4.15.2015

Stanley Cup and Cheesecake 2015

The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs are here, and it's time for this year's edition of pinup girls, picks to win and of course,the Atom-Bomb Bikini Playoff Challenge! Read through to the bottom of this post to see how you can win some art, books, stickers and other great stuff!


EASTERN CONFERENCE – Atlantic Division Semifinals


(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (WC1) Ottawa Senators


Boy, it's really great that the Sens managed to get into the playoffs, ain't it? Of that final cluster of three teams vying for the two wild card spots, Ottawa was by far the most deserving. They've basically been playing playoff hockey since St. Patrick's Day, and while there's always a chance they'll knock off the mighty Canadiens, I think the clock has finally struck midnight on their Cinderella story.   Habs in six.



(2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings


It's the Red Wings against the Blue Wings. Two teams, great on D, with exciting forwards and the ability to score a lot of dazzling, pretty goals.  Bolts in six.



EASTERN CONFERENCE – Metropolitan Division Semifinals


(1) New York Rangers vs. (WC2) Pittsburgh Penguins


The Rangers are feeling their oats. A bunch of moves and events that I figured would blow up in their faces (Rick Nash, Lundqvist's injuries) have instead propelled them to the top of the league and won them the President's Trophy. Last year's run to the finals seems to have emboldened them, and they know they can win.
 
The Penguins, on the other hand, are a dumpster fire, and needed a narrow victory over the worst team in the NHL on the season's last day to back into the playoffs. While it's true they've been beset with injuries all season, nothing they've done to solve their problems has worked, and the entire organization has at times seemed like it's being run by the three stooges. You hear a lot of "Anytime you have Crosby and Malkin on your team…" from out-of-towners, but anyone who's watched the team all year knows they have virtually no shot. They're fragile as kittens, the power play is a liability, and the only thing the top scorers have been producing since St. Patrick's Day are excuses. I can't imagine they'll even win a game, but I'll be conservative and say Rangers in five.

(2) Washington Capitals vs. (3) New York Islanders


The Caps and Isles have been jockeying for position all season, and when New York faltered a a bit down the stretch, Washington slid into that second spot, earning home ice for the first round. They're pretty evenly matched, and as much as I feel like the last playoff run in Nassau Coliseum will give a lift to the Isles, the Caps seem to be hitting their stride.  Caps in seven.


WESTERN CONFERENCE – Central Division Semifinals



(1) Nashville Predators vs. (WC1) Minnesota Wild




The Blues went on a tear at the end of the season to pull ahead of Nashville for the top spot in the Central, earning them a matchup with the wild-card Minnesota. They're still the Blues, though, which is what they'll be crying when Devan Dubnyk and the Wild shut them down. Wild in seven.
 


(2) Nashville Predators vs. (3) Chicago Blackhawks


Nashville led the Western Conference most of the way this season, before cooling off towards the end, going winless in their last six games to surrender the top spot to the Blues. Chicago, meanwhile, has kept on keeping on, and will welcome superstar patrick Kane back into the fold soon, most likely sometime in this series. Still, I think the Predators will get it done. That "Smashville" nonsense is gonna get really old. Preds in six.



WESTERN CONFERENCE – Pacific Division Semifinals



(1) Anaheim Ducks vs. (WC2) Winnipeg Jets



The city of Winnipeg finally gets back to the playoffs, and they figure to give Anaheim all they can handle in a long series. Jets in seven.



(2) Vancouver Canucks vs. (3) Calgary Flames


I'll be honest with you...I haven't watched a single damn minute of the Canucks OR Flames this season...but I'm super happy to see Calgary back in the postseason, and I think this will be a really even, entertaining series to watch. Flames in seven.





Now on to the contest...

The FOURTH Annual ATOM-BOMB BIKINI PLAYOFF CHALLENGE

As in years past, the rules are simple...pick the teams you think will advance to the final four, the conference champions, and the eventual Stanley Cup winner. One point for each correct final four pick, two for each final two pick, and three for picking the champs. Whoever has the most points when that cup is hoisted in June will win the big prize! 

Here's what you're playing for: The big winner will receive a custom piece of original artwork of a pinup girl wearing the jersey of his or her favorite team, along with both issues of Old-Timey Hockey Tales, a pack of Atom-Bomb stickers and a free t-shirt of your choice from the wonderful folks at Original Retro Brand!  Two runners-up will just get the books and stickers...and in case of a tie, I'll put all the names in a hockey helmet and select a winner at random.

How to enter: Write your picks in the comments section of this here blog post. Not on Facebook, not on Twitter, not in an email, but in the comments section of this post. And an onslaught of much needed work has made it impossible for me to finish the art on time, so everybody gets one free game! That's right, you have until the pucks drop on Friday night to enter!

And finally, please, if you have a Twitter handle or something like that that you wouldn't mind adding to your post, that'd be great....I don't want to have a prize go unclaimed because I had no way of getting in contact with the winner! Enjoy the playoffs, folks (I figure my interest lasts five games at most *grumble*)... and good luck!

