Best post season in sports is set and ready to go:

Eastern Conference:
Detroit vs. Boston
Montreal vs. Tampa Bay
Columbus vs. Pittsburgh
Philadephia vs. Rangers

Western Conference:
Dallas vs. Anaheim
Minnesota vs. Colorado
Chicago vs. St. Louis
Los Angeles vs. San Jose

Not only is playoff hockey the best but we also get treated to CBC opening montages. I believe this will be the last year of them since CBC is done with hockey other than HNIC (Correct me if I'm wrong CH).

Stanley Cup Pick: Rangers vs. Blackhawks

seems weird having Detroit and Chicago in opposite conferences. Can you imagine a final with them?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

If the Hawks can get past the Avs, then it's a repeat of last year; otherwise, I'll call it Boston vs. San Jose in the final.

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Not a mult.

The CBC will still air the Stanley Cup Final, but all NHL telecasts in Canada will be produced by Rogers and then subcontracted to the CBC and TVA. So unless the people who make the badass montages migrate to Rogers, I guess that's it.

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Boston's going to have their hands full.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Anaheim should go with Gibson until(if) he gets chased and then go back to Hiller.

Chicago and St Louis, teams already with injury issues, will beat up on each other more than the other 1st round series; making a deep run challenging for whichever team makes it out alive.

Avs have the easiest 1st round.

Bruins are in trouble vs the Red Wings. Wings took the season series 3-1 and the Wings young players really stepped up when Datsyuk and Zetterberg were both out post-Olympics. Datysuk's back and Zetterberg could be back for the Red Wings late 1st round/2nd round. Detroit beats Boston and they might make a run at the SCF--depending on how flaky Fleury gets in net for Pittsburgh.

Avs-Wings in the SCF would renew one of the more heated late 90's / early 2000's Stanley Cup playoff rivalries--goalie fights in the Finals?

Blackhawks / Blues starts Thursday.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I dont care for the new set up... Any chance this backfires and they go back to the old way?

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4th-seeded Montreal playing 3rd-seeded Tampa Bay might have enough juice to get something done.

Again, the idea of division-based playoffs would be great, except that the West plays 40% of its schedule against another conference, to say nothing of the opposite division. If almost half the games you play all year are against teams you're not even competing for playoff spots with, what's the point of the season?

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I would be in ecstasy if the Blue Jackets beat the Penguins.

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Despite having to face one of the alov's as a result , Id love to see the Wild beat Colorado.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Me too

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Elections have consequences.

My head would explode just from laughing so hard

Hawks over Flyers

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

For the uninitiated, what is the new format?

Teams play teams from their own division in the first rd.

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The top three in each division make the playoffs. Each division's second-place team plays each division's third-place team. The first-place teams from the two divisions play the seventh-place and eighth-place teams, which aren't necessarily both divisions' fourth-place teams, though in the Eastern Conference they are. So because the Dallas Stars finished fifth in the Central with more points than the Phoenix Coyotes finished fourth in the Pacific, the Stars jump to the Pacific Division playoff bracket, this, of course, after the Stars demanded to be moved out of the Pacific Division.

From there, it's just a regular bracket, but the first round is way more complicated than it has to be, because that's our Bettman.

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I'm rooting for the underdog in every series.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

who would the Hawks be playing in the old format?

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Would be 3-5

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Elections have consequences.

So I guess Hawks would be 5 and Sharks or Blues anyway.

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Elections have consequences.

That surprises me. You strike me as the type of guy that would root for the house in Blackjack.

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Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

San Jose

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They'd be #5 against the #4 Sharks. Blues would get the Kings again. It's really wonky in the East, where both Tampa and Montreal are getting harder opponents, themselves, than they would have if Tampa had drawn the #6 Flyers and Montreal the #5 Rangers. I don't care for it. The only idea behind divisional rivalry games should be to have three home dates instead of two with the teams that make the best draws. Conference playoffs are the fairest way to do it.

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Didn't feel like breaking the Sharks Blues tie as they both had 111 pts.

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Elections have consequences.

Blues lead in regulation/overtime wins. Forgot by how many, but the Sharks have a shitload of shootout wins, something to keep an eye on when they invariably spit the bit in the playoffs.

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HNIC Playoff Opening Montage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtAeB7EhGv4

Not one of their better efforts. Though, I'm not a heavy metal guy so that's a big reason why.

Edit: I guess the song is by Metallica. Never liked them and think they suck pretty hard so understandable why I'm not digging the open.

Ok, so compare this year's to last years masterpiece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCEj9U-geMM

Heavy metal should stay out of CBC opening montage business.

Montreal/Tampa has been fantastic so far. Intense, physical, and Montreal is losing so that's a bonus!

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I thought Fleury was starting to shit the bed but it is 3-3 now.

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Elections have consequences.

Penguins will not advance past the 2nd round. Montreal and Lightning is awesome.