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Well... so much for Edmonton's undefeated season... LOL!
Cogliano and Nilsson did have points though... good to see the rookies still scoring!
And Briere's goal WAS sick! For years I thought that he was one of the more underrated players. Good to see him getting his props.
Back about 8 years ago while he was playing for Phoenix, he had like a 34 goal season. I always thought that was very impressive for a player who goes like 165lbs back in the day of the neutral zone trap.
Hopefully the outdoor game is televised! Looking forward to watching it.
Missed the one a few years back in Edmonton. Read that it was like -30C out that day!
I think it's a really cool idea, I'll be watching it. Figures that Pittsburgh would be one of the teams playing; the league intends to shove Crosby down everyone's throats for sure and this is a big marketing opportunity.
It just might even fill the Bills' stadium too; every hockey fan in western Pennsylvania will go, and I bet thousands will drive in from the Toronto area as well.
I boycott the NHL since we lost the Winnipeg Jets to a city that doesn't even know they exist or has ever seen snow.. except for cocaine. Screw Phoenix.
btw, I once took a leak on Wayne Gretzky's statue base.
this is Winnipeg.https://www.sharkyforums.com/images/...2007/12/10.jpg
this is Pheonix https://www.sharkyforums.com/images/...2007/12/11.jpg
and this is edmonton.http://websportsradio.com/images/ref.jpg
Any predictions for the NHL playoffs?
My Oil just missed getting in... after dogging it for most of the season and then tunring it on into high gear at the end... too little too late.
But my prediction is that Anaheim will win it again... UGH!
The series that I most look forward to in the West is Calgary vs. San Jose. In the East, I most look forward to Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa.
I look at the matchups and think that there will be a lot of slaughters occuring in the 1st round... not very good matchups. But hey... that's why they play the game!
:)
It's a beautiful time of the year... hopefully lots of blood and teeth left on the ice. Best of all... none of it mine! LOL!
Let's go Caps!!!!!!!! I think the Flyers-Caps series is going to be good.
Sharks or bust?!?!?
It will be a good series, but most Cap die-hards have written the Flyers off already because they are caught up in the Ovechkin media hype machine. He's fantastic, and I can't help but hate the Caps less than the Pens or Devils. But if Philly plays up to potential, they will stomp all over Washington because they can roll three lines of solid offensive talent, as opposed to one superstar and a couple of guys who may be too young to contribute much in the NHL playoffs, aka Backstrom and Semin. It takes blood n guts to win here. Ovechkin is fiery, and a beast, but he can't do it alone.
Both teams play a very aggressive forecheck, and both have lots of hard nosed players so it will be very entertaining.
I also love how Pittsburgh basically lost their last regular season game on purpose, in order to face Ottawa rather than Philly. Hopefully that will bite them on the butt.
From the west, I'd love to see SJ make it all the way. Nabokov, Thornton and most of all Roenick :D deserve a cup.
since my Blackhawks didn't make it in, i would love to see the Sharks in the cup games. i hate to see them play Calgary (since i'd love to see either of them in the finals) in the 1st round though. Montreal or Washington out of the east.Quote:
Originally Posted by JDC
I am in a pool at work where we are trying to pick the winners of every round.
This round, Calgary-San Jose is the toughest for me. I took Calgary.
Colorado-Minnesota gives me trouble. I don't think either team is very good. But I agree with this:
I think three solid lines beats one great line in most situations. I'd way rather have decent production from all three lines rather than rely on one line almost exclusively. Hence... I think that it's an early exit for Minnesota again this year (their only real line being Gaborik's).Quote:
He's fantastic, and I can't help but hate the Caps less than the Pens or Devils. But if Philly plays up to potential, they will stomp all over Washington because they can roll three lines of solid offensive talent, as opposed to one superstar and a couple of guys who may be too young to contribute much in the NHL playoffs, aka Backstrom and Semin. It takes blood n guts to win here. Ovechkin is fiery, and a beast, but he can't do it alone.
Other than that, the only series that I have trouble with is Pittsburgh-Ottawa. Ottawa crushed them last year, but I think that may have been a learning year for Crosby and Co. Oftentimes, you have to taste defeat before you learn how to win. And I don't think Ottawa is the team that they were last year (though they are still dangerous).
My picks are for Anaheim and Pittsburgh to meet in the cup finals with Anaheim repeating (I think that Anaheim may have even got better this year... if that's possible... Schnieder, Bertuzzi, Marc Andre Bergeron). I disklike the Ducks... so this does not make me happy in the least.
