NHL Eastern Conference Round 1 Predictions

And now onto the Eastern Conference Round 1 playoffs...

1 Penguins vs. 8 Islanders

The Penguins are truly the team to beat in the East and the Islanders are the lucky one to face them first.  One advantage of facing them first is that Sidney Crosby may not be fully back yet.  But even with out Crosby, the Penguins didn't miss a beat.  The team is loaded.  Just listen to these names: Kunitz (52 points), Dupuis (20 goals), Letang (33 assists), Neal (21 goals), Malkin, Morrow, Iginla, it goes on and on.  In goal Fluery has been solid but with this offense, that's all he has to be.

Islanders got hot in April and made a push to playoffs for the first time since 2007.  Tavares had a great season and ended up with 28 goals.  He will need to keep up his play if they have a chance.  Moulson and Grabner also provide some goal scoring punch. Nabokov in net had his ups and downs with a .910 save % and 2.5 GAA. 

It won't be pretty.  Even thought the Islanders were finishing strong, they lost their last 3 contest to slip to the lucky 8 seed to face the Penguins.  Look for the Penguins to roll and Sweep the Islanders 4-0

2 Canadiens vs. 7 Senators

After dropping 5 of 6 the Habs managed to win their last two games to grab the number 2 seed in the East.  They split the season series against the Senators.  The Canadiens have been struggling behind Carey Price and this is not the time of the year for that.  Pacioretty leads the team with 39 Points and 15 goals.  Habs have a lot of players in double digit goals but none over 15.  Price has given up 2 or more goals in the past 5 games, including 5 against the Capitals on April 20.

The Senators were 6-7 in April.  Not exactly a way to move into the playoffs, but they did what they had to do to avoid the 8th seed and face the Penguins.  Only 3 players have more than 9 goals with Kyle Turris the team leader with 12 and 29 points.  How the hell did these guys get in the playoffs?  The wild card for the Sens is Karlsson who is back and can give them added scoring chances.  Craig Anderson was an impressive .941 SV%.

Mr. Anderson will give them a chance to move on, but with the lack of offense the Canadiens will pull it together and be too much for the Sens in the end.  Canadiens 4-2

3 Capitals vs. 6 Rangers

Capitals were 11-2 in April and are coming into the playoffs on truly a high note.  Ovechkin has been the reason for that 11-2 April and finished with 32 goals and 56 points.  Troy Brouwer added 19 goals with Riberio and Backstrom feeding the goal scorers pucks combining for 76 assists.  Holtby will be in net bringing an average .920 save % and 2.58 goals against, but is on a 3 game win streak.

Rangers finished strong too with a 10-4 April.  This could be a dangerous team to face in the playoffs with the talent they have.  Lundqvist gives this team every chance to make it deep in the playoffs.  He finished with a 2.05 goals against and .926 save %.  Rick Nash has been a beast for the Rangers scoring some sick goals.  He had 21 goals and 21 assists.  Stepan, Richards, Callahan and Hagelin provide more fire power. 

This might be the best match up in the East first round.  I see 7 games for this series.  Now the question is who wins this series?  Ovechkin vs Lundqvist. Nash vs. Holtby.  Rangers pull the upset 4-3

4 Bruins vs 5 Maple Leafs

And now the match up I have been waiting for, but not sure I will like the results.  Out of all the teams in the playoffs the Bruins are probably the one that limped in the most.  This team is completely on the ropes.  Not sure why.  Could it be the Boston Marathon tragedy?  Could it be that they jammed so many games in the last month?  Not sure but they certainly have talent better than they have played over this past month.  6-8 in April.  2-7 to finish the season.  The Bergeron, Seguin, Marchand line need to step it up again and have proven to be their best line.  The addition of Jagr and Soderberg has given them another line that can score.  The team needs to get nasty (like your face) again, with Lucic, Thorton, Chara knocking people's heads off.

First playoff appearance for the Leafs since 2004.  The Leafs didn't fair well versus the Bruins in the regular season winning only one of the four games.  Kessel and Kadri clearly anchor this team offensively.  Kessel had 20 goals (10 of them coming in the final 11 games) and 32 assists, while Kadri added 18 more and 26 assists. Reimer will be in net and the youngster will be facing his first playoff action.  He is a bit erratic.  Last 5 games gave up 4 goals in a loss, following a shutout, following another 4 goal game, following giving up only 1 after giving up 5 the game before.

