He’s getting by with a little help from his friends

In the last instalment of the Tely’s playoff picks, Kenn Oliver comes up with a new twist

After another round and another perfect set of proxy picks, and Telegram reporter Kenn Oliver is going let it ride and keep farming out his selections.

But with OH (other half) away and not wanting to put one dog ahead of the other, this time he’s reached out to his coworker, newsroom neighbour, and fellow fiery ginger Ashley Fitzpatrick to prognosticate on the Stanley Cup final.

Telegram Sports Editor Robin Short and Brendan Mccarthy, both 1-1 in the conference finals (in each case, they chose Anaheim over Nashville), are stubbornly sticking to a policy of self-reliance. For the record, it’s a policy that has left them with under .500 records in this spring’s playoff predictions.

Kenn Oliver

Fitz, a seasoned and tireless reporter, has a vast array of expertise in many fields. Whether it’s natural resources, the fishery, municipal politics, business, the arts, she’s a veritable fountain of knowledge. (One that Oliver tends to lean on heavily when trying to muddle his way through contentious news stories after a decade of clichés and Nuke Laloosh-isms common in local sports.)

But Fitz doesn’t know sports. Case in point: her favourite team was the Hartford Whalers because she liked their jerseys. She’s decided to employ the same tactic for the Cup final, choosing the Pens over the Preds.

When it comes to uniform (and Stanley Cup) choices, I like her style. Penguins in 5

Robin Short

It would be easy to say ‘Who cares about the Nashville Predators and this Stanley Cup final?’ And you’d be right.

But there are a couple of decent storylines, beginning with the Pittsburgh Penguins vying to become the first team since the 1997-98 Detroit Red Wings to win backto-back Stanley Cup championships.

But an even more delicious subplot would be the muchmaligned P.K. Subban winning the Cup, bringing it back to Montreal and the Children’s Hospital where he’s donated a ton of dough, and then watching Canadiens’ brass cringe.

But that’s not going to happen. Not even close. Penguins in 6

Brendan Mccarthy

It seems for many of those favouring Nashville (or at least a Nashville victory) in this series that their feeling is based upon a wish to see Subban win a Stanley Cup and rub it in the face of the Canadiens who dealt him away last summer.

Frankly, I don’t care. No more than I did when Phil Kessel won with Pittsburgh last year after being traded from Toronto.

In any case, I think a better storyline is how the Penguins, who’ve missed their top defenceman (Kris Letang) throughout the playoffs, have been beat up on the back end generally, and ended up switching goalies midstream, are the first team to appear in back-toback Stanley Cup finals since Pittsburgh and Detroit hooked up in 2009 and are in a position to become the first-back-toback cup-winner in nearly two decades.

I believe they’ll do it. Penguins in 6