The Witch Is Back! | Witchcrafting 2012 | Stanley Cup Predictions

*macchiato done, cookies collected, time to write*

Ah, just when you thought I would never post again, I raise from the Ashes. Probably not for long. This blogging is so timeconsuming for me, that since late November, I have found zero time to write something. But how could I not return for my favourite pastime of the season: utterly and completely misreading the stars and other omens and failing in predicting the winner of the Stanley Cup!

But the Witch is back! And as last year, you can feast your eyes on a mix of wishful thinking, absurdity, hoping, runewatching, coin-flipping and crystal-ballery!


EASTERN CONFERENCE
[Senators #8 vs Rangers #1]
Last year the Rangers fought with all their might to make it to #8 ahead of the Canes. What a difference a year can make. This year they had several great runs and at times I had to admit they looked strong. Definitely stronger than I like seeing them. And they have King Henrik. Oh boy. But they also provided me with some fun moments and although I have no love for this squad at all, Torts definitely made my day the other week when he so openly dissed the Pens Prima Donnas. Nice. The Sens, ugh. So unless the Rangers decide to fail again in the first round, I can see them win this one quite easily. 4-2 Rags, I mean Rangers.

[Caps #7 vs Bruins #2]
Oh no. I hate this match-up this early in the Playoffs *wince*. Once the Flyers had 'left the building' last year, I totally jumped on the Bruins bandwagon. They were playing the game the way I had expected to see my Flyers play. But I have a soft spot for the Caps too. And correct me if I'm wrong, but there were some sparks in those last few games ... *ponders deeply* ... I can't think of bad things to say about the Bruins, such a complete team. And the Caps, do they even have a goalie?! But a little voice in my head is telling me to expect the perhaps unexpected and that maybe the Caps won't choke this time around. I am going to upset my buddy Sven with this and myself a bit too to be honest. 4-3 Caps.

[Devils #6 vs Panthers #3]
I have no particular interest in this match-up. Hate the Devils though, Panthers are so-so. So this is easy to decide on. The series score has nothing to do with me thinking the Panthers are THAT good, no, it's just a reflection of my dislike of the Debs. 4-0 Panthers.

[Flyers #5 vs Pens #4]
Oh boy. Really? In the first round? *sigh* Look. After the crazy trades that happened after the post-season I was really worried about how things would pan out for my Flyers this season. But I must admit, I am quite pleased. The season hasn't been perfect, but I had good hopes for a good Playoffs run. Hmm, well, if nothing else, I expect fireworks between the two. No love lost there! I don't mind seeing another bout of Lavvy trying to climb the boarding in order to give Bylsma a good talking to :D ... but the Pens, if they keep a healthy team, are quite formidable. Vomitted a bit in my mouth there :S ... so I am going for a mix of hoping and love for my Flyboys. 4-3 Flyers.

 
WESTERN CONFERENCE
[Kings #8 vs Nucks #1]
I just don't like the Nucks. Well, maybe Ryan Kessler, but that's it. The Kings have Anze! And Richie! And oh no, Carter, but I won't hold it against them. So simply because I hate the Nucks. I say. 4-2 Kings.

[Sharks #7 vs Blues #2]
Eh the Sharks made it again, eh? And the Blues too this time. What a lousy series, both are just such non-entities for me. So I am going to consult The Coins! Tail is Sharks. *flips a coin several times* Oh, The Coins like a full series! 4-3 Blues. Whatever.

[Blackhawks #6 vs Yotes #3]
What is that? The Hawks are still here? I blotted them out last year. So pesky of them to return again ... *continues pretending the Hawks do not exist* ... guess that's a by for the Yotes. Lucky bastards. 4-0 - as they had no opponents - Yotes. 

[Red Wings #5 vs Predators #4]
Red Wings, my fave Western team. So, easy for me. Wings of course win. Don't want them to get too tired. 4-2 Wings.


EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS & FINALS
[Rangers vs Caps]
Ohhhh, with the Sens out of the way it is time for the Rangers to say bye bye. Come on Caps! 4-3 Caps.

[Panthers vs Flyers]
Yeah no rocket science required to figure out what I am going to predict here ;) ... 4-1 Flyers.

[Caps vs Flyers]
Caps, I love you guys, but my Flyers will get stronger with each series. 4-2 Flyers.


WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS & FINALS
[Kings vs Blues]
As The Coins helped me out during the first round, let me consult them again. Kings are tails. Oooooh nice, I would have gone with the Kings here. And The Coins agree strongly. 4-1 Kings.

[Yotes - Red Wings]
No contest. Red Wings march through and quite easily too with lots of Datsyukian dekes. 4-1 Wings.

[Kings vs Red Wings]
You may know I am an Eastern Conference girl myself, but this is a sexy Western Conference Finals match-up. Delish! My Western faves have to win this one though, would love to see them in the SC Finals! But the Kings won't just give it up and will take it all the way to game seven, before gracefully bowing out. 4-3 Wings.


STANLEY CUP FINALS
[Flyers vs Red Wings]
Hahah, this is the exact same final series I predicted last year. My my, how wrong I was. But hey, a mix of wishful thinking, absurdity, hoping, runewatching, coin-flipping and crystal-ballery can be very potent and maybe this year that dream really will come true xD ... last year I predicted a 4-2 Flyers win and I see no reason why it should be different in this SC dream. So yeah. 4-2 Flyers. And I will be in Hockey Heaven!

So what do you think?

Sidney Crosby | He's Back

 Ladies and Gentlemen.

It has finally been announced.
Sidney Crosby is back.

Courtesy of NHL.com

Set to play on Monday 21st, 2011.
Isles @ Pens.

Pens, the Bruins have properly disarmed the Isles last night.
All you have to do is just gently skate across the ice and take shots on goal.

Sidney, I hope you play well and feel well. And that this time no crazy antics take place. Remember that 1 million penalty minutes game last year? Not that kind of shit. You need an easy game to get back on track.

The best of luck in any case!

Playoffs Daily | Game 7 | April 28th, 2011

I have missed another great hockey night. Almost weekend so I am hanging in there till my next live action hockey fix. Watched the Flyers game last night. It was amazing! But lets see what happened last night.

[Bruins-Habs] 4-3. Bruins win the series. Splendid!! Happy golfing Habs! But the Bruins sure gave themselves a heart attack by allowing that annoying Subban to score with just two minutes of regulation time to go. So yes, Nathan Horton would be the 1st star for saving the Bruins' asses in OT ... well done guys! Well, my Flyers will face the Bruins in the next round. I think we are up for an interesting series. Of course my guys will smother the Bruins ;)

[Bolts-Pens] 1-0. Bolts win the series. Well talk about embarrassing!! Pens lose on home ice. But I really thought the Pens would win this series. The Bolts had a good season, but not a particularly sparkly one, while the Pens showed some true dedication by doing very well without Sid and Malkin. So prediction-wise this is a setback, but on an emotial level: WHOOOOO GO HOME PENS! Great work Bolts, glad to see them in the next rounds. Versus the Caps. Well, no contest there if you ask me, Caps will clinch the series.

OK, now that the first round is over I will have to revisit my predictions and bring out The Coins to redo them. Will post that article later today. And should I feel bored I might do a little analysis of the old ones lol

Onto the next round! Today the Nucks are back, facing the Preds. Wonder what that historic first round win will do for the Preds!

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 6 | April 26th, 2011

Just two games last night. Too late for me to watch live, but as per usual I have recorded both games and I will be watching them when I get home. For now I just go with what I know based on the recaps and reviews.

