I am not a fan of the NBA. This is no secret. I am no fan of over-extended seasons (Super Bowl in February, World Series in the snow) either. However, I feel it is better press for the NHL to finish the marathon second. That means I am really pulling for a quick finish for the NBA playoffs while a drawn out, dramatic end for the NHL.
As the NFL and NBA potentially head toward a work stoppage the NHL needs as much solid press as it can get. Even Jim Rome is talking hockey. This is a good thing. To capture more casual fans the NHL needs to hit a broader audience. Hell, even the bandwagoners down in Tampa are selling out the arena. The Canes couldn’t pull the same feat in the 2006 Conference Finals.
The way I see it, the more national attention the NHL receives the better. Even if it is from the likes of PTI, Around the Horn and Jim Rome. I’m not hopeful about Colin Cowherd. That guy is a joke, he can’t go five minutes without mentioning LeBron and when he does, he needs to take a trip to the pants store to fix his pleats. Even having guys who see the NHL as an afterthought is a good thing. Hopefully it translates to TV ratings and attendance figures next season. Of course, there needs to be some more help from the NFL and NBA. We shall see.
Ulterior motives aside, I was really hoping for a seventh game in this series. All credit to Brian Duff, he told me this had the makings for a seven game series, he was right. There have been plenty of goals scored and just as many big saves, it has been one of the top series of these playoffs.
Dwayne Roloson still hasn’t been the goaltender he was in the previous two rounds. Teddy Purcell is going to be due for a huge raise if he continues to play Johnny on the Spot. The Bruins continue to get timely saves from Tim Thomas, even though his numbers don’t show it, and their top line is unstoppable. David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic fully embody the “Big Bad Bruins” mantra.
I like Boston in game seven. I don’t think the Lightning have handled road games particularly well in this series. Not to mention it seems like Roloson isn’t capable of holding the Bolts in these games. Tampa can’t afford to try to outscore Boston each game, if they can lock down a lead early they may have a chance. However, I like the Bruins to overpower a tired Tampa team in game seven.
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