Will the two day rest for the Bruins be enough to recharge them and get them focused again?  Its a favorable match up for them, but they have not looked playoff ready.  Bruins bow out in the first round for the second year in a row after winning the Cup in 2011.  Leafs 4-3. :(

NHL Western Conference Playoff Predictions

Well here is my stab at predicting the first round of the Western Conference Finals.

1 Blackhawks vs. 8 Wild

The Blackhawks won the President's Cup for the best regular season record, thanks to an amazing start to the season.  And they finished the season 10-3-2 in April.  They has so much talent with the Patrick's Kane and Sharp, Hossa, Toews, Duncan Keith, and Saad has really come on lately.  In net they could go with either Goalie.  Both Crawford and Emery could start for lots of NHL teams. 

The Wild had to win their last game to get in the playoffs after really playing flat toward the end of the season.  Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will need to really step up their game if they are going to keep up the the fire power of the Blackhawks.  They have no one over 20 goals (Hawks have 2).  Its Backstrom or bust for the Wild in net.

Blackhawks too much for the Wild.  Could be a quick first round.  4-1 Blackhawks.

2 Ducks vs. 7 Redwings

Once again the Redwings get a west coast playoff match up.  Not sure why they complain so much about the west coast match ups when the Ducks have to go east too.  But whatever the case may be this should be a good one.

Redwings seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.  They have been in playoff mode for the past couple weeks battling to make it in the playoffs for the 22nd year in a row.  Zetterberg has been red hot lately.  But it will be Jimmy Howard that will decide the fate of the Redwings.  He has been great towards the end of the season and will have to keep it up to get past the 2 seed Ducks

The Ducks need Getzlaf and Perry to pull their weight in this series.  Bobby Ryan and Teemu Selanne also need to kick it up a gear.  The helter skelter schedule might have worn on the 40+ year old Selanne as he hasn't performed as well as he did earlier this season.  They are anchored in net by two netminders in Hiller and Fasth who both have played well.

This series could go either way and will play better than the seeds indicate.  Both teams tough at home.  Redwings are hot.  Ducks not as much.  7 games will decide this one.  Wings win 4-3.

3 Canucks vs. 6 Sharks

The Sharks swept the Canucks in the regular season 3-0.  Sharks have some firepower with Thorton (33 assists), Couture (21 goals), Marleau and Pavelski (both with 31 points).  Oh and let's not forget their Goal Tender Antti Niemi with 24 wins on the season.  Even though they are a 6 seed they have the talent that is much better than that.

Maybe not winning the President's Cup will mean Stanly Cup success for the Canucks.  Or maybe not.  The Ginger Twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin lead the team in points with 40 and 45 points respectively.  But this team doesn't have a lot of player that can score lots of goals.  Burrows "The Bitter" lead the team with only 13 goals.  Luongo is not back up, which might be good, and Schneider is the starter.

Should be another tight series.  I think the edge is the Sharks, even if the stumbled some down the last week of the regular season.  Better in goal and better scorers than the Canucks.  Sharks 4-2. Bye bye Ginger Twins!

4 Blues vs 5 Kings

Blues looked great at the start of the season and then played mediocre rest of the way until April, where they then went 11-2 to earn the 4th seed.  Elliot has looked pretty good in net and will have to to avoid another loss in the playoffs to the Kings who swept them last year on their way to winning the Cup.  Chris Stewart is the leading scorer on this team with 18 goals and 18 assists.  Berglund has 17 goals and the blue line is anchored by Pietrangelo. 

The Kings are 8-0 versus the Blues, including the sweep of the Blues in last years playoffs.  Jeff Carter had a great year with 26 goals.  Kopitar was the team leader with 42 points but may be preoccupied with his Zombie appearances in The Walking Dead.  Plus they have Dustin Brown, Doughty, and Richards.  Quick in net hasn't had the same year as he did last year and will have to capture that Stanley Cup magic from last year.

Don't plan on another sweep here.  Great match up.  Both teams coming into the playoffs on a roll.  Tough one to call, but going with the defending champs as they have found their swagger.  Kings 4-3

Tomorrow the Eastern Conference round one predictions.

