NHL10: Providing Another Year Of Muting Your TV

Since the introduction of the XBOX360 and PS3 (Sorry Wii, your hockey games are just abysmally bad) the EA Sports series of NHL games has been a sports gaming revolution. The same cannot be said for the soundtrack, or "EA TRAX" provided on the games menu and options screens.

With the release of the track listing of NHL10, it seems as if the trend will continue on into this year's game. I've decided to listen to each track and provides links for you to do the same and give a review. The grades are based on how annoying the song will get for the chronic NHL gamers like myself, how well it fits the game and how it would sound over the PA of a stadium during gameplay.

1) Alexisonfire - Young Cardinals

This song seems to fit the bill of the NHL games. It's fast, aggressive and raw. This song may not be as heavy as NHL06's American Head Charge or Avenged Sevenfold but it gets the job done for not being overbearingly irritating. Grade: B.

2) Cancer Bats - Deathsmarch

Ready for my bias? Cancer Bats have been one of my favorite bands lately and this was a perfect song for this game. The gang vocals on the choruses and heavy guitar riffs from this Canadian hardcore band could seemingly make perfect music as a team is coming onto the ice. Grade: A-.

3) CKY - Hellions On Parade

Personally, I've never been one for CKY. However, this song isn't overpowering dreadful. The only complaints for me comes when the guitar stops shredding and resorts to the typical boring CKY riffage. Grade: B-.

4) Disco Ensemble - Golden Years

Every year's game has featured a pop punk song or two. This year is no exception, they may not be GOB's "I Hear You Calling" from NHL 2002, but this song will do. It's downfall lies within the likelihood of the vocals getting irritating by one month into the game. Grade: B.

5) DragonForce - Heroes Of Our Time

Despite the guitar stylings of Mr. Herman Li, this song is simply too long for a video game. Can you imagine this being a random teams goal song or even hearing this in the building? I respect the music, but talk about unfitting. By the second week, I'll be looking for a "skip" button. Grade: C-.

6) Earl Greyhound - Oye Vaiya

This is absolutely perfect menu music. How it will sound in the game itself is still unknown to me. The bluesy and alternative sound along with vocals should make this a good song for in between face-off's. Grade: B.

7) Green Day - Know Your Enemy

When I think of Green Day and hockey, I think of "Welcome To Paradise" being a staple of the Boston Bruins pre-game skate soundtrack. What I don't think of however, is the ringtone-esque favorable Green Day circa 2009. This song does not fit this game, it could fit Madden10 or possibly even a baseball game, but Green Day singing about an enemy repeatedly is simply going to annoy the hell out of me and everyone else playing this game. Could this song get any more repetitive? Grade: D-.

8) Me Talk Pretty - Wake Up, Wake Up

Perhaps it was Courtney Love's song "Make Me Over" from the old NHL "Rock The Rink" game on Playstation 1 that sparked the idea of featuring girl bands in their games. Or maybe it was Paramore's "Misery Business" from NHL08? Either way, EA decided to head for that route yet again with Me Talk Pretty's "Wake Up, Wake Up".

This song sounds like a Flyleaf imitation more than anything else. Considering my disdain for Flyleaf, I simply do not like this song. Despite the cool guitar solo near the song's close, this track is still too whiny for a hockey game. It doesn't help that the singer spends much of the song seemingly making a cry into the microphone. Grade: C-.

9) Ministry - Keys To The City

Wow, this song should be in NHL99. The industrial sounding guitar and Marilyn Manson-esque vocals seemingly fit it perfectly, no?

I had a problem with this song, for a number of reasons. For one, it sucks. Secondly, it's about the Chicago Blackhawks. If it wasn't bad enough that Patrick "20 Cents" Kane is on the cover, we're going to have a hear a song about how good Tony Esposito and this band bleeds red, white and black? This track also claims that Chicago has the best fans in the NHL and teams need to come to Chicago to see how hockey is played.

It may be catchy, but it's still a poor choice. Grade: D+.

10) MxPx - Kids In America

This song is just plain awful. Who thought this was a good idea to record, let alone put in a hockey game. The fact that this is about the 4,502nd time this song has been covered doesn't help their case. Grade: F.

11) Nickelback - Burn It To The Ground

The continuing shoving of Nickelback down the throats of the world. The guitar in this song seemingly sounds exactly like that in the Ministry song also featured in the game. Wayne Gretzky may have been in your video for "RockStar" Nickelback, but you'll simply never be accepted as a serious rock band by most, including myself.

