You will hear if you haven't already many voices with the usual bad take over the next few days. It goes something like this " If X and Y play for the Stanley Cup Final the ratings will be bad" or something along those lines. Fact-The NHL doesn't translate to TV ratings for many reasons. Opinion-Besides TV execs from NBC I am not sure why anyone cares.

You hear this usual view from talk hosts and fans all the time. I have no idea why anyone besides those that make a living via TV ratings or the execs of these leagues really cares. I don't.

What I do care about are 2 things. Exciting games and the Rangers winning :)

We have  a wonderful final 4 in the NHL with rivalry's on both coasts. In the West it is the 3rd seeded Coyotes vs the 8th seeded Kings. Hard to argue that anyone has played better then the Kings. They dusted top seed Vancouver in 5 and wiped out 2nd seed St.Louis in a sweep. That's impressive. The offensivly challenged Kings have beaten those clubs by a combined 27-14. For a team that struggled to score goals-Only Minnesote scored less goals in the entire league. That's impressive. The Yotes will have to watch Dustin Williams especially and a Kings team that scores many short handed goals.

For the Coyotes-full disclosure-I spent almost 20 years in Phoenix as was part of a small media group that helped the Coyotes get air time in the early years and worked on their pre-game show on Fox Sports Arizona for a year so I am invested in the Coyotes(my 2nd favorite team). Also further boosting the Yotes is a new owner. Details and contracts and agreements need to be worked out but currently the NHL owns and runs the club. This playoff run has been a blessing to the franchise and the fans after years of getting knocked out in the 1st round. This is the 1st time the Phoenix franchise has gotten out of round 1 and the 1st time the franchise in total has advanced to the Conference finals. The team was located in Winnipeg before heading to the desert southwest.

The Coyotes have gotten scoring from players who even in their own households were not known. names Like Boedker(2 ot winners vs Chicago) Vermette,Chipchura,Brule, Pyatt, Klesla and others have bolstered this team.

What a goaltending matchup. Vezina finalist Jonathan Quick-perhaps the best American goalie right now vs the red hot Mike Smith. Smith held Nashville scoreless for over 150 minutes in the WC semifinals.

 I am taking the Coyotes in 7 great games!

Now to the east. It's on Devil fans. No love lost here. The Devs live in the Rangers shadows and always will. Their fans are jealous. they hate the Rangers. For Ranger fans like myself we belittle the Devs. To me their 3 cups are tainted by the style and system they played. they opened the game in the trap and stayed that way. BORING. In my view Marty Brodeur is vastly over rated. In the trap days they gave up like 18 shots a game and most from the blue line. Any goalie can stop that. Marty is no Patrick Roy (pronounced Wah) that's for sure.

The Rangers hold a 2-1 playoff series lead over the Jersey boys. the last time the Devs won 4-0 but in the best 1and most famous 1 it was Mark Messiers promise and subsequent hat trick in game 6 and Stefan Matteau's Ot winner in game 7 leading the Rangers to victory and after beating Vancouver their 1st cup in 54 years.

Living and working now in Albany NY for 1045 the team, ESPN radio, I am smack dab in the middle of both fan bases. The Devs top farm team the Albany Devils play there and we carry many of the Albany Devil games, but the Rangers are NY's hockey team. it seems to me that Ranger fans are having a ball with these playoffs while Devil fans as usual are uptight and feeling inferior to their Broadway rivals. I get the feeling that beating the Rangers is the Cup for the Devs, while beating  Joysey is just a step to the ultimate for Ranger fans.

Devil fans hate me. I embrace their anger and feed it. LOL. My pick- Rangers in 3!

Time for a great final 4 and frankly I will let some whine and pontificate about TV ratings. For me I will enjoy this great final 4 upcoming!

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