It has been five days since the Boston Bruins clinched their berth into the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals against the Vancouver Canucks, so all of the free time in between has been spent making predictions on who will raise Lord Stanley's Cup. The British Columbia-based newspaper, The Province, has taken such prognostications to a whole new level, taking cues from local psychics, weather patterns and even animals to find the winner. And it is not looking good for the Bruins.
It started April 26, when a double rainbow appeared shortly before Game 7 between the Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks, a game that Vancouver ultimately won 2-1 in overtime to avoid blowing a 3-0 series lead. Then, on May 11, orcas appeared off of the coast of Vancouver, which locals took to be a good sign, considering the team's mascot is a killer whale.
The Province did not stop there, asking a sage named Delores to predict the Stanley Cup winner:
"I predict the Canucks' fate every year and usually I say they ain't gonna make it. They get halfway there and they get lazy. They have a curse and you could put Wayne Gretzky with them and they wouldn't win. My feelings are right nine out of 10 times. But this year I feel completely different. I feel 95-per-cent sure the Canucks are going to win. You won't ever get a more confident statement this side of heaven."
If nothing above is convincing enough, Maggie, who happens to be a pug, also predicted the Canucks to win in six games:
Maggie's owner, Tom Ryan, says the pooch incorporates a wide variety of disparate elements such as Elvis, aliens and Don Cherry into her calculations, but he swears it works.
So, among other things, the Canucks have a psychic, Mother Nature, whales and a dog on their side heading into Wednesday's Game 1. Add in EA Sports' pro-Canucks prediction and the Bruins apparently have no chance. Fortunately for Boston, Bruins Bear knows exactly where to put all of those predictions.