Despite my personal distaste for Nickelback, this song is plausible to be heard in an NHL arena. Grade: C.

12) Papa Roach - Into The Light

The Pennywise like bass intro reminded me of NHL06 and the vocals were nothing special, but nothing to hate either. It fits the NHL-bill of being heavy and the drums remind me a lot of something you'd hear in any of the NHL games. Grade: B-.

13) Priestess - Raccoon Eyes

Same old stuff if you ask me. Grade: D+.

14) Rancid - The Bravest Kids

I used to be a big Rancid fan, then as time went on I realized how simple every song was and how they never really changed what they were doing from song to song. This song represents my point quite easily considering you can't tell the difference between this track off the new album and anything off the first album.

The good part is, this song's only two minutes long. Grade: D.

15) The Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane

This song will be difficult to stomach considering in hockey terms, you can't hear this without thinking of those (foolish) Hurricane fans at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. However, this song still kicks you in the face, 25 years later. The fact that you actually hear this song at most hockey games only makes it more fitting.

Grade: A.

16) Thousand Foot Krutch - Fire It Up

This is just straight up heavy. Very fitting for this game. Grade: A.

Personally, I find this soundtrack to be hit or miss thus far. There's quite a few songs I know I'll never listen to such as Green Day, Dragonforce and Rancid but there's also a few that I'm curious to hear in the game and at certain points. In all likelihood, we set our own personal playlists into the game when we buy it about a week in and this soundtrack is never heard again until you're at the main menu.

Along with the new features and soundtrack, I'm looking forward to NHL10 for the idea of never having to hear "Cheap and Cheerful" ever again.

10 Worst Contracts In The NHL

August, as always has been a quiet month in the National Hockey League. While some are participating in Olympic training camps for their respective countries, others sit at home and unwind with their friends and family. For Boston forward Phil Kessel, the waiting game continues as he's still without a contract as the Bruins are just 39 days away from taking to the ice for their first game of the 2009-10 season. While it's rumored that Kessel's asking price is preventing the 21 year old from being signed, it's a good time to look at the ten worst contracts currently active in the NHL.

10) Michael Nylander (Washington Capitals) - For many B's die-hards, Michael Nylander is known as the other half of the Bruins trade deadline acquisitions from the 2003-04 season (the other being Sergei Gonchar) and was the Bruins best offensive presence in their seven game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. In what appeared to be typical shrewd-Bruins-front-office, the B's made no effort to keep the center and let him walk.

After the lock-out concluded, Nylander became a Ranger and put together two solid seasons in Manhattan where he scored 162 points in 160 games, only to jet off to Washington on a four-year deal that paid him 19.5 million dollars over the next four seasons. Nylander has been unable to stay healthy and has found himself a healthy scratch and in Caps coach Bruce Boudreau's doghouse.

Nylander's -19 and dissatisfying 70 points in 112 games for the Capitals truly show how far this Swedish superstar has fallen. With a 4.875 million dollar cap hit through 2010-11, it's likely that Nylander could be in a buy-out situation and jet off to the KHL for a tax-free paycheck and playing time, something he can't find in the nation's capital.

9) Ryan Smyth (Los Angeles Kings) - To be fair to the purple-and-black that reside in California, this signing wasn't the doings of Kings GM Dean Lombardi. However, when Ryan Smyth was signed to a five-year, 31+ million dollar contract by the Colorado Avalanche the eyebrows of NHL fans were collectively raised and for good reason. The question marks behind throwing over an annual salary north of six million dollars for a player who'd only cracked 70+ points one time in his 12 year career seemed to give off the notion that the Av's were in trouble. That was undoubtedly the case and Smyth produced just 40 goals in total throughout his two seasons in Denver.

In a cap space clearing move for a rebuilding club, Colorado sent the sensitive winger out of town where Smyth is hoping to regain his scoring touch in scorer's-friendly Pacific Division with the Los Angeles Kings. He's likely to be playing with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and is looking to reach the 70 point plateau. If he is to continue to falter, his 6.25 million cap hit through the 2011-12 could cripple the Kings development into a solid contender.

8) Chris Drury (New York Rangers) - When the New York Rangers stole away the Sabres captain and vocal leader, the move seemed to be a good one for the blueshirts in their attempt to add veteran depth to complement players such as Jagr, Shanahan and Lundqvist but simply put, this has not been 35,250,000 dollars well spent. Despite Drury's career highs in both goals and points in his final year with the Buffalo Sabres, that success has not transpired into success with the Rangers.

