Cup Chasers

The Seattle Storm (Shawn) were a big winner Thursday night, inching one game closer to the Franchise’s first-ever NHLP Cup. The Storm now leads 13-12, with the tie-breaker officially in hand. The series comes down to the Storm needing Connor and Jones (6 so far) to stay two points up on Matthews and Nylander (9 so far). For GM Joel in Vancouver he is seemingly only playing for the gate with almost no hope to get out of the West Conference. For Seattle it is simple. If Winnipeg comes back Shawn almost sure wins the Cup if Carolina makes the Stanley Cup Finals. Connor, Aho, and Stankoven for 18 points or Hymen, and the two Canes for 13 would just be too much for what others can bring with those teams. If Connor is out, GM Shawn is likely out next round, as Green Bay (Ryan) is just too strong. Winnipeg hasn’t shown they can win on the road, but if they do send it to game 7, we like their chances at home in a winner-take-all.

Drought Ending After 40 Winless Seasons?

No matter how you slice things today, GM’s Ryan and Matt are heavy favorites to win the 35^th NHLP Championship. The two GM’s have a combined 40 years in the NHLP and both have been close, but have never won a Cup. There are three NHL series remaining in round two. Any of the three series flipping at this point would be a mini-miracle. It just doesn’t feel like Washington or Winnipeg can come back from down 3-1 and Toronto Maple Leaf fans have given up hope, even though it is just back-to-back wins. We know the Central Conference Finals will be Cincinnati (Matt) versus Florida (Marcel), and without the mini-miracles, Matt’s Rage will be about a 28-16 point favorite. So far this round, players playing are 16-12, so much closer than on paper. For Matt his hopes lay with his Panthers players, who could bring 18 points to the Finals, and 24 if Seguin joins them. The Green Bay Knights shouldn’t be worried, but that is easy to say when it isn’t your team in the fight with so much on the line. The Knights are up 18-14 versus GM Chad’s Avs. The Avs will need Tavares, Johnston, and Knies (7 points so far) to outscore Lundell and Burns (5 so far) by 5 points the rest of the round. That matchup is a CTR 15-6 in favor of Chad, but the reality is that points are hard to come by, and a 5-point gain at this point seems unrealistic. Green Bay is looking at a Walk-Over against GM Joel in Vancouver or a 25-16 (18-10 this round) favorite over the Avalanche cheering Seattle team of GM Shawn. For Ryan his best hope would be a Finals of Edmonton and Carolina, which equals CUP. If the Stanley Cup Finals went Edmonton and Florida, GM Matt would be an 18-17 fav in an NHLP Yearbook dream matchup. A battle between two GM’s who have their best teams ever in the finals and only one could win. Now, we aren’t halfway through the playoffs and mini-miracles, motorbikes, even spleens, are all on the table. It is NEVER over until it is OVER, and it isn’t over just yet.