The Amazing Kreskin I Am Not

I would like to put a midseason review of the Hawks up here, but seeing as I have little motivation for anything of much substance, no go on that idea. Perhaps that might be something to tackle during All Star Weekend. Therefore, I'll write something quick and easy - namely mocking myself.

So, everyone and their grandmother made preseason NHL predictions, as folks do in most sports. Seeing as we just passed the halfway point of the season, let's take a look at where I predicted the teams would finish come April:

Western Conference:

1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. LA Kings
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Detroit Red Wings
6. Colorado Avalanche
7. Phoenix Coyotes
8. St Louis Blues

Now here's reality:

WELL HEY, I HAVE #1 & #6 RIGHT! Seriously though, the Western Conference is such a clusterfuck right now it's not even funny. Six points separate the fourth and twelfth seeds. Really, it's all up for grabs right now. Vancouver looks to be in the driver's seat at this point so it's their conference to lose. While Detroit seems to have a pretty comfortable lead in the Central, with Howard, Holmstrom, Datsyuk, Osgood and Stuart all out at the moment, a hot streak by someone else in the division (GO HAWKS GO) could make a serious challenge for the #2 or #3 seed. The biggest surprises are the Stars and Ducks - especially the Ducks as they were terrible for the first dozen games or so. Nashville doesn't surprise me as I figured it was either them or the Blues cracking the top eight. Disappointments would include the Kings, Sharks and your Chicago Blackhawks. There's still a long way to go, and it's still possible my eight preseason picks make it into the post-season.

Eastern Conference:

1. Washington Capitals
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Boston Bruins
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Montreal Canadiens
8. Tampa Bay Lightning

Reality:

Like last year, the East is a bit of a LOLLERCOASTER. If you picked Atlanta to crack the top eight and the Devils to be sweeping up the basement, please buy me a Lotto ticket. The Flyers seem to have picked up where they left off in their surprise run in last year's playoffs. With the goalie situation in Tampa solidified, I see no reason why they can't take the Southeast. Pittsburgh and Washington go as their stars go - if Ovechkin continues to well, SUCK, and Crosby still sees birdies circling his head, it's going to be tough for them to take their divisions. As for my predictions, you can cross off the Devils, not even Jesus himself can save that disaster. If Ryan Miller can get hot, the Sabres might be able to sneak in. I'd keep an eye on Carolina though - Atlanta's been fading a bit, so they may be able to grab a 7 or 8 seed come April.

This may be my last post of any substance for a couple of weeks. Not that I've been posting much as of late anyway. My dad is having major surgery next week and I have a big government audit at work the following week, so if I'm still sane by February and haven't bitten anyone, I'll consider that an accomplishment. If things goes well, hopefully I'll be able to get back on a somewhat regular posting schedule by the All Star Game *knocks on wood*

Oh and by the way, I haven't updated my links on the left side of this page in well like, ever. So if I know you from the Twitterverse or elsewhere, or you just have a cool blog, drop me a line and I'll add you on here!