Pre-Finals Chatter

As the Conference Finals begin tonight, I did a quick scouring of the Internets (there are rumors on it!) for the best series previews from bloggers who still have their dogs in the fight. What good is a preview from me when my team is off somewhere basking in the glow of the late-spring sun on some beach or golf course? Really, what do I care if Buffalo wins or if Detroit (please God, no) somehow takes home another Cup?

The bloggers below do really care, and their insights, while of course heavily biased, are worth more than mine.

Senators:

Sherry at Scarlett Ice outdoes herself with a great preview of what will obviously be the best series of this year's playoffs. She sums up each teams' offensive lines, their defensive pairings, their goalies, their performances so far, their grit, their experience---you name it, she covers it. And to top things off, she gives us this choice paragraph:

That being said, playing with emotion and passion, with a little bit of resentment never hurt anybody. I've never been involved in any form of smack talk, and trust me, being a Senators fan among Leafs Nation, I've heard my fair share of it. However, in a series like this where the teams are so head-to-head even, most of it just resorts to fanwanking anyways. I mean don't get me wrong, I could probably wank with the best of them but it's just far too much work. I admit it, I still have a bitter taste in my mouth after what happened last season but the Senators weren't bringing their 'A'-game to that series and wouldn't have had any business winning it.

Wanking? Bitter taste in her mouth? As an American, maybe I just don't get the subtle differences between Canadian English and the unique dialect we speak down here in the States, so I won't jump to any conclusions. But by the sound of it I need to take another vacation in Toronto.


Sabres:

While Sherry tries to be diplomatic, Tom at Sabre Rattling has decided not to hold back. The Sens suck and are going to lose, according to his eight point list. Reason number one:

1) Continually telling everyone who will listen… “I’m different. Believe me, dammit.” How many times have I heard this in the past decade? If seems every post-season the same thing gets said. They’re more committed to team defense than in the past. More committed than under Jacques Martin? Murray was brought in to open up the Sens, not close them down. More schizoid behaviour from an immature bunch of pretenders.

Stop holding back, Tom. Really tell them how you feel.


Ducks:

Finny over at Girl With A Puck is a bit wary of the Dead Wings because of their long, storied history of beating the crap out of Anaheim in the playoffs. But she's not ready to give up on her team just yet:

As predictions go, I'm about ready to do a coin toss on this one. I never like seeing Detroit in the playoffs. Ducks in 6. Why? Because I pit my two-Norris-trophy-candidates to Detroits one. Ha!

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that each team's defensemen will play a major role in the outcome of this series. I'm quite a genius.


And finally, the Dead Wings:

...

Really, who cares what Detroit bloggers have to say about anything? Go Ducks!