Cherry Cup Finals 2013

Cherry's Checkers vs. Mayhem on Ice (3-2-1)

The Cherry's Checkers completed yet another championship season, winning back to back Cherry Cups and remain the only team to win the Cup.  The game once again came down to the final game of the year, however this time the Checkers were in the lead attempting to hang on for the victory over the Mayhem. 

Kopitar was a Zombie in the Finals

The Checker's deadly Kings combination of Carter, Kopitar the Zombie, Voynov, and Quick were hardly deadly.  The skaters combined for only 2 goals, 1 assist and a -2.  Quick only could manage 1 win.  However they did what they needed to do in the final game. 

With time winding down, and all of the Checker's Kings going up against just one Mayhem Dan Boyle it seemed like the Checker's had this game tied 3-3.  Surely the Checkers would get what they needed or if it stayed tied, they had the game won on tie breaker.  A Slap shot from Boyle rang off the post with both Kopitar and Voynov on the ice. If that shot was just a few inches toward the goal the Cup could have been the Mayhem for the +/- would have went in the Mayhem's favor giving them 4-2 victory.  Whew..yet another close one and the Checker/Chisler luck prevails.



Zetterberg with MVP performance

Henrik Zetterberg was truly the Cup MVP and playoff MVP.  For the Cup he had 2 goals.  8 ASSISTS and a +6.  He won their first series with a last second assist versus the Goon Crew and now hoists the Cherry Cup for the Checkers second title.

The Mayhem did all they could to try to prevent the Checkers from repeating.  Phil Kessel had 4 goals, Fleischmann had 3, while Wheeler and Tavares both had 2.  It just wasn't enough.  But not a bad year for the expansion team Mayhem.

Congratulations to the Checkers, capturing their second cup in as many years...ya stiff!

Checker's Carter hoists the Cherry Cup!

CFHL All Star Team:

C - Steven Stamkos (29-28, -4, 32)
C - Sidney Crosby (15-41, +26, 16)
W - Martin St. Louis (17-43, +0, 14)
W - Alex Ovechkin - Krampus (32-24, +2, 36)
W - Patrick Kane (23-32, +11, 8)
W - Chris Kunitz (22-30, +30, 39)
D - P.K. Subban (11-27, +12, 57)
D - Kris Letang (5+33, +16, 8)
D - Keith Yandle (10-20,+4, 54)
D - Andrei Markov (10-20, -9, 14)
G - Henrik Lundqvist (24 wins, .926)
G - Sergei Bobrovsky (21 wins, .932)

CFHL Leading Goal Scorer, Alex Ovechkin 32 goals - Krampus Carols

Handsome man isn't he

CFHL Leading Assists, Martin St. Louis 43 assists - Krampus Carols

CFHL +/- Leader, Pascal Dupuis +31, - Alex Assassins

Quite the monkey boy

CFHL Goon of the Year, Brandon Prust 110 PIM - USSR

Prust...certainly an eye gouging goon

CFHL Leading Goalie Wins, Lundqvist and Backstrom, 24 wins each - Enforcers

CFHL Leading Save %, Craig Anderson .941 - Krampus Carols

 

(Interesting that the Carols have three of the leaders and failed to make the playoffs)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rams Draft Review By Brother Rick

Today's blog is written by special guest writer, Brother Rick....enjoy!

The three day draft extravaganza is over, and I am SO ready for football. Let's take a look at the Rams draft and see how they came out.

On the first two days of the draft, the Rams drafted two extremely productive wide receivers, brought in a hard-hitting safety, and found a linebacker that can hunt down the quarterbacks in San Francisco and Seattle. On the last day of the draft the Rams added a O-lineman, a cornerback and finally a running back.

Perfect, no. There’s no such thing.

But these choices filled needs and a purpose.

Let’s review:

Austin with the Commish

West Virginia wide receiver Tavon Austin, No. 8 overall: The best playmaker in the draft and the difference maker that the Rams and quarterback Sam Bradford were longing for.

He catches the football, runs the football, returns the football, disappears with the football and drives defenders crazy with sick video-game moves straight from the Madden football!

