Puck 'N Hockey

Greetings and salutations,

It’s been a great first round with zero sweeps and a couple of game 7s…what more could a hockey fan want? Oh, and wouldn’t you know, the Caps just had take it to seven to be the last undecided series.

My last piece was focused mainly on the home team, but since “diversification is the only free lunch” in investing, I figured we’d expand a bit and include some other teams around the league in this week’s edition. So off we go, starting with the home team….

Starting Varly – HOLD. It only took minutes after game 6 for my FB and Twitter to light up with “Theo needs to start next game” posts. Sure, it’s possible he could, but really? I know he let Maxi LaPad score the third goal but the shot was tipped. No goalie was going to stop that puck unless they just happened to be in position. Varly had an epic fail against the Penguins in last season’s game 7, but he’s the future of the Caps in net. No better time than now to guide the team to the next level.

The Penguins headed to the Stanley Cup Finals if the Caps lose – BUY. Who’s going to stop them? Philadelphia? Montreal? Boston? It’ll be a free pass – which will be a bitter pill to swallow for Caps fans.

Scott Walker not seeing the ice – SELL. The Caps have a hard-nosed, gritty forward which would be great for this series (or any playoff series for that matter) and they don’t even put him to use. I realize there’s some injury risk, but why in the hell did we bother to go get him at the trade deadline if we aren’t going to use him?

The Caps D now without Tom Poti – BUY. Some say that Poti has had a good series. These must be folk that look at the score sheet and don’t watch the games. Yes, his +/- is pretty, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said “What is Poti doing?” out loud while watching this series. Young Karl is no John Carlson, but I’m not going to hate on the Caps D because of this switch.

Habs fans who chant “Ovi sucks!” – SELL. Nobody on the Canadiens roster has more goals than Ovechkin does – so if he sucks, what’s that say about Montreal?

Caps “fans” who never acknowledge that playoff hockey is a different brand of hockey than the regular season – SELL. How’s this series goin’ for ya? I’ll short you fools to zero.

The Caps becoming the next ’03 Senators, ’06 Wings,  or ’09 Sharks – HOLD. This is the ultimate question and we’ll know the answer tonight. Maybe it’s a good thing the year isn’t 2012? Anyway, high powered offenses are great. They entertain and put up great stats in the regular season….but they don’t do sh*t when it comes to the playoffs. These types of teams are notorious for having great seasons and then getting knocked off early when it’s time to play for real. Oh wait, playoff hockey isn’t a different brand of hockey…? Sure buddy…go run around in your #8 jersey and chant “Go Ovi”.

Matt Duchene for ROTY – SELL. He had a lot of points for a rookie…and that’s about it as far as I’m concerned. Jimmy Howard got hot down the stretch but the most consistent and impressive player for my money was Tyler Myers. Short Duchene, buy Myers.

Duncan Keith for the Norris Trophy – SELL. No, I didn’t hit the ‘sell button’ by mistake. The league doesn’t take Greenie seriously and supposedly Keith has this thing in the bag. Maybe he does…but if more people actually saw west coast games they’d know that Drew Doughty is legit. Certain “experts” out there are saying he’s too young to win it and “needs another year”. Um, okay…but if he’s the best of the three shouldn’t he win it because of that? I say yes.

Roberto Luongo taking the Canucks far in the west – HOLD. Last round this would have been a sell for me, but good ol’ Bobby Lou got stronger as his series went on. If this keeps up, the rest of the west could be in trouble. I’ll wait and see on this one though, because the high powered Hawks will put him to the test.

…and last but not least…

A Penguins-Red Wings Stanley Cup Final rematch – SELL. I will never watch hockey again or I’ll die of vomiting… not necessarily in that order.

Editor’s Note: the preceding commentary was that of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of PnH