Today the hockey world is in shock. Vancouver Canuck's prospect Luc Bourdon was killed today in a motorcycle accident. When I heard this I couldn't believe it, this guy seemed to have a huge future ahead of him and he was very young. It only proves that we have no idea when our time will be up. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Bourdon family. Luc was a terrific hockey player, and from what I hear, an even better person.

Luc Bourdon, 1987-2008

So I guess I didn't do too well with my final four predictions but here's my prediction on the 2008 Stanley Cup final.

This should be a pretty good series. these teams both have a lot of speed and firepower.

I honestly didn't think Pittsburgh would make it to the final this quickly but here they are. Detroit, on the other hand, was predicted by many to win the cup this year. The Red Wings can match everything the Pittsburgh Penguins have on offense, but they're also a better team defensively and physically and they have a lot more experience than the Pens.

My prediction:

Pittsburgh will put up a good fight, but Detroit will win the cup in 7 games

Well the conference finals are at the midpoint and so far it looks like I may have been wrong on both predictions. Here's a quick breakdown on each series.

FLYERS & PENS

This one might appear to be over as Pittsburgh has a 2-0 lead, but the Flyers will have a 7th players in the lineup for the next 2 games, possibly one of their most effective players- their fans. The Wachovia Center is one of the toughest places in the league to play in, especially during this time of year. The Flyers have a perfect record at home against Pittsburgh this year and that won't change anytime soon.

STARS & WINGS

This series isn't over yet, Its a best of 7. So after Detroit wins game 4, it will be over. The Dallas Stars appear to be out of gas after knocking off the Ducks and Sharks. They can't seem to get anything going against the Red Wings. They can't hit the net, Turco just isn't the same goalie he was in the first 2 rounds and the list goes on. This just wasn't Dallas' series to win after all.

CHL Uniform Concepts

I was bored a little while ago so I designed some jerseys. If the CHL ever decided to go with RBK edge jerseys, this is what some of them might look like. I made my own templates from memory so they might not be 100% accurate.

Stars vs Wings Game 1

Well the NHL conference finals finally got underway last night as Dallas and Detroit kicked off their series. i noticed the Red Wings got a little extra help in their 4-1 win... from the refs. Early in the game Steve Ott was called for facewash on Tomas Holmstrom, OK good call, but then Mark Fistric gets called too for no obvious reason giving Detroit a 5-on-3 ? and then on Detroit's third goal Holmstrom practically sits in Marty Turco's lap, so I guess you're an idiot if you wave you're hands and stick in front of the goaltender while standing 10 feet away but you're allowed to sit on him now? Definitely a bit of a double standard there if you ask me, if that was Steve Ott at the other end, the goal would've been called back. Now maybe I'm biased because im going for dallas, and detroit probably would've won anyway, but still, this should not be happening in a big game like this. This series has potential to be a very exciting one. Lets hope the officials keep it that way.

Well I finally got around to doing this, I meant to create a hockey blog ever since the playoffs started but just never got around to it; so here it is. This blog is specifically so i can show off my hockey expertise (if you can call it that) and give my opinions about issues in the game. You won't find anything about my personal life on here (unless it's hockey related of course).

So to start things off, I'm gonna make some predictions for the NHL conference finals, And I'm starting with a bold one.

PITTSBURGH VS PHILADELPHIA

Either way, this is going to be a great series. These teams simply detest eachother and had a few bloody battles this year. It's hard to go against the Penguins after watching them dominate the Senators and Rangers, but lets face it, they really weren't challenged much by either team. Philly on the other hand ran into some trouble with Washington when the Caps came back from a 3-1 deficit, then went on the knock off highly favored Montreal in a five-game shocker. The Flyers are also much bigger than the Pens, this could be a frustrating series for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin if the Flyers can shut them down early. and if it comes down to goaltending, Marty Biron and Marc-Andre Fleury are both playing the best hockey of their careers right now, but Biron has experience on his side and he looks very confident after the Montreal series

I pick Philadelphia to win in 7

DALLAS VS DETROIT

Another tough one to predict. Detroit Dominated Colorado in the second round, but the Avs where peppered with injuries. meanwhile the Dallas Stars are coming off two big upsets. Brendan Morrow, Stephane Robidas, and Marty Turco are all playing great.

I'm going with Dallas in 7