To question Austin’s short height misses the point as much as defenders miss him. His 5 foot 9 frame is among the reasons why Austin is so exciting; defensive players have a hard time seeing him. That makes it difficult to capture him. GRADE A

Kaepernick and Wilson best look out!

Georgia outside linebacker Alec “olgie” Ogletree, No. 30 overall: Oh, so Seattle and San Francisco switched and went to mobile quarterbacks that tear down the NFL’s pocket-passing tradition to go on a search and destroy mission to rip apart defenses?

Well, Fisher now has a fast, athletic outside linebacker capable of detaining Seattle’s Russell Wilson and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick. The offensive game has changed, and defenses are evolving with it.

Ogletree has engaged in some off-field irregularities, so it’s probably a good idea to keep him from hanging around with Janoris Jenkins. Not to worry, Fisher will keep it all under control!

GRADE A

USC safety T.J. “old” McDonald, No. 71 overall: There’s been some criticism of the pick; McDonald didn’t play well for USC last season. His coverage skills are questionable, but I don’t think that’s why the Rams drafted him. Here’s what I know: McDonald is big, strong and nasty (LIKE YOUR FACE!)

Oh and McDonald was fifth in the nation in tackles last season.

McDonald also a two-time team captain for an iconic program, so he's a leader .

You go ahead and nit-pick and convince yourself that you know more than Jeff Fisher.

GRADE B

Hope to see a lot of this with Bailey and Austin together again!

West Virginia wide receiver Stedman “beetle” Bailey, No. 92 overall:

Austin and Bailey were remarkably productive for a power-conference program. Over the last two seasons they combined for 401 catches, 5,376 receiving yards, and 45 touchdowns. Bailey plays faster than his 40 time, and at 5-11 he wins a surprising number of jump balls. As Michael Irvin would say... “He is a PLAYMAKER” Last year he caught 114 passes for 1622 yards and 25-TWENTY FIVE!- touchdowns (which led the nation...by a lot!) All this for the cost of a #92 pick!

GRADE A




Alabama offensive lineman Barret Jones, No 113 overall

Jones has long arms (much better than Pugh's short arms) and played every position on the O-line for Alabama. He fits a major need for a team that can't seem to keep its lineman healthy. As decorated as he was at Alabama, this selection is a great fourth round pick. Many had him going in the second round!

GRADE A

Miami cornerback Brandon “Cherry” McGee, No. 149 overall

You can't have too many corners in the NFL and McGee is a 5'11” guy with quicks and speed. He should be a depth contributor as a DB with Finnegan, Jenkins and Trumaine Johnson the top three for the Rams. I would have rather gotten a running back or safety here, so this may be the Rams' only reach, but Jeff Fisher is pretty good with DB as Finnegan can tell you.

GRADE C

Vanderbilt running back Zac Stacy “bonus running back”, No.160 overall

The Rams had to know they need a running back. Then they decided to trade back up into the fifth round (by giving away both their 6^th round picks) to draft Zac Stacy. He is a bowling ball with speed. (4.55 second 40 and 5'8” 216 lbs). Stacy seems like the guy for goalline situations, a short target with a low center of gravity. He's bigger than Ray Rice (hey man Ray Rice Ray Rice...Fuck Ray Rice)!

GRADE B

Overall I have really little to complain about. Would I have worked on getting a running back before Zac Stacy? Perhaps. Lacy was gone fairly early (went #61 to Green Bay), then I was hoping for UCLA Running Back Johnathan Franklin (went #125, again to Green Bay). Couldn't have gotten Lacy without giving up on Olgetree and Franklin would have cost them their O-lineman from Alabama. So it will be running back by committee this year for the Rams...that's seems to be the trend of the NFL so we shall see. But overall the Rams did a great job addressing their needs.

WR...check and double check

Outside Linebacker....check

Safety....check

O-lineman...check

Running Back...check

EXPERTS EVERYWHERE SAY THE RAMS HAD A GREAT DRAFT AND I CONCUR!

 

OVERALL GRADE A

CFHL Second Round Playoffs

Mayhem vs. Enforcers (4-2)

Wheeler a big part of the Mayhem run!

