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I dont expect the cup again this year...back to backs are almost unheard of..
but just to see the wings sweep their first round opponent gives me hope because cupcake teams like the BJ's are the ones that give the wings the most trouble typically because they get lazy and dont show up to play till its too late
A few teams like the BJs just proved to me that they never really belonged there in the firstplace. The BJs in particular benefitted from a good coach, hard work, and a style of play that was designed to do well in the regular season but is utterly useless in the playoffs (Minnesota's style comes to mind here as well).
All other things being equal and talent being the only other factor in the equation, the BJs never stood a chance.
I feel bad for SJ because they win the conference and then face a talented team in Anaheim where Detroit finishes second and gets a joke of a team in the BJs. No justice. I almost wonder if the top tier teams should be able to pick their opponents instead?
Other series like Chicago-Calgary have all the makings of a historic 7 game series. Great matchup!
There will be no easy team for Detroit in the second round. The pretenders should all be gone. They will have their work cut out for them now.
They have their work cut out for them because betman is an a$$
I mean seriously the type of travel the wings are forced to do shouldnt have to be made untill the final..
Plus i hate my team having 10pm starts...I mean really who can stay up till 12 watchign hockey on a monday or tuesday?
stupid betman putting the wings in the west just to prop up a crappy division
The teams that are considered "West" and the teams that are considered "East" makes no sense at times.
But I don't know what can be done about it?
I mean, geographically speaking there simply aren't enough cities on the western portion of the continent. Somebody from the "east" has to be in the Western Conference...
*sigh*x2 :( :(
But why take one of the original 8?Quote:
Originally Posted by Spank_Me_Hard
Take Ottawa and throw them out west of florida.....keep the 8 together and yes move chicago back east to..make it like the NE vs the S and W
Move a team (I almost don't care which) to Portland Oregon. I would kill for a ~local nhl club and there's a big gap between SJ and Vancouver BC.
Hell, give us the Florida Panthers. I'd even get a Ballard jersey.
Anyway, from there realign one of the western teams into the eastern conference.
...and, we're done.
This is all Sarah Palin's fault.:mad:
Fingers crossed for my Hawks. That game last night was amazing.
Aaaaaaaaand they're in round 2.
to bad chicago and the wings were not matching up.....that would be a fun series back to the old days of the rivalry
No more easy teams left in the West.
Both Chicago and Detroit will have their hands full with Vancouver and Anaheim respectively.
ya most of the reason I wanted chicago is 7 o'clock starts move to 8 o'clock..when its Cali team its freaking 10 o'clock
Chicago and Detroit... if that's what is in the cards... would be a good matchup too.
I thought that both Chicago and Anaheim had the biggest tasks in the 1st round. Maybe both of them will be tired?
I don't know what is more advantageous... dispatching your first opponent quickly and getting a rest or going the full 7 games.
when ozzy is hurt winning in 4 =)
That's what the Western Finals are for silly ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Recon
Holy crap!
I passed out B4 the end of the Devils-Canes game. Sounds like I missed quite a shocking finish!
Ok. This is every bit as embarrassing as Semin's hissy fit slap fest earlier this year:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=420770
HAIR PULLING?!?Quote:
By the time things settled, Vancouver defenseman Shane O'Brien had been taken hard to the ice by a referee trying to keep him away from Adam Burish, who was challenging top-line forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin, and Canucks agitator Alex Burrows was caught on tape twice grabbing a handful of Duncan Keith's long hair and pulling hard.
What is the NHL coming to?!?
Crosby and Ovechkin each with a hat trick tonight in DC. If you're Gary Bettman, that **** is better than Christmas.
Good game though, one of those two teams will likely be repping the East in my opinion.
A shadow of what it once was. Remember Bettman was leading the NBA during the point shaving scandal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spank_Me_Hard
At the end of our game 2 (Hawks/Canucks) one of our players (might have been Sharp) got dumped on his can well after the closing horn and nothing was done.
The officiating is the only thing worse for the league than Bettman himself. I don't even know how many times over the course of the season I've seen a guy get called for something, but later in the game some other player does the exact same thing...but no call. The inconsistency is such BS.
Even the basis for suspending players is a crock, as we've seen in just the last few weeks. Player (or team!) reputation is no basis for deciding penalties.:mad:
I can't take much more of this post season. My Hawks just tied it up 1-1 with 5 minutes left and won in OT. EVERY win of ours has been from behind. It's nerve racking!
I'll be sitting 4 rows up from the glass come game 5 on wed =)
Wow! Congrats! A playoff game would be a whole new level of fun! Tho I do hope that you leave the game disappointed... :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Recon
Am now hopin for the Hawks in the West... after having cheered for them the past two rounds. My gut tells me tho that they can't beat Detroit. The Hawks blowing a 3 goal lead last game kinda validated that for me. The Hawks can only be the "comeback kids" for so long... eventually the law of averages will catchup with them.
Am lovin the playoffs... all the teams that I have been cheering for seem to lose every round... but WOW is it some great hockey!
So intense and hard hitting... the Chicago-Calgary series was immensely entertaining to me. Havlat got knocked into next Tuesday by Kronwall. Had a look on his face like he has his memory erased.
Pitt-Washington series was amazing. Clash of the titans in Ovechkin and Crosby. Was surprised that after such a good series that ther Caps folded so easily in game 7.
And Carolina has been surprising every team that they've faced. So I was wondering if they were going to be the Cinderella team this year. Then they face Pitt... who seem to be playing vs. a highschool team now.
It's amazing how easy some teams seem to handle others, and then in other series how easily one team disposes of another. After the Canes took their opponents to game 7s... they are folding like a glass jawed boxer vs. the Pens. I wonder seomtimes if it's just matching up badly vs. another team, or the talent level just ain't there, or if pure luck has just run out. So unpredictable and seemingly random sometimes.
For example... Malkin seemed invisible for most of these playoffs. But against the Canes he is an unstoppable force. Why?!? It's not like he's an unknown entity... teams are going to try to put their best players against him to try to neutralize him. And for the previous two rounds it seemed to work. But against the Canes he looks unstoppable!
The Pens got spanked last year by Detroit... but this looks like a different Pens team to me this year. They look possessed. Detroit represents to me almost a perfectly run organization (frustratingly enough for me... can't stand 'em)... but I am left wondering this year if the Pens are playing like a team of destiny. They just seem hungrier to me this year...
Sometimes I think that a team has to lose before they learn how to win.
(thinking of of the Detroit offensive juggernaught running into the Devils in the 90's, or my Oilers getting spanked by the Islanders before their dynasty)
Wings and Pens again...ehhhh. Pretty sick of Detroit, they win it all about 30% of the time. I'll still root for them (or anyone else) against the pens though. I do think it will be a good matchup.
Funny thing about Malkin (other than his appearance) is that even when it looks like he's been shut down for an entire game he still manages to get on the score sheet. Philly threw the Richards line at him and he "looked" invisible and stymied, yet he still quietly got his numbers. It was weird.
Carolina was overachieving and their luck just ran out, IMO. Boston and Jersey were both better teams and certainly more talented than the Canes; they just fought like rabid dogs and got amazing performances from Cam Ward. Hot goalies make all the difference in the playoffs; just ask MA Fleury.