2006 PLAYOFFS PICTURE GALLERY

FINALS

Carolina wins!!! And this year's pick'em winner is Oi!! Congratulations!! Your prize is in the mail. er ... not yet, actually ... I'll be in touch ... hey, what about double-or-nothing on the World Cup?!
	... which makes him no better than these Oiler fans on Whyte avenue.
I hope you have another way of following the playoffs besides this picture gallery ... then you'd know the final is going seven games. Carolina goalie Cam Ward has visibly run out of ideas ...

SEMIFINALS

	Bret Hedican and Cam Ward cannot prevent the puck from tumbling across the line. That's an overtime win each way in games 5 and 6, and game 7 in Carolina will decide the Eastern Conference champion, the Oilers' opponent in the finals, and, hopefully, this year's Pick-'em winner! The Sabres are trying to win three consecutive playoff series, a feat known as a "Triple Lindy" after coach Lindy Ruff (right). The last team to accomplish the feat were the legendary 2006 Edmonton Oilers.
Time for our annual peak across the pond, which this year is the Baltic Sea, at the World Ice Hockey Championships. Sweden edged Canada 5-4 in a match more closely resembling something out of the Stephen Chow oeuvre (Brad Richards and Johan Frantzen feature in this choreographed sequence) and will play the Czech Republic for gold.
	"I know it's a cliche," said Edmonton forward Todd Harvey after finally regaining his composure following his empty net goal in Game 1, "but if the playoffs ended today, we'd be one of the four teams who would be able to say we might have won the cup!" It's a perfect start to the final four for Mark, known to some as the Barry Bonds of prognosticating.

ROUND 2

Oops ... I stand corrected. Joe Schmidt still has a chance thanks to his misplaced confidence in commissioner Fruman's ability. Should Edmonton beat Carolina in the final, he would take home the prize. Revised chances: Mark (3/8), Oi (1/4), Mandy (1/4), Joe (1/8). It will be all moot if Buffalo's Daniel Briere can nail this crucial footwork sequence in his long program ... something like that anyway.

A quiet second round of the playoffs, at least if judged by the PICTURE GALLERY. With 100 points, Clem will as usual carry the lead going into the semifinals, but he can only win if Scott Hannan and San Jose win the cup. Unfortunately Ryan Smyth and those Oilers are once again proving a slippery proposition. The remaining hopefuls and their approximate chances of winning are: Oi (11/32), Mark (11/32), Mandy (1/4), Clem (1/16).

ROUND 1

Three views of Ales Hemsky's series-winning goal against Detroit. Next up for Edmonton: Calgary or San Jose.
	Only 3 of 26 people picked the Oilers to get past the first round this year (unless you count Kalen who thinks they will quantum-tunnel straight to the Cup). Henrik Zetterberg makes it look very easy here, although he's clearly offside! Nevertheless: Edmonton 4, Detroit 3 (2OT).
Et c'est parti! Nashville's triple-threat Adam Hall fights back a sneeze while controlling the puck and plotting his game winning goal! Predators 4, Sharks 3.
	They don't have the Leafs to be kicked around by this year. This time it's the champs from Tampa Bay. Still, the preparation is the same for Sens captain Daniel Alfredsson.
What's to be done about two time defending champion Clem, shown here with celebrated author Jeff Thalrosen at a Cowboy Junkies concert? Such is his confidence following his tour de force of two years ago that Clem has audaciously filled in his playoffs tree for this year and next, and correctly predicted the Stanley Cup winners well into the next decade! (Incidentally, sorry Leafs fans.)