Well it was one and done for the #1 seed Enforcers as the 5th seed Mayhem continue to roll. Mayhem took goals and assists pretty convincingly (12-8, and 22-16).  Cody McLeod lead all goal scorers with 3, while Tavares, Staal, and Wheeler all had 2 goals.  Blake Wheeler was also the #1 Star who added 5 assists and a +5. Lundqvist came up big for the Enforcers getting 3 wins and a .919 SV%, but it just wasn't enough.  The +/- battle was where this game was ultimately won, with both teams posting impressive numbers, but it was the Mayhem beating the Enforcers +15 to +14. It didn't look close, but a 6 point swing on Friday in the Enforcers favor made it interesting over the weekend.  Unfortunately for the Enforcers they just couldn't catch them.  The Mayhem now move on to the Cherry Cup Finals!

Checkers vs. Bunnies (4-2)

Jeff Carter sporting the Kings Throwback!

In a rematch of last years Cherry Cup Finals that ended 4-2 in favor of the Checkers, the Bunnies were searching for some revenge and looking to knock out the defending champions.  However it was another 4-2 victory for the Checkers over the Bunnies and they had to come back once again to make it happen.  The Bunnies were up most of the week and the Checkers would have to rely on the last games on Sunday to pull it off...again.  The Checkers wouldn't be able to advance on a lame ass tie like they did last week since the Bunnies were the higher seed, so they had to get both Assists and Goalie Wins.  As is typical with this teams fantasy luck, they got 2 Goalie wins on Sunday from Quick and Hiller and then with assists tied the Checker's got 2 assists on one play from Kopitar and Carter!  Those 2 assists completed a 6 assist Sunday to only 1 by the Bunnies.  Checkers only scored 4 goals to Bunnies' 11,  but with relatively poor performances by Stamkos (no assists), Getzlaf (no goals),  and Kunitz (2 assists but no other stats), it was lights out for the furry little bastards.  Checkers return to back to back Cherry Cups. (oh joy)

2013 Cherry Cup Finals Preview

Cherry Checkers vs. Mayhem on Ice
Checkers are going for their second Cup in a row and remain the only name on the cup.  Mayhem are on a roll and will have to play a full week to prevent the Checkers from another ALCOA fantastic finish, which is how they won last years cup on the last goal of the last game of the season! 

Checkers are loaded with west coast players and usually wins games late.  As go the Kings as goes the Checkers with Quick in Goal, Jeff Carter (25 goals) and Kopitar the Zombie (31 assists) and defenseman Voynov. 

Quick will give the Checkers their 2nd Cup in a row

Mayhem match up with them pretty nicely with Center Tavares (26 goals), Staal and Kessel both with 30 plus assists.  Pavelec in net for the Mayhem has 20 wins and .905 SV %. 

This one will be a close one, but that's how the Checker's like it!  As much as it pains me to say.  The Fantasy Hockey Gods seem to be on the Checker's side.  Again the Kings finish the season vs. the Sharks, just like last year.  The season ends late Saturday and the Cherry Cup is still owned by the Checkers!

CFHL First Round Playoffs

Mayhem vs. SLVB (4-1-1)

Kessel was big with 5 goals!

Well this game wasn't really close at all all week.  The Mayhem were able to really dominate most categories 10-4 in goals, 12-8 in assists and +5 to -5 in +/-.  It was a clean game too as the Mayhem won PIM only 14-6.  Mayhem's Phil Kessel was the player of the week tallying 5 goals, 2 assists and a +4.  I really got nothing else to say about this game.  It was a bad ending for the Killer Smurfs who had been on a role over the past few weeks, but as was mentioned last week, this was just the type of game where Mayhem were suppose to lose but win.  Not only did they win they won big!  Rick Nash was the only bright spot on the SLVB scoring 2 goals. Mayhem now travel to the #1 seed Enforcers.

