JD's Sportscorner

The Western Conference in the National Hockey League has been clumped together for most of the 2019 season. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers and the Chicago Blackhawks lasted as long as they did because a lot of the teams better than them were ahead by a handful of points. Now that those teams are filtered out, it’s time to predict the four first-round series.

#1 Calgary Flames v. #8/WC2 Colorado Avalanche

This matchup is pretty hard to predict. Don’t get it wrong, Calgary has been by far and away the most consistent team in the West, but there are a lot of questions on their end. Like last year, the Avs get the 8th seed, and they must be relieved to play a team that isn’t as skilled as the Nashville Predators (They’re up next in the predictions by the way). Colorado proved pesky in last year’s six game series against Nashville, and wound up slowing the Preds to the point where they faltered against Winnipeg and were eliminated. This is NOT meant to take anything away from the Flames, who seem to have fixed their biggest issue in goaltending with the tandem of Mike Smith and David Rittich, though it could be a lot better. The Flames look like a complete team so far, but they need to keep their foot on the gas and win the matchups that clearly favor them. This will be offensively oriented though, since both teams were in the top 10 in goals scored. Philipp Grubauer, the former backup behind Braden Holtby, could possibly keep the Avs in this as long as possible.

Prediction: Flames take this in 7, 4-3

#2 Nashville Predators v. #7/WC1 Dallas Stars

Speaking of goalies, this series is going to be heavily centered around them. Both of these teams were in the top three in goals allowed. Just 3 years ago, Dallas was an offensive juggernaut that had horrible defense and net-minding, a 180 from what it is now. The two goalie system seems to work with net-minders who aren’t so-so. The tandem of Ben Bishop and Anton Khudobin make a solid wall, as they gave up only 200 goals in the regular season. What may be a deciding factor is the power play (when one team has a one, two or more man advantage because of a penalty committed by the opposing team. The player/s must sit in a box isolated for at least two minutes each), where Dallas sits comfortable at 11th, but Nashville is dead last. It doesn’t help that the Predators’ renown goalie Pekka Rinne is now 36. He’s played like it especially in divisional games against the Blues, Blackhawks and Jets, whereas Dallas’ penalty kill is in the top five. The Stars will find ways to rely on their defense and score just enough to advance, especially if there are power play opportunities.

Upset pick Western Conference 1st Round: Stars win in 7, 4-3

 

#3 San Jose Sharks v. #6 Las Vegas Golden Knights

It’s a confidence builder for San Jose that they beat the Golden Knights at home in overtime on March 30th, especially since they struggled with the last month and a half with their schedule. Perhaps they have playoff fever and will break out. Unfortunately, they have two obstacles in their path. The first one being that the star they acquired before the 2019 season began in Erik Karlsson may not be back in time during the first round. While the chemistry with his new teammates is still in progress, it’s one less major player making a difference. The second and most important obstacle is the opponent they’re playing. If this was an opponent such as Dallas or Colorado, the Sharks could/would find a good groove back. The Golden Knights have been on a tear ever since they too poached the Ottawa Senators’ roster and landed Mark Stone on the last day of the trade deadline. The Knights seem to have their power and speed back close to the levels they had in last year’s Stanley Cup run, and while San Jose might take a game, the Knights will find a way to take advantage of the offensive issues the Sharks have had and expose the open wound that is San Jose’s goaltending.

Prediction: Knights win this round 4-1.

#4 Winnipeg Jets v. #5 St. Louis Blues

A part of me wonders if the Jets didn’t purposely get cold at the right time so they could find the right first round matchup. While St. Louis has been the hottest team in the second half of the season (they beat Tampa at least once, so that’s saying something), there are valid critiques and concerns of the Blues trying to keep that going in the playoffs, especially from what we know given their past postseason runs this decade (they mostly have ended past the second round). This will be a matchup that heavily favors the Jets in a lot of ways, but mostly in health as a few key players such as Dustin Byfuglien make a full return.

