[ July 02, 2008, 09:23 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Mushroom, Mushroom!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Part of me wants to jump up and down and see if I can get tickets for the Caps home opener.
Part of me wants tobeg fans to never go to or watch another NHL game again to punish them for the lockout and to tell the other sports leagues that if you sell a product that depends on the emotional attachment of your customers, you would do well not to jerk them around like this.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I love my team, and my team loves me.
I trust they did whatever they could to keep Hockey going.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Hehehe, I work for a wedding company and immediately after the last hockey season was cancelled, we were flooded with orders from Canada.
"Well, Elmira, since there's no hockey this year, ya wanna get hitched?"
It started the very day after the announcement.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Yay!
To be fair, I haven't really been into professional hockey since around 1998, but I could see myself getting back into it.
The reasons I lost interest were numerous, but it was mostly because the Pittsburg Penguins, who I had followed so closely for the couple years previous were trading away all their good players for cheaper ones. You know, to save cash after going bankrupt (Jagr, Kovalev, others). When Mario came back and I cheared, but he spent most of his time injured, and the team sunk to last place.
It just wasn't making me happy watching my beloved team get worse and worse every year.
During the year without hockey, I have moved a couple times, and can use that, along with the gap, to pick a new team. Perhaps one closer to me.
Now the three closest hockey teams to Omaha are the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche, and the St. Louis Blues.
I will never be an Avalanche fan. Far too many of those as there is. I've never really liked the Blues either.
But the Wild is a fairly new team, and the closest to me. Their colors and name don't suck. Looking at their record the last year they played, they were last in their division, but still one game over 500. Looking at their roster that year, the only guy I've ever heard of is the goalie.
Sounds pretty good team to get behind . No bandwagon, and lots of room for improvement.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Our sports talk guys called it weeks ago. They knew today would be the day it was announced, as it's the lull day after the MLB 'all star' game...no other news to get in the way.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Bah, Colorado sucks!
GO WINGS!!!
HOCKEY HOCKEY HOCKEY!!!!!!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I am a huge Red Wings fan, so I am glad in part...but the other part of me is pissed, and doesn't want to support such a group of greedy, ignorant, spoiled people.
I mean BOTH sides of this, not just one. They make more money than I ever will, and they get all pouty and lose a whole season over this crap?
Kwea
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
No! Don't lose faith fellow Wings fan!
Remember the Wings are the team where everyone took a voluntary pay cut so they could get Hull and Chelios a couple years ago! McCarty has a cancer research foundation! They care more about the team, and the fans than money.
Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
Hocky Sucksorz.
Posted by Sid Meier (Member # 6965) on :
just kidding.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I myself was on the owners side in the conflict. The best thing to ever happen to pro football was the salary cap.
A salary cap in baseball would make that sport infinitely more interesting to me.
Of course I wasn't opposed to a salary cap in hockey. The owners didn't seem "greedy" to me, since half of them were losing money under the old way. The best thing to happen to their pocket books was not having a season.
Though I didn't follow the dispute as much as some folks, and perhaps I am wrong about some details...
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
I'd like to stay mad and spite them too, but if enough people do that the game will suffer and I really don't want to lose the game again. So I guess I'm going to have to be the bigger man here.
It's an interesting deal, though. There's a 1.9% difference between the lowest and highest spending teams, which is about the same as the NFL, and players become unrestricted free agents at 27 or after 7 years play (whichever comes first) which could mean a lot more player movement.
On the whole though, it's great news for the small market teams who've had to syphon off their talent because they couldn't afford to keep them. Looks like the Wings, Avalance, and their ilk won't be able to buy cups any more Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I sided more with the owners as well, but not completely. There were plenty of offers that might have worked, and they were all idiots to lose a season, and God knows how many fans, over this.
Posted by scottneb (Member # 676) on :
quote:Mushroom, Mushroom!
That's awesome, Porter!
I thought I was going to be the "original" one and post that.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
woohoooo hockey!!!!!
Posted by mothertree (Member # 4999) on :
I'm kind of disappointed that this isn't one of those mesmerizing flash animation loops. Or is that what the Mushroom thing is about?
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
I'm sorry... hockey?
Whatzat?
Posted by scottneb (Member # 676) on :
Yeah, that's it, mothertree.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
I have been off professional hockey since I was unable to watch the Canadiens on tv with my grandfather, so, let's see, about thirty years.
My dad coached hockey when I was a kid, so I loved watching hockey th most when it was right in front of me.
I played for a year in college, the best sports year of my life. And I continue to enjoy watching women's hockey. I got to see the top US girls play in Lake Placid a few weeks ago for a scouting camp. They get better and better each year. My friend's daughter was recruited as goalie for UNH. It was so much fun to watch her, and I plan to go and see her next year.
Posted by FlyingCow (Member # 2150) on :
No, sorry, still not following... is it some sort of strange Canadian sport? Like Curling?
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Yea, heard about this earlier in the day, and im pretty excited. And dissappointed. To set things straight, the NFL sucks, for numerous reasons, one of them being the salary cap. The constant movement of players leaves little/no time to get to like them, or to not dislike them. I'm a huge Wings fan. The Wings are a really great team, player wise, fan-interaction wise, and the fact that they communicate so much, and are all pretty much really good friends. Even if they were still a great team, with a constant movement of superstars going in and out of Detroit, I wouldn't be able to appreciate them nearly as much, and I would lose a great deal of devotion, due to the fact that it would look too much like a company.
I don't think I'd look at it like the Wings 'buy' their cups (of course this, like the rest of my ranting, is most likely bias-ism). They collect a talented group of individuals that are supported by a heavily devoted fan base, like us folk here in Hockey Town.
I'm glad hockeys back, relived in fact. But I'm just hoping that the contract that was dealt around doesn't affect teams enough to rip them apart just because the collective talents of their team want a fair (comparitavly to the rest of the NHL teams, and across other US sports leagues) paycheck.
Here's looking forward to a new (and hopefully better{whatever your definition of that may be}) 05-06 NHL season!
GO WINGS!
P.S. Lyrhawn and Kwea, do you guys live in the Detroit area?
Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
Florida is the reigning NHL champions, right?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I live in Metro Detroit, southeastern Oakland County. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from Detroit.
(It's like 10 minutes away if I take Woodward, I live right off 11 mile)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Tampa Bay Lightning, yes, they are the current champs.
Posted by wordman (Member # 1307) on :
Hey, Wings fans, remember 1995? Who could ever forget such a heavily favored team being swept in the Finals.
And by no less than the Gretzky-maligned "Mickey Mouse operation," the New Jersey Devils.
quote:New Jersey became just the sixth team in history to win a Stanley Cup Championship in their first finals appearance, and the first to sweep a series. (Emphasis added)
Go, Devils.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
We remember taking it back to back in 97 and 98. And then again in 2002.
I remember Game Four of the 2002 finals against Carolina. I was going to my graduation ceremony a couple days later, but my high school always had an All Night Party for the seniors. There were events, and it was basically a carnival that lasted all night.
Well I left my house for the party (which is at the school) when the game was at the end of the third period, still tied. I got there and went to the detention room, which was the only room open that had a tv, and began watching it with a couple other fans. A couple HOURS later 60 kids were crammed into a room the size of a large pantry staring at the television as the game was going into TRIPLE overtime.
By that time it was 2 in the morning. Hot and stuffy in there. The kids who couldn't fit into the room were funneling drinks in to us in exchange for us letting them know what was going on. Every time the puck clanked off the pipes the whole room screamed. Every check, every penalty and power play, every line change practically we'd "Oooh!" and "ahh!" when something would happen.
Finally in the Third OT, Larionov brought the LONGEST Stanley Cup final game ever to a close for a Wings victory.
That's a night I wish I could live over and over again.
Posted by wordman (Member # 1307) on :
::tips hat to Wings::
::imagines hoisting the Cup in 2001 and 2003 with the Devils::
::grimaces while remembering that 2002 should have been ours as well::
::CHEERS that next year is ON::
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Being a Red Wings fan who is opposed to a hockey salary cap is like being a Yankees fan opposed to a baseball one.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
I just heard on the radio that during the 'no-season' there was an all time number of babies being conceived in Calgary. The radio host was trying to claim that if there isn't any hockey to watch, well, then you might as well ...
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I live in Metro Detroit, southeastern Oakland County. Just a hop, skip and a jump away from Detroit.
(It's like 10 minutes away if I take Woodward, I live right off 11 mile)
Really? I live off 11 mile too, but the Farmington Hills part of it.
Posted by ProverbialSunrise (Member # 7771) on :
quote:Originally posted by FlyingCow: No, sorry, still not following... is it some sort of strange Canadian sport? Like Curling?
Hey! Don't go talking about curling like that. I love that game. I'm awful at it but it is so much fun.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
Curling *is* insanely fun, considering it involves a broom and sweeping!
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
Thank God. I was really worried the NHL was going to collapse. Hockey is the only sport we have here in the states where 'World Champions' really means World Champions; unlike Baseball, Football, or Basketball.
Looking forward to the new season!
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
Wings fan here too. Been watching them since the 80's (you know, back when they couldn't win a game even if they shot all the players on the opposing team).
11 mile huh?
I lived off of 8 mile in Redford. Take Beach Daily Rd to the old fire house on the park, take a right on ......Pickford, then a... left on Glenmore. The fourth house down is the one I lived in until we moved in 1989. Wow, I still remember all that.....I hated that place. The Catholic School on the corner of Beach and 8 is where they tried to teach me until 5th grade. Then I went to public school.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Haha, where do you reside now?
Posted by sky_pager (Member # 7796) on :
Whoa! To many Wings fans on this thread. Scary.
And Devils Blah! The only good thing about being a sports fan in New Jersey is that you can drive to Philadelphia.
(all in good fun)
Go Flyers!!!
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
Philly's one of the teams I like to watch too.
Everybody likes the Wings. Posted by wordman (Member # 1307) on :
Philly may be fun, but 30 years without the Cup? Winning back to back is great, but if they're your only Cup wins, then something's missing. I'll take and keep my Devils, thank you very much.
But props to Roenick for his comments last month. Loved it.
quote:We're trying to get this thing back on the ice and make it better for the fans. If you don't realize that, then don't come. We don't want you in the rink, we don't want you in the stadium, we don't want you to watch hockey.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Metro-Detroit is a very hockey enthusiastic area.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I grew up two blocks from Hall and Van Dyke, in Utica. Right where M59 starts, although back then it was a much smaller highway.
There is a pizza shop, Bushamies (sp?), at the end of the road where I use to live, people from all over go there it was so good.
About 20 min from Detroit, if the traffic was good.
My dad worked at Lakeside mall, at the 3rd largest JCPenney in the country....I thin it was the largest one for a while when it first opened... Posted by sky_pager (Member # 7796) on :
quote: Philly may be fun, but 30 years without the Cup? Winning back to back is great, but if they're your only Cup wins, then something's missing.
Ouch!! I hate when the truth hurts. But I'm glad to see the NHL back. I had nothing to watch after football season. (don't say it New England, I already know.)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I live off 11 mile in Royal Oak.
And it's not really fair to say "everyone likes the Wings" like it's a bad thing.
I'm betting Metro Detroit has more fans than 10 of the weakest hockey cities put together.
That's like saying everyone loves the Avs. Not our fault Detroit is Hockey Town.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I was just at the mall yesterday, I popped in a sports store and noticed all Red Wings jerseys were 40% off (these are the quality ones). So I'm thinking I may have to grab one for only $90. Probably Datsyuk's. (although in the long run it would be cooler to have someones jersey who was more well known, ie Yzerman, Lindstrom, *mental block*). This is bad, not remembering players on the team.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'd prefer Datsyuk or Zetterberg. I like the younger players.
But Yzerman, Lidstrom, McCarty, Chelios, Shanahan, Dandenault.
Hatcher would be stretching it, as far as I'm concerned he hasn't really been playing on the Wings long enough to want his jersey.
Posted by ProverbialSunrise (Member # 7771) on :
Woohoo! Draft lottery happens in 30 minutes. I hope it turns out well for the Leafs.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heh. They kept flipping coins this morning, trying to show the odds that the Sabres could get the first pick. The idea was they had to guess 4 coin flips in a row. Can you tell they are hockey starved?
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Well, there probably wasn't a better place for him to go, under the wing of one of the greatest players ever who came into the league with similar expectations. Pittsburgh is going to have an interesting starting line, that's for sure.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Yes, Hasn't Hatcher only played for one season, and that was when he messed up his leg and played for like 6 games? or has it been two seasons?
Im glad we finally have a big hitter on the team (McCarty doesn't count).
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
I don't care about Hockey, I just wanted to bump this to two pages. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yeah, we finally have some power in Hatcher. He played for one partial season, yeah that six games, and then last season there was no season.
I believe this upcoming season will be his first full season with the Wings.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Ewww... I'm not likin this salary cap buisness without a luxury tax being allowed. $39 mil max per team? For the hardest working sports players in the US? That's like half of what the salary for the Wings was in the '03-'04 season.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I would LOVE Y's jersey, he was playing back wehn I was a fan, in the laste 80's, when they couldn't get out of the semi-finals or QF of the Stanley Cup....lol...
I am old school. I even saw Gordie Howe play, although it was a celebrity game, not a Red Winds game. It WAS at JLA, if that counts. Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
Xavier, I hope you feel shame. Loads and loads of shame. The Pens, barring any sensationally stupid moves, are now going to pick up Crosby. Malkin, Fleury, Crosby, and Malone. Hahahaaaaaaa, I love hockey (not a pens fan btw, Avs all the way)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I don't think it will really hurt the Wings that bad.
I approve of parring down the goalie pads. They are there to protect the goalie, not to help him block shots.
I'll have to see how shoot outs work before I really approve of those.
But as for the Wings roster, I thought I read that every NHL player will have their salary reduced by something like 40%. That right there will dramatically bring down the salary for the Wings. Losing Hull also removes a few million yearly. They will just have to be careful when the resign players and try to pick up new ones, especially with a rather large field of extremeley talented free agents out there.