Checkers vs. Goon Crew (3-3)

Zetterberg was a Goon Crew Killer

Emma Andersson, Zetterbergs wife I'm sure was very happy

Where do I begin with this game.  The Goon Crew were in command of this game all week winning 5-1 and 4-2 most of the week.  The goalie categories the Checker's clearly had as the Crew were only playing with one goalie as Varlamov was out with an injury.  So with no Varlamov and no Crosby things got worse later in the week when Marchand went out with a mild concussion, the Crew's best player next to Crosby, but they still managed a 4-2 lead going into the weekend.  This would change to 3-2 as the Checkers got 5 assists on Saturday to the Crew's 3 tying the Assists at 9.  On to Sunday.  The Crew needed to hang on and was hoping to get some insurance from the 3 players in the Blackhawks / Blues game (Hossa, Perron, and Pietrangelo) but got no assists from any of them leaving assists tied at 9.  Then with the Sabers game on next the Crew and the Checkers had players on the same line...again nothing.  Then the final game.  Crew hanging on to the slim lead and no players left.  Checkers had Zetterberg.  It appeared to be over and the Crew were on the way to the second round when with a Nashville empty net, Zetterberg got the puck and passed it to Abdelkader for the empty net goal and the assist to Zetterberg giving the Checkers the win in assists 10-9 tying the game 3-3 and with the tie breaker higher seed the defending Cherry Cup champs advance to the semifinals. A very bitter defeat for the Goon Crew who lose on the ultimate cheapie score on the last game of the week.

Next weeks matchups:

Enforcers vs Mayhem
The Number One Seed Enforcers finally get back on the ice and take on the Mayhem.  Both teams are expansion teams and will be playing to get into the Cherry Cup finals.  The Enforcers are lead by Jonathan Toews with 20 goals, 22 assists and +25.  The real Enforcers on this team are Lucic and Dubinsky (61 and 66 PIM respectively).  Mayhem are lead by another John, Tavares with 24 goals.  Phil Kessel is hot right now and coming off a big week.  Enforcers have the advantage in goalies with Lundqvist and Backstrom combining for 39 wins.  Will the Mayhem continue on their roll or will Enforcer's live up to their #1 seed.  Gonna go with the Enforcers on this one. 





Checkers vs Bunnies

The Defending Cherry Cup Champ Checkers stole a the series away last week to continue its quest to repeat as champs.  The Bunnies lead the league in both Goals and PIM, so they can score and kick you in the teeth.  They have two 20+ goal scores in Kunitz (21) and Stamkos (26) not to mention the 30 assits from Getzlaf. The Checkers will have their hands full.  Jeff Carter leads the Checkers with 24 goals. The Ginger Sedin has 28 assist and Zetterberg has 29.  The Checkers also have that Checker's luck but I think it runs out this week as the Bunnies have too much fire power. 

CFHL Final Week...Playoffs here we come!

It was a wild finish to the end of the season with several games and playoff spots in the balance.  While the Enforcers and Bunnies played on in a meaningless game (both locked down the #1 and #2 seeds plus first round byes) to a 2-2-2 yawner, there were other games that decided who would fill the final 4 playoff spots.

SLVB vs. Assassins (4-2)

Williams had 3 goals

The Killer Smurfs were dead in the water about half way through the season, but have woke up since their 5-1 trouncing of the Krampus Carols in Week 9.  And since then moved right into the playoffs.  Against the Assassins they dominated in Goals going 14-4 thanks to 3 players tallying "hat tricks" for the week; Nash, Ryder and Justin Williams, who was the games Number One star of the game with a 3 goal, 2 assists, a +4 and 2 PIM.  And now the goal tending is hitting its stride for SLVB as they had 6 wins, 3 each from Miller and Holtby.  The Assassins end their season in dissapointing fashion as this team had promise early on.  But scoring 4 goals in its final game just not going to cut it.

Checkers vs USSR (4-1-1)

Carter and Voynov part of many Checker Kings.  KING ME!

The Checkers used this game to lock in their first Division Title winning the Norris by 3 points.  It wasn't a sure thing going into this game and it was 3-3 most of the week, until the Checkers, like they always do, scored 2 goals on the last day to tie goals and then USSR let the goalie SV% slip away with poor performances from Emery and Rinne.  Jeff Carter for the Checkers continues to be a goal BEAST netting 3 goals for the week.  The USSR were really hurt by the injuries to Vanek and Sharp who were scoring machines early in the season.

With the 3 Division winners decided it was a wild finish for the final 2 spots up for grabs for the Mayhem, Goon Crew and Goal King...