And of course...


CRASS COMMERCIALISM DEPT: All of the original, hand-drawn art for this year's Stanley Cup picks will be on sale soon...but much of the art from previous years is currently available at my Etsy store!

Of course, if you'd like to go the extra mile and get a personalized, one-of-a-kind uni-girl illustration of your very own to your exact specifications, that information can be found here.

27 comments:

Unknown said...

Glad you're doing this contest again.

My picks are: Rangers/Lightning and Blues/Ducks for the final four.

Cup final is Rangers/Blues with the Rangers winning in 6 games.

My Twitter handle is Metalleaf24. Good luck to everyone.

Mike Engle said...

Final 4: Rangers, Lightning, Ducks, Predators
Final 2: Rangers, Ducks
Final 1: Ducks
@mbe0027

Adam D said...

4: Blues, Ducks, Lightning, Rangers
2: Blues, Rangers
1: Blues

Abram said...

Gonna go full homer here:
Conference finalists: Capitals, Lightning, Nashville, Anaheim
Stanley Cup: Capitals-Nashville
Cup winner: Capitals

@abramjfox on Twitter

Peter said...

Preds over Caps
Preds over Ducks
Caps over Habs

Dan McBride said...

Lightning/Islanders, Blues/Canucks
Lightning/Blues
2015 Stanley Cup Champs: St Louis Blues

PK said...

Eastern finals:
Rangers over Lightning

Western finals:
Blackhawks over Ducks

Stanley Cup:
Rangers over Blackhawks

redbuppy said...

Penguins over Blackhawks, with the Lightning and Canucks losing in the conference finals. Why not?

Alex Crane said...

Let's see, you said until Friday so I'm in.

Final Four: Blues/Ducks, Habs/Rangers

Final Two: Ducks, Canadiens

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner: Montreal Canadiens

Tweeters: @AlexandrosCrane

Elliott Smith said...

Eastern: Rangers over Lightning
Western: Ducks over Blackhawks
Stanley Cup: Ducks

tom said...

4: Blues/Ducks, Habs/Rangers
2: Blues/Rangers
1: Rangers

@HighSockSundays

You're the best!

Pico said...

Eastern finals:
Lightning over Rangers

Western finals:
Blues over Ducks

Stanley Cup:
Lightning over Blues

Unknown said...

Conference finalists: Islanders vs. Lightning, Blachawks vs. Ducks
Stanley Cup: Islanders vs. Blackhawks
Cup winner: Islanders

@mattyjryan_atl

slush said...

Ducks/Preds, Habs/Rangers
Ducks/Rangers
Rangers

Liz Perry said...

I'm going for the Pens (gotta be hopeful) against the Lightning and the Ducks against the Blackhawks. The Stanley Cup will be Pens v Ducks and the winner will be the Pens. hahaha. Love your contest. My twitter handle is plumberbuzz. Great artwork!

Anonymous said...

East
Montreal over Rangers

West
Ducks over Blues

Final
Montreal over Ducks

Bernadette
Twitter @grunge_chic

Anonymous said...

Hawks over Jets
Rangers over Habs
Rangers over Hawks in 6

dp_v2

Unknown said...

Tough one this year.

East: NYR over MON
West: NSH over ANA
Winner NYR

Unknown said...

Final 4: St. Louis, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh
Final 2: St. Louis and Pittsburgh
Final 1: Pittsburgh
@johnvamos

Unknown said...

4: Predators, Vancouver, Lightning, Islanders
2: Predators, Islanders
Cup Winner: Islanders

Cassandra said...

Canadiens over Rangers
Ducks over Wild

Anaheim brings the Stanley Cup back home :)

instagram: @chiefandgeisha

Patrick said...

Can't generate any homer love this year:

CHI/ANA, MTL/NYR
ANA/MTL
ANA

(Much love for the cutie from Winnipeg!)

Unknown said...

4: Rangers, Lightning, Blackhawks, Ducks

2: Lightning, Blackhawks

1: Blackhawks

Johnny Bacardi said...

No predictions, I'm not hockey savvy enough. I'm just glad you finally drew a Flames girl! :) Nice work!

Adam D said...

...and I'm out.

Qiloue said...

Why do you represent the teams with your idealized vision of a female in a seductive pose & barely dressed? Men and women are both fans of the game, so why not draw pinups of men?

Robert Ullman said...

I do...though admittedly not as often. It basically comes down to two things: Pinups of women sell about 1000x better than pinups of dudes (at least in my experience), and, frankly, I'm a straight guy, and I enjoy drawing pinups of women more. I'll draw just about anything a paying client will ask for, but when I'm drawing pinups for ME, as I am with most of the hockey stuff, I'm more than likely going to be drawing women.

Have a look at my Old-Timey Hockey Tales comics, or my Atom-Bomb Banana Hammock collection...plenty of dudes to see!

http://rkullman.blogspot.com/2008/09/gay-old-time.html