While Jordan Binnington has been a remarkable find in the net does help, one does not want to face the number four power play unit in the league, especially a unit as physical and persistent as Winnipeg.

For the Jets, Connor Hellebuyck has to be consistent and not let in four or five goals a night. St. Louis was 15th in scoring this season, and Connor gave up only one goal in the only loss the Jets had to the Blues.

Prediction: Jets win 4-2

One of the most important parts of the National Football League isn’t when a down is played, or there’s no scores or when the draft has come. Although it’s true free agency is important because you can sign players to bolster or revamp a roster, the NFL Rules Committee votes on proposed changes to the game that can impact what goes on for seasons to come.

One such proposition was voted almost unanimously 31-1 Yes on having a replay for pass interference at any stage in a football game. The proposed rule allows coaches to ask if the penalty, regardless of if it’s called or not can be reviewed.

The rule can have one of two probable outcomes: The rule could be used fairly and given a chance within the one year span of use to cement how having the rule is good for the game, or the rule could be abused in some ways to show favoritism to certain teams or players. It’s why current San Fransisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman and newly signed Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle have voiced their opinions and warn that not only could the game become one-sided, but game times could drastically spike up if called often and the outcomes can now be controlled directly by the officials and not the players in critical moments.

Richard Sherman tweeted to Eric Weddle on March 26th, “Now they (the officials) can control the outcome as they see fit. Every defendable pass looks like PI (pass interference) in slow motion.”

It is important to note that the missed defensive pass interference call between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints led to this rule change. However, unlike Nickell Robey-Coleman’s interview where he admitted, “Ah, hell yeah, that was pass interference.”, there will be very close calls and probably few of the players targeted will say or feel that they did anything wrong. That is why the fans who are either loyal to the game and certain teams or to just casual fans who watch one game a year must educate themselves on the rule terminologies for pass interference and let their voices be heard. We should all want fair and clean officiated games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have had one of the best seasons of not just the 21st Century, but in the NHL altogether. While their next game is Saturday against the Washington Capitals, the Lightning are poised to break the both the wins record (which is held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings with a total of 62. Tampa has 59 with five games left) and the points record (set by the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens with a total of 132. Tampa can tie that mark if they win the remaining five games on their schedule.

 

However the Lightning are in good company as there have been other teams in the past who’ve shown how dominant they can be for the regular season. The 2009-2010 Washington Capitals were the first non-Original Six team to put up over 120 points in a regular season. The Chicago Blackhawks had an incredible 2012-13 season, but the lockout that occurred during that season might put them lower on some analysts’ lists. There have been multiple seasons by the Edmonton Oilers (1983-84, 1985-86), Detroit Red Wings (1995-96, 2005-06), Montreal Canadiens (1943-44, 1944-45, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78) and Boston Bruins (1929-1930, 1938-39, 1970-71).

One thing is assured: Championships are never assured for these sensational regular season teams. Within the last 30 years, especially for the Detroit Red Wings, high octane teams like the 1995-96 Red Wings and the 2009-10 Washington Capitals were eliminated within the first two rounds of the playoffs. While those teams failed, the Tampa Bay Lightning have had 2 games played within five days, enough time to rest for the upcoming postseason and keep going.

Tampa is a smarter team especially with Jon Cooper as the Coach and Team Captain Steven Stamkos getting better and pushing the team into playoff-mode since February. This doesn’t seem to be like a team that will be out early, but history has taught fans before that failing to learn from the past will allow repetition.

The National Hockey League 2018-2019 season has been filled with fun, close contests and questions. Some of them are finally being answered, such as playoff positioning, elimination and qualifications.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the first team in the 2018-2019 season to qualify and lock a playoff berth, and while the roster is stacked with phenomenal players, many seem to think their coach Jon Cooper, the league’s most tenured coach with one team (stated in Sports Illustrated), is the most deserving and the most obvious choice for the Jack Adams award, given to the best coach of the regular season in the NHL.