In 2006-07, Chris Drury was simply a force for the Presidents Trophy winning Buffalo Sabres. His 37 goals, 17 of which scored on the powerplay, which are both career highs to this day and leadership propelled the Sabres to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second year in a row, only to lose yet again but this time to the Ottawa Senators. Undoubtedly, the Sabres captain was considered among the top free agents available on July 1st, 2007.

However, what he's brought to the Rangers has been simply disappointing compared to what was expected. In two seasons on Pennsylvania Plaza, Drury has posted a total of just 114 points in 163 games for the Rangers with a -11. Drury's lack of anything offensively comes as a surprise when considering he's led the Rangers in shifts per game and has averaged 3:45 minutes of time on ice on the powerplay in two years in Manhattan.

Drury's current cap hit is at 7.050 million dollars a season and will not be coming off New York's checkbook until the conclusion of the 2011-12 NHL season. Was Drury the best captain 32-million dollars could buy for a perennial bubble-team? Glen Sather apparently thinks so.

7) Jeff Finger (Toronto Maple Leafs) - If this wasn't a desperate measure to keep the fans from completely giving up on the 2008-09 Maple Leafs then I'm not sure what would be? Oh yeah, it'd be actually signing Jeff Finger to this contract.

Heading into the free agency frenzy of 2008, Jeff Finger was coming off a solid season for the Colorado Avalanche where he put up 19 points in 72 games and finished with a +12 from the blue-line. Finger, never really the puck-mover made his living getting down and dirty for the Av's, his 121 hits were tops for the 2007-08 club and his 117 blocked shots were good for fourth on the club. Despite these impressive defensive stats, the coffee mugs of Leafs Nation had to without-question shatter on their living room floors when they saw that Jeff Finger was now a member of the blue and white with a four-year contract worth 14 million dollars.

The Finger era in Toronto began in 2008-09, as the 29-year old Michigan native scored 23 points and finished with a -7 on a horrid goaltended team in Ontario. With a contract deeming Finger virtually immovable and the Leafs additions of Exelby, Beauchemin and Komisarek to their blue-line the necessity of Finger simply does not exist. Finger isn't set to come off the Leafs books until 2012, making his contract one of the worst in the National Hockey League.

6) Joffrey Lupul (Anaheim Ducks) - What do Michael Ryder, Brad Boyes, Ales Hemsky and Johan Franzen all have in common? They all make less money than Joffrey Lupul. What do these players also have in common with Joffrey Lupul? They all finished with more points than him in 2008-09. Joffrey Lupul provides great secondary scoring on any club, and that's not really a topic for discussion, but is his production really worthy of 4.25 million dollars a year until 2013?

That question is answered by a simple no considering he's career high in points came in 2005-06 with the Ducks (53). However, in what has seemingly become Flyers-ritual, Lupul was awarded with a monstrous contract well above his market value in order to keep the Alberta native in Philly.

Lupul was sent back to Anaheim in a deal where the Flyers acquired Chris Pronger (only to give him a ridiculous contract as well) and is now officially on the Ducks cap until the conclusion of the 2012-13 NHL season. With guys like Bobby Ryan, Jonas Hiller, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu up for new contracts at the end of this upcoming season, Lupul's contract could hinder the Ducks from being able to re-sign their expected-to-be key players.

5) Wade Redden (New York Rangers) - If I were to ever meet Wade Redden, I'd probably ask him how it feels to be the sixth highest paid defensemen in the NHL.

After all, I'm quite sure the answer would be simple considering he's doing close to nothing and earning a 6,500,000 dollar salary from here until 2014. Redden's performance in his first year with the Rangers was simply dismal, his 28 points and -5 weren't even as embarrassing as his team-defenseman high 40 giveaways.

And we thought Ottawa screwed up when they opted to re-sign Wade Redden over Zdeno Chara in the 2006 off-season. Leave it to Glen Sather to once again prove why the Rangers will be forever basking in the glory of the 1994 Stanley Cup, because it ain't comin' back to Manhattan anytime soon with these wildly gross and reckless over-payments of players.

4) Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers) - In your mind, this signing looks to be a phenomenal one for the Flyers, you know why? Because you have the thought of Briere's performance with the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres embedded in your mind because, well, it was simply a thrill to witness.

