NHL 2014 Playoffs

[IglooDame]

So I got all four Eastern series right (and two of them with the right number of games), and all four Western series wrong?

Anyway...
Boston in 6
Pittsburgh in 5
Chicago in 7
LA in 7

 

[Evie]

Montreal over Boston in 7 (Gotta be loyal)
Chicago over Minnesota in 6
Pittsburgh over New York in 7
Anaheim over Los Angeles in 5

 

[Omega124]

Boston in 6 (gonna to be realistic here, even if I want the Habs to win)
Pittsburgh in 5
Chigaco in 5
Anaheim in 6

 

[shadowplay]

Leafs in 4

 

[Rub'Rum]

Leafs in 4

Whalers in 3.

 

[Evie]

I stand by my original statement - Boston-Montreal is a toss-up. While odds may slightly favor Boston, both teams have very solid odds of advancing to next round.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Both Eastern match-ups could go either way. Boston has struggled before against Montreal, but in the end, for me, they look too strong to bet against.


@Subi: I picked the correct series length NYR-Philly. One thing I got right

 

[Rub'Rum]

I stand by my original statement - Boston-Montreal is a toss-up. While odds may slightly favor Boston, both teams have very solid odds of advancing to next round.

I agree. Boston tends to lose their ways somehow when playing against Montreal, as if they forget the system that got them where they are now. I get the feeling maybe they're better prepared this time and that maybe Montreal has had good streaks against Boston that might be at an end. But I hope you're right anyway

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I agree. Boston tends to lose their ways somehow when playing against Montreal, as if they forget the system that got them where they are now. I get the feeling maybe they're better prepared this time and that maybe Montreal has had good streaks against Boston that might be at an end. But I hope you're right anyway

Jarome Iginla will just have to use his experience of carrying the Calgary Flames on his back to make sure the Bruins win.

@Subi: I picked the correct series length NYR-Philly. One thing I got right

Fixed

 

[Evie]

Also, in hommage to the one playoff that ever really matters (and everything that doesn't), I dragged out my good old pencils.

Spoiler :

Who here can catch all the references?

 

[ummmm........]

I'm not sure I catch any of the references. But it's pretty cool

 

[PMullet]

Boston in 6
Rangers in 7
Chicago in 5
Anaheim in 7

 

[Rub'Rum]

Whew how long did it take to draw that. And yeah, we need more explanations

So the game between Montreal and Boston yesterday was pretty much exactly what I expected. Montreal somehow wins, somehow being the keyword. History keeps repeating itself. It kind of started like this in the 2011 series between the two teams also. But Boston ended up winning that time anyway.

 

[Evie]

Okay. Some references listed:

A)The really obvious
-The two warriors' color scheme reflect the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. (Silver-blue armor vs goldish armor, and red vs black tunic)
-The cloak on the leftmost warrior, DUH.
-The bear pelt on the rightmost warrior.


B)Stuff littering the ground.
-The Senators' helm is at the bottom left.
-It rests on a second Habs-colored cloak as a nod to last year's playoffs.
-One of Buffalo's sabres is in the grass, broken.
-A burning maple leaf drifting on the wind.
-The Ranger's shield is at the bottom right

B)The four swords
-The guard of each sword reflect the four team that made the playoffs in the Atlantic division this year.
-The leftmost sword has a lightning shaped guard. It's driven into the ground as a result of Montreal beating them.
-The Habs sword guard is patterned after the C in the Habs logo.
-The Bruins sword guard is patterned after the spoke wheel of the Bruins logo.
-The rightmost sword guard is patterned after the wheel-and-wing of the Red Wings logo. Driven into the ground, again, as a result of R1.
-The pummel of the rightmost sword is octopus-shaped.

D)Other decorative elements
-Nidhogg (the serpent)'s tail forms the pointy tail of the Devil's logo.
-Nidhogg's head, while hard to make out because of distance and size, is patterned on the Flames' alternate logo.
-The trunk of Yggdrasil is Stanley Cup-shaped.
-The branches of Yggdrasil represent the playoffs (sixteen branches, then eight, then four, then two).
-The Black Hawks, as reigning champions, have their feathers on top of the mead hall.
-The LA Kings' crown rest atop the Lightning sword, in tribute to Montreals last Stanley Cup win against Los Angeles.
(Sadly I couldn't fit an orca in the picture to do the same for Boston)

E)The really obscure stuff.
-The veins of the maple leaf spell out 1967, the Leafs' last cup.
-The 33 runes on the stone, M and B (in short-twig younger futhark, to be exact), tracking past playoff results between Montreal and Boston.
-The stars in the top-left, between Yggdrasil and the mountains form the roman numeral IX - 9, Maurice Richard's jersey number.

 

[Omega124]

-The rightmost sword guard is patterned after the wheel-and-wing of the Red Wings logo. Driven into the ground, again, as a result of R1.
-The pummel of the rightmost sword is octopus-shaped.

That was my favorite detail in the whole image

Anyways, I really love the painting, Oda. The warriors and the general atmosphere remind me of some other paintings of Slavic polytheism whose artist's name escapes me. In fact, get rid of the hockey symbolism and the Habs warrior could easily represent a native Slav's resistance against the Bruins' Norse raider.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Very impressive picture. Obvious references now that they are pointed out. Got none before..

 

[ummmm........]

Early start this morning. Don't want to get preempted by the Derby

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Early start this morning. Don't want to get preempted by the Derby

More like preempted by 2 hours pre-coverage of the Derby

 

[ummmm........]

Poor hockey. It gets no respect . . .

 

[ummmm........]

This is like watching Alabama football. The Bruins show up expecting to win so they don't try, then they get in trouble, wake up and just crush the other guy . . .