In an ongoing battle between the NBA and NHL Playoffs for supremacy, I like to keep tally of which teams and series are better. It’s the playoffs of the playoffs, if you will. Anybody who knows me knows I’m a cold to the bone hockey fan, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize great games in all sports. However, after the most exciting NHL Conference Quarterfinals round in recent memory, I have to give the round as a whole to the NHL.There were four series that went seven games, two that went six, one that went five, and one that ended in four. The best game was without a doubt Game 7 of the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks series.
The NBA’s first round seemed to fly under the radar, with no series going to a seventh game. Like the NHL, the NBA had only one four-game sweep, but only four series went to a sixth meeting. The remaining three series all ended in five, with the only “surprise” being the Thunder knocking off the Nuggets, but Denver has always had postseason troubles.
The second round is well underway in both leagues and possibly over with by the time this article is published. The only meetings I know of for sure so far in the Conference Finals are in the NHL with Boston and Tampa Bay facing off. This is the deepest the Lightning have been since they won the Stanley Cup in 2004 over Calgary, and the furthest the Bruins have been since 1992, when Mario Lemieux and the Penguins swept them. Ironically, in the NBA, it is Boston and Miami playing in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Needless to say, if you’re from Florida, you may want to steer clear of Boston for a short while.
The biggest story from the NBA is the LA Lakers getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks. Lakers fans shouldn’t worry though. Every team in every sport goes through a rough patch in the postseason and eventually rebound. I predict the Lakers will be back in the NBA Finals in two years and will be involved in a dramatic seven game series over the same Mavericks next season.
Regardless of which sport you’re a bigger fan of, you’ve got to be enjoying the fact that both sports are putting on memorable postseasons.