When the Quebec native signed an 8-year deal worth 52 million dollars, the idea that the Flyers were on their way to becoming an elite team in the Eastern Conference grew. In 2007-08, Briere didn't disappoint the Flyer faithful as he put up 72 points in 79 games, 37 of which coming on the powerplay. Briere also carried much of the Flyers offense towards their push towards the Conference Finals where he scored 16 points in 17 games.

Injuries struck the 31-year old in 2008-09, as he was held to just 25 points in 29 games. However, it's not the injuries that make this signing so poor, it's the fact that Briere's no-movement clause and annual cap-hit of 6.5 million dollars from now until 2015 really stifles the Flyers ability to add anyone to their roster without having to move a star of equal or greater value. Especially if the Flyers are to continue to develop strong youth players within their organization (Carter, Richards and Giroux to name a few).

3) Brian Campbell (Chicago Blackhawks) - There's no debating that Chicago needed a top defensemen, but a top defensemen for eight years?

Often longer contracts mean smaller cap hits, making the idea of an eight year contract somewhat, loosely plausible. However, Campbell's 7.1 million dollar cap hit is doing nothing but hurting the 'Hawks for years to come. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Jack Skille, Andrew Ladd and Adam Burish being the top names for players up for new contracts following the 2009-10 season, the idea of Campbell's cap-hit for years to come is simply nauseating for any Chicago fan.

The difficulties are created within the idea that Chicago won't move Hossa after signing him to a 12 year deal and Cristobal Huet is unlikely to get dealt considering there's no one within the Blackhawks system ready to take over as the number one goaltender. When factoring this in, the likelihood of the Blackhawks being able to keep Kane and Toews for years to come grows unlikely. Along with that, the idea of unloading Campbell's contract and getting anything of equal value in return is just as unlikely.

For the Blackhawks, it appears that 2009-10 is either Stanley Cup or bust.

2) Scott Gomez (Montreal Canadiens) - Ladies and gentlemen, one of the most overrated players in the National Hockey League, Scott Gomez.

Continuing with the Glen Sather trend, the idea of Scott Gomez making 51,500,000 over the next eight years almost seems laughable. Here's a player who thrived under a defensive-trap system and was coming off a season where he registered his lowest point total since the end of the league's work stoppage. However, this didn't stop the Rangers front office from over-paying for the crafty powerplay specialist.

Gomez didn't fail to not disappoint during his tenure with the Rangers before being traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Despite Gomez's 40+ assists and 16 goals in both seasons with the Rangers, the stats don't even come close to fitting the price-tag Gomez is marked for until 2014.

Can Gomez be the number one center the Canadiens need or will it be another year of mediocrity in hockey's most demanding city? I'm thinking it'll be the latter of the two.

1) Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders) - Just when you thought the Islanders couldn't be more upsetting to their fans. The signing of Rick DiPietro to a fifteen, yes fifteen year contract is enough to make the stomaches of even the most faithful Isles fans turn.

Taken with the number one overall pick in the 2000 NHL Draft by New York (over Dany Heatley and Marian Gaborik) the hope for DiPietro was that he was going to be the savior for the Islanders franchise and return them to a competitive level in the Eastern Conference. To say things haven't gone as planned would be an understatement.

DiPietro may be 67+ million dollars richer and has another 12 years of guaranteed money, but he's simply doing nothing to help the Islanders as of right now and possibly for the foreseeable future. With the signing of Marty Biron and Dwayne Roloson, it appears that Rick DiPietro will once again be out for the season for the Isles will a knee injury.

Congratulations Garth, your god awful signing of DiPietro will more than likely, actually strike that, will undoubtedly outlive your tenure as Islanders general manager, but your impact to the club for years to come will unfortunately haunt Long Island, or perhaps Kansas City.

10 Bruins Games You Need To Watch Not Played At Fenway Park

As jubilant as Boston is that they'll be the host of the third Winter Classic, there's still 81 more games to be played in the Bruins quest for a Stanley Cup. Despite these games having roofs over their heads and lacking a 37 foot tall monster (although they do present us with a near seven foot tall captain), there's no denying that there's still a lot of buzz generating around these games.

10. New York Islanders at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 10th: 7 PM)
Rarely is it a big deal when the 15th place team battles against the 1st place team from the year before, but the buzz about the newest Islander makes it worth the viewing. This game marks the debut of Jonathan Tavares at the TD Bank Garden. If the hype is correct and this kid is on the same level as Sidney Crosby was in his first year, then this battle between the rebuilding Islanders and Bruins should be a good one.