I do hope this will spread out some of the talent in the NHL though. Part of the reason the sport is so dead is that only 10 out of 40 teams are really competitive, the rest just serve to be foils for the rest.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Xavier, I hope you feel shame. Loads and loads of shame. The Pens, barring any sensationally stupid moves, are now going to pick up Crosby. Malkin, Fleury, Crosby, and Malone. Hahahaaaaaaa, I love hockey (not a pens fan btw, Avs all the way)
I admit that I had (and still have) no idea why the salary cap (or another aspect of the deal) would be able to make the Penguins a better team. They were paying bottom of the barrel prices for bottom of the barrel players when I lost interest. Is pittsburg now not in danger of losing the team for good, and can loosen the purse strings a bit?
Anyway, I think I will follow this season pretty closely, at least at first. Perhaps I'll start reading some news stories to see how the league is changing this year. Then perhaps I will be informed enough to know what team to follow.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I approve of parring down the goalie pads. They are there to protect the goalie, not to help him block shots.
I totally agree with that.
I'll have to see how shoot outs work before I really approve of those.
Im glad they're doing the way they are, with the 5 min 4 on 4, and then the shootout (thats what I had been hoping for). Because overtimes are still interesting, with an even cooler ending if no one scores (I like shootouts).
Yeah, all contracts are automaticly being reduced by 24%.
I do hope this will spread out some of the talent in the NHL though. Part of the reason the sport is so dead is that only 10 out of 40 teams are really competitive, the rest just serve to be foils for the rest.
Eh. I don't know. It will definatly spread the talent out. I'll have to wait and see how much more or less interesting the games will become. It's just weird to think about 1 or 2 or 3 good players a team. Like Shannahan, Selanne, and Madano as good players on one team, vs Kariya, Pronger, and Jagr on another. Also, theres only 32 teams .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Thank you for the corrections =)
My only trivial complaint about the shootout is that it will really mess up stats, and how will they do the point system?
Do they add an extra stat on for SOGs? Shoot Out Goals? SOS? Shoot Out Saves for goalies? I like that the winner of a shoot out will get 2 points and the loser 1, though, it does suck that an entire point comes down to the offensive strength of 3 shooters and one goalie.
Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
There are 30 teams, last I checked. And Xavier, you're right that the new rules and CBA don't give the Pens an advantage at all. They just won the draft lottery to get the first pick, which means Sidney Crosby, which means Gretzky's Second Coming. It very well could be similar to Mario's resurrection of the franchise in the 80s.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:There are 30 teams, last I checked. And Xavier, you're right that the new rules and CBA don't give the Pens an advantage at all. They just won the draft lottery to get the first pick, which means Sidney Crosby, which means Gretzky's Second Coming. It very well could be similar to Mario's resurrection of the franchise in the 80s
But can they actually afford to pay him? I think they had the lowest payroll in the NHL at 10 million last I heard. They traded Jagr and Kovalev away for inferior players, just to get rid of some expenses. It would be great to be interested in the Penguins again though .
Posted by ProverbialSunrise (Member # 7771) on :
The real question is, can they afford not to pay him? If they let this oppoortunity go, I can't see that franchise surviving.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by akhockey: There are 30 teams, last I checked.
Hmm right you are, for some reason I thought with the additional expansion teams this decade, it pushed the total team number to 32.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Thank you for the corrections =)
My only trivial complaint about the shootout is that it will really mess up stats, and how will they do the point system?
Do they add an extra stat on for SOGs? Shoot Out Goals? SOS? Shoot Out Saves for goalies? I like that the winner of a shoot out will get 2 points and the loser 1, though, it does suck that an entire point comes down to the offensive strength of 3 shooters and one goalie.
Grrr I read what they are doing about this somewhere, and now I can't find it . If I happen to find it I'll post it here.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I saw on Detroit Fox Network today that the Wings might lose Hatcher, McCarty and Whitney, because of the salary cap.
I hope they can find a way to keep them. If not, it really sucks that there isn't a luxury tax that can be paid if you go over the cap.
Posted by Exploding Monkey (Member # 7612) on :
If they land between Park Place and Boardwalk they can pay it for the reasonable price of $75.
Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
Have no fear Xavier. Next year might not be the Pens best, but if you stick with them you should be happy for years to come.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by Exploding Monkey: If they land between Park Place and Boardwalk they can pay it for the reasonable price of $75.
Entry Level players will be subject to a maximum annual salary (plus signing and games played bonuses) of $850,000 for 2005 and 2006 draftees; $875,000 for 2007 and 2008 draftees; $900,000 for 2009 and 2010; and $925,000 for 2011 draftees.
The maximum combined signing bonus will be limited to 10% of the player's maximum annual compensation in any year.
Entry Level players may negotiate for performance bonuses up to a maximum of $850,000 in individual "Schedule A" bonuses per year (maximum of $212,500 per bonus). A player may also be eligible to earn individual "B" bonuses for League-wide excellence, which will, as a general matter, be paid by the League. In addition, a player will be eligible to negotiate with his club "excess" individual "B" bonuses, subject to a maximum aggregate of $2 million in any year.
How long will a player be in the Entry Level system?
Players who sign their first contract at age 18-21 are required to sign three-year Entry Level contracts; players age 22-23 will be required to sign two-year deals; and players age 24 will be required to sign a one-year Entry Level contract.
So they get a bargain for three years. Hopefully that'll be enough of a cornerstone for them to be able to lay out some money on other players.
Posted by ProverbialSunrise (Member # 7771) on :
I hope the Penguins become a legitimate contender again. I hate to see teams fail for long periods of time. I think they can do it. I didn't realise that entry level players could only be paid such a small amount of money. Thanks for the quote Sean.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
That surprises me too, even compared to the relatively small salaries of other NHL players, that's a bargain.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by ProverbialSunrise: I hope the Penguins become a legitimate contender again. I hate to see teams fail for long periods of time.
I hope so too. A lot of my family lives in the Pittsburgh area, and we've all been fans of the franchise since as long as I can remember. Mario is quite a guy. I was sorta disappointed about that French-Canadian goalie they drafted that was suppose to be amazing, but then got sent to the minors because he sucked. If he was talented, and then they got Crosby, along with the whole team being led under Lemieux for 2 years or so, Pittsburgh would be quite the contender.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
Go Flames!
Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
quote:I was sorta disappointed about that French-Canadian goalie they drafted that was suppose to be amazing, but then got sent to the minors because he sucked.
He kept them in lots of games until getting shelled every night because the Penguins were terrible took its toll. He'll be amazing again if they ever field an actual team in front of him.
(I still feel the need to stick up for goalies. Used to be one myself.)
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Fleury sucked? Fleury was *great* considering the Pens had no D to speak of. One of their defenders was an impressive -48 on the season. The reason he got sent to the minors had nothing to do with him sucking (far from it) it had to do with 2 things. The minor reason being that they felt he could learn more in the minors on a competetive team than he could being shillaced nightly for the Pens. And, most importantly, he had an option for a millionish dollars if he played more than 20 games. After his 20th game he got sent to the minors.
Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
Oh right, I'd forgotten about the 20+ games bonus.
They're in great position for the cap, considering their big names (Malkin, Crosby, Lemieux and Fleury) are all pretty cheap. It sounds like that's going to give them room to sign a top winger... add that onto all the promising young players they have (who've had lots of playing time since they started ditching all their veterans) and their going to be a *fun* team to watch.
I'm going to look into getting tickets, but I suspect half of Toronto is having similar thoughts. It might be easier to travel to Pittsburgh.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sean, if the Pens play in Buffalo that might be an easier trip to make. Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
That's worth a look. Although, unfortunately, I believe all the games in Buffalo involve the Sabres in some way.
Edit: In retrospect, someone from Winnipeg (undefeated since 1996!) really shouldn't make fun of other city's teams.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heh. They are also going to be amongst the least expensive this year.
Of course, the Sabres might lose both Satan and Zhitnik...hopefully they can get some talent being culled from other teams.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Dammit! Foiled again! Your all right. I making some pretty rash comments, and I keep forgeting things. Hopefully this will all blow over once the season starts and my mind is refreshed.
And if anyone could hit me up with a link to the season scheduales for the Penguins or the Wings, that would be great. Thanks.
Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
It looks like the schedules haven't been made yet. I can't even find the date it's going to be released - Ticketmaster is still listing the onsale dates for the 2003 season. I guess they're still scrambling to get stuff sorted out.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm sure they waited on the schedules to make sure that no teams were lost or the schedule shortened.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Wings officially bought out McCarty, Whitney and Hatcher today.
Legace and others are still possible names to be on the chopping block.
The NHL sucks now. =(
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Oh come on now. A Red Wings Stanley Cup will mean so much more, now that nobody can claim they bought it.
Personally, that is what I think of, when I think of the Red Wings. I pretty much consider them the Yankees of hockey. I won't be able to after this. I won't be able to say it about the Avalanche either.
I'm starting to think that the Salary Cap was the best thing to happen to hockey in a long time .
[ July 25, 2005, 09:08 PM: Message edited by: Xavier ]
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
I hear you, Xav. And, really, it's not like the Wings lost anyone important there.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
McCarty is sentimental to Detroit, although I'm not a fan of his hockey skills, I appreciate him as a good person. And I would've liked to see Hatcher play... like at all.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Easily half of the talent on the Wings the last few years has been in its younger and lesser paid players, so I don't buy the "they bought a Cup" theory. At the very least, not for the 2002 victory.
And I don't care as much about Hatcher or Whitney, they were newer Wings. But I will miss McCarty. He was Detroit through and through.
The thing I don't like about this, is that crappy teams are going to pick up good players for a song, while many of the better and more financially able teams are either stuck with higher contracts, or they must pay a great deal of money to buy them out and go elsewhere. I don't mind the sport equaling out, but this is a huge blow to the bigger teams over the last couple years.
And anyone who thinks the Wings haven't earned what they have, must not have been to Detroit very recently during a Hockey season. The fans here are rabid, and they power the team, and have powered it, through the good times and the bad times. Unlike other cities whose fans wilt and leave them during a bad season. The core of the Wings team has been together for a very, very long time. Now they will have to learn to play with whoever they get.
But if it's that, or no hockey, I'll gladly take it the way it is. The Wings will still rule this year.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: The fans here are rabid, and they power the team, and have powered it, through the good times and the bad times. Unlike other cities whose fans wilt and leave them during a bad season.
I'm really not trying to start an argument here, but doesn't every team's fans say that?
Personally, I'm glad to see the cap - though I don't think it will change the NHL a whole lot (which isn't a bad thing).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Depends on the sport, and the city. Detroit is HOCKEYTOWN.
The commissioner of the NHL said it himself in 2002.
Look at every bad team in the NHL right now though, and look at the cities with hockey teams during the lockout. How many cities were saying "wait, there's no hockey this year? who cares?" because they didn't really care about it or know about it to begin with. Certainly there are other teams who can say the same thing. I'm guessing most Canadian teams, certainly the Avs fans. But not every team.
And it already IS changing the NHL. We just won't know how much until the season is underway.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
Well, my point was that it doesn't depend on the city. Most fans will talk about how great their city was to the team during the good and the bad.
I really have nothing against Detroit - I've loved watching them play. Scotty Bowman was one of my favourite coaches. I usually take what Gary Bettman says with a grain of salt - not that I don't think Detroit is a great hockey city, though.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Hey, Lyr, if you need me I'll be out back. Clearly there's no more space on the cross Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
Did my posts really come off as that... mean?
I simply meant that I've heard, literally, fans from every team say their fans were the most loyal. Heck, I've said it dozens of times myself.
What I guess I was getting at is that, while I'm sure Detroit is a great hockey city, I can also understand someone looking at a team's roster and player salary details and end up being a little bitter - unless you're looking at the Rangers, of course.
Anyways, I don't think my posts really warranted that comment - I wasn't trying to nail Lyrhawn to anything. Though I do appologize if I came across that way.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I too apologize for being far more defensive than I should have been.
It's just...it's Hockey!! I have a hard time keeping my emotions in check when it comes to this sport that I love so much .
Get me in a thread talking about football or baseball and I'll crumble and run away.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
I know what you mean.
I've been living in Springfield, IL for the past three years. Almost nobody even knew that last season had been cancelled.
My mum mailed me one of those team flags you put on your car windows.
People kept asking me what the flaming 'C' meant.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Wow. I just have to say, I think im gonna like this whole awesome players spread out thing. Kariya in Nashville? Khabibulin in Chicago? Philly with Forsburg and a ton of other amazing players? We'll have to see how things go this season. Looks like the Stanley Cup is going to be up for grabs, with nearly all 30 teams pressing lines with a few star players, it's gonna be crazy for the first time in a very long while.
And Osgood. Everyone here (in Detroit area) is 99% sure he's coming back to the Wings. And everyone thought I should've taken down my Osgood poster I got back in 98' when he was traded to the blues a couple years ago.
Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
I'm so distraught about all these moves. Colorado is now like....going to be hurting to make the top 4, if not the playoffs this year. The team's are getting so much more even, it's insane. Should make for great games though. Colombus is going to be even more exciting to watch, Nashville (is Sulli still there?) should get a slight boost. I wonder how some of the quieter teams will fare (Buffalo, Phoenix, San Jose, St. Louis, Rangers....)?
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Certainly the teams that haven't made a lot of changes should have the early boost, what with all the experience playing together. So I expect teams like Ottawa to come out of the gate blazing. After the first month or so, it'll be anyone's game. Hopefully some of these smaller market teams that have been able to draw some bigger names will have people be curious and come out, only to get hooked on the game.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
quote: I'm really not trying to start an argument here, but doesn't every team's fans say that?
