Tomb of the Undead update

Yeah, you're right. It's been ages since I've had a Tomb of the Undead update, but we're in luck - I managed to complete a new chapter. Check it out, it's called Absolutely Rabbi.

On an unrelated note - my wife and I were bored because the NHL playoffs suck this year (aka CBC's coverage of the NHL playoffs sucks) so we watched Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, which continues to be a fine ambassador for the 1980s. Thanks Paul Reubens.

Next up will be Drop Dead Fred. Unless of course the NBA playoffs are better televised and are more interesting (which is entirely likely).

But all of that aside - please enjoy the Tomb of the Undead update. I hope you like it.

The makings of an awkward conference finals?

Cool first round of the playoffs, but it seemed to take a long time to get through it all, eh?

I'm happy that St. Louis won, but that was the only team I preferred in the Western Conference to make it to the second round, which is about par for the course in my books. The teams I root for rarely give you much to root about.

If I'd rather have seen Detroit, Vancouver and Chicago in the second round, you'd better believe they'd all fail and Phoenix, Los Angeles and Nashville would make it.

St. Louis v. LASt. Louis has been so awesome that I think it'd be fun to watch them continue on - not sure if I'm interested in staying up late to follow the Kings later into the playoffs for the rest of the spring. I'd prefer a team that is great a defense than a team that struggles to score (which is basically the difference between these two).

And of course, my local Stanley Cup connection will be Alex Pieterangelo bringing the Cup to King City for me to visit if St. Louis wins, so again, that's who I'm going for.


Nashville v. Phoenix
I've kind of enjoyed following along with the Predators so far - they're opportunistic and strong, and I don't know two things about Phoenix, plus, half of this series won't even begin till after 9 p.m. (which means I'm not going to watch a lick of it). All things considered, for the same reasons I can't stay up to watch the Kings, I want to get Phoenix on the ropes, and then knock 'em out. 

Washington v. New York 
I actually prefer the Capitals in this one - yet again, two teams that really had trouble getting offensive production up on the scoreboard. It could be a grumpy coach's duel, but that makes for some fun sound bytes after games. I think I want to see .... the Capitals move on in this one. I think Brian Boyle on the NYR is pretty cool, but that's probably the only Ranger I'm really interested in seeing - while there are more fun names and stars on the Caps.

Philadelphia v. New Jersey
If you're picking New Jersey, you're boring. After what Philly did in the first round, I'm super-excited to see what they've got cooking for the Devils. Philly all the way - think Giroux continues to put numbers up that threaten any recent scoring records in the playoffs?

So, if I'm picking Philly, Washington, Nashville and St. Louis - you'd better believe that's going to mean your conference championship games are going to be played between:

Phoenix v. LA (sleeping right through this, literally - I'll be in bed)
NYR v. NJ (I'll metaphorically sleep through nobody scoring in this series)

Has the makings of an awkward conference finals...

Defense ... not like this

This is the turning point - and we were literally astonished. NEVER have I seen a goal so wide open, for so long. Half the players were already heading to the faceoff circle before the puck was in the net.

The coverage started on the wrong foot. Three guys with their eyes on the puck, and no positioning to speak of.

Then they went into a defensive posture similar to a free-kick in a soccer match (which didn't work).

Then they all bumped into each other, as if this weren't embarrassing enough. Four Wings went into the corner at once! Not good when one of them's the goalie, and they leave only Jiri Hudler on the back check.

This is what you get.

Playoff picks

I know I'm a bit late (as usual) for publicly making playoff picks, but ... I haven't thought much about blogging for a while.

Starting off - based on my past with picking teams, the likeliest (and most disappointing to me) results for the second round match ups are:

Phoenix vs. LA (like staying up late?)
Nashville vs. San Jose (ugh)
Florida vs. Ottawa (stinker!)
Pittsburgh vs. Washington (this'd be pretty neat!)

Vancouver v. LA
I pick Vancouver, they're more fun to have go public - THOUGH it seems they're in a tough spot. Are they tough enough to make it through the first round after losing their first two home games and home ice advantage?

