* Pre-Skate *
I never thought it would be possible, but making picks of games has brought on an undesired side effect. Prior to making picks, I would scan the schedule to see which games would play into the Philadelphia Flyers standings. Obviously, I'd want all Atlantic Division foes and anyone challenging the Flyers in the Eastern Conference race to lose. Teams right now that I'd prefer to lose would Boston, Washington, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, and even Vancouver. Those teams losing benefits the Flyers in one manner or another.
The problem now is I've found myself pulling for the team I pick without even knowing it. It's awful and slightly traitorous, especially when my picks have absolutely no worth whatsoever. I've just now caught myself doing it today. I was watching the Bruins/Islanders score and was amazed that the Islanders were winning. For my picks, that's a bad thing. For the Philadelphia Flyers, it's great. Boston is stepping on the tail of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference race. This loss gives the Flyers more room to spare. But there I was, slightly disappointed that I picked incorrectly. Absolutely disgusting. Then I started thinking how many times I did it with other teams listed in the above list of teams that are chasing the Flyers. It was like I had a stomach virus all over again.
I won't fool myself however. I'll never let this hobby of mine overshadow my love for the Flyers, but it certainly is curious. I'm slightly superstitious and this has bad karma written all over it. I should be leery and careful for what I wish for. Philadelphia could be on the hurting end of these slight disappointments. Heaven forbid if it's in the playoffs. My apologies, Philly Flyers. I remain loyal! Haha. Enough of this.
I have to mention that I've finally reached a less desired milestone. Loss number one hundred finally struck me tonight. The Senators beating the Lightning 2-1 brought me to triple digits. May as well make the best of it. I like to thank my mom, my dad, my wife, my siblings, and my daughter for inspiring me to be all that I can. That said, I'd like to thank my awful hockey sense for helping me get to the big one double zero. Nah, it was bound to come, but I'll take 127 wins out of 227 games. Could be far worse. As for the blame, I'll give it to the Edmonton Oilers for giving me so much trouble through the last month that I started this project. Anyway, on a serious note, this blog is a lot of fun for me. Regardless if the blog is read or not matters not. I've always liked to write. It's funny how easy it is to let paragraphs flow when you love what you're writing about. Here's to another one hundred losses!
Climatic paragraph finally complete. Let's get to some results.
* Results *
Tonight was a great success for me. Most my results the past week have been of the 3-4 or 4-3 variety. 6-2 tonight is awesome. My losses weren't easy to see coming. I don't think anyone would have picked the Islanders or Senators over the Bruins or Lightning. I did have couple of lucky wins. Detroit was down 1-0 in the third period and managed to tie the game. They took the Oilers down in overtime. The Devils and Thrashers also needed extra time to be determined. The night ended beautifully for me with a huge by the Ducks over the Avalanche. Results for Friday are as follows.
3/11/2011 - Friday
Bruins at Islanders : Pick - Bruins : Result -- 4-2 Islanders : Wrong : 121-99
Hurricanes at Capitals : Pick - Capitals : Result -- 2-1 Capitals : Correct : 122-99
Kings at Blue Jackets : Pick - Kings : Result -- 4-2 Kings : Correct : 123-99
Oilers at Red Wings : Pick - Red Wings : Result -- 2-1 Red Wings : Correct (OT/W) : 124-99
Senators at Lightning : Pick - Lightning : Result -- 2-1 Senators : Wrong : 124-100
Devils at Thrashers : Pick - Devils : Result -- 3-2 Devils : Correct (OT/W) : 125-100
Wild at Stars : Pick - Stars : Result -- 5-2 Stars : Correct : 126-100
Ducks at Avalanche : Pick - Ducks : Result -- 6-2 Ducks : Correct : 127-100
- Results Format -
Game : Pick : Result : Pick Result (OT or SO W or L based on my pick) : My Season Record
OT/W or OT/L - My pick won or lost in OT.
SO/W or SO/L - My pick won or lost in a shootout.
=Dumbest Pick of the Night=
Once again, I don't think I can give this one out. None of my picks seemed dumb. The only games I didn't win were pretty big upsets.
=Hardest Pick of the Night=
Wild at Stars : I think this one deserves to be here. I wasn't sure which team would show up to win this one. I went with the Stars based on the belief that they'd show up at home. I went with the gut feeling and a few statistics and won. Had the Wild won, I don't think I would have been surprised. Games between inconsistent clubs are always difficult.
=Easiest Pick of the Night=
Oilers at Red Wings : This game probably doesn't deserve to be here. The Wings salvaged a win by beating the worst team in the league in overtime. They should be taking care of business in the sixty minutes prior. When making the pick, there was little doubt that Detroit would win. I was very lucky with this one.
=Shoulda, Coulda, Didn't Game of the Night=
Bruins at Islanders : This was a tough decision on the night as the Lightning could have easily been put here for losing against the Senators. I chose this game based on two reasons. The first is the Bruins have a better place in the standings than the Lightning. They're divisional leaders whereas the Lightning lost their division. The other reason is the Senators have been pretty hot lately (7-3-0) even though they're the second worst team in the league. The Islanders (5-2-3) haven't been terrible but they haven't been as good as the Sens. I could see the Lightning being placed here because they did lose to the second worst team in the league. Either way. Regardless, both teams should have beat the weaker opponent considering where they are in the standings.
=Most Impressive Pick of the Night=
Wild at Stars : I hate giving this one away because I feel it implies that I know all. I definitely don't. I'm impressed because my educated guess worked out. Both these teams have been very up and down. You never know which version of the club will show up. The Stars dominated the Wild, though a little more than I was expecting. They made me look smart, I'll take that.
=Got Owned Game of the Night=
Ducks at Avalanche : This one was never close. The Ducks slaughtered the Avalanche who are plunging quickly to the bottom of the league (currently third worst team in the NHL). The Avalanche got owned. No simpler than that.
* Picks *
A whole ten game heaping for you on Saturday. Game of the night goes to the Canucks and the Flames. Both teams are highly skilled and running very well as of late. I'm going with the Canucks as they're on a good streak and they have the season history to their advantage. They have beat the Flames three times out of four this season. Should be a good one there. Saturday also includes the Thrashers visiting the Flyers where Philadelphia will attempt to get back on a winning streak by winning their third straight. Montreal and Pittsburgh meet as well which I also think should be a good game. The Islanders and Devils will be a match of the Atlantic's worst teams though the Devils have been absolutely amazing in trying to salvage a once terrible season. Looking at the day's games, while there aren't many really great games, there are plenty of reasonable matches. Enjoy some good hockey if you have the opportunity. Here is who I show winning for Saturday.
3/12/2011 - Saturday
Canadiens at Penguins ==> Canadiens
Blue Jackets at Hurricanes ==> Hurricanes
Islanders at Devils ==> Devils
Thrashers at Flyers ==> Flyers
Sabres at Maple Leafs ==> Sabres
Lightning at Panthers ==> Lightning
Red Wings at Blues ==> Red Wings
Avalanche at Predators ==> Predators
Canucks at Flames ==> Canucks
Rangers at Sharks ==> Sharks
Night!
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