Neither am I, but to add to Lyr's comment....the Red Wings have been the largest franchise in the NHL for a while. They were as such even back in the 80's when they stunk. Albeit, Lyr's comment seemed to drift wrong when he ended it. I wouldn't use the word wilt, but would more or less say that Detroit has a much stronger fan base. Every hockey fan loves their hockey and their team. However, Detroit just has more of them.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
quote:Originally posted by Stan the man: Neither am I, but to add to Lyr's comment....the Red Wings have been the largest franchise in the NHL for a while. They were as such even back in the 80's when they stunk. Albeit, Lyr's comment seemed to drift wrong when he ended it. I wouldn't use the word wilt, but would more or less say that Detroit has a much stronger fan base. Every hockey fan loves their hockey and their team. However, Detroit just has more of them.
Yes, Detroit does have a lot of fans.
But I just don't think it's worthwile to have a discussion about who the best fans are. I know that it's common in sports communities to have this discussion - but it's always seemed annoying and pointless to me. The notion that more people liking a particular teams means that I am not just as good a fan to my team is silly - which is underneath every conversation about 'best fans'.
I really shouldn't have typed anything to begin with.
But, we ought to have more fun talk about hockey.
I'm looking forward to the shootouts. My dad thinks shootouts are a terrible idea, though. The tag-up offsides rule also sounds interesting - gives the offense a little boost (which, I think, is needed right now).
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Well, the tag-up offsides are nothing new, it was like that until a few years ago. Amusingly, the rule was changed to its current form in order to increase scoring. How increasing the number of whistles increases scoring is not something that many people have been able to figure out.
Shootouts are great. They're only in the regular season and they finally do away with this tie nonsense that everybody hates. Finally someone is going to get bragging rights every game! Huzzah!
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I never really understood how the whole tag up offsides thing was gonna work. Could someone please explain?
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
You're offside if you cross the line before the puck and play is called if any of your team is in control of the puck while you're offside. The offside is negated if you're entire team exits the zone for an instant. So if I'm caught deep in the zone and am skating to get out my team can still dump it in while I'm on my way out, everything is fine so long as I don't touch the puck and nobody on my team enters the zone before I get out.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Ooooo nice. Thank you.
Posted by graywolfe (Member # 3852) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Part of me wants to jump up and down and see if I can get tickets for the Caps home opener.
Part of me wants tobeg fans to never go to or watch another NHL game again to punish them for the lockout and to tell the other sports leagues that if you sell a product that depends on the emotional attachment of your customers, you would do well not to jerk them around like this.
You don't. Caps will have the worst team in the league by a mile. And after the screwjob that left them in the "lowest odds of Sidney Crosby" bracket (1 ball of a possible 3) despite having the worst professional roster of any team in the league, it's only gonna get worse.
Caps are laying quiet on the UFA front, going to pay the salary cap floor for now because the roster is almost uniformerly made of young prospects who played in the AHL in WHL and OHL and other minor league, or youth leagues around North America the past year. They'll pay a few scrubs to add veteran "leadership" to the squad to insure that it isn't kids, but don't expect the Caps to go after any free agents of consequence until '07-'08. The fact that our most ready-made NHL prospects couldn't even put together a playoff season in the AHL is deeply disturbing. The Caps head the Phil Kessell derby and are unlucky to do any better than the worst, to third worst team in the league this year.
The way the NHL absolutely reamed Florida and Washington (two of the very worst teams in the league) in the Draft Lottery scenario was an absolute crime, only slightly rectified when a tiny market ---- team like Pittsburgh ended up winning Crosby.
I love Hockey, but they've really permanently ruined their position with the American public and ruptured relations with Canadians. Never again will it be #3/#4 in the American Sporting landscape. Soccer and Golf will overtake it, and god awful Nascar (who knows why anyone watches that), already has.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Soccer will NOT overtake hockey in the US. And even though golf and NASCAR are EXTREMELY boring to watch, more people like them. For some whack reason.
Everyone knows that golf is only cool to watch when someone gets a hole in one, or if there's some mini golf championship on ESPN, and NASCARS only cool to watch when there's crashes. You can catch those on sportscenter.
Posted by graywolfe (Member # 3852) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hamson: Soccer will NOT overtake hockey in the US. And even though golf and NASCAR are EXTREMELY boring to watch, more people like them. For some whack reason.
Everyone knows that golf is only cool to watch when someone gets a hole in one, or if there's some mini golf championship on ESPN, and NASCARS only cool to watch when there's crashes. You can catch those on sportscenter.
Hey I do not enjoy watching Golf at all, I'm not suggesting its great to watch, what I am suggesting is that Tiger-events, and pretty soon Michelle Wie events will outdraw hockey, easily in tv viewership. If you got the ratings ESPN had for the NHL games, playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals in '03-'04 season, you'd know why they didn't mind the strike at all. It allowed for flexability in programming, ending their contract with the NHL, and getting better ratings on prime time events. Tiger and Wie tournaments easily crush NHL ratings. I love Hockey, but it's an arena-sport in this country, period, and does not draw tv ratings except for in the NorthEast.
As for Nascar, it's ----, I hate it, but it has a HUGE tv audience. I have no idea why, but it does.
As for Soccer, it's already selling tickets at a comparable rate to NHL teams in the USA, it's got new ownership from Chivas-Guadalajara (Vergara-spelling?), and from the NBA in Salt-Lake, it's garnered interest from Chelsea and their multi-billionaire owner, AC Milan, and Real Madrid, and it just got a nearly 200 million dollar sponshorship deal from a major shoe company, plus it now has SSS's being built or already built for L.A./Chivas, Colombus, Dallas, Chicago, D.C., and New York, something that cannot be said of NHL. (which shares a number of it's stadiums with local NBA teams).
Now add to that the growing popularity among teens (fastest growing sport in the country), the growth of the Sport in the inner city, a ten year old league in the country that is financially viable, American's now earning million dollar contracts playing locally, as well as for famed sides in England (Manchester United, Arsenal, Fulham among them), Holland (PSV Eindhoven and Feynoord), Germany (Mainz, Hanover and Borussia Mongladbach) and elsewhere, and you have a sport that's growing leaps and bounds, as the National team ranking suggests (#5 in the world in the farcical FIFA rankings, a more accurate 13th in the ELO rankings).
You may not like soccer or want it to be popular, but in terms of every single measurable there is, the sport is growing and growing fast in this country. I don't believe it will ever be as popular as it should be (right with baseball and football), but it will probably catch Basketball within a few decades and certainly close in on it within the next quarter century. As much as it sucks for me to say, NHL plateau'd and is now on the wane, the best Bettman and the rest can do, is what they did, bring the salaries back into scale with fiscal reality (the tv packages they will garner did not, and will not justify the salaries they were paying in the nineties), focus on being a niche sport with huge ticket-buying based reliability, and open itself up more to Europe and Russia. Hockey's peaked, so has baseball (participation of inner city African-Americans has dropped 50% at the highest levels over the past decade) Soccer is climbing, so is Nascar (again, I dont know why), and basketball is at a crossroads, having plateau'd in the United States seemingly, but growing in popularity in Europe and Latin-America.
Right now the sports with the most growth potential remain Football, Basketball, Nascar and Soccer. Golf's future is tied to how much importance in it's growth is relative to specific indidivuals (once a generation types like Wie, and Woods) as it is to the actual fundamental popularity of the sport itself.
I love hockey as much as anyone on this board and maybe more, but it's simply not growing anymore in this country and the strike killed whatever growth potential was left. Soccer will overtake it very soon, if it already hasn't.
Posted by graywolfe (Member # 3852) on :
quote:Originally posted by Xavier: I myself was on the owners side in the conflict. The best thing to ever happen to pro football was the salary cap.
A salary cap in baseball would make that sport infinitely more interesting to me.
Of course I wasn't opposed to a salary cap in hockey. The owners didn't seem "greedy" to me, since half of them were losing money under the old way. The best thing to happen to their pocket books was not having a season.
Though I didn't follow the dispute as much as some folks, and perhaps I am wrong about some details...
I don't agree with you in regards to the salary cap. A salary cap isn't necessary, baseball would be fine if they got their heads out of their ----- and built the league around what the NFL did from the begining, total tv revenue sharing. Not b.s. tv fiefdoms with WGN, TBS, and whatever networks broadcast LA and Mets and Yankees games. The league is fixed because of the revenue sharing system, its rigged, like starting the 400 meters at the olympics with a 120 meter headstart, the only reason monied teams like the Cubs, Mets or Yankees occasionally falter is because of absolutely stupendous stupidity in management (in the Yankees case there slipping has everything to do with the selling off of their farm system for quick fixes the past decade, they can still buy the best players any given offseason, and so they aren't as adversely effected as another team who might make unwise July teams, but it remains the #1 reason why they are in trouble now, bad signings, and not restocking their farm system at pace with their july trades).
Total revenue sharing of TV revenue creates competitive balance. A salary cap is institued simply because owners are idiots, across the boards, and since collusion is illegal, a cap is the next best thing for the morons. Create total tv revenue sharing, across the board, and then teams will sink or swim based on management, and coaching, the way it should be. Salary Cap's are bs in my mind, and were only necessary in the NHL because (Surprise), a New York team, as well as other teams didn't know how to develop talent, or create a winner buy any other means save outbidding anyone for free agents.
However, all this being said, I was also an owners supporter during the strike, the league couldn't and can't survive without radical restructuring of salaries based on the fiscal realities of the sport. Just nine months ago they were talking about folding a quarter of the league because so many teams simply couldn't break even, let alone make money do to the looney NBA-like salary structure of the league.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I don't see Golf overtaking anything in terms of popularity. And NASCAR is region specific, it isn't loved all over the country.
The Soccer/Hockey race will depend on a few factors.
1. How fast MLS expands into new cities. Too fast will burn them out, too slow will make people lose interest.
2. How competitive the NHL is now. If it turns out now that almost every team actually has a chance, new fans will be created in previously weak cities.
3. What kind of television deal MLS gets. If they can manage to get off ESPN 3 and 2, and get onto the major networks, or even regular ESPN, they will get a lot more viewers.
Soccer is growing fast yes, but it can only grow so fast. Over the last 20 years, it has tried to grow too quickly and it killed whole leagues.
Superstars like Tiger and Michelle Wie can only energize the sport so much. NASCAR is still stereotyped as a hick "sport." I think it is incredibly boring, but my mom's boss owns a NASCAR team, so I'm forced to watch it a lot. Most of the fans seem extremely rural.
Posted by graywolfe (Member # 3852) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I don't see Golf overtaking anything in terms of popularity. And NASCAR is region specific, it isn't loved all over the country.
The Soccer/Hockey race will depend on a few factors.
1. How fast MLS expands into new cities. Too fast will burn them out, too slow will make people lose interest.
2. How competitive the NHL is now. If it turns out now that almost every team actually has a chance, new fans will be created in previously weak cities.
3. What kind of television deal MLS gets. If they can manage to get off ESPN 3 and 2, and get onto the major networks, or even regular ESPN, they will get a lot more viewers.
Soccer is growing fast yes, but it can only grow so fast. Over the last 20 years, it has tried to grow too quickly and it killed whole leagues.
Superstars like Tiger and Michelle Wie can only energize the sport so much. NASCAR is still stereotyped as a hick "sport." I think it is incredibly boring, but my mom's boss owns a NASCAR team, so I'm forced to watch it a lot. Most of the fans seem extremely rural.
Point 1: Golf kills hockey in terms of television rating and I believe sporting fan interest as well (tv ratings essentially explains the latter). It shouldn't but it does.
2. MLS-interesting take. But I don't think it's so much dependent on how fast it grows, with a few minor tweakings (interest is huge in Seattle/Portland, but for whatever reason, probably weather, and some financial concersn with ownership, they haven't gotten a franchise), I think it's on the right track. The only thing the MLS is really lacking right now is a presence in the south. They are located in force in the original soccer playing center of the country, the NorthEastwith teams in Boston, New York, and Washington D.C., they've got a sprinkling of teams in the midwest to help grow the sport outside of Chicago, with Kansas City, Colombus, and Dallas, and they are in the West and the Rockies with two squads in L.A. to go with a squad in the Bay Area, and in Denver, and Salt Lake. There are certainly some places that could use a franchise, the South as I mentioned should get one, Florida was a failure, but another southern city, perhaps in North Carolina (which has a strong soccer tradition), Indiana considering the Hoosiers tradition, as well as a team in San Diego, and Portland/Seattle. Philadelphia may be a target in time, though I'm not sure how much support they'd give to the sport.
So there's room for growth, but the MLS doesn't want a repeat of the grow too fast, and spend too crazy NASL, and the example of the Florida debacle (a state which hasn't supported baseball in numbers either)still sticks in their mind. Expansion will continue, probably another two teams will be added within 2-3 years but growth should be watched. Soccer's fanbase is growing, but tv revenue's remain as relatively anemic as hockey. Ticket sales and sponsonship remain the #1 financial support mechanisms.
#2 NHL competitiveness:
I don't see it. The NHL has been very competitive in recent years with a variety of teams making runs at the Stanley Cup whose fan bases never expected it, Anaheim, Tampa Bay, I could go on and on. The only teams that really were glutting the playoffs with their own freespending and/or traditional success were Colorado, Detroit, and New Jersey, and none of them had a recent lock on anything. Only Canada strikes me as a region that was being priced out of playoff competition (though the playoff success of Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa suggests differently), and as long as their teams were competitive, loyalty wasn't a problem there. Canada's fine, and competitive balance, in my view, had nothing to do with failing ratings.
I think general American Disinterest, and the ugly clutch and grab, and highly defensive hockey propounded by the Devils was more responsible. So rule changes could help, but I don't believe they'll help build an audience, I just think they'll help to retain some of the audience that might have been inclined to leave.