Kane glad season over..can focus on other things

Goon Crew vs. Kraken (4-2)

The Goon Crew needed a big win this week to even have a chance to make the playoffs.  Well they did their job against the Kraken despite without the efforts of Crosby, out with a broken jaw and Hossa, who did play some but was on bench.  This resulted in only 6 goals and for some reason was enough to beat the Kraken's 5 goals.  The Crew did get 14 assists but really no one player was outstanding.  So with the Crew game in hand and them doing their part to get in the playoffs, they needed some help to still get in.  The Kraken however left them pretty beat up racking up 41 PIM including 23 from Evander "Hollyfield" Kane.

AshBusters vs. Mayhem (4-1-1)

The Mayhem were sitting nicely and a playoff spot well in hand almost played away that playoff spot as the AshBusters who have been in a state of disarray the entire season finally woke up and put a smack down on the Mayhem.  While goals were at a premium AshBusters put up an impressive 24 assists, including 9 from Nickals Backstrom.  Number One Star Taylor Hall had 2 goals, 5 assists, +3 and 2 PIM.  So the Mayhem limp into the playoffs, almost playing themselves out of it. 

Krampus Carols vs. Goal King (2-1-3)



Eating his Wheaties must have helped

After the Crew finished their game they turned their attention the the Krampus vs. Goal King game on the TVs in the locker room with the fate of their playoffs in the hands of the Krampus.  Late in the game, going into Sunday, the Goal King seemed to have things in hand up 3-2-1 and the playoff spot locked up.  "Not so fast my friend" The Krampus tallied 3 assists to the Goal Kings 1 to tie the Assists and then gets 4 PIM to the Goal Kings only 2 to tie that category and take the game 2-1-3 knocking the Goal Kings out of the playoffs and putting the Crew in their first playoffs.  The Krampus scored 17 goals in this game, 7 game from Ovechkin who was the Player of the Week also getting 2 goals, a +5 and 2 PIM. 

PLAYOFF MATCH UPS

While the Enforcers and Bunnies get to sit back and relax this week seeing who they will be playing next week here are the match ups this week.

#4 SLVB vs. #5 Mayhem

Hot team are the Smurfs who haven't lost in 4 weeks.  Mayhem are the cold team who limp into the playoffs after a pitiful performance vs the AshBusters.  SLVB are lead by Nash and Ryder who have 16 and 15 goals respectively.  Datsyuk adds 25 assists on the season and the D-bag of the team is Corey Perry with 64 PIM.  Mayhem rely on their star John Tavares with 23 goals.  Goalies are hot with SLVB's Holtby and Miller.  All signs point to SLVB to continue to roll, but this is just the type of match up where the team that is suppose to win, doesn't.  However SLVB too hot, Smurfs chop up the Mayhem.

#3 Checkers vs #6 Goon Crew
What a rivalry.  Brother vs. Brother.  This rivalry between these two owners dates back to 1985 in the Cherry Fantasy Football League where they have been division rivals in fantasy football and meeting twice in Fantasy Bowls (where they split), now the rivalry continues into the CFHL as the Crew try to knock off the defending champion Checkers.  This won't be easy with out Sidney Crosby out who had 41 assists and a whopping +26 on the season.  Riberio, Marchand and a healthy Hossa will have to pick up the slack to pull this playoff game out.  Goal Tending for Crew has been up and down with Varlamov and Niemi, who can look great one game and look terrible the next.  For the Checkers goals come and go with Jeff Carter who has 23 on the season.  This team live and dies by the Kings (Kopitar, Carter, Voynov, Quick).  Its the way owner Rick Cherry always runs his fantasy teams (in football its Chargers or Ravens).  All eggs in one basket sometime bad.  But with a Crosbyless Crew team the Checkers squeak out the win and pursue a second Cherry Cup title.

CFHL One More Week To Go!!

Checker's Winter Base

Sorry for the two week absence....between throwing my back out and now sitting here in Cape Coral, Florida, actually writing this as I sit on the patio looking at palm trees...but here we go.

The final week of the regular season is upon us and this is the final push for the playoffs.  We will review the current playoff teams, and ones that may have a chance to sneak into the playoff and make that magical run for the Cherry Cup.