St. Louis v. San Jose
Vancouver might have San Jose in their crystal ball - what I mean is, if Vancouver continues to be great, but not win the championship, everything people have been saying about SJ for the past four years could very well be what they wind up saying about Van City.

All of that aside, I'm tired of SJ not being good enough to go deep. I'd rather see some new faces and names on St. Louis kick ass and go deep. They lost their goalie last night, but let's hope he's fine.

ALSO - Alex Pieterangelo is from King City (possibly went to KCSS?), so is Dan Carcillo (who was finally signed by Chicago) making these my rooting chances for having the Stanley Cup return to my "hometown" area, or where i went to high school, anyhow.

Phoenix v. Chicago
hmmm. I don't really know any of the names on Phoenix, so it's hard to say I've got much interest in them - and Chicago has Dan Carcillo (is he playing for them?) which means the Cup could come to King City, if they win, and Carcillo does that sort of thing.

I still like the swagger and character the jerks on the Blackhawks have, and how tough they can make it on the star players on the opposition. So I'm pretty keen on having Chicago win out. Plus, they could name another lake after Toewes and piss off some more mid-western mothers.

Nashville v. Detroit
This goes against almost every bone in my body - but I think Detroit is the sleeper pick for the Cup this year. Nobody sees them coming. And seeing has how (after watching the first two gaes) Lidstrom is taking a nap and resting up for the later rounds instead of making an impact against the Preds, the Wings should be in good shape.

Ultimately, I'm rooting for Zetterberg's playoff beard this year. Who cares about Nashville?

New York v. Ottawa
I was impressed with Ottawa earlier in the year, but ... even after that tough game, I still way prefer the Rangers. The Rangers seem to not care who they smash, which is cool. I think we realized last year most importantly that the playoffs kind of get worse as they go deep, because everybody's all f-ed up.

They've always said it was a war of attrition (which is becoming increasingly cliched) but it's simply because the first round is bad-ass. Rangers and Sens prove that. It's been fun to watch - and they kick each others asses without a sniff of repercussions from the league.

While no-holds barred continues in this series, it'll stay awesome.

Boston v. Washington
Gotta prefer Boston in this one, but that should have some devastating ramifications to the Capitals organization.

The Capitals are in some ways like the Flames, where they're really, really frustrated, but are insistent in sticking with their plan, that doesn't work. If Washington can't make it out of the first round, there should be a major shakeup.

Bruins can't possibly lose, can they? What would they do if they don't make it? Just chalk it up to a Stanley Cup hangover?

Florida v. New Jersey
This series is really more about career playoff statistics for a few players on the Devils. Most importantly, Patrick Roy has 151 career playoff wins while Brodeur has about 100. While Brodeur is right up there in the discussion for one of the greatest goaltenders int the NHL of all time, he still needs another 50 wins to be in the same discussion as Roy in the playoffs, which is ASTONISHING.

Just a heads up - does he have it in his career to win another like 15 playoff rounds?

Beyond seeing what Kovalchuk can finally do in post-season. He's never been part of a playoff series win, if you can believe that. Just something for conversation, I guess.

Florida? I can't imagine them winning anything. When's the last time they won a playoff series? Is this their year? They haven't won a playoff GAME let alone a series since 1997.

Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia
I'm not sure which one I like the most - but I think Philadelphia is kick-ass. I've always enjoyed how they can push you around and still score goals. This series has been absolutely ridiculous, but I still prefer the Flyers - not because I hate the Pens, but because the Flyers are motley with moxie.

That being said - if I would prefer Philadelphia, New Jersey, Boston, New York, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and Vancouver to win... expect: Pittsburgh, Florida, Washington, Ottawa, Nashville, Phoenix, San Jose and Los Angeles, because I literally have the worst luck and having the team's I'd prefer make it anywhere in the playoffs, if not higher than 25th in the league.

Zetterberg's playoff beard tribute post

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4