2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
In a momentary departure from my usual rant against bogus hockey sweaters, I would like to acknowledge that I may have been wrong about a certain NHL coach… In some rather pointed tweets I unleashed regarding my perceived ineptness of New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer, I specifically called into question his previous record with the Florida Panthers, and on that basis wondered how Lou could have possibly made such a foolish choice, especially on the heels of the John MacLean debacle. It seems that at the very least I will have to rethink my opinion of coach DeBoer, and at worst (for my ego) issue a tweet recanting my previous tweets…
While a certain level of luck (good or bad) is almost always present for some teams in the NHL playoffs, I feel that there are other forces at work where the Devils are concerned. No, I don’t mean otherworldly; no Devil-Worshiping cult e-mails, please! I mean, I think the Florida Panthers were a far better team than many in the media gave them credit for, and that seven-game series served to prepare the Devils for what was to follow, a date with the high-powered Flyers. I also think that the Flyers thought they had the series with the Devils won as soon as they put skate-blades on the ice for game one. In other words, the Flyers thought that because they defeated the Pens with relative ease, they would dominate the Devils.
With the Devils now leading the series with the Flyers three games to one, and given it is the second round of the playoffs, I may have to start thinking of the wording I will use in my apology tweet to coach DeBoer. If Coach Pete can get the Devils into the conference finals, I will have to eat crow, and call it a successful season. However, as a life-long Devils fan, I hope New Jersey has a story-book ending that sends Marty out on top with a fourth Stanley Cup! GO DEVILS!