[Pens-Bolts] 2-4. Series tied at 3-3. Whoa, another tighter than expected series. Although both teams are not surprised at all. Apparently both teams knew it was going to take seven games and perhaps a triple OT to settle the winner of this series. That is what Malone said anyways. Prediction-wise I would like to see the Pens win, but emotionally speaking: WAY TO GO BOLTS! lol

[Sharks-LA Kings]: 4-3. Sharks win series 4-2. Ha. For this series' prediction I literally flipped coins, because I just had no idea and frankly, did not care much either. The Coins predicted the Sharks would win the series 4-1. So The Coins were not perfect in their prediction, but they got the winning team right. I will be redoing my predictions after the first round, and might use The Coins :D

Some other musings ...
- Tonight my Flyers play their Game 7 and I feel very confident about this one. I just know they can do it
- Ha, according to a Facebook buddy, Leights was not at practice yesterday, Sergei was. Sounds like good news to me and I hope to see Sergei on the bench for Game 7
- I was psyched when the Steegster moved from my Leafs to my Flyers ... I thought he would fit in better with the Flyers. But after a while this feeling that I was wrong crept up on me. Until Game 6. He worked hard and looked pretty awesome. Typical Playoffs guy? Or did things finally click?

If you care to, check my original Whimsical Playoffs Predictions here:
My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 5 | April 24th, 2011

Guys, Summer has arrived early in the Netherlands! Easter Weekend is proving to be perfect weather-wise and my weekend could have been even more perfect if I could get my hockey fix! I am however staying at my parents' place and they do not have ESPN America. Which makes sense because they do not care about American Sports at all ;) ... so instead of watching a few fun games last night, I had to follow the games through the NHL BlackBerry applet. But that is OK, at least I knew what was going on and I have DVR'ed all the games ESPN aired yesterday for future viewing. So what happened last night?

[Bolts-Pens] 8-2. Pens still lead series 3-2. So I could not watch this game, but watching the score go up and up and up for the Bolts on the NHL BlackBerry applet was wild enough. At 5-0 I thought OK, good going Bolts. At 7-0 I started to feel sorry for the Pens. Can you believe it? For my predictions I still need the Pens to win, but cannot help feeling joy seeing them lose to the Bolts like this ;)

[Rangers-Caps] 1-3. Caps clinch series win with an excellent 4-1 result. Caps did what they had to do and rather deftly disposed of the Rags. Feel like I can stop calling them Rangers ;) Only glitch: why did the Caps allow a goal in the final seconds? By the way, I just impressed myself. I predicted a 4-1 Caps series win lol ... at least got one right in terms of numbers ;) ... Oh yeah. BYE BYE RAGS! Hahah, glad you are gone!

[Habs-Bruins] 1-2. Bruins now lead series 3-2. Timmmeeeeeeh! The Vezina Trophy is yours buddy! I have yet to see the game and believe me, I am happy it is waiting for me on my DVR. But the NHL report, the tweets and the FB posts all point in one direction: one hell of a memorable game! Will probably add an {edit} once I have seen it. I love a good hockey game (ok, who does not?) and even more so if it leads to a Habs defeat ;)

[Kings-Sharks] 3-1. Sharks lead series 3-2. OK, The Coins were predicting this one perfectly till this game. The predicted 4-1 is out of the window now, but The Coins are still in the running for predicting the series winner and if they get that right I might use the coins to redo my Semi Finals predictions ;)

Tonight my Flyers are playing to stay in the running. And the Ducklings are in the same situation. The Nucks. Hmm. What do you guys think? Will they pick up speed again, or will they let the Hawks smother them and tie the series?

If you care, check my original Whimsical Playoffs Predictions here:
My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 4 | April 21st, 2011

I could not contain my need to find out how last night's games went, so as I was headed for work, stuck in heavy traffic, I was reading tweets on my BlackBerry. And as I was scrolling I saw good news for the Caps, good news for the Pens fans, good news for the Ducklings and I thought "Hey, this is looking good!" and then I came upon the Flyers result and no. A 1-0 shutout is not what I was hoping for at all. Not at all. And it is also a bit of a lame loss. You know things are not going the way they should when you get your happy hockey fix from other teams. Cause I was very very pleased when I read the Red Wings have sweeped this series!