3. TV:
Disagree, MLS actually pays ESPN2 to show it's weekly saturday game. The anemic coverage of the recent European visit (with LA-Real Madrid, Chicago-AC Milan, and Chelsea-DC United) suggests that the tv problem persists. However, GolTV, and FoxSoccerChannel have recently been added to cable, and the huge ratings univision, galavision, and telefutura are getting for U-17, and WYC tourney's and specific Gold Cup matchups suggest that there is plenty room for growth. It's gonna take time. More exposure would help as well. Not sure what can be done on the television side of things as the ratings have been fairly static with only small signs of growth in recent years. Hockey on the other hand has seen its ratings steadily decline to the point where ESPN had been looking to dump NHL from it's evening calender for years and was ecstatic at the strike for giving it an avenue to opt-out and either sign a new deal MUCH cheaper, or none at all. Both the NHL and MLS are in deep doo-doo when it comes to TV Ratings but the MLS has built into it's final structure the reality of limited television interest, the NHL has not.
As for soccer growing fast. You've messed your time tables a bit, the NASL was around, and then imploding by 1980. It lasted, as a stinky cadaver for a few years more, but league soccer in this country besides the indoor and semi-pro variety was dead from essentially 1980-1996, MLS rebuilt it on a slow-sustainable growth model, with a few owners with very deep pockets dedicated to building the league over the long haul. No Beckenbauer, Pele etc based league, it was built with an idea of slow growth around domestic players, and relatively affordable latin-american players of a young age. They've occasionally dipped for veteran Euro's like Djorkaeef and Latin examples of the same, but this league has pinned it's hopes on domestic growth, single-entity stadiums, and a bottoms up approach. It's had some hiccups, but it's doing it the right way for the most part.
It isn't as technically sound as the NHL in the sense that it's an elite league, it isn't, however the NHL was no longer remotely financially viable, had plateau'd and declined in fan interest, and has no forseeable longterm growth potential domestically in its youth. Soccer in the US, on the other hand, is growing across the board, in terms of tv revenue and access, fan attendance and interest, growth with youth, financial interest across the world (with ownership interest in buying in in England, Italy, Spain, and Mexico).
Will Soccer make it? It could fall apart, like before, but I seriously doubt it. Soccer is more internationally involved than ever before, it has major coverage on nine different channels in this country (ABC, espn2, espn-deportes, fox soccer channel, goltv, univision, telemundo, galavision, and telefutura), it's growing by leaps and bounds in the youth ranks, and the huge influx of latin-american's into the country will only increase it's sporting prominence. The NHL meanwhile, is just hoping for a static situation, in my view, and hopefull of international growth for international tv packages, because right now, I really don't see how it grows here period. Maybe the rule changes will work wonders, but I seriously doubt it. It maintains a higher place in the sporting landscape right now, but that is more because of tradtion, and locked in interest by fans in the NorthEast than anything else.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
I am not going to even touch the MLS vs NHL part of all this. However, If you have ever met me you will first notice that I am a huge NASCAR fan. You can't miss it. I always wear my Bill Elliott hat and jacket. I have a #19 Jeremy Mayfield jacket with about 3 hats, and I have a new #9 Kasey Kahne leather jacket that is at my parent's house in MI. I am also an official fan club member of Kasey Kahne 2 years running. Last year I was member #89 or some such (I packed away the certificate).
Back to HOCKEY:
Chungwa, I will never get into a whose fans are better than whose match. I was simply saying Detroit has more fans, not that they are better.
OK, for those who called it a strike.....IT WAS A LOCKOUT. It semi-psuedo turned into a strike later, but it started as a lockout. Owners and Managers ruined the deal for the fans.
Lastly (for this post anyway), I can't wait to get to NY. Then I can go to a Rangers or Islanders game (when they play the Red Wings) and wear my old Draper jersey. Sheesh, all I got here in San Diego is the stinkin Padre's....ok, and the Chargers (their football....I hate football).
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Yikes, it looks like the Penguins have been busy in the past few weeks.
So now they have the mighty Mario (if he can manage to stay healthy), the bright eyed young star Crosby, and seasoned vets Mark Recchi, John LeClair, Sergei Gonchar, and Ziggy Palffy...
Players I have heard of! Amazing! Is this the same team who dumped Jagr, Kovalev, Lang, and Straka because they couldn't afford to pay them?
Lets hope not.
So I have a question, how much impact do you think Crosby will have this year? Is he ready to score goals for the Pens right out of the box, or will he struggle at first? Because when setting up my fantasy hockey team, the yahoo prerankings had Crosby at number 538 or something like that. I wouldn't expect a number so low unless Crosby will start out on the Pens' farm team for a while...
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I'm ready for a Pens/ Flyers rivalry. I'm still in shock that the Flyers got Forsburg. It should be fun. I wonder how the coverage will be for the FLyers on OLN...after all Comcast owns both the Flyers and OLN...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'm keeping my eyes locked on ESPN to see what happens with the Wings about Zetterberg and Datsyuk. Those two were my favorite Wings, and we might lose both. Argh!
Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
Xavier: unless they've changed them, the Yahoo pre-rankings are done purely on last season's stats. I'm not sure how they sort between rookies, but they'd all be at the bottom. You need to bump up everyone that was hurt last year as well.
Crosby would have to have a terrible camp to start on the farm team, if only because of all the people buying tickets to see him. I think he'll have a solid but not spectacular year. My guess is he won't be a great draft pick because every league will have one guy that jumps the gun and picks him too early.
It's too bad Malkin's staying in Russia, but the team should be fun to watch.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings fans:
Looks like Datsyuk is staying in Russia. He demanded something like 6 million dollars a year, which is just ridiculous. But we signed Zetterberg, the better all around player, to a 4 year contract, and we still have Datsyuk as a restricted free agent for this and next season. So that's plenty of time to try and work out a deal with him, if he will relax his crazy demands.
I'm excited about preseason though. Wings look like they have a sweet team this year. It'll be nice to win the cup and not have everyone claim we bought it.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Ha! And when the wings don't make it I will drink from a cup of your tears
I'm getting excited about hockey coming back as well. So much for my promise to stay away for a while to teach hockey a lesson or some such nonsense.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote:Ha! And when the wings don't make it I will drink from a cup of your tears [Razz]
I hope you ain't thirsty, because that tea will have to wait until next season, I think. Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
quote:I'm getting excited about hockey coming back as well. So much for my promise to stay away for a while to teach hockey a lesson or some such nonsense.
I made a similar promise to myself that I'm sure I'll break.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Haha, great response Kwea.
I quite agree.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I'm really hoping Datsyuk will play with the Wings this season. Like I read in the newspaper, he would probably be the person to benifit most from having so much more open ice. Let's hope he'll come to his senses and sign to a team that's part of The International Ice Hockey Federation. And I'm VERY glad we signed Zetterberg to a four year deal. I hope I can actually get to some games this season...
And does anyone else severely disapprove of the emphisis on playing teams within your own division. That makes everything so much more.... monotonous. I mean c'mon, theres 82 games in the season, every team should play each other at least twice... We only play Toronto in the pre-season....
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
I agree, Hamson. I know that travelling from coast to coast can be killer, but surely there was a happier medium to be found.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I think Datsyuk is on a bit of an ego boost at the moment. He was the star player in Moscow, and might not want to come back to a team where he will have to play second fiddle to other players. On top of that, he thinks he is worth 6 million, which he wouldn't have gotten even if there wasn't a salary cap.
If he comes down off his cloud, there's a lot of wriggle room to be had.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Very true Lyrhawn.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Lyrhawn and other Detroiters, Fox Sports Net will be broadcasting the Wings-Avs game tonight, starting at 7:30! Go watch!
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
WOOO Wings won! Antti Laaksonen had a sweet move though to get that goal in the third, and the goal between Lang, Williams, and Shannahan was also pretty awesome. Lindstrom did a nice job of keeping the puck in the zone during overtime, and then classicly blasted it into the net. The shootout was fun to watch too, it was sorta weird seeing in a regualr season game, but I like it.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
By the way, there's something inherently wrong with having to webstream the visiting team's sports radio station feed in order to listen to a home game because your owners are too chintzy to broadcast when the house isn't fully sold out.... Dad and I had to boot up Calgary radio over the weekend for the Hawks game.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings win again.
Datsyuk is back, and might be playing on Wednesday.
Games sure are a lot faster now. I wonder what ratings they are getting.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
What a game...
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
ROCK ON. Sabres win!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings crush the Blues.
Good opener. Way to see the youngsters make themselves known.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Damn, but that Sabres/Bruins game rocked. Too bad most of the country probably didn't see it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I wouldn't say the division as a whole is weak.
Nashville is undefeated, and we just got off an undefeated west coast road trip against all teams who aren't in our division.
Thou shalt not sell the Wings short.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Indeed, they're starting out of the gate strong, I don't deny that. I'm just saying that, in the long term, having 3 teams that aren't considered playoff contenders in their division certainly isn't going to hurt their record.
They're in the playoffs, sure. But then I'm sure they'll be crushed Posted by dh (Member # 6929) on :
Flyers creamed Toronto yesterday.
I'm Canadian, but my brother is a huge Leafs fan, and since I don't really care, I cheer for whoever is playing against Toronto. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Haha, we'll talk again after the Olympic break then Bob. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Congrats to Manny Legace in 10 wins in the month of October, a record for the Wings.
[ October 28, 2005, 03:10 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
...and Congrats to Martin Biron for winning 12 straight decisions!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quite. That's a great streak.
I wish Manny Legace weren't injured. We're getting ripped up with him out.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
It's a good thing the rest of your division aren't doing much better.
I'm heartily glad that tomorrow's game is sold out. I wanted to go, but at least attendance is growing (as the Bills suck even harder).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Ottawa and New York are on a tear. Funny that teams considered powerhouses before the lockout have laregely been marginalized. Colorado is a shadow of what it was before the lockout.
I'd say the Wings more or less stayed the same, and in some ways maybe even got a little better.
We just need consistently good goaltending, and we'd be a cup contender.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Yeah, I feel a little bit bad for Manny, as he proved at the begining of the season that he's the goaltender he was never given the chance to be, and now hes been injured for most of the season. And Howard now can't get contstant playtime as a result.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
He'll be back soon. They have him in net at practice.
And poor Howard, won his first game and then downhill from there. And it isn't totally his fault, give the kid a break, six months ago he was playing college hockey in Maine, and now he's on the Wings playing star NHLers. He's made some remarkable saves, and let some go by that he should have stopped. But he has enormous potential.
I like a future for the Wings with Manny as the primary and Howard as the backup.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I wonder when the Sabres will play Ryan Miller. He had beaten out the old Biron, but this guy is playing nothing like the Marty we knew and got frustrated about. I hope he gets the start tonight since it'll be short rest for Marty.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Florida beat Detroit!
Take that Hockey Town!
Two game winning streak and counting! Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Believe it or not, arenas in November were filled to 91.2 percent capacity, averaging 16,818 fans per game. Exactly 3,346,812 people witnessed 199 contests live, the largest total in the 88-year history of the league.
Of the NHL's 30 teams, 24 are even or ahead of their attendance pace from 2003-04. The top eight gainers include "hotbed" regions such as Pittsburgh (35 percent), Carolina (26), Tampa Bay (24), Florida (16), Nashville (16) and San Jose (13).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Detroit beat Tampa Bay
Take that Sunshine State Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Go Marty! 13 straight! He straight robbed Surovy in the closing seconds to preserve the win, very similar to the goal he allowed last night where he gloved it but it was behind the goal line. BOOYAH.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
9 game road winning streak now for the Sabres. Those Sunshine State teams are in for a butt whoopin' for Christmas.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Props to the Wings for one of the best come back victories in NHL history.
1 minute left to go in the third period, Wings are down by two. It's all but over, but Coach Mike Babcock isn't done yet. He pulls the goalie, Osgood heads for the bench. Thirty seconds later, GOAL!!!
Osgood waits by the circle, halfway to the bench, halfway to the goal, waiting to see who wins the draw. If Datsyuk loses and the Blackhawks win the face off, it'll kill too much time and neutralize our extra attacker, but he wins, and the puck flies into Wings' hands. Osgood gets to the bench and our sixth attacker hits the ice. Twenty seconds later on a slapshot from Lidstrom GOAL!!!
Seven seconds left, we go into overtime. In overtime, after almost five minutes of play with no score, it looks like we're going to a shootout, the second for the Wings, after just having won their first the game before. But in literally the last TENTH of a second in the OT, Wings score! Blackhawks want the goal reviewed, saying it was scored after the OT was over, but after a long review, it's ruled a goal. Wings win!!!
Tied for first with the Senators. Islanders and Predators are breathing down our necks.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
That game was epic. It's also a great demonstration of what the new rules offer. Those two goal leads used to be insurmountable. Now, you better stay to the end.
Congrats to Ryan Miller, for Defensive Player of the Week honors. 2-0-0 with a .96 Goals Against Average and a .969 Save Percentage.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I don't know if Telp reads this thread, but I think Hamson does.
You two wanna catch a Wings game at the Joe sometime?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Icky is holding a RW game? And he didn't even tell me?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
No takers in the Detroit area? Maybe I'll have to start a thread specifically for it.
Posted by Altáriël of Dorthonion (Member # 6473) on :
Ew, hockey...My roomie, Deb, adores this freakin' sport but the only thing I like about it is the part where they fight.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
*snort* Me too, AoD. I've always had a thing for hockey players. Imagine my delight in discovering my Hatrack hottie, Xavier, plays (well, did play). I tried (and am still trying) to get him back into it but the gear is very pricy. I'm sure he's figured me out though. I just want to watch him and his teammates skate around in those hot uniforms hitting each other.
BOOYAH! Going to the Sabres game tomorrow night, vs the Coyotes! One row back from the corner glass. I've always wanted to know what it was like to sit over there.
I'm going to a Wings game next month hopefully. Maybe with Kronwall coming back we can get our act together.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
My brother was actually sorely disappointed with the view from the glass. Plus he said that the "fans" are a heck of a lot more rowdy in the 100s sections than on the first deck. Maybe cause they can't see and so need something to keep them occupied? LOL
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
This one's likely a sell out as it's a non-TV game. I couldn't find tickets today that were close, and the seating display at the box office was nearly empty.
quote:As for Miller, all he's done since returning to action is go 4-1, including a dominating performance against Waddell's Thrashers in a 4-1 Sabres victory. Miller given up more than two goals in only one of those games.
