Tonight, the finals begin.

(1East) vs. (6West) - In some ways this is a tough one to pick - Calgary somehow managed to have a week off, despite only finishing their series one game earlier than Tampa. That will probably serve to cool them off somewhat. Tampa just had a hard fight with Philly though, and are probably feeling a little beat up. At this point, Calgary has beaten the top three seeds from the West, while Philly was the highest seeded opponent that Tampa faced, after knocking off the 7 and 8 seeds. Certainly Calgary has had the more difficult path to the finals, and nobody would have complained if they’d lost to Detroit after the thrilling series against Vancouver. All of that having been said - Calgary has been playing a great team game. They’ve been clearing the front of the net really well, and letting Kipprusof see the first shot, while clearing the rebounds. They’re playing hard nosed, playoff hockey, making sure their opponents earn everything that they get. Tampa had an easier road to the semis, and should have made quick work of a beaten up Philly team, but wound up taking them to 7 games. I just think Calgary’s intensity and will to win are better at this point, so I pick Calgary

Simpson’s quote of the day: “I don’t care if Ned Flanders is the nicest guy in the world, he’s still a jerk.” - Homer