Game 1 - Stanley Cup Finals: Penguins at Red Wings

Pittsburgh went 45-28-9 (or 45-37) during the regular season.

How they got here:

• Pittsburgh topped Philadelphia in the first round, 4-2.
• Pittsburgh edged Washington in the second round, 4-3.
• Pittsburgh swept Carolina in the Conference Finals, 4-0.

Pittsburgh has a winning percentage in the regular season of .549, but a .706 mark in the playoffs.

Detroit went 51-21-10 (or 51-31) during the regular season.

How they got here:

• Detroit swept Columbus in the first round, 4-0.
• Detroit edged the Ducks in the second round, 4-3.
• Detroit topped Chicago in the Conference Finals, 4-1.

Detroit has a .622 winning percentage in the regular season and has a .750 mark for the playoffs. Between the two teams, Pittsburgh is truly the underdog in this series. Detroit led the league in scoring, and they needed to, especially since their goalie's save percentage was so poor. The Penguins have an above average offense and a middle of the road save percentage, so the two teams appear evenly matched. Personally, I don't think there is a bad pick between the two. Forecast: Well, the nature of this blog is to predict who will win. Game 1 and Game 2 are in Detroit. Odds are that Detroit will prevail, as Pittsburgh is not as good on the road as Detroit is on the road. Detroit wins it at home, 3-1.

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Playoff Game #1: Blackhawks at Red Wings

I am not going to say that the logo is bad, but the Blackhawk logo could be better. The Red Wings were seeded second and the Blackhawks were seeded fourth coming into the playoffs. Both teams amassed over 100 points in the NHL point system. The Red Wings limped into the playoffs while Chicago steamrolled on in. Who is the better team?

Chicago has played six games in the first two rounds (12 games in all), while Detroit swept in the first and went seven in the second (11 games in all).

Detroit won all four games in the second round at home. They are undefeated at home in the Playoffs.

Chicago is 2-4 on the road during the playoffs. Chicago has won it's last three playoff games. Detroit has won three of their last four.

Forecast: I don't know. I like Chicago for the series. I'm really not at all sure why, but I do. Maybe it is because my wife is from Illinois (and I am secretly biased, so secret that I don't even know about it). Either way, if Chicago does win the series, they have to take one on the road from a Detroit team who hasn't lost at home since the playoffs started. Detroit wins this one tonight with a tight score of 4-3.

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Game 6: Stars vs Detroit

Detroit has been held to one goal in each of the last two games... if the great goaltending can continue, the Stars are very much in this thing. Detroit leads the series and has not closed it out over the last two games. It is like the series is changed. There was a different Detroit and Dallas teams in the first three games... and then they switched how they played over the last two.Now, what two teams are we going to see in game 6? Well, I am not at all sure, but I like the Stars right now, since they have all the momentum and they have been playing better of late. Detroit just hasn't been there and since game 6 is a home game for the Stars, they have the upperhand, allbeit ever so slightly.

The Forecast for Game 6: It will feel like the Stars are the only ones on the ice. Score: 5-2 STARS! Johnny Out.

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Stars vs. Detroit Series Preview

I am thinking Jim Fox isn't much of a Dallas Stars fan. He has taken the easy route in each series, saying to bet on the team with home-ice advantage. And granted, the Stars are seeded 5th to the Weak Wing's being the #1 seed... but it should be noted that the Stars are hungry.
Here is the complete schedule with times and dates and all that junk.
I just like the Stars chances. Hey, they've got a 50/50 chance... one out of two teams will advance. Johnny Out.

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Game 1: Stars at Detroit

I love this logo. The Red Wings are flat. And they are molting. How cool is that? Anyway, based on what I have seen, the Stars defense and the Wings offense would be the key part of this series. I think they are evenly matched on all other counts. The Stars control the power play, the Red Wings can hold their own on the power play, too. But the Stars have a solid defense in the post-season and the Wings offense is pretty solid, as well. I believe the Stars will still score their goals, since the Wings defense seems questionable (at least to me).
Here is the breakdown of when the games will be played. When the game draws closer... I think I will post a new schedule with the game times. As far as game one is concerned... the first two are going to be played in Detroit. The Stars have started strong on the road... the Stars have gone 2-0 in the first two games of each playoff series. I don't necessarily see that happening this time, since it is Detroit. I do believe the Stars will split the first two games, giving them a home-ice advantage.Forecast: Stars win the first game, and immediately start a push on Detroit in the series. Score: 4-3.