[Caps-Rangers] 4-3. Caps lead 3-1. Whew. The Rangers were onto something here. Caps were 3-0 behind after the 2nd period but managed to score three goals in a row to make it 3-3. OT was not enough for either team to clinch the win and the game had to go into second OT where Chimera scored to bring the Caps victory. Phew!

[Pens-Bolts] 3-2. Pens lead 3-1. Another long tough game. Bolts did good coming back from a 2-0 deficit. Took the Pens double OT to wint his one. Still think the Pens will win this round, but not without the Bolts fighting back!

[Flyers-Sabres] 0-1. Tied at 2-2. I hate games that generate only one goal. At least it was not a soft goal. Tough game, pretty much a goalie game too. Suppose we should be glad Boosh was in net. And really? A brawl at the end of the game? Shall watch it when I get home. In any case, not too happy with this result *sigh*

[Ducks-Preds] 6-3. Tied at 2-2. Awww my Ducklings fought back and well, not much else to add than well done Duckies, two more wins to go!

[Red Wings-Yotes] 6-3. Wings sweep this round with a 4-0 win! My fave Western Conference team, looking sharp. Have DVR-ed this one and will watch as soon as I get home!

And saunter over here to see my complete Whimsical Playoffs Predictions:
My Whimsical Playoffs Predictions

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 3 | April 19th, 2011

This morning I was driving to work and much of my thoughts had to do with last night's games. Have my Flyers won? Did the Bruins finally beat the Habs? And could the Wings add a third win? And alright, for the sake of my predictions, did the Pens beat the Bolts? Cranking up my laptop is usually a bit of waiting game, but with all these questions in mind it seemed to take forever. I went for a little walk, got a cup of tea before I could finally surf to nhl.com and I have to admit ... seeing all your picks win their game is pretty damned good.

[Flyers-Sabres] 4-2. YEAH! Two more wins to go! I suppose picking Boosh over Sergei at this stage is a wise idea. I am by no means a fan of Boosh, even less so of Leights, but you cannot deny that experience seems to be a bit more important at this stage. And it is a good idea to get the pressure off Sergei, he will grow so much next year and he will have had his first taste of the Playoffs. I see nothing but good happen for him next year. Lets just hope Boosh does not choke. But I suppose he wants to show his best work, after missing out playing last year.

[Bruins-Habs] 4-2. I half-jokingly predicted 6-2 last night. Sort of tried to cheer up a buddy of mine - Sven - who is a Bruins fan. Not holding it against him, especially not when they are facing the Habs ;) Having Chara back probably makes all the difference. Some guys just bring a certain confidence to a team. Alright Bruins, you are back in the game, now net the next three wins!

[Pens-Bolts] 3-2. Well, what can I say. Normally I would have cheered for the Bolts, but for my predictions ... good win. Cheers.

[Red Wings-Yotes] 4-2. Ha, lots of 4-2 wins last night! And way to Wings, my Western Conference faves! One more to go :)

Just two games tonight, but the Nucks can clinch their SF spot tonight. Bye bye Blackhawks!

And as per usual, for my complete predictions, have a look at my previous scribblings:
My Whimsical Playoffs Forecast

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 2 | April 16th, 2011

Oh, some interesting results for me to read this morning!

[Bolts-Pens] 5-1. Whoa, that is a bit unexpected actually. Playing desperate does seem to pay off. And Flower was dominant in Game 1, but this time it was good old trusty Roloson who upstaged the other goalie.
[Rangers-Caps] 0-2. Excellent. The Rags shut-out! And the Caps were in defence mode, wonder what we will get to see if they also amp up the good old offence!
[Hawks-Nucks] 3-4. Nicely done there, Nucks on schedule to win, like they should.
[Preds-Ducks] 3-5.Welcome back Bobby, Ryan & Corey. These three little Ducklings got their act together and gave us a cool win. Good for my predictions, onto the next one boys!

