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Okay, here’s the summary: 2-for-8 in the first round, 0-for-4 in the second round, and now 1-for-2 in the third round.  It’s a good thing I’m not in a hockey pool for these playoffs.

Stanley Cup Finals

New Jersey Devils (6th in the East) vs. Los Angeles Kings (8th in the West) – Los Angeles in 5

Martin Brodeur may have found the fountain of youth (witness the last two periods in game 6 versus the Rangers)  but I can’t see the Devils cracking the Los Angeles defense.  LA simply has not been outplayed in its games.  They have had a shorter run of games, they have a suffocating forecheck and a great commitment to defense, and their goalie has been sensational in those shifts where the Kings have been in trouble. The Devils may be the more offense-minded team, but I just don’t see how they can knock off the Kings.

Wow, I don’t think ANYONE predicted the outcome of the first round of this year’s playoffs.  Crazy series and crazy upsets.  I went an abysmal 1-for-4 in the Western Conference and an equally horrid 1-for-4 in the East.  Vancouver played awful and they paid for it while Chicago just couldn’t find the back of the net when they needed to.  Even though Detroit-Nashville was a pick-em series, I think Detroit deserved better than to be knocked out in 5.  Like Chicago, though, they just couldn’t score when they needed to.  In the East, Boston’s big guns couldn’t get past a hot goaltender while Pittsburgh and their paper-tiger defense fell right into Philadelphia’s game.  New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur showed why he is a hall-of-fame goaltender as he held the fort and gave his team the opportunity to move on. In the meantime, New York had all they could handle in the upstart Ottawa Senators.

Hopefully I will do a bit better with my second round predictions:

Eastern Conference

New York Rangers (1) vs. Washington Capitals (7) – Washington in 6

Okay, here is a bit of a “reach” pick for me.  In no way shape or form did I feel that the Capitals had any kind of chance against Boston.  They refused to play Boston’s game and got all-world goaltending and now I think they believe that they can do anything. New York, on the other hand, looked very beatable against the Senators and there is also some question about how healthy they are after their first round series.  They play a hard-nosed game but will it be enough?  Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green all represent major threats that could break games at any time.  I think the giant-killers will strike again and this series could even be over in 5.

Philadelphia Flyers (5) vs. New Jersey Devils (6) – Philadelphia in 6

The Flyers have more than proved that they can score goals, but their goaltending is highly suspect. The Devils, on the other hand, haven’t filled the net but they play a solid brand of defense and definitely have the best goalie in the series, hands down. Kovalchuk is definitely a game breaker but I don’t think the Devils have enough offense to counter Philadelphia.  If the Flyers can get a save out of their goaltender when they need it, then their offense will give them the edge in the series.

Western Conference

St. Louis Blues (2) vs. Los Angeles Kings (8) – St. Louis in 6

Both teams are strong in net and play very well defensively, unfortunately neither team has excelled at putting the pucks in the net.  With a Vezina-trophy candidate, I think I give the goaltending edge to LA, but only slightly.  This series will boil down to who can put the puck in the net, not who can keep it out.  I think the Blues play a bit more of an agressive game than the Kings and have a bit more speed and that will be the difference.  The Kings caught the Canucks in full sleep-walk mode, but the Blues have been playing hard all year, so look for them to be pressed hard.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) vs. Nashville Predators (4) – Nashville in 6

Much like the St. Louis-Los Angeles series, this will be a goaltending battle.  I think Nashville is a more complete team top-to-bottom but Phoenix definitely has an X-factor going for them. The Predators got through their first series relatively unscathed while Phoenix lost a significant physical presence in Raffi Torres. While it would be easy to call this another pick-em series, I have to believe that Pekka Rinne will out-duel Mike Smith and that will be the difference here.  I will give a slight edge in coaching to Phoenix but that will not be enough to get them through to the Conference finals.

