Oh, Canada! (Nugs vs. Allison Edition: Round 2)

The NHL Semifinals start tonight at 6pm my time; 9pm in Allison's zone, so we realized we had better stop slacking off and get our Round 2 predictions up pretty fast. After the Devils squeaked out a victory over the Panthers last night-
and my brother sent my dad and I this text: "Oh my God YEEEESSSSDdSsDdDDddDgjjj"-
we immediately got to work cranking this shit out. For Allison's version, mosey over here, and be sure to give me extra points for adorable use of the word "mosey."

If you're just tuning in, here's a rundown of our bloodthirsty amicable competition:

Basically, we're predicting which teams we think will win each round of the NHL championships. That's it. Not real creative or difficult to figure out. Sorry. To make this a little more engrossing for the rest of you, Allison and I came up with a way for us to lose even more of our dignity and self-respect: We awarded ourselves one point for each series winner that we called correctly, and at the end of the Stanley Cup Championship, whoever has the least points has to display their most hated team's logo on their blog for an entire month. Allison can't stand the Bruins and I want the Flyers to die in a fire, so I REALLY hope I win. Let's do a recap of the Quarterfinals, just for fun:

NUGS vs. ALLISON, ROUND 1:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

NEW YORK RANGERS over OTTAWA SENATORS

Although I have to hand it to the Sens, who managed to force seven games out of my Rangers, did anyone really expect them to emerge the victors of this series? There were a few moments where the Rangers let their guard down, allowing the Sens to capture three games, but I'm attributing that more to the Rangers' lack of offense. Sorry, Allison, but the Sens never had a shot. Solid effort, though. Word.

POINT: ME

(I asked for a bonus point due to my Rangers still being in it, but Allison said no. I'm greedy that way.)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS over BOSTON BRUINS

I lost this point, but I can't say that I'm too broken up about this. A), the series did go to seven games, so at least I was half right, and B), I'm not exactly the Bruins' biggest fan either. Actually, I don't know anyone who likes them, unless they're from Boston. Plus their fans are racist dicks. I'm with Allison on this one.

POINT: ALLISON

NEW JERSEY DEVILS over FLORIDA PANTHERS

What an incredible Game 7 this was. I hate the Devils and even I was on the edge of my seat. It was easily the most exciting game in the 2012 Quarterfinals. My brother was practically shitting himself. It went into double overtime, so Allison went to sleep, but we were on Facebook together for most of it, and a lot of our conversation consisted of  "!!!!!!"

Sadface though: Jason Garrison of the Cats is seriously hot, and now I don't get to look at him anymore.

Both sides win, then?

POINT: BOTH

STUPID PHILADELPHIA FLYERS over PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

POINT: NEITHER
Dickholes.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

LOS ANGELES KINGS over VANCOUVER CANUCKS

I have no idea what happened here. This was probably pretty embarrassing for Vancouver. Meanwhile, I would like to think that LA is getting better and maybe, maybe, I'll be able to go to more Championship games. Probably not, though.

BTW, the Canucks just lost Luongo- he's already asked to be traded. 

POINT: NEITHER

ST. LOUIS BLUES over SAN JOSE SHARKS

This was pretty much a given- every NHL analyst and their dog called this one. 

POINT: BOTH

PHOENIX COYOTES over CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

This was the only series in the Western Conference that wasn't a 5-game defeat. Chi-Town put in a valiant effort but in the end, my genius showed itself once again and the Coyotes advanced.

POINT: ME

NASHVILLE PREDATORS over DETROIT RED WINGS

The Preds stomped all over playoff mainstays Detroit and won me another point. 

POINT: ME

QUARTERFINALS POINTS TALLY: 

NUGS 5, ALLISON 3

Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of me being awesome.

NUGS vs. ALLISON, ROUND 2:

Just like Round 1, my picks are in red, and Allison's are in blue.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

These series were pretty easy to call for me. Basically it came down to the team I've been rooting for for almost 25 years and the team I would take a torch to without any instigation (or hesitation). Here are my forecasts:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs WASHINGTON CAPITALS

NUGS: RANGERS over CAPS

This is not only due to my Rangers bias, although I admit that's a huge part of it. I want nothing more out of this season than for my Rangers to lord it over everybody and just completely dominate. Also it would be really awesome if I could have something to top my brother; he roots for the Devils AND the Yankees.

