Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, left, celebrates his shutout with Jarome Iginla. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
If you happen to think you have the final week of a wild and wacky NHL season pegged, you're one up on me.
Perhaps the ghost of Kreskin sneaks into your room each night to not only scare you senseless but give you the scoop on the inner dealings in pro hockey.
Who knows, but no one, regardless of how much they think they know hockey, can try to make sense of what is going to happen between now and Sunday.
Like my trying to start my taxes an hour before the deadline, I'm completely lost.
So much for my NHL playoff predictions from a couple weeks back, at least in the East. Evidently expert opinion is an oxymoron with me.
Out west, given the way they had been stinking the joint out, new proud daddy Roberto Luongo and the Canucks looked like they would rather be golfing before rolling over the Flames last night. Vancouver's recent nosedive gave new life to the Nashville Predators and rejuvenated Oilers, and neither is going away quietly. Calgary, Dallas and Colorado are jockeying for the fifth and sixth seeds. Seventh gets you a date with the San Jose Sharks. Clear enough?
The Ducks are beginning to show the form that saw a little celebration in southern California last spring and have served notice to the Sharks, Wings and Wild that you better knock the champ out if you want to take his title away.
In the East, the picture looks a little clearer, but not much. Despite a win Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres picked the wrong time to play mediocre hockey and now the Washington Capitals - who seem to be everyone's adopted team this spring - are three points out of eighth yet just two back of division-leading Carolina. Make sense of that.
The Flyers don't suck after all, which means there may yet be playoff hockey in Philly this season. The Bruins swept the Leafs - not exactly a mean feat, sure - but both Boston and Philadelphia are trying to hold off the charging Capitals. With the Devils and Senators lying in wait this week, they may not have a use for playoff tickets in Boston just yet.
Confused yet?
Just wait. It's just the beginning of what is going to be a wacky week.