Today my Flyers play. Will not be aired on ESPN, so I may have to resort to some good old-fashioned stream hunting. I am waiting for my boys to unleash the energy that certainly must be building up to dangerous levels. After that 1-0 loss ... that energy must be waiting to break out. Right? I expect some excellent goals by Roo and Mesz. No idea why Mesz, but it has been known to happen and why should it not happen today?

And as per usual, for my complete predictions, have a look at my previous scribblings:
My Whimsical Playoffs Forecast

Playoffs Daily | QF Game 1 | April 14th, 2011

The Puck Has Dropped!

Hate it, hate it, hate it that I cannot watch at least some of the games live during the week. But work in the morning eh? Will try to catch as many games as I can over the weekend though. And I DVR'd two of last night's games and will check those out when I get home. So thanks nhl.com for NHL Gamecenter. That will my first online stop for the weeks to come :D

Alright, not a bad start at all.

[Pens-Bolts] 3-0. Not going to celebrate, but it is good for my predictions. OK. Some appreciation: Well done Flower!
[Yotes-Red Wings] 2-4. YEAH! And Datsyuk scored one.
[Rangers-Caps] 1-2 ... took an OT, but our Russian buddies Ovi & Semin nailed them! Yeah!
[Blackhawks-Nucks] 0-2. A shut-out. Excellent.
[Preds-Ducks] 4-1. Shaky start for the Ducklings. Ouch!

Tonight my Flyers play. Excited beyond belief!

Oh, for my complete predictions, have a look at my previous scribblings:
My Whimsical Playoffs Forecast

Stars, Stars, Stars ... forgot to reach for the stars | April 11th 2011

ESPN America was very gracious yesterday and showed two early games so I had a hockey-filled Sunday evening! The Flyers and Leafs played their last games on Saturday (will post a short message later) so I thought I would have a nice tension-free hockey evening.

Two games: Red Wings vs Blackhawks and Penguins vs Thrashers. If you have read any of my previous posts, you will recall that the only team I like out of these four are the Wings. The Pens & Thrashers are on my hate-list and the Blackhawks ... I just really do not like them. Hmm, odd, I thought I hated the Pens & Habs most, but at least I *love* to hate them. Blackhawks, I do not even want to think about them really, I just pretend they do not exist lol

OK the games.

Pens-Thrashers >> 5-2
- A rather boring game. I was definitely not on the edge of my seat
- But memorable because after all the games had been played, the Pens confirmed their penalty killing grandness, 86.1% ... have to give them props for that!

Wings-Blackhawks >> 4-3
- Hell yeah! That was exciting. I was definitely on the edge of my seat for this one!
- I wanted the Blackhawks to lose this one, because then the Stars would have the chance to clinch the 8th spot in the Western Conference and boot the Hawks out of contention!
- So you can imagine my chagrin when just 5 minutes into the game the Hawks scored. And you could see they had momentum. How different it was just a few minutes later. The Wings managed to reclaim momentum really quickly there! First Holmstrom scored and a minute later my man Datsyuk scored one too (he was also awarded the 1st star)
- And from there on the Wings did not give up the lead although the Hawks kept hunting. Both teams played a high-octane game and after three periods I was tired just from watching ;)

And that brings me to the title of this article. The Dallas Stars were in control of their own destiny. All they had to do was beat the Wild. But they did not. Instead they fell, hit Earth atmosphere and fizzled out in the atmosphere not even reaching the surface. I have not watched the game so cannot offer my view on how that went, but it's a pitty they failed to win this one. I am sure they agree ;)

[edit April 12th] Watched a rerun of the Dallas-Wild game yesterday and cannot say I was surprised at the outcome, Stars were not shining