And I think that Nashville gets beaten like a red headed stepchild against the Wings. I don't see this one even being close. Maybe even a sweep.
i dislike how Selanne waited until mid season to come back. how about we have ALL the older players start taking half seasons off to get better rested for the important part of the season? it's not fair. unless you're injured between seasons or in the playoffs the year before and need major surgery, you should NOT be allowed in mid-season. i also dislike Crosby's amount of time off for a sprain. c'mon.....Pittsburgh was resting his *** up too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Spank_Me_Hard
i'm not sure about this. i love Hasek and all and unfortunately Detroit will HAVE to start him, less they want him to flake out and cause locker room trouble. he's inconsistent at best and they could finally decide two or three games down to go with Osgood. i wouldn't assume Detoit will win. they've been knocked out in the first round how many times lately?Quote:
Originally Posted by Spank_Me_Hard
I think Pittsburgh will dispatch Ottawa pretty quickly. As a Caps fan I would have rather played Ottawa than Philly.
Hasek has been flaky in recent years. But I thought last playoffs with Detroit that he was very good.Quote:
Originally Posted by dyne
Detroit just got beaten in 6 games by a very strong team... the eventual champs.
The time before was from Edmonton (2006)... the eventual finalists.
The time before was from Calgary (2004)... the eventual finalists.
Detroit has been knocked out a few years in the 1st round... but I don't think that it's as bad as it looks on paper. I say all this and I can't stant Detroit (being the epitomy of evil in the no salary cap era).
Selanne and Niedermyer really handcuffed Anaheim this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by dyne
Anaheim had no answer when both were out and could not plan well how they were going to stay under the cap. This after losing Penner to Edmonton as a restricted free agent and looking at the possibility of having the same happen to both Getslaf and Perry next year. I think that Burke had to make signing both a priority and probably paid both more than he wanted to... which impacts Anaheim in other ways.
When Selanne came back, it forced Aanaheim to make an unfavourable trade. To be forced to trade away McDonalds salary for a less expensive and aging Doug Weight. All other things being equal... I think that Anaheim would rather have been able to have kept a 30 year old McDonald than a 38 year old Weight. Selanne coming back didn't make that possible.
As Edmonton made the league notice last off season, it's not about just staying under the cap... but it's about staying far enough under the cap that you can afford to sign a restricted free agent of your own that you want to keep that another team puts out an offer for. It is unwise to max out your cap if you have restricted free agents that you want to keep. That's what Burke was so upset about... he wanted to keep Penner (who started off slow for Edmonton but eneded up with about the same points... and who is still only 25 and is 245lbs... lotsa potential to get better).
Let's do 1st round predictions.
I'll start.
Calgary over San Jose
Colorado over Minnesota
Anaheim over Dallas
Detroit over Nashville
Pittsburgh over Ottawa
Montreal over Boston
New York over New Jersey
Washington over Philadelphia
hmmmm let's see.
San Jose over Calgary
Minnesota over Colorado
Anaheim over Dallas
Detroit over Nashville
Ottawa over Pittsburgh
Montreal over Boston
New York over Jersey
Philly over Washington
Yeah, Pittsburgh jumped all over them tonight. The sens will need more from their big guns if they even want to make it close. LOL @ Wade Redden btw, getting tuned up by a creampuff like Whitney.Quote:
Originally Posted by herbtv2
Hm.
In the East:
Pens
Rangers
Habs
Capitals (reverse jinx baby!)
Somehow NY has just owned the Devils this year, talk about a reversal of fortune. And Boston never beats Montreal.
In the West:
CGY is beating the Sharks right now, but I think SJ advances. There's just too much team there and Nabokov rules.
Minny over the Avalanche.
Detroit. You never know with them, do you? I like the Preds but I think Detroit outclasses them in a series.
Ducks over Dallas. I love big, tough teams that bring lots of skill also.
I really hope the Avs win but I am really starting to doubt it. They barely made the playoffs and it seems like most the wins they get are extremely close games that could have gone either way.
I watched the highlights and didn't see this.Quote:
Originally Posted by r'aggro
What happened?
I'm living in the wrong part of the US for hockey.
I thought that the San Jose-Calgary game would be televised by Fox last night.
To my surprise, all that was on was baseball.
Other than the fact that I find baseball boring in the extreme, it is the very beginning of their 160 game season (i.e. lose a game here, and you have 159 more games to make it up). Whereas hockey is in the playoffs in 7 game elimination series and the games are INTENSE!
I heard that there was a lot of bad blood last night. In particular between Ottawa-Pittsburgh (heard that 40 year old Gary Roberts had to be restrained at the end of the game) and San Jose-Calgary (who are always very rough).
And there is no love lost between New Jersey and the Rangers either.
And there I was with only the beginning of baseball being televised.
Ugh...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Cbz8BMX_8Quote:
Originally Posted by Spank_Me_Hard
Some probably don't approve of fighting during the playoffs, but I'm okay with it.;)
LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by r'aggro
I love it!
Yea... he got fed a couple knuckle sandwiches... LOL! Far from the worst I've ever seen though...
I have no problem with fighting in hockey. And most the real fans love it.