It’s true that Cooper isn’t just a mastermind at not only tactics and keeping his players engaged and focused on a daily basis, he’s also had a knack of fixing issues and holes that have exposed the Lightning in situations such as last year’s Eastern Conference Championship implosion, in which the Lightning sunk Game 6 and Game 7 to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. As Sports Illustrated showed in one of their early 2019 issued magazines, the Lightning, thanks to Cooper and his staff see this season and this postseason as something they want to avenge and put behind them. They’re focused on playing their best, especially on the Power Play, a part of the game where the team with the most players on the ice (minus the goalie) is on offense for a minimum of two minutes.

While Cooper is an outstanding pick, there are cases around the rest of the league. Barry Trotz, who was the coach of the champion Capitals last year, is with the New York Islanders this year, due to the Washington organization declining to give him a much bigger contract. Trotz had the Islanders in first place for over two months in probably the toughest division in the Eastern Conference.

There’s also the division rival Montreal Canadiens’ coach Claude Julien, who’s given his team a shot at the seventh or eighth seed. He might be my personal pick considering the organization traded away their top scorers before the season began and have yet to fall flat. The Canadiens have competed and proven they can have an advantage against some playoff caliber teams in their conference, even if their best player on the team is goalie Carey Price.

Other good candidates include Bill Peters for his handiwork in Calgary, Rod Brind’Amour of the Carolina Hurricanes, and mid-season hire Craig Berube of the St. Louis Blues.

The NFL Playoffs are here and it’ll be an exciting time as there will be four games in two days. Four teams; the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints and the Los Angeles Rams will not play this weekend. That’s because they’re the highest two seeds in their conferences.

The Saturday match-ups will be pretty entertaining, as the first game will be on ESPN/ABC with a division rivalry between the Indianapolis Colts against the Houston Texans in the Lone Star State. The Colts started off 1-5, but have been scorching hot, and it started with a failed 4th Down gamble against the Texans in Indy months ago. The Texans got on a winning streak after that fluke in Indianapolis and never looked back. The Colts have been the better team on every side of the ball, and it showed when they won in Houston in the second game. The Colts will probably take this one, again by a three point win.

Another matchup on Saturday that features teams that played each other will be the Seahawks going to the northern part of Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys. Seattle won handily the first time around, although they were at home and Dallas did not have Wide Receiver Amari Cooper. While Ezekiel Elliott is healthy as well as most of Dallas’ Offensive Line, Seattle will be playing with a mostly healthy Offensive Line and Secondary. Although Earl Thomas is not playing this time, the Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright will be, and Dallas will have to make sure the running game can be a factor. I see Seattle taking the W here if their offensive line can hold up throughout this game, as Russell Wilson is better than Dak Prescott.

Sunday will have two games as well. The first one will be in Maryland, where the Baltimore Ravens play the Los Angeles Chargers for the second time this season, but this time at home (same situation in a lot of ways like Seattle and Dallas). The Ravens defense suffocated the Chargers’ offense in L.A. last time, and that gave the Ravens offense enough time to get a double-digit lead. It possibly could happen again, because the Chargers Offense had no answer for that Ravens D, and I don’t think they will this time around in the Ravens’ home.

The last matchup is on Sunday night in which two red-hot teams clash on NBC. The Philadelphia “Miracle” Eagles, led by one “Saint” Nick Foles will come to Soldier Field and play the Chicago Bears. The Bears defense is one of the best units in the NFL, and they can get pressure consistently to knock Nick Foles around? Foles has bruised ribs and may not be as mobile as many expect. However, a lot of people are unsure of Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears’ starting quarterback on what his performance will be, or if the kicker Cody Parkey will have issues kicking the ball to score points. I do think the veteran Eagles have enough in the tank to win one playoff game, but it will be very low-scoring and very close.

This past week, four games were played in the two elimination rounds in the WNBA playoffs. The Phoenix Mercury had a solid win over the Dallas Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks upset the defending Champion Minnesota Lynx in the first round.

