Battle Of Hudson

Gary Galley will call the Devs-Lightning for CBC.

The Devils-Lightning Game 1 could be streamed on CBC.ca

Don and Brett will appear on the opposing networks. Don will be on NBC during the Finals.

Don admired the Islanders, disappointed that Brodeur wasn’t in, but Clemmer played well. They won it fair and square, he likes Brendan Witt. Isles/Sabres will be a dandy series, doesn’t think there’ll be too many penalties in the Rags/Thrashers.

Brett “I’m gonna look better than my dad”.

Is America ready for Don Cherry?Brett “I think they are.”

Don “What I say up here I would never get away with it down states”.

Brett compares Don to Steven A. Smith

Don said going on in the afternoon would cost the CBC 1 million viewers.

Brett thinks the Ducks’ biggest test will be the Wild. Minnesota is playing as good as any team in the NHL.

The reception for Brett in Buffalo would be “horrendous”

Brett – not really much you can do about the Blackhawks. Don – It hurts the NHL when you have LA, Chicago and Boston out. For the NHL to get recognized, you have to have them in.
Dale Tallon’s doing what he has to do. The NHL really wants to get the Blackhawks back in.
Don – “I gotta root for the Canadian teams.” He likes Calgary, they remind him of old time hockey.

CBC Streaming will not be in the US.

Calgary is Brett’s dark horse.

NBC will continue half-hour pre-game show before all games.

997,000 viewers, a huge Canadian audience, watched the Devils-Islanders game on Sunday. It peeked at 1.75 Million viewers during the shootout. It was the #8 TSN NHL broadcast of all time.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=203608&hubname=

Doc picks New Jersey-Detroit as his final.

Edzo expects Sidney Crosby to have a big post-season

Bill said winning a playoff round means more to Nashville than any other team.

Edzo calls Minnesota his dark horse.

Doc thinks that the Isles are the only team going in with no pressure, and as he says “with the biggest tree to cut down”.

Bill thinks having the 3 NY teams in the playoffs is “Pretty Big”.

Bill thinks the 3 NY teams are the Rangers, Islanders and Sabres. Technically, he’s right.

Edzo “Gary Roberts is custom built for the playoffs.

The X-Factor to the Devils series is how the Tampa goaltenders respond to Marty Brodeur. Regular season records don’t mean much to him. He says Devils in 5 or 6.

Wow, the 5th worst team wins the lottery. Has this ever happened before?

Draft order:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Philadelphia Flyers
3. Phoenix Coyotes
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Washington Capitals
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
8. Boston Bruins
9. St. Louis Blues
10. Florida Panthers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Montreal Canadiens
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Colorado Avalanche

I will be in Conference Calls today with first Doc Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Bill Clement of VERSUS, and later with Brett Hull of NBC and Don Cherry of CBC.

If you have a question you’d like asked, please send an E-Mail or a comment.

Check out Part 2 of my Preview

http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=3311

It’s that time of year folks. So let’s see what we came up with:

Eastern Preview

One year deal, good for the Avs and their captain.

Here’s my preview of the 8 East Teams:

http://www.sportsfanmagazine.com/sfm/articles.html?id=3310

For making the Rangers schedule so tough. Back-to-back home games? I’ll never get it.

Oh. And Mike Francesa is right. He might not no jack about hockey but how could they have all three locals in action at the same time on Thursday? Nice freaking job! You’d think network TV would learn something from what happened earlier today? Idiots!