9. Ottawa Senators at Boston Bruins (Saturday Nov. 28th: 7 PM)
Will Dany Heatley still be a member of the Ottawa Senators come November 28th? I suppose that doesn't really matter because the story here is created by Boston's favorite player to hate, Alexei Kovalev. The long despised Canadien traded in his Montreal sweater for a divisional foe Sens jersey, but I'm sure that won't change the way the Garden faithful views him. It'll certainly be interesting to see how loud and long-winded the boo's are for L'artiste, even without the Montreal jersey on.

8. Vancouver Canucks at Boston Bruins (Saturday Feb. 6th: 1 PM)
Much of the excitement behind this game in my opinion, comes from the fact that this is Vancouver's second trip back to Boston since the lockout ended. Since then, both teams have found a new jersey styles and along with new directions for the better within their franchise. This game will also likely pit two of the best goaltenders in the NHL against one another.

7. Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins (Thursday Nov. 5th: 7 PM)
It's hard to make the case that any Bruins vs. Canadiens game lacks excitement because, well it's just plain not true. This will be the first regular-season meeting between the two teams since the Bruins four game sweep of the Canadiens in their centennial season. With the Habs adding two former Bruins in Paul Mara and Hal Gill while the Bruins add former Canadien tough-guy Steve Begin, expect things to get awfully chippy (per usual) in this Original Six clash.

6. Boston Bruins at New York Rangers (Sunday Nov. 1st: 1 PM)
This game may be competing against the time slots of most NFL teams, but I'm already locked in on this match-up. The Rangers are coming off a frustrating end to their season as they blew a three-game series lead to bow out of the conference quarter-finals and always provide great competition against Boston. A stat worth mention is the fact that seven out of the last eight meetings between these teams were decided by one-goal, including four over-time thrillers. In these eight match-up's the Bruins are 5-1-2.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Saturday Dec. 5th: 7 PM)
Fairly new Leafs GM Brian Burke is already putting his pattened Burke-stamp on the Toronto Maple Leafs. As he did in Anaheim, where he put together a Stanley Cup winning team, he's loading the Maple Leafs up with good ole' fashioned North American bruisers. Undoubtedly, his biggest splash came with the robbery of defensemen Mike Komisarek away from, Montreal, a player loathed by Boston fans and players alike. Along with Komisarek, the additions of Colton Orr and Garnet Exelby make the Leafs a lot scrappier and will ultimately provide a great physical contest when they come to the Garden for a Saturday night in Boston. Doesn't this one have Dallas Stars at Boston Bruins Part II written all over it?

4. Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins (Thursday Oct. 1st: 7 PM)
Opening night always has a great feel to it. From the fan fare outside the stadium, to the anticipation of the fans within the building. With Alexander Ovechkin and the rest of the Southeast Division winning Capitals in town, additional excitement may not be needed for most fans.

3. Chicago Blackhawks at Boston Bruins (Thursday Jan. 7th: 7 PM)
The excitement around this one is stemming from this being my pick for the 2010 Stanley Cup. It may be early, but I fully feel that with the additions these teams have made and the continuing development of their young stars into NHL studs that this game has all the makings to be a fine preview of what could be come June.

2. Carolina Hurricanes at Boston Bruins (Saturday Oct. 3rd: 7 PM)
The villian of all villains, Hurricanes forward Scott Walker and the rest of those Cardiac 'Canes will be making their first trip to Boston on October 3rd, the Bruins first Saturday night game and second game of the season. The reception for the boys from Raleigh will certainly be unwelcoming, as a sure to be rowdy Saturday night Garden crowd will let their feelings be known to the team that knocked the Bruins out of the second round. Also, it'll be interesting to see how the Bruins handle their (not announced, but sure to happen) retribution to Scott Walker for his sucker punch to Aaron Ward in Game 5. The series may be over, but as Shawn Thornton said "We (hockey players), have long memories.".

1. Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens (Friday Dec. 4th: 7 PM)
This will be the final send off to the Montreal Canadiens centennial (we can only hope) as the Bruins will square off against their most hated rival at the Bell Centre for the first time in the 2009-10 season. This date also marks the first game the Habs ever had in the league, making it the true centennial. With the crowd of 21,000 plus screaming Canadiens fans sure to give this game a playoff feel, expect the players to have an extra jump in their stride. One query I've pondered is whether or not the Habs will break out their prison-jumpsuit throwbacks for this one? We can only pray not.