The second round was not as kind to the Sparks, as the Washington Mystics ran them out of the gym 96-64. As for the Mercury, they went up to Connecticut and beat the young Sun team 96-86 in a game that had multiple heated exchanges between Diana Taurasi and Jasmine Thomas. Taurasi would have the last laugh as she would improve her of winner-take-all record to 13-0 and set a series date with the best team in the WNBA, the Seattle Storm.

The Storm have the best player and coach (awarded by ESPN and Associated Press) as well as the Number One seed. With a 26-8 record, the Mercury will be the Storm’s first opponent in the postseason. The Storm and Mercury know each other well, as they played each other five times this season. The Storm took four games, but four of those (a stretch where they went 3-1) were early on in the season. Seattle though has had rest whereas Phoenix has not. While Breanna Stewart has been the MVP, veteran Guard Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, Natasha Howard and Jordin Canada have done a fantastic job playing together as a starting unit.

 

The Mercury have two of the best players in Taurasi and Brittney Griner, the towering center who intimidates her opponents. DeWanna Bonner and Yvonne Turner are compliments to both as they’ve been holding it down defensively (Turner and Bonner) and offensively (Bonner).

My pick is the Storm in 4. The Mercury have enough to take one game and that’s about it. The Storm have been the best team for a reason: they have the depth to give their best lineup rest, and it’ll pay off in this round, especially with a week off.

The Mystics will face the Atlanta Dream, the 2nd best team altogether. The Mystics were on a roll before the regular season ended and they showed no signs of letting down especially with Elena Della Donne at full health. The Dream aren’t so lucky as their best player in Angel McCoughtry tore her ACL and is done for the rest of the season. The Dream will have home court (as they won their division) and they still have a lot of talented players who made sure they held their number one spot. Jessica Breland is their best rebounder and defensive player while Renee Montgomery has taken over for the offense.

Prediction: However good the Dream were in the regular season, I don’t see them being as good against the Mystics in a series, especially with McCoughtry out for the season. The Mystics are hot right now and aren’t known to let their foot off the gas. This series will probably wind up going three games.

The first round of the NBA Playoffs were pretty predictable for almost every series. The second round has helped remove some of the clutter, but it looks like all but one matchup will be a breeze.

Golden State will get by New Orleans in four or five games. It doesn’t matter if Curry returns, the Warriors will shut down Jrue Holiday, Nikola Mirotic and Rajon Rondo with Andre Iguodala, David West and Draymond Green, JaVale Mcgee and Shaun Livingston. the Warriors have way more weapons that the Pelicans have, they’ll make this fast.

Same thing can be said about the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz. Clint Capela and James Harden can get past Rudy Gobert easily, and he’s one of if not their best player. This shouldn’t go further than five.

In the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers were drained of a lot of their energy since Coach Lue had only 10 players active. However, the Toronto Raptors have always shrunk away from LeBron James and whatever team he’s on, and although the Raptors look like the superior team, James knows their number, and I bet it won’t take the Cavs seven games. Probably five or six.

The best series is the last one mentioned. The wounded Boston Celtics come home to face the Philadelphia 76ers in TD Garden. The 76ers smashed the Miami Heat, so it would be surprising if Boston doesn’t put up more of a fight. These two teams are the future of the NBA, and this will probably be the first of many epic playoff series for years to come, but unfortunately for Boston, they don’t have the depth to stop Philly’s deep roster.

The NBA Playoffs are underway and given that I did predictions for the NBA Western Conference, my picks for the Eastern Conference should be a little bit easier.

The Raptors wrapped up their season becoming the number 1 seed in the East. They’ll play the spiraling Wizards, who thought they would clinch the South. Since Scott Brooks isn’t a good coach or no where close to being Steve Kerr, the Wizards will bow out early, but it will probably be a six game set since the Raptors are a sensitive team.

