Martini's Fearless (And Feckless) Playoff Picks

It is that time once again, when 16 teams begin the quest for Hockey's Holy Grail.

Ditch the razors, gentlemen.

Ladies... I apologize in advance for us.

It's Playoff Time!

STARTING IN THE EAST...
Penguins (1st) vs. Islanders (8th): first and foremost, congratulations to the Islanders... you made it to the Playoffs. That's awesome. However, this is about the closest thing an NHL team gets to a first round bye. Penguins sweep.

Montréal (2nd) vs. Ottawa (7th). Hey, cool all the Canadian teams in the Eastern conference got into the playoffs. Oh. Wait... forgot about Winnipeg... wait... which conference is this?

Anyway, the Habs managed one hell of a season this year, making it through a pretty good slugfest with Boston at the top of the Northeast Division. With Boston caught looking ahead by this Ottawa team, Montréal catches a good break in this first round matchup. Ottawa will not go away quietly, but this series will be over in five games. Habs in five.

Washington (3rd) vs. New York (6th): Congratulations, Capitals. You won the win-the-division-or-Miss-the-Playoffs SouthLeast Division. Also, congratulations to Alexander Ovechkin for breaking the record for goals in April, set by Mario Lemieux.

Ummmm... Alex... hate to put an asterisk on that, but Mario did that in seven games to your 13. yes, a record is a record, even with an asterisk. Blame the Lockout (though to your credit, you did it in fewer games than Alexei Zhamnov). In short, as much as I hate it, Rick Nash will know what it's like to win a Playoff series in his first season as a Blueshirt. Rangers in six.

Boston (4th) vs. Toronto (5th): Sadly, Boston falls to fourth, after failing to figure out a way to beat Ottawa in the season finale. The Bruins struggled late, as evident by their losing out on the top spot in the Northeast against Montréal. They will not breeze through this series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who rebounded very nicely from the Brian Burke era and return to the Playoffs for the first time since I don't remember when (without Google). The Bruins are going to need seven to make a date with Montréal in the East semis. Bruins in seven.

IN THE WEST...
Chicago (1st) vs. Minnesota (8th): Minnesota looked like they were going to fall short of the Playoffs, but got a break in finishing the season against the last-place Colorado Avalanche. Chicago started out insanely hot, then became human. This won't be a breeze for the Blackhawks, but I see them taking this in six games. Hawks in six.

Anaheim (2nd) vs. Detroit (7th): Detroit got hot at the end, when it mattered most. That could spell trouble for Anaheim. The Ducks really need to get off to a good start and win these two home games. They will need to take one at Detroit, too. They pull that off, they will outlast the Wings if they can do that. Ducks in six.

Vancouver (3rd) vs. San Jose (6th): Vancouver pulled off a good year despite the distraction of Roberto Lu-waaaahhh-ngo's crying about how much his contract sucks (at least YOU don't have to pay you, dude). If Cory Schneider comes back healthy, they might be okay, but I'm not seeing either team really dominating this series. I see San Jose slipping by. Sharks in seven.

St. Louis (4th) vs. Los Angeles (5th): The Kings finished rather lackadaisically. The Blues are a tough, physical team that should be able to outwork, outmuscle and ultimately outlast the defending Cup champions. Blues in seven.

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This Moment... This Battle

Sixty minutes. The time is all that stands between the Columbus Blue Jackets and a first round Playoff matchup beginning Tuesday or Wednesday.

Sixty minutes -- and a little help -- will determine this CBJ team's destiny. Sixty minutes of hockey against the long-standing archrival Nashville Predators.

Sixty minutes of hockey between the Detroit Red Wings and the Dallas Stars.

Sixty minutes of hockey between the Minnesota wild in the Colorado Avalanche.

Two playoff spots. Three teams pursuing them.

Come 10, 10:15 or so... one team is going home bitterly disappointed.

Three days ago, I was watching the muted game between the L.A. Kings and the Detroit Red Wings, in a bar surrounded by hipsters in various states of smokiness and cleanliness, with the interesting and in some cases very bizarre sounds of an open mic night wafting through the crowd.

As L.A. executed their epic fail -- helping the Wings leapfrog the Jackets' into eighth -- I felt the anger that many of us felt, knowing the Jackets could not have full control of their situation.

Last night, I watched the Minnesota Wild get completely dismantled by the Edmonton Oilers, to the tune of 6-1.

Now, the Red Wings sit in seventh place in the Western Conference with 54 points, and the Wild and Blue Jackets sit in a tie for eighth with 53 points. Minnesota has the ROW tiebreaker. The Jackets must win tonight. If Detroit takes a regulation loss, the Jackets are in with a win. If Minnesota takes any kind of loss, the Jackets are in with a win.

If the Wild and Wings both win, or the Jackets lose... the season is over.

If the Jackets win and one other piece falls into place...

...there will be chaos in the Arena District tonight.

Beautiful chaos.

This 60 minutes is why hockey players play hockey.

It is why he we who watch and love this game, watch and love this game.

This 60 minutes. This moment.

This Battle.

See you at Nationwide tonight.

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Game 47: Table Set...

And there you have it.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will take the ice one last time at Nationwide Arena, with a chance to earn the second Playoff spot in franchise history.

This, after the Jackets beat the Dallas Stars 3-1 in Dallas, officially eliminating the Stars and wrapping the previously-thought-ridiculous, sadistic six-game road trip in late April... with an unthought-of 5-1 record.

You read that right. 5-1 in six games. On the road.

The Jackets threatened to make it ridiculous when Cam Atkinson scored just 19 seconds in, but instead Sergei Bobrovsky and Kari Lehtonen locked into a goaltending battle that continued through much of the first two periods from there.

Bobber was brilliant throughout, especially in the second, when the team in front of him surrendered 15 shots on goal. Only Jamie Benn got one through.

Penalties would define the Stars' fate in the third, however. Stephane Robidas' interference call spawned the power play that lasted all of three seconds, when Mark Letestu loosed a shot from beyond the slot and past Lehtonen. Another interference call led to Atkinson's insurance goal with 1:40 remaining.

Now, the team no one gave a chance in hell to see the postseason... is a win and a Detroit regulation loss -- or Minnesota losing three of four points against Edmonton and Colorado -- away from being the team no one wants to play in the first round.

It's the theme-park ride no one expected. Perhaps not even the Jackets themselves.

But there it is. And the line is waiting.

Get on board.

See you Saturday. Go Jackets!

Dear 'Anonymous'...

Regarding your comment the other night regarding the Minnesota Wild...

And my response...



Ummmmm... my bad.

I kind of figured Minnesota was good to go, and pining to overtake them was a matter of seeding rather than making the Playoffs. Clearly -- while it is an outside chance -- there is potential that Columbus could indeed rise with a win, and Minnesota could fall out if they lose three of the four available points these next two nights.

As I pointed out yesterday, crazy $#!+ happens.

And tonight's Wild-Oilers game just might wind up in that mix.

So, Anonymous... raise a glass. Here's to an unexpected night of potentially crazy $#!+.

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