How It's Done

BoO has been the relatively low-smack alternative to our western counterparts this year, owing at least partly to the fact that the Mighty Sens are 7-0 and have outscored the Leafs something like 180 to 3. But despite the near impossibility of another first round "Battle", it's instructive to keep those knives sharpened like they do out west:

Dirk:

"The worst part about being a Flames fan is constantly having to explain simple concepts to Oilers fans. Concepts like 81 points is better than 76, especially when you have two games in hand over the team with 76 points. Playing “boring” hockey is fine if you win enough to be first in your division, especially if you have three games in hand over the second place team. Having a sound defense and a great goalie is a good plan for playoff hockey, especially when there are no shoot-out for the offensively talented, yet goaltender poor, Oilers to get some cheap wins. That system worked well for the Flames in the last season’s playoffs, but I can’t remember how the Oilers did in those playoffs. Can anybody remind me? Did they even make it with all of their offensive talent? I guess all the recent success the Flames had sort of made me, and every other hockey fan, forget about the Oilers.

Go Flames."

vs Cosh:

"Always nice to receive a dispatch from the alternate universe where the Gelinas goal went in, the '04 Flames didn't slink off to the Pantheon of Great Chokejobs, and a shirtless Jarome Iginla led a Stanley Cup parade through the streets of Calgary on the back of a rainbow-coloured unicorn."