The 2nd Season Starts Today
I have to make this one quick. A sick kid, sick wife, sick dog and a little girl that has gymnastics class pushes my time for the day.
Coach Bruce Bordeaux has made some interesting lineup choices for tonight. Jiri Sekac, Tomas Fleischmann, James Wisniewski and Korbinian Holzer are healthy scratches for game one of the Western Conference Quarter Finals. They will be joined by the UBI brothers, John Gibson and Nate Thompson in the press box. Notice anything odd about the healthy scratches? The four players sitting out were all acquired by the Ducks at the trade deadline. Frederik Andersen will be between the pipes and is backed up by Jason LaBarbera. Here is tonight's lineup:
Forwards Maroon-Getzlaf-Perry Beleskey-Kesler-Palmieri Cogliano-Rakell-Silfverberg Etem-Wagner-Jackman
Defensemen Lindholm-Beauchemin Fowler-Despres Stoner-Vatanen
Goalies Frederik Andersen Jason LaBarbera
Vindication
I made my Ducks playoff predictions earlier in the week. The picks were panned by some, but I'm sticking with the Ducks win this series 4-2. Further, they will play 25 games on their way to a Stanley Cup Championship.
I'm not alone in my belief. EA sports ran a SIM based on NHL 15. They have the Ducks going all the way as well. In fact, according to the game maker, Ryan Getzlaf will win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
You can check it out here:
https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2015/stanley-cup-playoffs-simulation?utm_campaign=nhl15-social-global-ic-fb-stanley-cup-playoffs-sim-fb-041415-text-site-sust&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&sourceid=nhl15-social-global-ic-fb-stanley-cup-playoffs-sim-fb-041415-text-site-sust&cid=37613&ts=1429024428731&sf37611612=1