Conference Semi-finals start tomorrow! Game on...

Tomorrow night the NHL playoffs move to the penultimate round in the quest for the Stanley Cup. Conference semi-finals--in the east, Philly vs. Pittsburgh; in the west, Detroit vs. Dallas. My two teams were both knocked out last round, both in overtime--the New York Rangers fell in game five to the Penguins; the San Jose Sharks lost in game six to the Dallas stars in the eighth longest game in NHL history--FOUR overtime periods!

Now it is down to four teams I really don't give much of a puck about. (See what I did there?) Normally, if one of my teams isn't in the contest, I root for the original six team that is. But in this case, that would be Detroit, and I don't like them much. After original six, I try to root for a Canadian team, since I feel pretty strongly that they have been ripped off consistently for nearly three decades now. But there aren't any of those left, either.

That would leave the Rangers' archrival Flyers, the who-cares-about-hockey-in-Texas Stars, or the upstart Pens, who just knocked my dreams out of the realm of possibility. Hrm. Tough call. It will be fun to watch the Battle of Pennsylvania for the next few games, but only in that sense. Prediction: Wings vs. Pens in the finals, with the Pens taking it all in six games. Not what I want, mind you, but that's my guess.

Guess I'll just watch for the strategy, gameplay, saves, hits, goals and excitement. Like I always do. And to hear the sportscasters screaming in that high-pitched way they do only for this sport.