(My other brother, however, is a Rangers fan also, so +1 for family solidarity. Up top.)

In all seriousness, though, the Rangers do seem like the favorite to win this series. The Caps have a history of not going very far in the playoffs, regardless of the fact that they forced the Bruins (last year's champs) into seven games. It isn't that long ago that they were being referred to as the Crapitals. Even though the Caps made it all the way through the Quarterfinals, I feel like they played over their heads and aren't a solid match for the Rangers, who were early Cup favorites and are still in talks to go all the way (ye-yeah).

ALLISON: CAPS over RANGERS

Nugs, I'm sorry, but I have to reward the Caps for taking out Boston for me. Plus it will keep our friendly rivalry going for a bit longer. Both teams battled hard in their first rounds. I could flip a coin and pick here.

Editor's Note: This just in from the bleachers: You suck.

NEW JERSEY DEVILS vs STUPID PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

NUGS: DEVILS over STUPID FLYERS

I just can't bring myself to predict the Stupid Flyers to win anything, ever. If the Flyers played the Nazis, I would root for the German soldiers. 

OK, maybe not. But I would want it to be a really close game, and maybe I would want the Nazis to be ahead for most of it. I may even pull for some double OT.

I despise the Stupid Flyers. There aren't enough synonyms in Thesaurus.com for the word "hate" to describe the depths of my loathing for them. Go ahead, look. I'll wait.

Although it would be cool for the Rangers and the Flyers to play each other in the Finals and watch the Rangers completely wreck their shit. 

No! No. Stupid Flyers lose.

ALLISON: DEVILS over FLYERS

I'm going to go New Jersey here. I'd like to see Philly go home.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

This was a little tougher. All of the teams in the Western Conference are equal, or almost as good, as the next, and I also don't follow the West as closely as I do the East. I did the best I could with these, so here's what I think:

ST. LOUIS BLUES vs. LOS ANGELES KINGS

NUGS: BLUES over KINGS

LA pulled a ridiculous upset when they defeated President's Trophy winner Vancouver to advance to the Semifinals. No one, and I mean no one, called this series, considering the Kings flip-flopped their playoff contention all season and just barely made it in (much like my ex- hey-o!). As much as I would love to see some Stanley Cup games in LA, the Blues are unstoppable this season and have the impeccable coaching abilities of Ken Hitchcock behind them. It's a difficult prediction, but I have to give this to St. Louis.

ALLISON: BLUES over KINGS

I'm gonna stand by my man, I mean men. And LA needs to be taken down a few notches. Have fun skating on slush in LA.

PHOENIX COYOTES vs. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
NUGS: COYOTES over PREDS

Out of all the series in the Semifinals that I had to call, this is the one that gave me the most trouble. Both of these teams defeated playoff stalwarts, and were actually favored by most NHL bloggers and analysts to do so. I watched both of these series, and both Phoenix and Nashville seemed to be evenly matched and equally impressive. The Preds even knocked out playoff institution Detroit in only five games. That's badass.

I went back and forth and agonized over this- I mean, I am basing one of my choices on my extreme animosity for the Stupid Flyers, so I more than likely lost a point right there, and I really, REALLY don't want to post that migraine-inducing logo on my blog for a month. I finally decided that while both the Preds and the Coyotes could easily take this series, I have to go back to my Round One prediction and give this to Phoenix. With Dave Tippet's coaching skills and the goaltending talents of Mike Smith, the Coyotes should be able to advance, but not before Nashville gets a full seven games out of them.

ALLISON: COYOTES over PREDS

This is a tough one. For one, I didn't pick either of these teams in round 1 for petty, silly reasons. Guess I should get serious about this, right? I'll go Phoenix. There ya go, done!

This rivalry seems to be heating up pretty nicely. The Semifinals are scheduled to run into mid-May, so check back then to find out who's still bitter and who's collecting more winning points.