Playoffs!

In other news, the NHL playoffs will soon be upon us for the unofficial fifth Canadian season. It's been a long, long time since I've seen playoffs this balanced- I don't know if there's going to be a sweep in the first round, or at all (I know, we didn't have that many last year, either.) Unfortunately, I think my poor Habs are going to get steam-rolled by the Bruins. Boy, they play some straight-up awesome hockey, and it's fun to watch Thomas flailing around like an epileptic cat. I'd pick Boston or Pittsburgh to come out of the East, but that could just as easily be Jersey or Carolina, depending on which goalies show up.

In the West, I just don't know anymore. I thought Vancouver, with the way Luongo's been playing lately, had at least a round or two sewn up, but with St. Louis making that last-game vault up the standings, I'm not so sure. Mason is playing like a man possessed, and I wouldn't want to face them right now. Ditto for Chicago- if Khabibulin rounds into Tampa-era form, they could make some noise, especially with one of the best rearguards in the league. I've picked SJ to go all the way the last two years, and damned if I'm going to do it again- but if Marleau is healthy, and Joe Thonton finally has a decent playoff, Nabokov is more than capable of leading them to the promised land. And I've been wrong about the Red Wings before, but this is the one year I think they shouldn't be underestimated.

It should be a good Spring.