He's actually 5-2 with a 1.85 GAA.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I just want to feel what it's like down there - the energy, see the impacts up close and the like. In the future I will get my tickets earlier so I can sit a bit further up. Or in the club seats.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Yep, that's exactly what Steve said his motivation was as well. He also said that the players were intentionally "flicking" pucks at the glass during warmups... as in, if the glass weren't there, he'd have no teeth left. "Wild but freaky" I believe was his description of that response.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Man, those were good seats. The far end view was somewhat obscured, but the action in the corner more than made up for it. There was a near-fight at the end, and a scary hit to the face on Dmitri Kalini that left a bit bloodstain on the ice. You could tell the guys with the ice shovels were thinking 'you get it' 'no YOU get it'. Biron stopped 39 out of 40 and allowed on in the shootout.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Did anyone else see Ovechkin's goal last night. UNREAL. When Wayne Gretzky as opposing coach says your goal is 'pretty sweet' you know you are doing something right.
It will probably overshadow some highlight reel goals and saves from Sabres-Oilers but that's okay.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Hey, sorry Lyrhawn, never saw that this thread had been updated in a while. Maybe I was gone or something? It'd be cool to catch a game together; however, I don't know how I'd go about doing that.
Anyway, it's neat that you're going to a game next month. Who are the Wings playing? (on a side note, I went to the game in December where the Wings had their first franchise shootout! It was awesome! I don't go that often at all, so that's a double plus.)
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'm going to the Wings/Avalanche game.
If you want, we could try and score tickets off Ebay, and then just meet there and settle up later. If you interested that is.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
I'm INTERESTED, it's just I don't know how I'd manage to do it. I think I'll have to decline for now. It'd be great to meet up sometime at a more local event though.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Where in the metro area do you live? I can't remember.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Farmington Hills
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Alright, I'm only 20 minutes away in Royal Oak.
Do we even have local events?
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Lol, that's a good question.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Stupid Darius Kasparaitis. Just had to go for the knees, didn't ya? That marks the third top Sabres player out for 6 to 8 weeks. At least Dumont just came back, but come on. Connoly was a top center, including on the #2 in the league penalty kill and power play.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Kronwall is coming back to the Wings soon.
Many are calling him the next Niklas Lidstrom. Couldn't come at a better time.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
All the Sabre rooks have been playing great, but at this point they'd like someone to come back and NOT have someone else get injured that day.
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
hmm... I'm on my way to watch The Ohio State Buckeyes take on the Fighting Irish of NotreDame this Saturday. I don't really follow college hockey but i'm really looking forward to the game. Anything to do with the buckeyes rocks my world.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I've never paid any attention to the College game, either, beyond knowning what programs a few players came out of (Minnesota Golden Gopher Thomas Vanek, for instance). But with all the College sports stations on Cable/Satellite now, it should be more accessible.
I listened to some of the others, and I hate out of town announcers. I know Jochen Hecht isn't as easy to say as Joe Smith but at least look at the pronunciation guide, will ya?
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
I went to a number of games as a kid. I remember the OSU Michigan game most vividly. There were 12 player in the Penalty at one time. The Michigan goalie had commited two penalties back to back to send two of his guys in. If I recall correctly they were skating three on three for a good five minutes. I even got to visit the locker room and was given a game puck by a player. Now that I follow the game a bit more, or at least the rules of the game, I think I'll really enjoy watching a live game.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
beatnix, how was the game? I actually watched part of the Michigan/Michigan State game the other day (needed a hockey fix!).
By the way, the Sabres won in the shootout against their nemesis, the Senators. What a goaltending matchup.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm going to the Sabres/Lightning game tomorrow night! BOOYAH! Oh, and anybody who gets OLN can watch the Sabres on the 14th of March. You know, so you Western conference fans can see what you've been missing. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
WOOHOO! Had an absolute blast at the Sabres/Lightning game. Just as excited tonight for the Leafs getting beat by Ryan Miller coming back from his mini-slump. There is a HUGE showdown this Saturday with the Senators, where the Sabres could possibly take the division lead from them with a win (which would be the ninth straight for the team).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Cool.
Almost playoff time.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The playoffs will be absolutely crazy here. I can't wait!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bob the Lawyer: Ha! And when the wings don't make it I will drink from a cup of your tears
Wings clinch the President's Cup and claim the best record in Hockey for the year. And with four games left to go too. They also claim the league record for most road wins, and a franchise record for most consecutive road wins.
Now we just have to hope some of our injuries can be healed in the next couple weeks before the playoffs start.
Looks like a nasty fight in the western conference for who gets the sixth, seventh and eighth spot in the playoffs.
LA would have to win all of the games that are left, and hope for Vancouver and Edmonton to be blanked in all their final games. Only five points separate Vancouver, Edmonton, San Jose and Colorado. But three of those four will likely make it into the playoffs, and a lucky two of them will get to play Detroit and Dallas and be summarily executed in the effort.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Vancouver and San Jose play twice: today and tomorrow. San Jose has been playing fantastic, almost desperate hockey for the last couple weeks and it's really paying off. I hope the Sharks can continue their recent hot streak and win both games against Vancouver, as this will work towards solidifying Edmonton's position in the playoffs. I'm also pretty happy that Edmonton will probably be playing Detroit in the first round of the playoffs. Not that we have a great record against the wings, but I think our chances are better against Detroit than Dallas.
I was really hoping that Edmonton and Calgary would play in the first round of the playoffs. It's been far too long since the battle of Alberta has taken place in the playoffs. Alas, Edmonton seems to be entering their usual self-destruct pre-playoff mode and raising losing to an artform.
Also, let us not forget that first round upsets aren't as rare as the top teams would like. And if any team is capable of losing a seemingly easy first round, it's Detroit. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Those bottom spots in the Western Conference are producing some awesome games. I caught part of the Edmonton/Vancouver game on Hockey Night...it was intense. They are definitely going to give the high seed teams a run for the money.
I'm *hoping* that the Sabres are getting right for the playoffs. We'll have to see how Miller does tonight.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Fitz: Also, let us not forget that first round upsets aren't as rare as the top teams would like. And if any team is capable of losing a seemingly easy first round, it's Detroit.
This from the guy whose team was shut out by Detroit last night. If that's an indicator of how the first round will go, I'll roll out the welcome mat in Detroit for the Oilers Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Ever hear of a little something called a false sense of security? Mind games, my friend, mind games. At least that's what we tell ourselves here in Edmonton...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I call it confidence. Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
So in an extremely intense game, the Sharks win in OT and clinch 7th, ensuring that they will not play detroit in the first round.
Phew, that was close. Unfortunately Vancouver got a point, and the race for 8th is now all the more exciting. I just hope that the Sharks don't get lazy because of their clinch, and beat Vancouver more decisively tomorrow.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I just watched the Sabres/Habs game...now THAT'S the Sabre team I remember from the win streaks. They took a red hot Canadiens team (one that has played them tight all year) and absolutely owned them for long stretches. The only goal Montreal managed was a deflection through a screen. Connoly and Afinogenov are going nuts on people, Briere embarrassed Souray and Ryan Miller was very strong for another start. You get the feeling that the team is heating back up, just at the right time. Now if they can get past Sunday's game vs. the Leafs without another forward getting smacked in the head/knee by Tucker things will be great.
Posted by Carrie (Member # 394) on :
The only thing I know about hockey is that both the Wisconsin men and women won their respective national championships. NHL? Oh, yeah. It exists. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I love it...at first everyone says that RW's won't make the playoffs....then they won't win the division....not that they have, with the best record ever, it is all about the "upset"....
Being on top is grand, isn't it?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Maybe the other teams look at the division you won and snicker. 3 teams under 70 points? Is it that much of a stretch that folks might believe that Calgary and Dallas are just as good if not better? I certainly expect the Wings to beat their first round opponent but there are no octopi on the horizon. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
What's the Wings record against Calgary and Dallas this season?
We're even with Dallas and Calgary. April 17th will be a tie breaker of sorts with Dallas, but based on matchups with them I'd say we're at least even.
Our record against top teams is good enough, I think, to not badmouth us for being in a sucky division.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I'm not going to trash talk the Wings until Edmonton makes the playoffs. But I must point out they're an old team, with an average age of 31. Yeah, experience counts for a lot, but the playoffs are too fast-paced, with too much big hitting, for the Wings to be a top contender for the cup. Also, Legace is a good goalie, no doubt, but he's no Kiprusoff or Hasek. As loathe as I am to admit it, I think Calgary will go all the way this year.
Don't get me wrong, I like the Wings. If Edmonton doesn't make the cut, Detroit will be one of the teams I pull for. However, my least favorite team is the one that Edmonton is playing against, and if we make the playoffs there are going to be broken wings all over the ice, suckah! Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Heh.
Two of the top players on the Wings now are Zetterberg and Datsyuk, the new guys. Kronwall is a young Niklas Lidstrom. Many of the best, and up and coming players on the team are young guys, and they are up for a fast paced game.
Big hitting you might have a point about, the Wings have never really had a lot of big hitters.
So far as goaltending goes, Legace is up front, is he was the Defensive player of the month in October, and we have Ozzie, who we've won 2 cups with already, to back us up. And quite frankly, Hasek is no Hasek anymore. He's injury prone, and still recovering.
Wings are by far a contender for the cup, I wouldn't necessarily call them the favorite, but as far as I can see there is NO favorite this year. It could go to four or five different teams. But they have as good a chance as anyone.
Let's save the trash talk for Round One bud.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Haha, you're a hockey fan, so I'm sure you know my last post wasn't even close to trash talk. Just a couple of opinions. Really, there are a lot of teams who I hope don't win the cup (*cough* Dallas, Calgary *cough*), and the Wings aren't one of them.
If Edmonton doesn't make it, I'm pulling for the Rangers.
In other news, big games in the West tonight. Edmonton and Vancouver both play tonight, and the outcomes could solidify the top 8. If Edmonton wins, and Vancouver loses in regulation time, Edmonton will clinch the 8th spot. Then we can commence with the real trash talk Go Edmonton!!!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Well there you have it. Everything went according to plan tonight. Edmonton won with a beautiful goal by Hemsky with only 30 seconds left to play. Then, after a close couple of periods, Vancouver went out with a whimper in the 3rd against SJ. Edmonton clinched that last spot in the west!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Whew, good. I can breathe easy in the first round. Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
I'm really hoping Edmonton does well this season (strange a Flames fan is saying that, huh?)
I think we're in store for some great hockey during the playoffs.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I think you are right. It's been a long time coming, here, in any sport.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Mike Grier, pictured here in the ad campaign the NHL has unveiled for the playoffs. Glad to see the Sabres will be part of it.
(new page!)
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Okay, congratulations to Ryan Miller for his second straight appearance on NHL.com's Three Stars. He followed up a ridiculous 43 save performance with a 31 save shutout less than 24 hours later. Sabres captain Chris Drury added his 15th and 16th powerplay goals while rookies Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek and Paul Gaustad all contributed goals. Not to leave the defensemen out, Jay McKee set a painful NHL record the other night against the Habs by blocking 11 shots. This was darn near the perfect way to finish off the home schedule...now if the Flyers/Rangers/Devils could just figure out who wants to be the 5th seed the playoff preparations could begin.
[ April 17, 2006, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings defeat the Dallas Stars for their 21st straight point. Fantastic third period turn around for the Wings, scoring 3 goals to overturn a 2 goal deficit they'd suffered in the first two periods.
Tomorrow night we finish out against a weakened Nashville team.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Good luck in the playoffs.
Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
Congrats to Sid the Kid for his 100th point. This was the most quietly loud season I've seen someone have. I think people just had to stop talking about him because everything had already been said for the past two years.
And while I'm glad that the Avs made the playoffs, I'll be sad to see them leave so early this year. Theo just isn't on form this season. Maybe next year, neh?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
My wife just bought me a Red Wings jacket too...it was for Christmas, but the website was so backordered.....
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I got a Zetterberg jersey for Christmas last year, and now he's been made assistant captain. Now I need another with an "A" on it.
Glory be, excuses to buy more Red Wings stuff Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Woo! Yay Washington! Go Habs go!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Lyrhawn, can't you just get the A and put it on? That's what the teams do.
We've got Sabres/Canes on OLN tonight. I'll be at work so I'm taping.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well then I don't have an excuse to buy another one!
I want to get a game worn one, with away colors this time. I already have a home jersey, but it's not a game worn jersey.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
When I found out who was sending us a package, Jenni's friend Crystal (who is a HUGE Red Wings fan), I guessed it was a Jersy, and asked for Yzerman.
She was a little mad at first, then told me I was wrong. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I want a jersey but I may go throwback...I like the blue and yellow.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Congrats to Sid the Kid for his 100th point. This was the most quietly loud season I've seen someone have. I think people just had to stop talking about him because everything had already been said for the past two years.
I've been following Crosby news and commentary on the Pittsburg Penguins forum of HFBoards. Been exciting to follow.
I wish I could actually see some of it . I had OLN in the first couple of months of the season, but there was only like 5 games the penguins were in scheduled for the whole year. Without getting the NHL center ice, or whatever its called, I don't know how I can do more than listen to their games on internet radio. Not the same as watching. And the NHL center ice, last I checked, was way too expensive for me to even consider .
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Where do you listen to the games at?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I just went to see if tickets were availible for the home games in the playoffs, and guess what?
Game 4 has tickets still availible, for $63 plus fees, through ticketmaster. I accessed them through the Red Wings home page.
Too bad I live in FL now. ;( Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
All NHL game radio broadcasts are available at NHL.com. Actually, if anyone watches the Sabres on OLN tonight, I highly suggest running the Sabres radio broadcast as it is much superior to anything OLN has thrown together this year.
