Voy Por Ustedes

What's that you say? Talk incessantly about the NHL again? OK if you insist. Actually it's all getting very serious now and I had to force multiple doughnuts down my gob and drink rich coffee last night to keep myself awake for the two games shown on ESPN America.

Anaheim are the intriguing team for me as we speak, they're my horse as it were, followed closely by the Carolina Hurricanes. I'd find it so much easier to respect the Hurricanes had they stayed in Connecticut. The southern states should be football states and NASCAR not hockey. They're ahead in their series with Boston though and one must take them seriously whether all their fans are called Billy Bob or not.

Back to California though. The Redwings vary rarely lose three play-off games in a row, yet when it does happen it's usually to the Ducks. Trends and ironies are a sports betters friend and I feel this trend must be noted. They play again tonight.

Despite being the home team and despite being ahead in the series and despite the troubles Detroit are having dealing with the Ducks physical play - the Redwings are still favourites to win this game tonight. I simply cannot have that people. No no no.


I can't have them as favourites. They're playing like nancy boys, they're giving up too many goals as I said they would cause I'm awesome, and their offensive top line has something like 2 points between them. It's Marian Hossa's fault. You'd expect someone with a girls name to play like a woman and so he has been.

The Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger plants himself in front of their goalie Jonas Hiller. Pronger is about 7ft 6 and generaly considered one of the dirtiest players in the league. I saw him once when he played for St Louis when they played my chaps at the United Centre. He is absolutely massive and although he must be pushing 40 now it's not hard to see why Hossa has been reluctant to charge the net and has tried to score from the boards instead, but it is never going to work.

The Redwings are still missing some key players and they don't look like a team capable of winning back to back Stanley Cups. If I started a tipping blog I'd definitely advise taking the 2.32 on offer for an Anaheim win.

They've lost an important guy in Wisniewski, although Hockey players are tough, not like footballers, so he may be back tonight even though he took a puck to the lung! - but they have the momentum and the belief and the history to compensate and as I said before, if I'm right about the Redwings fraililties then the home games in Anaheim are the games to expose them.


Chicago play tonight also. I won't bet on them though as I've become supersticious. They keep digging huge holes for themselves and up until the last game have been able to scramble out of them, but the captain Jonathon Toews is not right. According to the Hawks official statement he is recovering from flu, but some other dudes think he has a shoulder injury. This is not good. They need him.

Vancouver are 6/5 to win this and gosh darn it, I hate to say it and curse my turncoatedness, but that seems like a decent enough price to be worthy of a few quid. I hope I'm just feeling pessimistic because Arsenal and Chicago both lost 3-1 on the same night on Toosaday and I've just lost perspective. If my chaps can stay out of the penalty box in the first period and not lose an early goal then I fancy them. If they don't I don't. Simples.

Finally I'm not sure what's going on with Boston. I still fancy them to win, but I've been sloppy people. I assumed they would beat Carolina quite comfortably and have not put my squirrels to work in researching their series. I will have a better idea of what ze hell is going on in those games tomorrow, which will be something for you all to look forward to.


In the meantime I have covered myself by laying off a chunk of my Boston bet just incase. I am now going to the Spar to buy doughnuts. It's the NYPD diet to see me through the play-offs and I recommend it to anyone keen on watching US sports live.