Sweet Home Chicago: B's Fans Should Root For 'Hawks

With the Boston Bruins out of picture, Bruins fans are finding themselves in search of a new team to root for. With just four teams left in the chase to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup, the options are simple. Two in the East, two in the West. Simple, right? Oh, quite different.

In the Eastern Conference, the favorite to advance to the Stanley Cup has to be the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're led by the "face" of the NHL in Sidney Crosby and their talent stretches roster deep. This is the Penguins 2nd consecutive trip to the Conference Finals. Despite losing key pieces of their 2007-08 Cup run in Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa the Penguins fought their way back near the top of the East under at-the-time interim head coach Dan Byslma. If Crosby can continue to lead the way with his incredible playoff play, the Penguins odds to advance are quite high.

Just because they're the favorites, doesn't mean Bruins fans should root for them. Most Bruins/fans-of-teams-outside-of-Pittsburgh fans can't stand Sidney Crosby, myself included and still don't want to see him raise a Stanley Cup at the age of 21. Perhaps the one thing the Penguins had going for them with Bruins fans was the fact that former Bruin and Massachusetts native Billy Guerin was on their roster..then you look and see so is Hal Gill. Not only that, but they're not too far removed from a Stanley Cup Championship (1990-91 and 1991-92). I'm still not ready to cheer for a city who was a contract signing away from losing their hockey team to the city of Kansas City.

Opposing them are the Carolina Hurricanes, the team that broke, crushed, put back together and then re-broke the hearts of the Boston Bruins to get there. Like Pittsburgh, their push to the Conference Finals was led by the introduction of a new coach. However, for Carolina, this "new" coach was a familiar face in Paul Maurice. Maurice was the coach of the Hartford Whalers when they became the Carolina Hurricanes, and stayed with the 'Canes all the way until he was fired 30 games into the 2003-04 season. Under Maurice, the Hurricanes went on a torrid tear through the NHL, finishing with the 6th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Although the wound is still fresh, the Hurricanes aren't necessarily a hate-worthy team. They simply outworked the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference with team-work, hard-work and never giving up. Even when their team was on the brink of elimination against the New Jersey Devils, the heartbeat of the Carolina Hurricanes simply wouldn't die. A sentimental note for those interested in the 'Canes is the fact that Boston villain Scott Walker's wife was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, adding an emotional touch into the 'Canes drive to their 2nd cup in 4 years. Despite the emotions, the arrogance of Eric Staal, Paul Maurice and Jussi Jokinen along with 18,000 cowbells (a criminal offence if you ask me) deem the 'Canes unworthy of your root. Plus, they just won it, nobody likes seeing a hard-to-market hockey market raise the Cup twice in a decade.

Out in the Western Conference, it's down to two Original Six rivals: the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. The Detroit Red Wings come into the series as the favorite to win not only the West, but also the Cup. The Red Wings have won 4 of their 11 Stanley Cups within the past 14 years. They only got better over the off-season by adding top-prize free agent Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh back-up Ty Conklin.

Their dominance over the NHL has grown tiresome. The octopus has been played, and their playoff slogan of "The Beard is Back" is just ridiculous. The ridiculous-ness lies within the idea that you can argue that "the Beard" never left considering the Detroit Red Wings haven't missed the NHL Playoffs since the 1989-90 NHL season. Even if the Motor City's economy is collapsing due to Ford's continuing downfall, you won't see me rooting for the Wings to add another Stanley Cup banner to their rafters. They have enough.

Going up against the Red Wings are the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago, much like Boston, is going through a revitalization of hockey within their city. Night in and night out this season the United Center (and even Wrigley Field) was packed with red, black and white. There was no arena in the NHL outside of Montreal that had better attendance than the Chicago Blackhawks and the future keeps growing brighter and brighter.

Before the Rocky Wirtz era began, the team was ran (very poorly) by Rocky's father, Bill. Bill, was a notoriously cheap owner who made controversial moves such as blacking out all Blackhawk home games unless they were national televised, something that never happened and created his own Pay-Per-View network where Hawks fans would have to subscribe for 30 dollars a month in order to watch their favorite team. There was no doubt that the elder Wirtz thrifty ways surely left scorn on to 'Hawks fans everywhere. When Bill Wirtz lost his battle to cancer, the new era of the Blackhawks officially took over.