There are a few single seat tickets left for the Sabres home games, starting at $50. I don't want to sit by myself again, though. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
kwea -
SRO tickets?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
No, looks like upper bowl tickets. Probably for all the people who can't commit until they know which day their team's games will start. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Not standing room.. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Red Wings are getting toasted. You can tell they sat almost everyone. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Oh well, Preds need it more than we do.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Just finished watching the Sabres/Hurricanes, and the Sabres just demolished the canes. Pretty much every line played well with Drury getting his 30th, and JP Dumont going for 19 and 20. I don't think the Flyers will know what hit 'em.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:National Hockey League fans returned in record numbers in the 2005-06 regular season. A total of 20,854,169 and per-game average of 16,955 attended the 1,230 games, 2.4% ahead of the 2003-04 figures (20,356,199 and 16,550) and 1.2% ahead of the previous record season of 2001-02 (20,614,613 and 16,760). In all, NHL teams played to 91.7% of capacity.
quote:Twenty-four of the 30 NHL clubs finished even with or ahead of their 2003-04 performance. The top gainers were the Pittsburgh Penguins (+33%), Carolina Hurricanes (+27%), Calgary Flames (+16%), Tampa Bay Lightning (+15%), Nashville Predators (+10%), Buffalo Sabres (+10%), Ottawa Senators (+10%), Boston Bruins (+7%) and San Jose Sharks (+6%).
And this list doesn't count teams like the Canadiens and Avs who can't gain much, as they sell out all their games anyway.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Looks like the officials will be calling the games just as they have in the regular season, or else.
quote:"My instructions to Colie and to Stephen are if an official puts his whistle away, they should put the official away for the rest of the playoffs," Bettman said.
"How long you work in the playoffs is discretionary. It depends how well you are working. And if a guy decides he's putting the whistle away, then he's done."
That's good news for the Sabres.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I'm debating whether or not I should go to any playoff games this year. I've always gone in years past, but the Oilers always lose when I'm there (predict joke about the Oilers always losing anyways, har har). Then again, playoff games are the best ones to attend. The energy is amazing, and the bonding between fans with a lot of hope is fun.
I'm glad to see ticket sales are so great across the board. Especially after all the talk of hockey's diminishing popularity during the strike.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'm surprised Calgary and Tampa Bay could go up that much. Tampa is the reigning champ, and Calgary has had a strong team for years. I thought they had a more numberous rabid fanbase.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Does either team have extra large facilities or some such? hmm.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Four NHL Playoff series kick off tonight, starting at 7pm with defending champs Tampa Bay taking on Ottawa (on CBC) and Detroit starts their long road to disappointment against Edmonton (OLN/CBC). 8pm has the Sharks and Predators (TSN) and Calgary and Anaheim get going at 10pm (OLN/CBC). All times Eastern, heh. Let the fun begin!
[ April 21, 2006, 06:43 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
The Detroit-Edmonton game is actually in Detroit. Not that it matters, since Edmonton is going to win either way. In any case, it shall be a grand night. Go Oilers!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I meant to say against, not in. Heh.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Wow, this Oilers Vs. Red Wings game is intense. Red Wings clearly outplaying the Oilers, but Roloson is keeping us alive. But damn, the Oil was looking tired at the end of that first OT. If we don't come back with a serious game plan, this game is gonna go to Detroit.
Also, where was the interference call on Holmstrom at the end of that OT? Bad officiating. Anyways, on to OT #2.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Poor Rem Murray. He deflected the puck in off Maltby's shot to win it for Detroit. Detroit would've won anyways, but that's disappointing. If Roloson keeps up his great goaltending, hopefully the Oilers can at least make this an interesting series.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
RED WINGS!!!
You were saying? Posted by theresa51282 (Member # 8037) on :
Whew, Wings really made me sweat that one out!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yeah me too. And I agree there should have been a penalty on one of our guys for that take down. But I saw some pretty nasty hits from the Oilers earlier in the game go uncalled. Still, I'd agree that one wasn't exactly fair.
Still that was an intense friggin game, I hope the next three go just like it.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Particularily the winning part. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Precisely.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sabres/Flyers on OLN. A little Tim Connoly razzle-dazzle has the Sabres up 1-0.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
This Philly/Buffalo game is like watching a repeat of the Edmonton/Detroit game from last night. Again, you have the goalie (Esche) keeping his team alive through an OT that was dominated by Buffalo. The big difference is that these refs are actually making penalty calls. Great game so far.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Holy crap. Whatever the Flyers are paying Esche, they need to double it. He single-handedly kept them in the game to the end of the 1st overtime. Brian Campbell just annihilated Umberger - check out the highlights for that one. Wow.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
It took him 13 shots but Danny Briere finally got one past Esche for the WIN in DOUBLE OT!!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Lot of upsets around the NHL.
Habs rocked Carolina 6-1. That game wasn't even close, and this after Carolina beat the Habs all four times they met this season.
Colorado whooped on Dallas for a 5-2 domination upset.
The Devils beat up on the Rangers, and now with Jaromir Jagr hurt, their chances are rapidly decreasing for any sort of stunning victory.
But that's what is fun about the NHL, playoffs favorites are never sure things. Fun, and frustrating.
Also side note, 43 goals were scored in the first games of the first round. Averages out to 5 goals per game. In the first game of the first round in the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, 34 goals, which rounds to four goals per game. Not that the stat really means anything, just thought it might be interesting to someone. Interesting to see if it holds true through the series, that is, there being more goals scored, in this case 9 more, on average.
Also in 2004, the Avs and Stars faced each other in the first round of the playoffs, and the Avs rocked the Stars in five games, most of which weren't even close. Back then the Stars and Avs were ranked five and four, respectively. Amazing how things change in two years.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Philly had better hope Esche stays hot or the rout is on. Buffalo's power play won't be held scoreless forever. They did a great job a drawing penalties but didn't capitalize. There were a ton of hard hits and scraps in the corners, and it's only going to get worse...the Flyers are way up on the list of hated teams here. Monday won't be here soon enough!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oilers!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
It was nice to see Winchester score his first NHL goal in an important playoff game. The Oilers were really making me nervous with the turnovers in the 3rd period, but thankfully they pulled it off. Game #3 in Edmonton is going to be intense.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Some shots from Game 1 from the photographer on hand. I think people are already arriving for Game 2...I'm going to HATE being here and hearing the crazy noise from next door. I'm hoping I can at least get the radio broadcast. Oooh, and I got money toward playoff tickets for the next round!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I can hear some noise from the arena...that must mean the Sabres are up 5-0 after the first period! Esche has gone from stopped like, 96% to 50% of the shots faced. Umm, ouch.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Buffalo dominated Philly, 8-2. Poor Esche, he went from team savior to blah. NJ beat NY for 2-0 in that series. We'll see if NY can do anything with home ice advantage. Biggest potential upset right now is Montreal over Carolina. Montreal won a fantastic game in double OT, and now heads home for 2 games. Possible sweep if Montreal keeps it up.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's Edmonton/Detroit game. Detroit is outplaying us, but we're scoring when it counts, and now we're at home. Unfortunately, Detroit has an awesome road record. Should be another interesting day.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Equally potential for an upset is the Avs over the Stars. They blew a huge lead after the first period tonight, but shot back where it counted and eeked out a lead. Now they head to home ice with a two game lead.
Just to keep everyone updated on the current situation:
Eastern Conference:
Montreal(7) Leads Carolina(2) 2-0 Buffalo(4) Leads Philly(5) 2-0 Jersey(3) Leads NY(6) 2-0 Ottawa(1) Tied With Tampa Bay(8) 1-1
Lyrhawn's Take
Montreal just might take the Canes, it's hard to say, but going back to Canada will give them a home ice advantage, and unless the Canes can come up with some serious energy and drive to take the momentum away from the Canadiens, it's over. I think the next game will decide it. If the Canes can break it, they have a chance, but if they lose, there's no way they are winning four straight.
I'd venture to say Jersey and Buffalo are sure things. They'll probably both win in five. Tampa will put up a fight as the Stanley Cup defenders, but I don't think they have a chance for an upset. I see Ottawa winning it in six, if it takes that much even.
Western Conference:
Colorado(7) Leads Dallas(2) 2-0 Calgary(3) Tied With Anaheim(6) 1-1 Detroit(1) Tied With Edmonton(8) 1-1 Nashville(4) Tied With San Jose(5) 1-1
Lyrhawn's Take
Colorado has a very serious shot at forcing an upset against Dallas. They're a tough team with a long history of victory, so they aren't going to be bullied by a strong Dallas team. But Dallas has the numbers working for them. They've run a strong season this year, have a top notch defense, and they have the strongest goalie in Turco of the two teams hands down. While I doubt they'll win the next four straight out, I'd say Dallas in seven is a very real possibility, even if they lose the next game, I wouldn't count out a four game run, but it would surprise me.
While I highly respect the defensive play of the Oilers during Sunday's game, I don't see it being enough to trip the Wings up for another three games. Even though Legace isn't Roy or Hasek, he doesn't have to be. He just needs to stop enough to give the Wings' powerful offense a chance to score. Oilers did a nice job trapping the Wings in their attempts to come into the Oilers zone with speed, but that isn't going to play for the whole series. Their goaltending isn't any better, and their offense and defense are weaker, and over the course of the series this will play out. The Oilers are tough, but to be brutally honest, they're outclassed by a powerful and well balanced Red Wings team. Red Wings have the best road record in the NHL, playing away or at home means little to them. I see the Red Wings winning in six.
Anaheim and Calgary are a little more difficult. Calgary has a goaltending edge by far in Kiprusoff, and Giguere isn't anything close to the possessed magical performance in 2004 when he stonewalled the Wings early on. They've lost a lot of talent (and a lot of contract obligations thankfully), while the Flames are still strong. I say it'll be a strong series, but I give the edge to the Flames to win it in six or seven, probably six.
Before Nashville suffered its trifecta of injuries (Vokoun, Sullivan and Zidlicky), I would have given them the series in six, maybe even five if they were really on their game, but those injuries knock out too much power from their lineup. Chris Mason is settling in nicely as a new starting goalie, but he won't be enough. San Jose is coming in strong with one of the best 1-2 punches in hockey in Cheechoo and Thornton. Nashville will put up a tough defense, but in the end will be outmuscled and outscored by San Jose. I say San Jose in six.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Okay, so no suspensions for Gauthier OR Radivojevic? When Gauthier JUST got suspended for the same thing a few weeks ago for two games? What, did Vanek have to get cracked vertebrae for them to discipline anyone? Give me a break. The Buffalo/Philly rivalry had taken a back seat to the Leafs and Sens, but no more. I hope they beat 'em 10-0 the next two games.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
There are a lot of Oilers jerseys around the office today, to say nothing of the city as a whole. There is going to be a lot of excitement tonight.
Whoever wins this series is the team that I want to win the cup. Detroit is a long time favorite team of mine but at heart I am a regional fan and will cheer for the team that is geographically closest to me. When I lived in BC I was a Canucks fan and when I moved to Edmonton my allegience changed to the Oilers.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I hear you. I never had a 'team' that I really really pulled for...the Blackhawks came closest as I followed mostly Chicago teams and they had some good players at the time (JR, Belfour, etc). I had caught the Sabres a lot back when ESPN played a lot of games, even saw them in person when they played a game in Virginia Beach. Living here, now, it's hard not to be a fan considering the hysteria...they play a fun brand of hockey with a great cast of characters.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
As a lifelong resident in Edmonton, I am a diehard Oilers fan. I won't necessarily feel any animosity towards Detroit if they win, though my least favorite teams are whatever team is currently playing the Oilers, and of course the Calgary Flames.
If the Oil gets eliminated I'll be behind the underdogs, namely Montreal.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Montreal will only get my cheers if they are the only Canadian team left. I have been anti-Montreal most of my life due to the fact that my dad and brothers are all Habs fans.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If the Sabres were out of the picture, I'd probably root for Carolina. Seeing as they are the more likely team to get eliminated right now, it probably won't come up. Otherwise I'll just watch any game and root for whoever seems to need me the most. Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
Hey Fitz, I've always wondered why so many Oilers' fans seem to hate the Flames. Most of my friends really want the Oilers to do well (there are a few who really don't like them, but not many). I mean, would you really rather the Preds win the cup over the Flames? I don't think I'd ever want the Preds to win it over the Oilers.
Ah well, I guess rivalry is good.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
What an insane game! The terrifying lows. The dizzying highs. The creeeamy middles.
But damn, who can blow a 3-1 lead in such a spectacular fashion as the Edmonton Oilers? This first OT was going to give me a heart attack. Then there was that 'goal' that went under the net. Talk about anger and sadness followed by relief and happiness.
And it's still not over! 2nd OT coming up.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oilers win!!! Phew, what a relief. And now it's midnight, 2am in Detroit. What a game.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
If only the Wings could play an entire game the way they played the third period of that game. ::sigh::
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sweet! I went to bed after the first OT (and the side-of-the-net No Goal). The Oilers might want to think about NOT going into trap mode with only a 2 goal lead. Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I missed most of the third period and didn't see Edmonton blow the lead but I wasn't surprised. I was surprised that they didn't completely blow it in overtime. It was quite a relief when they finally put the puck in the net. I didn't stay up to see any of the post game stuff and I'm still exhausted today.
Now if Edmonton can play a little smarter in the next game and go back to Detroit with a 3-1 series lead that would be sweet.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
This is some of the worst officiating I have ever seen in a hockey game. The inconsistency is ridiculous.
(Referring to the Oilers/Wings game)
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Wings are up by one, with 8 min to play....
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Shhh! Don't jinx it!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
SCORE!!!
It is now 4-2 Red Wings....gotta love a live radio feed on the internet when you can't get the game on TV. Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Well that was pathetic. Edmonton takes the stupidest, most unneccesary penalties. Legace was sure lucky on that stupid giveaway. If Smyth skated the puck out a bit more maybe he could have scored.
Pronger's nice hit on Cleary softens the blow of this loss a bit. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Doesn't affect the sweetness of the win for me, though.
