what happens.

Happy Hockey!