2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs - Where to Watch in NYC

By Ted on Friday, April 29, 2011
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It's second round time. Yay! That was perhaps overly-exuberant. The entire NHL playoffs are pretty fun (beards, high-sticking, late games from deep Northwest Canada), but it's normally Conference Finals when the heat gets turned way out this biatch. Cue "haters to the left!" reference, then be embarrassed at how old it is now. Wow, 30 Rock just had 100 episodes? Ugh. Here's the breakdown on the four semifinal series:

East: Lightning vs. Capitals

The media storyline here is Stamkos vs. Ovechkin, especially in terms of "Is Stamkos ready to be Ovie's foil, ala Crosby, who the Lightning just eliminated?' The real storyline, if you're a hockey fan, is simpler: "Can the Capitals finally take their f'n boatloads of talent and do some sh*t with it?" It's a point many proud franchises have reached, including some we'll discuss in a few seconds. I told my co-worker this a few months ago (then promptly left said job): Caps would have been better entering as a No. 6 seed or so, sneaking up on everyone. I still think they can win the East, but that late-season run to become No. 1 probably puts them at somewhat of a disadvantage. They seem to choke when they're the big dogs.

East: Bruins vs. Flyers

I-95 corridor rumble! Both teams needed seven games to escape the first round. Both are iconic franchises. Both really wanna get back at it -- Flyers made the Finals last year and dropped off (that's another word for 'lost'), and the Bruins haven't done anything relevant in postseason terms seemingly since Bobby Orr. Potentially best thing about this series? (Because it will go seven) Both sides have serious homer announcers. Check the Bruins, por ejempleo:

West: Predators vs. Canucks

Apologies on the late start to this post. Canucks are already up 1-0 in this series, although let's be honest -- it means nothing. Roberto Luongo has two shutouts in these playoffs already (he has three career playoff shutouts), but the dude is toxic and could implode at any time. The Predators are the professional equivalent of most Big 10 football teams -- think Wisco, Iowa, MSU -- in the sense of 'always pretty good, never can get truly over the hump.' I think (could be wrong, I don't fact-check) the Preds have had six or so 100-point seasons in the last decade (man, I should use Wikipedia). Have they been to a Conference Finals? Never. In a way this is a series of "the ultimate wastes of ability" vs. "the ultimate drops in talent," since Vancouver is favored to win the Cup basically every year and never does. Oh, and Carrie Underwood's husband is here too. I unapologize.

West: Red Wings vs. Sharks

I wrote too much in the last section, so I'll keep this more tight. Sharks: amazing. Love them. Had a poster in my dorm room (I've never set foot in San Jose). Everyone said they had 'almost reached the mountaintop' last year by making the Conference Finals. Guess what? Red Wings, almost hands down the best franchise in sports (trying being really good at something for over 20 years and not being named 'Madonna' or 'Daniel Inouye'), will crush them. Six games probably, but the Sharks shall fold again. And the Northern California sports curse continues.... (er, ignore the San Francisco Giants, Stanford's remarkable season last year, most of women's sports, most of swimming, and the general migration of most late 20-somethings).