The Blackhawks are the epitome of a up and coming team. Their off-season was headlined by the additions of Cristobal Huet and puck-moving defensemen Brian Campbell, adding a mix of youth and experience into their line-up. Since then, the Hawks have taken off, registering their 1st 100+ point season for the first time since 1992-93. Like the Penguins and Hurricanes, the Blackhawks went through a coaching change just 9 games into the NHL season, firing Denis Savard and replacing him with Joel Quenneville, a coach who's only missed the playoffs once in 13 seasons of coaching at the NHL level.

The Blackhawks are led by captain Jonathan Toews, who provides phenomenal leadership ability at a young age. Along side Toews, is the first American born player to be taken with the number 1 overall pick, Patrick Kane. Kane has had a phenomenal playoffs thus far, making Roberto Luongo look absolutely foolish in the Blackhawks 6-game series win over the Vancouver Canucks. Undoubtedly the biggest reason for Bruins fans to root for the Blackhawks is the empathy and similarities they share with Chicago fans. Bruins fans know what it's like to have a fan proclaimed "selfish" owner and be stuck in neutral as an organization for several years. Both cities hockey scenes are now alive and out of the bottom of the Conference standings, but still without a Cup. Chicago is currently on their 48th year without a Stanley Cup, the 1960-61 season being the last in which the Blackhawks raised a banner.

The Blackhawks as stated before, are a young team mixed with a group of veterans in a city regaining their love for hockey who are trying to end the significant drought of a Stanley Cup Championship, sound familiar? It's time to pack away that Tim Thomas shirt in favor for a a Nikolai Khabibulin t-shirt as for Bruins fans, the Chicago Blackhawks are the clear choice as to who to root for in this years Stanley Cup chase.

The What If's Of Round One

For teams like the Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils, it's another year of disappointing first round exits. For the Sharks and Flyers, it was a step back in their movement towards a Stanley Cup when considering their playoff success last year. Then you have teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets and the St. Louis Blues it was a step in the right direction, as their years of development and trips in last place are seeming to pay off as they found themselves in the playoffs. However, for the losers, they can't help but ask "What if...?"

Eastern Conference

David Putty may be on the New Jersey Devils side, but for the second year in a row, Marty and company were sent packing in the 1st round. What if right winger Jamie Langenbrunner didn't miss 3 crucial games of the series with a lower body injury? The Captain posted 3 points in 4 games, despite the Devils only winning 1 of the 4 games he played in. What if the Devils powerplay played up to their potential and did better than the pathetic 3-25 they ended with?

The Philadelphia Flyers may believe they have the "toughest fans in hockey" (they even make t-shirt's that say it) but it couldn't stop them from losing their series to the Pittsburgh Penguins on home ice in 6 games. The biggest what if for the Flyers has to be what if leading goal scorer Jeff Carter actually showed up? Carter had just 1 goal with a -1 in the 6 game series, compare that to his 46 goals in the regular season. What if Captain Mike Richards wasn't playing through 2 injured shoulders? Despite his injury, the 24 year old Richards put up 5 points, making us wonder what he could have done if he were at 100%.

John Tortorella was the driving force behind the re-emergence of the New York Rangers, but one bottle throwing incident later the Rangers were sent home on a disgusting Sergei Federov wrist-shot. As Ranger fans pack up their rally towels into their closet along with their Mark Messier jersey, they have a few questions they should ponder. What if Henrik Lundqivst played less than 70 games during the regular season, would he have been better? That argument could be easily shut down as he's played over 70 games in 3 straight Regardless of Henrik, what if John Tortorella didn't throw the bottle at the crowd that was heckling him? The Rangers coach was suspended for Game 6 at Madison Square Garden, a game they could have arguably won had they had their head coach behind the bench. The fact that Sean Avery showed everyone else on the Rangers roster up with his high level of intensity in his play after being benched is a knock to the entire Rangers rosters heart.

What a 100th year celebration for the Montreal Canadiens, in case you didn't know, it was their 100th season. It was rarely talked about (note the sarcasm.). In fact, it was actually their 99th season for those who are curious, but that's a discussion for another day. What if the Montreal Canadiens had a healthy Andrei Markov? In my opinion, that still wouldn't have mattered. The Bruins went 4-0-1 against Montreal with Markov in the line-up. The biggest what if in my opinion was, what if Carey Price was as good as everyone billed him as? The simple answer is, he's just not that good. He's looking a lot more like the next Andrew Raycroft rather than the next Ken Dryden or Patrick Roy with his head-case like attitude and inconsistency.