The Enforcers

Well one thing is for certain, the expansion Enforcers have clinched the number one playoff spot.  Even after losing 2-3-1 to SLVB.  This game is currently under league investigation as SLVB's owner is the husband of the Enforcers and has propelled the Killer Smurfs into the playoffs currently at the #5 spot with 61 points.  The Enforcer's have been steam rolling the league.  The week before destroyed USSR 5-1 including 42 PIM and 5 goalie wins. So how interesting it was to see them call off the dogs for hubby SLVB tallying only 6 PIM.  Hmmmmmmmm......The interesting thing about this team is that is truly a team effort with 7 players with double digit Goals, but the team doesn't lead the league in any category in the CFHL but holds the best record in the league.

The Fluffy Bunnies

Cheryl Burke, Lupul's girlfriend

The Bunnies are pretty well a lock for for the 2nd playoff spot, and now face the Enforcers in the final game of the season.  Normally this would have been a huge game but withe the Enforcers locked for the #1 seed and a bye, the game doesn't take on much meaning, unless the Bunnies lay an Easter egg and the Mayhem sneak up and take them, but not likely.  The Bunnies played to a 3-3 tie to the Goal King last week but truly were the better team posting an impressive 16 goals and 16 assists along with 54 PIM.  Joffrey Lupul "Lupus" was MVP of the game getting 5 goals, 4 assists and a +4.  And like typical Bunny fashion, is now benched for the final week of the season (i.e. Chris Kunitz earlier this year).  Then again maybe he wanted to spend some time with new girlfriend Cheryl Burke  The Bunnies in the prior week pretty much ended the Crew's playoff hopes beating them 4-2 including 21 PIM from Getzlaf.



Mayhem on Ice



Dan Boyle of Mayhem

The Mayhem have quietly moved into the #3 spot at the moment with 64 points after taking out the falling USSR team 4-2.  It didn't take much to beat them, considering the Soviets only tallied 3 goals, a -6, and 6 assists.  Mayhem was just a little better.  Not a strong team but continues to win to move up the standings.  They were lead by Dan Boyle who had a goal, 2 assists and a great +8. With he AshBusters coming up next week it would appear that the Mayhem will be a lock for the 3rd spot in the playoffs.  As for the USSR, the Kremlin is not happy, going 2-4 and 1-5 the past two weeks and haven't won in 5 weeks.

Now here is where the playoff race gets interesting and tight, with the next 5 teams battling for the remaining 3 playoff spots. 

The defending Cherry Cup Champions Cherry's Checkers came off a nice 4-2 win to over take the  Norris division by one point over the Goal King by beating the Kraken.  It was actually much closer than the score indicated as they edged the Kraken by only 2 goals (8-6) and PIM (22-19) while the Kraken racked up 17 assists.  Semin and Carter both had 2 goals.  This followed the 3-3 tie with the Mayhem the prior week.  "All you have to do is get in the playoffs," said owner Rick Cherry, who last year won the Cherry Cup as a low seed.

Nash should have been a Crew

We talked about the SLVB getting a pass by the Enforcers putting them with 61 points and in 5th overall.  This week they play the Assassins, which should pretty much guarantee a win and a trip to the playoffs.  Pavel Datsyuk and Rick Nash (who the Crew wanted to draft real bad) are truly the leaders of this team.  Combined they are a +23.  Corey Perry continues to be the Smurf D-bag with 62 PIM.  The Assassins just don't have the firepower to keep up with the SLVB.  The  once dominating Shark combination of Thorton and Marleau seem like a distant past. 

The glass has broken

The Own Goal King and Goon Crew (60 and 59 points) are the last two in the mix with the USSR at 58.  Goal King manged to get the tie last week 3-3 after a beat down by the AshBusters 4-1-1 the week before.  They will need a big game from Patrick Kane and Troy Brouwer against those creepy Krampus Carols who has seen a performance serge from Ovechkin and Parise who have combined over the past two week for 11 goals, 8 assists and +10.  Crew have been with out one of their best players in Hossa (Hassa), and now Glass Head Joe aka Crosby finally shattered as he took a puck to his jaw and broke his jaw and will be done for the season.  Sitting only one point away they face the Kraken who has been known to play some poor games and the hope is that it happens again.  Even with that the Crew will need some help.  And as for the USSR, they will also need help and try to win big over the Checkers who seem to have hit their end of the season stride.

So strap it in (or on if that is your preference) this last week will be one hell of a ride.

From the beautiful city of Cape Coral Florida...good day...time to hit the beach!