The Battle of Green will start in TD Gardens as the Boston Celtics will take on the Milwaukee Bucks. With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward out for the season, the Celtics need players to step up, but only a certain amount of points can be scored for Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo will probably finish as a finalist of the NBA’s MVP award, something he deserves. I can’t see Boston containing the Bucks all series, but it will be a scrap. Bucks in 5

The old men Miami Heat will face off against the young and ripe Philadelphia 76ers. The last time the Sixers made the playoffs Derrick Rose was NBA MVP, Doug Collins was their coach and Jrue Holliday and Andre Iguodala were the top players. After being pathetic for most of this decade, the Sixers led by Joel Embiid are one of if not the hottest team in the NBA right now. The only thing that could slow them down would be a swing in momentum to the veteran Heat team they play, something Dwyane Wade is very familiar with in Coach Spoelstra. Still, Sixers have more talent and more energy, and may make this a five or six game series.

Last but not least, a divisional matchup between the Indiana Pacers and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs aren’t as powerful as they would like, especially with a 10 man roster going in, but this is a team with LeBron James and a roster that fits his flow. The Pacers with Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner, Lance Stephenson and Trevor Booker will be a scrappy matchup, especially since this is the only divisional matchup in the first-round in the East. While I don’t see the Pacers winning this series, they should take this to six games and give the King and his team fits, and wear them out throughout the course of the postseason.

The NBA season fantastically ended this past Wednesday, with most notably the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Denver Nuggets in overtime 112-106 to get the last seed in the Western Conference. They’re penciled in to face the Houston Rockets in the first round. Speaking of which, that should lead me to start playoff predictions with this matchup.

The Rockets have the best record in the NBA this season and have the hottest offense in the entire NBA. It’s very hard to contain this team to under 100 points, but fortunately the T-Wolves have the best defensive minded coach in the league in Tom Thibodeau. The matchups involving James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon and Gerald Green, as well as a scorching bench against Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Taj Gibson and Jeff Teague will make this an exciting series. If the Wolves can lock down most of the roster and stay clear of foul trouble, I got them winning in seven.

Everyone knows the San Antonio Spurs have been struggling this season and Kawhi Leonard is probably going to leave after this season. The Golden State Warriors have been slumping a bit but their core has been resting, and they’re ready for the playoffs. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Warriors sweep the Spurs, but Coach Popp has shown to pull rabbits out of his coaching hat before.

The Portland Trailblazers won a decisive game at home against the Utah Jazz and will have the 3rd Seed. With that in mind, the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t a joke. Still, without Demarcus Cousins, the Pelicans have been up and down while the Blazers have been a legitimate title contender this season. The Blazers will probably make this a five game series.

Last but definitely not least in this conference the Utah Jazz have a thrilling matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder were made for the playoffs, as can be seen by their offseason acquisitions. Paul George and Carmelo Anthony will have a time against the Jazz, but I expect Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum and Jae Crowder to give them fits. Thunder in 7.

This season has been one of the better ones the NHL has had in recent years. Yes, there aren’t a lot of 90+ point teams with a few weeks left to go, but there’s a bastion of competition and second half stories to focus on.

What we know now is that the first year franchise Vegas Golden Knights will make the playoffs and unless collapse within the last 4 weeks, win their division. They’ve won an impressive number of home games and have yet to show signs of a slump.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference the Nashville Predators have won 10 straight as of when this was posted and lead the Central Division with no signs of slowing down. Right behind them is the improved, bullish and disciplined Winnipeg Jets, who seem to give anyone they’ll face in the playoffs chills and nightmares. Their physicality and loyal fanbase will make playing at Winnipeg a challenge.

The rest of the conference is up for grabs but Minnesota has finally clicked and the Dallas Stars are a potent team that can give anyone a challenge. There’s also the Ducks who’ll have their main stars Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, for example, back by the time the playoffs start, and the Ducks have stuck in the race longer than expected.

In the East Tampa Bay and Boston look to be the best teams, although the Bruins have had some injuries of late. Tampa looks to be the best team in the NHL, although when Pittsburgh gets in, they’ll be tested. Speaking of Pittsburgh, they’re heating up right now, and nothing proved they’re ready as when they beat the competent Philadelphia Flyers, who’ll be pesky when they get in. The Leafs and Devils, barring a meltdown seem to be ready for battle in the postseason as well.