1. In one sentence, who are you?
2. Why do you matter?
3. What is your life motto?
4. What’s something you have that everyone wants?
5. What is missing in your life?
6. What’s been on your mind most lately?
7. Happiness is a ________?
8. What stands between you and happiness?
9. What do you need most right now?
10. What does the child inside you long for?
11. What is one thing right now that you are totally sure of?
12. What’s been bothering you lately?
13. What are you scared of?
14. What has fear of failure stopped you from doing?
15. What will you never give up on?
16. What do you want to remember forever?
17. What makes you feel secure?
18. Which activities make you lose track of time?
19. What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever made?
20. What’s the best decision you’ve ever made?
21. What are you most grateful for?
22. What is worth the pain?
23. In order of importance, how would you rank: happiness, money, love,health, fame?
24. What is something you’ve always wanted, but don’t yet have?
25. What was the most defining moment in your life during this past year?
26. What’s the number one change you need to make in your life in the next twelve months?
27. What’s the number one thing you want to achieve in the next five years?
28. What is the biggest motivator in your life right now?
29. What will you never do?
30. What’s something you said you’d never do, but have since done?
31. What’s something new you recently learned about yourself?
32. What do you sometimes pretend to understand that you really do not?
33. In one sentence, what do you wish for your future self?
34. What worries you most about the future?
35. When you look into the past, what do you miss most?
36. What’s something from the past that you don’t miss at all?
37. What recently reminded you of how fast time flies?
38. What is the biggest challenge you face right now?
39. In one word, how would you describe your personality?
40. What never fails to frustrate you?
41. What are you known for by your friends and family?
42. What’s something most people don’t know about you?
43. What’s a common misconception people have about you?
44. What’s something a lot of people do that you disagree with?
45. What’s a belief you hold with which many people disagree?
46. What’s something that’s harder for you than it is for most people?
47. What are the top three qualities you look for in a friend?
48. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?
49. When you think of ‘home,’ what, specifically, do you think of?
50. What’s the most valuable thing you own?
51. If you had to move 3000 miles away, what would you miss most?
52. What would make you smile right now?
53. What do you do when nothing else seems to make you happy?
54. What do you wish did not exist in your life?
55. What should you avoid to improve your life?
56. What is something you would hate to go without for a day?
57. What’s the biggest lie you once believed was true?
58. What’s something bad that happened to you that made you stronger?
59. What’s something nobody could ever steal from you?
60. What’s something you disliked when you were younger that you truly enjoy today?
61. What are you glad you quit?
62. What do you need to spend more time doing?
63. What are you naturally good at?
64. What have you been counting or keeping track of recently?
65. What has the little voice inside your head been saying lately?
66. What’s something you should always be careful with?
67. What should always be taken seriously?
68. What should never be taken seriously?
69. What are three things you can’t get enough of?
70. What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
71. What fascinates you?
72. What’s the difference between being alive and truly living?
73. What’s something you would do every day if you could?
74. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
75. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
76. What makes you feel incomplete?
77. When did you experience a major turning point in your life?
78. What or who do you wish you lived closer to?
79. If you had the opportunity to get a message across to a large group of people, what would your message be?
80. What’s something you know you can count on?
81. What makes you feel comfortable?
82. What’s something about you that has never changed?
83. What will be different about your life in exactly one year?
84. What mistakes do you make over and over again?
85. What do you have a hard time saying “no” to?
86. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
87. What’s something that used to scare you, but no longer does?
88. What promise to yourself do you still need to fulfill?
89. What do you appreciate most about your current situation?
90. What’s something simple that makes you smile?
91. So far, what has been the primary focus of your life?
92. How do you know when it’s time to move on?
93. What’s something you wish you could do one more time?
94. When you’re 90-years-old, what will matter to you the most?
95. What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having in your life?

The original article was here.

Thanks to Brendon Wilson for posting these:

Innovation Starvation

The Ingenuity Gap

I thought this was an interesting article.