First Round Playoff Picks: East

Well, the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs are about four and a half hours away from puck drop as the Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins open things up at 7:00. That being said, now is a good time to share my first round picks for the Eastern Conference...


Washington vs. Montreal:

Getting to the playoffs even is an accomplishment for the Canadiens this year after a disastrous Centennial season. That being said, the Capitals are that much better and have more depth up front. Defensively, not so much, but they will advance and end the Habs 101st season.

Prediction: Caps in Four

Rosie's Rebounds: Hall vs. Seguin

With the first pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the Edmonton Oilers select…

Okay, we won’t know quite yet whom the Oilers will select with the first pick, but we do know that it will either be Taylor Hall (Windsor Spitfires) or Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers) from the Ontario Hockey League. So why can’t the speculation begin now?

This should be the most intriguing choice since 1987 (from a Canadian Hockey perspective) when the Buffalo Sabres took Pierre Turgeon of the Granby Bisons of the QMJHL as the No. 1 overall pick over Brendan Shanahan (London Knights, OHL), who was picked second by the New Jersey Devils.

Both players went on to have a long and successful career. Turgeon scored 515 goals and tallied 1327 points in his 19-year NHL career with the Sabres, Islanders, Canadiens, Blues, Stars and Avalanche, while Shanahan scored 656 goals and gathered 1,354 points in his 21 seasons with the Devils, Blues, Red Wings, Rangers and the old Hartford Whalers.

The major difference between the two, however, is the playoff success. Turgeon never made an appearance in the Stanley Cup during his career and only played in the conference finals once in 2001 with the Blues (he could have played in two conference finals if it wasn’t for Dale Hunter’s cheap shot in 1993 in the Patrick Division Finals, see video below). Meanwhile, Shanahan won three Cups with the Red Wings.

Inside Hockey's NCAA Video Previews

I had the privilege to be joined by a fellow colleague at Inside Hockey - also known as Kevin Edelson - for our video previews for IH of the NCAA Tournament.

Northeast Regional



Both Kevin and I agreed that BC would come out of this region against North Dakota. East Coast Bias perhaps?

East Regional



Kevin and I agreed that Cornell is coming out of this region. Is this another case of East Coast Bias?

West Regional



Ok, I went with Wisconsin in this regional and Kevin went with St. Cloud State for our WCHA representatives in the Frozen Four. Perhaps East Coast Bias is dead right?

Midwest Regional



In this regional we both picked a representative from the CCHA as I picked Miami and Kevin picked Michigan.

Frozen Four Picks



Kevin going against Michigan in their own state at Ford Field? You don't say? Well, at the end of the day"East Coast Bias" is now in effect with Kevin with BC coming out as this year's National Champion Cornell. Hey, his Frozen Four predictions are bold I will say that.

And since your's truly is confident that Miami will beat Cornell in the National Championship, I decided to add a signature to my bracket and put it up on Ebay at a later date.

Enjoy the Tournament!

Rosie's Rebounds: NCAA Tournament Edition

Mascot Shenanigans at TD Garden

It been said before by sports journalists that, “95% of sports writers are sports writers because of the free food served before games.” While I cannot
confirm nor deny that statement, I can, however, confirm that this creature decided to crash the party, uninvited.

Take a look at the evidence here with this picture as seen during the first intermission of the Boston College – Vermont game on Level 3 at the TD Garden Friday afternoon.



Photo taken from my Blackberry.

The Call: BC’s beloved mascot Baldwin gets two minutes for mooching.

I cannot confirm nor deny what he had to eat, but an investigation is currently taking place with the mascot police.

We’ll try to keep you up to date on the latest surroundings of this situation, but until then, we must attend a briefing on this situation…



…Get Ready for another edition of Rosie's Rebounds

Colin Campbell on Ovechkin Suspension

Colin Campbell, the NHL's Disciplinary, was on NHL Live today talking about the decision to suspend Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin after his hit on Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell, who is now out for the rest of the year with a broken collarbone and broken ribs. Here's what he had to say.

...Look if there's no injury on the play, we probably wouldn't do anything.

Fair enough under normal circumstances, right?

Join the Rosie's Rebounds page on Facebook

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten to post my blog entries here at Rosie's Hockey. With my busy schedule the past few months at Inside Hockey, which included the Winter Classic, Frozen Fenway, the Beanpot and several Bruins and college games, I had opted to take time off for awhile in posting blog entries here until my schedule was a bit lighter. I will be able to post here now on a more consistent basis.

In the meantime, a Facebook fan page has been created for Rosie's Rebounds. Click here to become a fan.

Rosie's Rebounds: Future of the Winter Classic

From the awe of the actual atmosphere at Fenway Park, to Marco Sturm’s game winning goal in overtime, the 2010 Winter Classic between the Bruins and Flyers was everything that a hockey fan could possibly dream of.

From the hype that began in July with the official announcement, to the first skate at Fenway, to the days leading up to the event and to January 1, all the anticipation for the event was well worth the wait.