RED WINGS!!!
Now it is 2-2... Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
GO Wings. We beat the Oilers AND the refs in that game.
That was a much needed confidence booster.
Now we play a best of three.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
With two of them in Detroit.
I would wear my Red Wings jacket in to work tomorrow....but it was 92 degrees down here today, so I think I will pass. Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Kwea, how can there be two games in Detroit when the Oilers are going to win the series 4-2?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
My point exactaly.....sorry to get your hopes up.
Could have sworn you were talking about 3-1 Oilers just a little bit ago, and that didn't happen either. Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
If you would rather lose the series at home, we will try to let you, though. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Two of them in Detroit if necessary, I'd rather win it in Edmonton though to shut up those horribly rude fans.
I'd wear my Red Wings jersey to work, but it'd get all messy in the restaurant. Maybe if I worse it under my chef coat.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I think you misread one of my posts. The only time I mentioned 3-1 was when the Oilers blew that lead in game 3.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
How are Edmonton fans rude? Because they chant Manny to psych out the goalie? Or because they boo Chelios, arguably the hugest prick in the NHL? This isn't a tea party, it's hockey. Fans are supposed to be loud, proud, and down on the other team until the series is over, at which point it's bygones be bygones.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
They bitch, moan, swear. I don't know. I rarely ever, if ever, see Wings fans so ridiculously negative about the other team.
We'd rather cheer on our own team than bitch about the opponent.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I know you only mentioned it once, I just just teasing you.
GO WINGS!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Just to keep everyone updated on the current situation:
Eastern Conference:
Montreal(7) Tied With Carolina(2) 2-2 Buffalo(4) Tied With Philly(5) 2-2 Jersey(3) Leads NY(6) 3-0 Ottawa(1) Leads Tampa Bay(8) 3-1
Lyrhawn's Take
Nice comeback from Carolina. They've staged a nice two game rally, and the same story with Philly. Still, it comes down to a best of three for both of the series. I still give the edge to Buffalo over Philly, but if Philly plays their last three the way they've played the last two, it's impossible to say. So far as Montreal and Carolina, you might still see a Montreal victory, but the Canes roared back in the last two games, and chances are they won't let the momentum go now. Home ice advantage seems to matter little in this series.
Ottawa and Jersey are no brainers. There's virtually a zero chance for the dominated NY and Tampa Bay teams to stage a comeback at this point. They are too far down against fantastic teams.
Western Conference:
Colorado(7) Leads Dallas(2) 3-1 Calgary(3) Tied With Anaheim(6) 2-2 Detroit(1) Tied With Edmonton(8) 2-2 Nashville(4) Down Against San Jose(5) 3-1
Lyrhawn's Take
Like I said before, don't totally count Dallas out yet. They've dug themselves a huge hole here, but the Avs have a history of choking, even with 3-0 series leads. They've lost to Detroit, and even Dallas before under the same circumstances, and with much stronger teams.
Call it a slim chance, but Dallas still has some hope here. Nashville however does not. Their injuries against San Jose's powerful front line doesn't leave much of a chance. San Jose will win the series hands down.
And what of the last two? Might we see the Ducks upset the Flames AND the Stars upset by the Avs? Two of the stronger teams in the NHL getting whooped on by relatively weaker teams is interesting, and many would say it's all just a part of the "new NHL."
I still give the Wings the edge against the Oilers. Though they lost three nights again in 2OT, they played the second half of that game marvelously, and haven't looked back since, especially not Thursday night. I have a feeling them will come back to the Joe on Saturday invigorated by their win, and Zetterberg and others won't let the energy level wane as it has in their losing games. Wings in Seven.
As for Calgary/Ducks. Same story as in my last report. Edge to the Flames.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
The Oiler's fans bitch, moan, and swear? Way more than other teams? I think what you're trying to say is that the Wings are playing the Oil this series; therefore it follows that the Oilers are Satan. Oh! Can I pull out "Pot. Kettle. Black." here?
In other news, poor Saku Koivu. I know that Kovelev has never lost in the first round of the playoffs, but the Habs are in tough without Koivu. All that aside, I just hope it's not a career ending injury and he gets his sight back.
Posted by Chungwa (Member # 6421) on :
I hope that Koivu will be around, too. I'm not a huge Habs fan, but it always sucks to see a player get a major injury.
I know that when the Flames play another team in the playoffs, I temporarily can't stand the fans of the other team, even if they're no different from Flames fans. I still wrinkle my nose when I see someone wearing a Canucks jersey - and I like the Canucks!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oilers defense wins the game!! After a shaky 1st period where it looked like the Oil had learned nothing about discipline, we came back in the last two periods for a solid win. Red Wings pressure at the end of the 3rd period was a bit scary, but not enough for a comeback. Chris Pronger was one of the smartest acquisitions the Oilers have made in the last 5 years. He's definitely our mvp, and he's steering us towards a 1st round victory.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Bob the Lawyer: The Oiler's fans bitch, moan, and swear? Way more than other teams? I think what you're trying to say is that the Wings are playing the Oil this series; therefore it follows that the Oilers are Satan. Oh! Can I pull out "Pot. Kettle. Black." here?
You said it, not me. I just said they were bitchy, and they are.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Get it straight guys, Satan plays for the Islanders. Peca is the former Sabre on the Oilers. Jeez. Posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (Member # 9384) on :
quote:Like I said before, don't totally count Dallas out yet.
Can we count Dallas out now? Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Of course not...there are still celebrity golf tournaments they can play in.
I know most of the country saw the other NBC game but you missed a masterful performance by the entire Sabres team. Miller stopped all 24 shots he faced (14 in the second period). They shut out Forsberg for the first time, not so much by their D (which was still good) but by keeping the play in Philly's end. If they can keep this level of play up in Philly tomorrow night, it'll be an easy win there also. If not, I have tickets to game seven. Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
OILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pisani, suffering from the bout of scoringbiggoalitis that he contracted in the regular season, brings the Oilers back into the game with two beautiful goals!!!
Now if Calgary beats Anaheim the real series begins. Three words: BATTLE OF ALBERTA.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heh, I wondered if I would beat you here. I thought the wings had things well in hand when I left work, up 2-0. Apparently not.
Posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (Member # 9384) on :
Ok, so I haven't really been following hockey this season. Are the Avalanche good this year, or was the Dallas thing a fluke?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
That sucks. Too bad, but at least StevieY played, and got an assist. If this is his last game ever then he deserved to go out ocntributing, as he has done his whole career.
Too bad the Oilers couldn't score on their own....I hope they pay Chelios well for the "assist"...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Chelios? Screw that, give the officials the assist.
They handed that series to the Oilers. I'm not saying the Wings didn't do their share of crappy playing, or that the Oilers weren't good, they were.
But I saw way too many crap calls, the majority of which against the Wings, culminating in the bullshit call of allowing that goal earlier to night which should never have been called. Wings should have gone into the last four minutes of that game up one on a two minute powerplay.
But whatever, go Oilers, I hope the officials can help you through the next round too.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Well, bad calls happen, so I am not worried about it. They lost, plain and simple.
We had benefited from poor calls over the years as well, right?
No matter WHAT the calls, losing tonight was inexcusable.
I just hope Yzerman plays for one more year, and gets to leave on a better note. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
You want a bad call? That no goal on team Teemu is inexcusable.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Mmmm, sour grapes. How do they taste, Lryhawn? That post had more whine than California's vineyards. Neither team got more bad calls than the other, and you're in no mood to be objective about it, so I'm taking your bitterness with a grain of sugar.
/Oiler Fan Rudeness.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Ugghhh. I'm done with hockey. It's such a blast when your team is in it, but when they're not, it just loses all that flare.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Lyr, the Hockey Night guys just made a strong case for the Hemsky goal to count. I'm sure there were bad calls on both sides, but that isn't one of 'em.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Fitz: Mmmm, sour grapes. How do they taste, Lyrhawn? That post had more whine than California's vineyards. Neither team got more bad calls than the other, and you're in no mood to be objective about it, so I'm taking your bitterness with a grain of sugar.
/Oiler Fan Rudeness.
::shrugs::
That third goal that tied the game was crap. We lost and that's they way it is. It might not have mattered, we gave up that third period like a girl gives it up on prom night, we might have lost anyway, we might have lost in game seven, but it won't matter because we didn't get the chance.
Good luck in the next round. You'll need it.
Edit to add: I understand that they need definitive proof that there is something wrong to reverse a call made by the on ice official, and they couldn't be 100% sure that there was a kicking motion, though it seemed pretty damned close to me. There was an insanely obvious high sticking just seconds before that went uncalled, where the puck was put in play. The ref was standing close enough to call it a goal but missed the high stick? Whatever.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The high stick was the part I was talking about, didn't look like one to me. Or Kelly Hrudey, etc.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The stick was above his chest, what does it take to be high sticking?
Kicking motion not withstanding.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
There have been bad calls all around this series. What about the "pick" that gave the Wings the game last Thursday night? Blatant interference.
I didn't see the 3rd period tonight (stupid plane with no TV) but it can't have been the worst call of the series. It's funny that you see an obvious majority of negative calls going against the Wings. To me the refs have just been terribly inconsistent and it has been at least as bad toward the Oilers.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Edit:
I don't care (well that's not true, I'm pissed as hell).
I'm looking to next year. We need a better frontline goalie than Manny. He's a fantastic backup, but he wasn't up to the playoffs.
Chelios, Stevie Y, and Shanahan are probably all leaving. I'm sad to see them go, but I'm also excited about new, young and fantastically promising youth coming up from the AHL and from our scouting teams overseas. I'll be excited to see Zetterberg, and maybe Datsyuk get the A, and probably Lidstrom get the C for a year or two (or maybe Drapes?).
We'll go to the playoffs next year, but quite frankly I don't want to win the president's cup. I'm sick of being the team to beat, especially when people derive that much more satisfaction in beating us and throwing it back in our faces afterwards. Not that we wouldn't have done the same thing if we won, though quite frankly, had we beaten the Oilers I wouldn't have gloated that much, just would have looked right to the next round.
I want to come in, in the middle with a younger, faster, more energized team that for the most part has NOT won a cup, and doesn't expect it to be gifted to them, but comes in jazzed and expects they'll have to fight for it in every period. Maybe three seasons of post-season losses is enough to finally kickstart the team.
I'm not totally even sure we need to replace Manny. If the offense had done the job they did in the first two periods in the third, the puck wouldn't have been around Manny so much. Goalies can only do so much. Still, we have a few months to talk about it.
[ May 02, 2006, 12:43 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They showed a bunch of angles, and were pretty convincing that the puck was struck low enough not to be high-sticking. Remember you are talking to a Buffalo fan, we know all about getting jobbed by officials.
I think Sabre fans have finally let all the various versions of NoGoal.com lapse, register away.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Moving on, Anaheim/Calgary go to game 7. I'm pretty torn about this one. I would like to see Calgary defeated in the first round, because statiscally San Jose would be an easier match for the Oilers. But as we've seen many times, sometimes stats just don't matter in the playoffs.
OTOH, on an emotional level, I want a battle of Alberta. This province would go absolutely nuts! More importantly, I want to see Edmonton beat Calgary! It's no secret that there's a fair bit of animosity between the two teams (even moreso between their fans). That's what makes it so agonizing. Whoever's team wins will have bragging rights until the two teams meet in another epic match
Gah, I can't decide. I could never go so far as to say "Go Flames!" but I won't be cheering for Anaheim either.
Posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (Member # 9384) on :
Um, doesn't the winner of the Anaheim/Calgary series play Colorado in the next round?
I want to see Anaheim win, just so that all four Western series will be upsets Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Lyr, man, you crack me up.
Anyway, tonight I'm really hoping the Cam Ward of the past 2 games misses the bus and the Canadians are actually able to put some pucks into the net.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
quote:Um, doesn't the winner of the Anaheim/Calgary series play Colorado in the next round?
Nope, the NHL playoffs don't follow your typical tournament structure. After each round, seed rankings from the regular season are maintained. So in each round the highest seed left plays the lowest seed left. Since San Jose and Calgary are ranked higher than Anaheim and Colorado, and Edmonton is ranked lowest, San Jose or Calgary will play Edmonton in the 2nd round.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Chelios, Stevie Y, and Shanahan are probably all leaving.
Didn't Chelios already sign on for another year? I thought I heard that somewhere. I will be said to see Stevie Y go. He is just such a class act and probably my favorite player in the NHL.
I feel the same way as Fitz in regards to the Anaheim/Calgary series. If you think the crowd was loud in last nights game, just wait until the Flames/Oilers hit the ice. I'd be wearing ear protection if I were able to attend one of those games.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote: Lyr, man, you crack me up.
I imagine I should be glaring at you right now, but I just don't care enough to bother.
As far as Chelios goes, I thought at the end of the game last night they said that Chelios was among the others leaving. I'm not sure if he should play another year or not. Might be best to leave with the others in style.
I almost wish Stevie could play just one more year. I just don't know if he could keep up with the youngsters with his age and injuries.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Yeah, he is really banged up, but he is one of the classiest players of any sport, so I will be sorry to see him go.
Modern professional sports needs more of players like him and less of the T.O. variety.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Amen to that!
I wonder if he will stay with the organization. Maybe as a scout, or somewhere even in the NHL proper and not just the Red Wings. But I'd love to see his influence continue.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Yzerman seems like a guy who will stay involved, whether it's coaching or commentating or something else.
quote:Drury's athletic success is extraordinary, if not unparalleled. As a youth, his Greater Bridgeport (Conn.) hockey team won the United States national amateur championship in 1989. Five months later, he hit and pitched his team from Trumbull, Conn., to the Little League World Series title with an upset of Taiwan.
He won a state championship in hockey in high school but was not drafted until the third round, 72nd over all. In his first season at Boston University, the Terriers won the N.C.A.A. hockey championship. As a senior, he won the Hobey Baker Award as the best collegiate player in the nation.
