All Sport Report

We’ve talked basketball, now lets discuss some hockey. The two conferences are a lot more closely match on the ice than they are the hardwood, but my pick is still coming from the West.

Lets talk about the beasts from the East first and the three it’s gonna come down to:

First - the Buffalo Sabres, at present time they have the best record in the conference. Chris Drury is having an excellent years with twenty-two goals and Daniel Briere leads the team with fifty-two points. Gone is the team that used to be nothing but a boring trap defense, this team is for real on both sides of the puck.

Second - Carolina Hurricaines, led by former Flyers(ugh!) Rod Brind’Amour and Justin Williams and don’t forget about Eric Staal, this team is hungry to drink from Lord Stanley’s Cup again, and they have all the pieces in place to do it again too.

Third - New York Rangers

Jaromir Jagr is one of the greatest hockey players of all time and he’s playing with the active leader in goals scored in Brendan Shanahan. When I heard the Rangers had signed Shanahan I thought “so what he’s like forty years old, he can’t make much of an impact” well his twenty-four goals at the halfway point of the season prove me wrong.

What about the West. I’ll tell ya, I see it being all Pacific.

First - Anaheim, Teemu Selanne is tied for the league lead in goals and seems to be able to score at will, throw in the rock solid play of veteran Scott Niedermayer and you’ve got yourselves a serious contender.

Second - Right behind the Ducks sit The San Jose Sharks. The Sharks made a smart move trading for Joe Thornton last year, he leads the team in points and Patrick Marleau is having a standout year with twenty goals.

Third, the Dark Horse - Phoenix Coyotes, I know their record isn’t showing it right now, but they’ve won seven of their last ten. Their defense is showing a marked improvement and the recent pick up of Mikael Tellquist gives them two very good net minders (Curtis Joseph). The Coyotes also have a not-so-secret weapon.

Wayne Gretzky is the greatest hockey player of all time, if he can pass just a little of his knowledge onto his young team they are going to be very scary.

So how does it all come down - Jagr and Shanahan’s talent and experience push them through to the finals from the East and a Shark can eat a Duck so San Jose sneaks into the finals from the West.

The blockbuster trade to land Thornton in San Jose pays off big time this year, in the form of the Stanley Cup. Sharks over the Rangers in six.