For whatever reason (we'll get to that momentarily), this was really my spring to pick winners in the playoffs and last night's series win for Detroit pushed the record to 11-3 overall. More importantly, the Pens/ Wings Cup Finals picks made online April 14th before the playoffs started actually materialized.
Two of the three series choices that weren't correct came down to the thinnest of margins. Carolina's last-minute, seventh game comeback over Jersey in the first round was one; Carolina's seventh game overtime winner against the Bruins in the second round was another; San Jose folding like a tent vs. the Ducks was the other one. I can live with the first two and I've sworn to never pick the Sharks again as long as I'm taking in oxygen. Charlie Brown. Lucy. Football.
Going back to the pre-playoffs picks, the prediction of having the heavily-favoured Bruins bow out in the second round also came to fruition.
But let's be honest here - the success rate this spring had little to do with watching parts of every single televised game to do the nightly live blogging throughout the season and immersing myself in NHL content 24/7. I had that same routine last year and although a 10-5 playoff mark is ok, I didn't get the Cup Finalists correct from the start. No, truth be told I owe most of the success this spring to what is shortly to become my latest venture: Leprechaun-in-a-box. In case you missed the backstory, here's what I wrote at the start of the last round:
Last spring I had a decent 10-5 round-by-round record, but I'm convinced I only did that well because of the four-leaf clover I snagged on eBay the week prior to making the picks. I was a little dismayed to find out this April that they were no longer available; instead replaced by a leprechaun-in-a-box.
A little creepy? Sure. That didn't stop me from buying one though and now I'm so convinced they work that I'm seriously contemplating going North America-wide with franchises of them. European expansion is tentatively slated for 2013. They don't take up much space and the little guy barely eats anything too, so maintenance costs are quite low.
I've currently got my lawyer seeing what implications NAFTA and U.S./ Canada Customs policies have in relation to shipping leprechauns across the border. As word has spread over the past few weeks about the success of this product, PETL (People for the Ethical Treatment of Leprechauns) has also contacted me and is working with my people to ensure living conditions inside of the box are up to snuff.
If you'd like to learn more about Leprechaun-in-a-box, just log onto OkMaybeThisJokeHasGoneOnForTooLongBut11-3is11-3.com
Pittsburgh Penguins (4th Eastern seed, 8th overall) vs. Detroit Red Wings (2nd Western seed, 3rd overall) Series pick: Penguins Confidence ratio: 50/50
100 words or fewer: Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom should be good to go. With Chris Osgood playing well and Detroit's depth still so strong, every argument can be made for the consummately professional Wings to become the first back-to-back Cup winners since, um, themselves. But I picked the Pens six weeks ago and I'll stick with them now. Sidney Crosby is on a mission and Evgeni Malkin has also taken his game to an entirely new level, so if Pittsburgh wins it'll be because they made the difference. Be sure to get a shot of the ironic Crosby-Hossa meeting in the handshake line.