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Thursday and Friday Picks (but not all of them)

Thursday (9-22-05)

Rangers vs. Angels – Young vs. Santana – Young over his last five outings has an 0.68 ERA (2 runs over 26 1/3 innings). Young just simply needs to avoid Guerrero who has 4 homers in 15 at-bats against Young. Santana has a 15.75 ERA against Texas this year, but that was in Texas. I bring that up because of late; Santana has won his last 3 starts in Anaheim, but lost his last 3 starts on the road. What is it with a good home crowd? He has a 1.13 ERA at home in his last 3 starts, but an 11.77 ERA in his last 3 starts on the road. Ouch, can we play here in our Ballpark? Please? With that in mind, I think this is going to be a tougher game than what is billed on the surface. This one might be decided by the pen, and if that is the case, the Angels would have it. Score: 3-2.

D-Backs vs. Dodgers – Estes vs. Weaver – Estes, over his last 3 starts, hasn’t been all that sharp. He is 1-2 with a 7.80 ERA. Against the bad teams, though he has done well. He lost to the Cardinals by giving up 6 runs in 6 1/3 innings. He beat Detroit on 6/24 and also beat Colorado on 9/9. He has thrown 12 innings against the Dodgers this year and given up 8 runs. The Dodgers are hitting .311 against him (not good). He will need to avoid especially Jeff Kent, who is hitting .368 against him with 2 homers and 9 RBIs in 19 at bats. Weaver is really streaky. Looking at his last 6 games, he has won and lost to two teams (the same teams actually). He is either really good, or really bad. He’s had two starts against the D-Backs and is 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA totaling 12 1/3 innings and giving up a .244 average. Troy Glaus should sit the game out. He has a .069 average against Weaver. Chad Tracy would definitely do well, he has a .417 average against him, but only 1 RBI. It really boils down to how Weaver is going to do. Estes looks to be average, and most likely will give up 3 runs or so in 6 innings. Weaver, if he comes to play, will be unstoppable. If he leaves his pitching arm at home, well it could be ugly. He’s going to pitch a good 6 innings or more. He’s done it 9 out of his last 10 starts. I say that he will be off, though, basing off his consistency of late. He is due for a bad start. Score: Dodgers (surprised?) 8-6.

Friday (9-23-05)

Rangers vs. A’s – Rogers vs. Haren – I think I found what is wrong with Rogers. That would be Katagelophobia, Anthropophobia, and Topophobia. Wow, three phobias. The first is the fear of being ridiculed. The second is the fear of society. And the third is the fear of certain situations. One of them has to be it, right? Well, the Rangers have won the last 4 starts when Rogers pitches. Maybe a good sign? One of them was against the A’s, mind you. Interestingly enough, Rogers has also pitched higher than his current ERA over those starts, and walked away with 2 wins for himself. Haren has absolutely great over his last 10 starts, well with the exception of the 9/7 start and 8/17 start. Outside of those he has an 1.71 ERA. Notably, he has 4 starts this year against the Rangers, he is 2-1 with a 6.75 ERA. Rangers knock him with a .265 average. He only averages 5.2 innings per start this year. Rogers is averaging 6.1 innings. Tex and Sorry both knock him pretty good, but the Rangers seem to lack power on the road… oddly enough, but they both have 2 homers, Tex has 7 RBIs and Sorry has 5 in a combined 21 at bats. Impressive, indeed. So, what to call? Rangers are cold on the road, Rogers is cold period, but winning, mind you, and Haren has no real success against the Rangers hitters, not to mention how the Rangers seem to stink against their division. On a limb (for sure), I am going to go with Rogers and the Rangers. Score: 6-4.

Stars vs. Red Wings – Preseason still… Detroit was the best two years ago. Dallas was very respectable. (Yes, I am trying to research, but my sources are a little limited right now.) It has been about a year since the NHL has played, I don’t know if Detroit is any good. I am sure they are, though. I will go out on a limb and say a 2-2 tie.

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