Cup Fever

While I'm excited for the Wild to be in the playoffs, it's not as exciting as it was when the North Stars were here and they had to play division rivals Detroit, St. Louis, Toronto and of course the Chicago Blackhawks. When the North Stars and the Blackhawks met in the playoffs it was a blood feud. The players hated each other and the fans of both teams were always at odds as fights on the ice would spill over to fights in the stands. I used to fear for my parents safety when they would go to playoff games at the Old Chicago Stadium, where it was common for people to throw batteries on the ice and punches at each other. I was only about 8 or 9 then, and was probably justified in my feelings.
The first round or two of the playoffs were always filled with fights, but not any more.

The new playoff system has pretty much removed all rivalries and it's become almost like a lottery where the team with the hottest goaltender can make a deep run.
The Stanley Cup playoffs start tonight and of course the main series I'm interested in is the Minnesota Wild and the Anaheim Ducks or whatever they're called now. Although the Wild are the #7 seed in the Western Conference, I think they have a legitimate shot at getting past Anaheim (which they failed to do four years ago). The Wild have been playing great hockey the second half of the season and with Jacques Lemaire coaching the team, they have to be considered a favorite. But alas, Vegas has them as underdog, oh well sometimes it's better to be the underdog.
The key to the series will be goaltender Niklas Backstrom and if he can stay hot. Last year Dwayne Roloson led the Oilers (the 8 seed in the west) to the Stanley Cup finals. The last time the Wild were in the playoffs it was J.S. Giguerre who led the Ducks to the finals (also as an 8 seed). The Wild definitely have more firepower than four years ago, but goaltending will remain the key to every series from here on out.
We'll see what happens when the puck drops at 9:30 tonight. Hopefully the Timberwolves continue their pathetic play and will be off the air by 9:15.

My prediction: Wild in 5.