It’s finally here. The real season. The Stanley Cup playoffs begin.
And I learned my lesson in the NFL season to change my pick. I will remind you that before kickoff of the NFL season, I picked the New England Patriots and L.A. Rams. I then did an about-face before the Super Bowl.
Not this time. I picked Tampa Bay and St. Louis to start the NHL season and I’m sticking to it. The Blues looked awful in the first half and then have been on fire in the second half.
The Flames are the team that make me most nervous in the West.
In the East, it has to be the Bruins as yet again the NHL’s ridiculous playoff format could see the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the conference play in Round 2.
It’s wrong and needs to be fixed. But the Lightning has been the best all season, the Blues one of the best in the second half.
But how can you bet against Tampa to win it all after tying the NHL record for wins in the regular season?
You can’t. Or at least I can’t.