Western Conference

Yet another year where the San Jose Sharks come into the NHL Playoffs as favorites in the West, and yet another year of disappointment. The team added Anaheim Ducks forward Travis Moen, who went pointless in the 6 game series with a -4 as he got ousted by his former team. What if Joe Thornton decided to show up for more than just Game 5? Excluding Game 5, Jumbo Joe had 0 goals and just 2 assists in the other 5 games, continuing to gain his reputation of being a playoff choke artist. Also, what if the Anaheim Ducks had gone with J.S Giguere as their goaltender? Jonas Hiller absolutely stole the series, the 27 year old Swiss goaltender went 4-1-1 with a 1.65 GAA and 2 shut-outs in the 1st round.

How is Mike Keenan still the coach of the Calgary Flames? The team sputtered in Game 6 against Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks and found themselves out in the 1st round for the 4th year in a row. Rumor has it that Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff has a bit of a "problem", whether that's drugs or alcohol isn't really talked about, but at the same time, you can't blame his struggles on a drug rumor. However, what if Kipper didn't play in 76 of the Flames games this season? I don't care if you're Patrick freakin' Roy, that's an absurd amount of games to play and still be effective in the playoffs. It was clear that Miikka was spent, his play spoke for itself as he finished the series with a 3.52 GAA. Also, what if the Flames didn't trade for Olli Jokinen? Jokinen played well in the series, but it's a very possible theory that the Flames lost more depth than they gained when they traded for Olli.

Despite losing half of their salary cap to injuries, the St. Louis Blues salvaged their way into the 6th seed in the Western Conference led by head-coach Andy Murray. The biggest what if of course is, what if the St. Louis Blues were a healthy team? They were without top defensemen Erik Johnson before the season even began and lost LW Paul Kariya in the 1st month of the regular season. Another question Blues fan could ask was, what if the Blues stayed in the 8th seed and faced San Jose? Roberto Luongo proved to be impossible to beat for the Canucks, but if the Blues had drawn San Jose in the 1st round, one could make the argument that the Blues could have pushed the Sharks to 6 or 7 games, and win.

Perhaps there was no team happier to be in the playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite their spectacular season anchored by rookie goaltender Steve Mason, the Jackets fell in 4 games to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings. Nobody really expected them to take the series, but their lack of a hard-fought 6-7 game series was somewhat of a letdown. However, what if Rick Nash scored more than 1 goal in the 4 game sweep? Nash's only goal came in Game 4's 6-5 loss, certainly a disappointing series for the Columbus Captain. Despite their loss, all is not lost for the Blue Jackets. Steve Mason is a Vezina finalist at just 20 years old and the future is definitely bright for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Ideal Match-ups: Western Conference

In the Western Conference, the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks have already clinched playoff spots and are certain to have the 1 and 2 seeds. This leaves 6 playoff spots remaining for essentially 10 teams in the mix. Consider Chicago and Vancouver locked in for spots, leaving 4 spots to 8 teams. Here's my ideal match ups for the West Conference.

Detroit Red Wings (1 seed) vs. St. Louis Blues (8 seed) - This has been a very one-sided rivalry as of late with the Red Wings dominance over the Central Division along with the rest of the NHL. However, the Blues have been playing great after standing pat at the trading deadline. The history of these teams provide a great stories for a great match-up as the Blues and Red Wings have faced off in the past 28 years more than any other teams besides the Bruins vs. Habs (go figure, right?). Prediction: Red Wings win in 7.

San Jose Sharks (2 seed) vs. Dallas Stars (7 seed) - Another battle of division rivals. The Stars got off to a disastrous start, Marty Turco especially, but has turned back into All-Star form. The absence of Brendan Morrow, Brad Richards and Sergei Zubov could prove too much for the Stars too handle when it comes down to facing off against the San Jose Sharks strong defense. Prediction: Sharks win in 5.

Calgary Flames (3 seed) vs. Vancouver Canucks (6 seed) - Yet another divisional match-up in the West. The Canucks have been nearly untouchable at home and Mats Sundin is starting to play like the guy they payed 5 million dollars for. For the Flames, Olli Jokinen has been on fire since his trade to the Flames but he still has yet to play in a playoff game. Prediction: Canucks win in 7.

Chicago Blackhawks (4 seed) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (5 seed) - The hell with it, let's have 4 divisional match-ups! The battle of the emerging youth. Steve Mason and the Blue Jackets have been on fire in Columbus. Unfortunately for them, the Blackhawks are good on the road and at the United Center. Prediction: Blackhawks win in 6.