Seven Things: Homecomings, Severed Fingers and Green Babies

"There's a new blog in town, and it aims to be the most obscure little hockey blog around." I know what you're thinking. "Hey, wasn't that a Leonard Cohen song?" And you're right. It was, until we stole it.

Seven Things will always aim low, and probably hit lower. In this, the 28 May 2011 edition, we mock Joe Thornton for severing his finger prior to the playoffs, suggest Zdeno Chara is anathema to modern medicine, and make mouldy sperm jokes about the Green Men. Enjoy.

Round one, Western Conference predictions

It's Canucks v Hawks III, and this time the Canucks hold all the cards. Well, not ALL the cards - the Hawks still have a pretty good top six in Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp, Frolik and Stalberg. With the defending champs having traded away their bottom six, however - Byfuglien, Versteeg, Ladd et al were huge parts of last year's Cup win - the Canucks have a decided advantage in the depth department. With apologies to our friends in Anaheim and Nashville, because we pretty much snore through that series preview - here are our picks for the West in round one.

Pucked in the Head 30 - Round One Western Conference predictions

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2011 playoffs - round one, Eastern Conference predictions

It's playoff time, folks, and that means Chris and I feel a bizarre, simian urge to fling the excrement that is our thoughts with whoever happens to be within earshot. Here are our round one Eastern Conference predictions, wrapped up in a convenient web-friendly audio format. Enjoy.

Pucked in the Head 29: Round One Eastern Conference predictions

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Well... Good on the Ducks I guess

It's a sad statement that the last three teams to hoist Lord Stanely's Cup were borne out of Gary Bettman's expansionist greed, employed more marketing guys than they have fans, and, worst of all each one beat a far more entertaining Canadian squad.

That said, you gotta like the fact that a hardass GM like Brian Burke put together 19 Canadian players (the highest ration of Canucks on any NHL roster), and basically pummelled the rest of the league into submission all year long. And no one, but no one, can begrudge a classy guy like Teemu Selanne his sip from the Holy Grail.

Anyone want to join me in a trip to Cranbrook with the Niedermayer boys bring the Cup home to roost this summer?

PS. It's another sad statement that Martin Brodeur has never has his name engraved on the Conn Smyth trophy. I mean, Cam Ward has a playoff MVP honour, but Marty Brodeur doesn't?

My day with Stanley

Stanley Cup and... ME!
Originally uploaded by stodmyk.

It's only fitting I post this after last night, when the Vancouver Canucks beat Marshall's old team, the Dallas Stars, in the sixth-longest OT game in NHL history. Hopefully I'll get another shot like this one very soon, only beside Brendan Morrison or Trevor Linden, taken at, say, English Bay. Anyway, for the full story, check out the full shot on my flickr page.

It's a Hockey, Hockey, Hockey, Hockey World

The playoffs start today. That means important hockey nearly every night for the next eight weeks -- for men across this great country, I have to say in advance:

"I'm sorry, honey. The game's on."