He then became the first Hobey Baker winner to earn the Calder Memorial Trophy as the N.H.L.'s rookie of the year, with the Colorado Avalanche. Two years later, he helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.
It also talks quite a bit about Travis Roy, the Boston University player (and teammate of Drury and Mike Grier) who injured his spine 11 seconds in to his first shift of his first BU game.
Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
Stevie is still riding his last contract of 11 years IIRC. Now, of course there is a dealy in it that says he can retire when he wants and he can finish off the contract as almost whatever he wants. The last I heard he said he wanted to go scout for players. I'd say he ain't leaving anytime soon. Detroit has been real good to him.
Edit to add: He may leave the ice, but he will still be part of our team. Always our leader.
[ May 02, 2006, 05:54 PM: Message edited by: Stan the man ]
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Yeah, there are some class acts out there...but you never hear from them becaue T.O. is shouting so loud.
I remember that hockey accident, I was living in MA when it happened, I think, and it was all over the news. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sabres up 6-1 at the end of the second. Booyah!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Total destruction. Ken Hitchcock made the mistake of ticking off the Drury line...he was asked about how they are always out to try and stop the Forsberg line and he dismissed it with a 'We're plus and they're minus' type comment. In the deciding game Drury/Roy/Grier was +12, Forsberg/Gagne/Knuble was -11. I guess that so called 'checking' line can score, eh?
This Ottawa series is going to be EPIC. This is a Sabres team that is super confident going against their biggest rival from this year. I can't wait!!
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Poor Montreal. It's not unlike their last series with the 'Canes, where they were in control and then one play in one game shifts the momentum and Carolina wins 4 in a row. 'Course, that time it was a soft goal and this time it was their captain getting his eye cut.
I'm glad they took two games, though. It's certainly more than I expected So I guess I have to cheer for a backup team.
Go Sens Go!
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Ouch....this has been such a bleak year for philly sports...the only thing i have left is a philly horse winning the triple crown...maybe the third time is the charm Posted by Stan the man (Member # 6249) on :
Edited to add: I probably didn't have to put this in here. Heck, it's probably all over the tv news over there.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (Member # 9384) on :
Woo, four upsets in the West!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
::Pats Kwea on the back::
He'll still be in Detroit, it's in the blood. And Detroit will never forget.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
quote:Originally posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy: Woo, four upsets in the West!
Not woo. I think something is wrong with the sport if the top four teams in the western conference give it their all for 82 games, and then in 7 games or less, they're out in the playoffs.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
There will be a huge review of the "new NHL" after this season is over and some things will be changed no doubt. It was an experimental year. And everyone no doubt has feelings on what is working and what isn't with the new system.
Posted by Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy (Member # 9384) on :
quote:Not woo. I think something is wrong with the sport if the top four teams in the western conference give it their all for 82 games, and then in 7 games or less, they're out in the playoffs.
Then why even bother having playoffs?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It could just be a fluke Hamson, but there might be something more systemic wrong with the new rules system. Won't know until they really sit down and talk about it. Players will certainly have their opinions.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Hmm... if the scoring keeps going at this pace it's going to wind up being something like 58-57 in the Ottawa Buffalo game.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Haha Bob.
Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy: I don't have any problems with upsets, it just seems like hockey more than any other sport, has them incredibly regularly. If you look at something like say, basketball though, sure there are upsets, but they are much less common and therefore much more interesting when they happen.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Part of it is because of the amount of influance the goalie plays. You can be outplaying the other team 2 to 1, but if their goalie is realy hot it won't matter, you will lose.
Or if you goalie has a really bad day, for whatever reason, it doesn't matter how well the rest of your team plays, not really.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Let's go Buffalo! I'm late to the party but WHAT A GAME! You don't want them all to be shootouts like that but this is not the same Sabres team that wilted before the Sens early in the season. You make a mistake, and you better make sure your goalie has an unbelievable game or it's going in the net (see Robert Esche in game 1 of that series). Drury comes up huge at the right time, you can see where is rep for scoring big goals comes from. And how about Derek Roy, going for 2 goals, 3 assists? The most I dare to hope for is a 1-1 split coming back to Buffalo...I've got a feeling that Emery is going to be shaky playing in our building. Whatever happens, this is going to be an exciting series. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Busy night tonight. You've got the Sabres looking to steal another one in Ottawa's building (whatever it's called this week). The Devils and Martin Brodeur look to rebound against the Hurricanes, and the Oil slick look to contaminate the Sharks' environment in the late game. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Steal was the right word...Ryan Miller stole game 2 from the Sens with a monumental 43 save effort. Despite being outshot 44 to 17 the Sabres win 2-1. Tim Connoly went down a minute in, and did not return. Not what we want to see considering he missed a year with a severe concussion. Jochen Hecht returned, though, and netted the game winner. Will the hockey world pay attention if the Sabres sweep the Sens?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Probably not.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Wow that was tense last night. Triple overtime. Edmonton dominating the game and only Toskala kept the Sharks alive. I was pretty worried that Kelly Hrudey was going to be right and the Sharks would win on a cheesy turn around goal but Roloson was able to stop several solid attempts. And then Smyth, who returned to the game after losing some teeth to a puck, sets up the winner from Horcoff.
The game didn't wrap up until nearly 1am. It's gonna be a long day.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Get out the brooms. Looks like Buffalo and Carolina are on a collision course for the Eastern Conference finals. We know what happens when Sabres collide with you. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm going to man up and take responsibility for this loss. My wife was bugging me about the playoff beard so I broke down and shaved it.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Whoo, what a game! Oilers come back from 3-1 to score five in a row and win it 6-3!!! Series tied 2-2 and heading back to SJ.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
That was awesome. Let's hope they can start off a little better in the next couple of games.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Impressive comeback from the Oilers. Way to keep the excitement in the game .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well there go the Senators. Top teams in the East and the West are out of contention for the Cup.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Welcome to Pominville! Rookie Jason Pominville works Daniel Alfredsson and Ray Emery for a short-handed series clinching OT goal, the first in NHL history. This from a guy who was waived (and not picked up) at the beginning of the year. Ryan Miller was freaking sharp. Hats off to Ottawa, they fought hard (all games decided by one goal) but in the end, the Sabres team play did them in.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Hmm...if money were no object this would be on my wall. I could even pick it up and save the $128 shipping!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Awwww poor Carolina is afraid all the NY transplants and road trippers are going to fill their arena:
quote:RBC Center is located in Raleigh, NC. Sales to this event will be restricted to residents of bordering states. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside of this area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They got rid of that policy...there are still great seats available for the games in Carolina.
All Buffalo games sold out in 12 minutes.
Neat article from Mike Eruzione of the Miracle on Ice team.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
OILERS!!!!!!!!!!
Last time the Oil made it to the playoff semi-finals I was 9 years old. This is just freakin' insane. Edmonton is gonna go absolutely nuts tonight!! Anaheim, you're next!
Posted by Angiomorphism (Member # 8184) on :
I guess since the Habs are out, GO OILERS!! at least the sens aren't in still (and I'm not even going to comment on Toronto, haha)
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Angio: you are welcome about keeping the Sens out.
Danny Briere was on ESPNews, and they mentioned he missed some practice time with an 'upper body injury'. Turns out it was a sore throat. Gotta love coaches in the playoffs.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Congratulations to the Oilers and Sabres (!) in winning game one on the road in each of the Conference Finals. Buffalo did it like they always do, demoralize with the early goal, build a lead with a stretch of dominant play, and give up their bodies to help prevent good scoring opportunities. The Sabres blocked 29 shots (to Carolina's 14) and forced 17 giveaways (to 10). Jay McKee picked up the gamewinner, joining the rush out of the penalty box and dodging a potential shot-blocker (really now, McKee's the king, no fooling him).
Special mention goes to Ryan Miller (again), who seems to be getting more confident with each passing game. He was smothering his rebounds, sharp with shots through traffic, and had the pass that sprung Sabres playmaker Danny Briere for the second goal, a nasty backhand.
I hope some of you got to see it, even if your own teams are no longer in. Anyone interested in hockey that has questions, I'm sure there are folks here who can answer them.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Going into the 3rd period with a 1-0 lead for the Oilers, who would've though that the Edmonton/Anaheim game would end with the Oilers up 5-4. That was the most insane 3rd period I've seen so far in the 2006 playoffs. Phew...
When the "We want the cup!" chant started in Rexall after the Oilers went up 4-0 I got concerned. The hockey gods are fickle indeed, and we should know better than to offend them with such brazen cockiness. But who can blame the Edmonton fans for feeling a bit superior after such a vast lead. And then bam! Anaheim comes back with 3 quick goals!!! Oh no!
Thankfully we have one of the best clutch players around in the form of Pisani, who widened the lead by 2 goals again. Well it was scary, but the Oilers pulled it off, and hopefully they learn a big lesson from what could well have been a huge catasrophe of a comeback.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Man, I wanted to see that game last night. I watched the box score balloon with fighting majors and roughing penalties in the 1st, so I knew something was going on. And the third...sweet.
Fans are streaming in downstairs, as there's another block party before game 3.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
That was intense last night. I wish I could afford the ticket prices to see the games live but that is not in the cards right now.
Game four is going to be interesting. Hopefully the Oilers will all be over the flu. I think that was part of what nearly did them in late in the third. They got the big lead and thought that they could take it a little easier. They can't afford to have that happen again.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Tick, did you go to the game last night?
I must confess, I haven't been watching any games other than the Oilers. I think my wife would kill me if I tried to watch the other conference finals. We have only 1 TV and she only enjoys watching sports live.
It sounds like it was a pretty exciting game though. I'm hoping for an Edmonton-Buffalo fight for the cup.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Unfortunately, I work until 10, so for the ECF games I'm just getting out as they finish. I can see the Arena (and hear the cheers) from my desk so I know in general what's going on, even without the constant refreshing of nhl.com.
You know, I've been cheering on Edmonton since the last part of the regular season. Since we get HNIC here, I've seen a ton of the Western Conference Canadian teams, it was great fun. You knew if Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton were involved it was going to be a great game to watch. If Buffalo/Edmonton happens (don't want to jinx it), it may not be the marquee NY Rangers/LA Kings matchup the NHL would probably like but it would be a fantastic series. Won by Buffalo.
The Sabres need to get some defensemen healthy, though. Could we go one game without one of our important d-men getting injured? Numminen, how are you feeling? Please come back! Tallinder, please let some of your skillz rub off on Paetsch, Jillson and Janik.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If that OLN accouncer says 'Manpower advantage' one more time, I'm going to reach through the TV and smack him.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oilers win the Western Conference final!!!
What was that about needing luck? Well, maybe in the cup final...
I also hope that it's a Buffalo/Edmonton final. Tick, it's up to your team now! Come on Buffalo!!!
The Oilers are having great games against teams that can be referred to as food. First it was wings, then shark, and some duck. Buffalo would work well on that menu I think. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sweet. Good job Edmonton!
I hope they go all the way.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Congratulations, Edmonton! How cool is it that an 8 seed made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals?
Buffalo will meet you there, if only they could go more than two games without a top d-man getting injured.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
It's too bad the typical rabble gathered on Whyte Ave. yesterday and cast a sour note on the Oilers victory. These so called proud Edmontonians started a bonfire in the middle of a busy road, threw beer bottles through the windows of small, locally owned businesses, and caused all sorts of mayhem. It's this type of idiocy that really makes hockey fans look bad, Edmontonian ones in particular.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Yeah, people like that are just nutty in general. Any excuse to set fires and flip over cars.
Carolina/Buffalo goes to game seven after a tremendous game six here in Buffalo. Both Ryan Miller and Cam Ward were dominant in net, flashing serious leather...it's almost sad that Ward's day got ruined by a shot that jumped out of his glove and trickled over the line. Almost.
There WAS a bit of high pitched whining from Hedican and Weight. Look guys, there were missed calls and bad calls on both sides, in all the playoff series. It's worth noting that a lot of the sportswriters disagree with you, Doug, and say that the boarding penalty has been called like that for years. You may also want to learn the first name of Jason Pominville, since he is the guy who sent the Sens home with a shorthanded OT winner. And I know the sportswriter in Raleigh probably covers the World of Outlaws or something normally but could you go one column without complaining about bad ice? Your own team says it doesn't favor either team, get over it.
Oh, and [columbo]just one more thing[/columbo], I'd be hard pressed to see that as a penalty. Three guys converge on the puck, all three at the very least go off their skates...nah. Maybe someone should've covered the Sabres best offensive producer after he got up off the ice.
Okay, done ranting. I really hope they beat these guys on Thursday, with no officiating gaffes, bad ice, Wiccan hexes, and star mis-alignment for them to blame it on.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Oh, and Martin Biron is the best backup goalie in the league. Where else would they mic up a guy who will sit on the bench the whole game?
Buffalo has the Goo Goo Dolls, Carolina apparently has Clay Aiken. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:He not only drew four penalties on Tuesday, but how could Weight not know who the rookie is after his wonderful short-handed overtime goal in the Sabres' series-winning victory in the second round against the Ottawa Senators?
"I saw what he said," Pominville said. "He can say whatever he wants."
"It's kind of funny. He knows my last name because he hit me from behind."
No, it cannot be...Jay McKee might be OUT for tonight's game. A FOURTH starting defensemen, probably the best we have, has a 'freak infection' in his leg. Rumor is a staph infection, from a wound in his leg that wouldn't close due to all the shot blocking done with his legs. Just...wow. If they win tonight then the Hockey Gods truly want Buffalo to have a chance at the cup again.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I believe! Game 7 starts now! Time to put on the Sabres jersey...
Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :
Canes win 4-2.
Canes vs Oilers next. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
My poor Sabres lost game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals. The loss of Jay McKee, perhaps Buffalo's best d-man this year, was the final nail in the coffin. The kids from Rochester did what they could, but the lack of experienced players on the powerplay and PK was damaging. Great season, though.
Oh, and read that article if you are the type that's been using the same sports equipment since high school. Highlights:
quote:McKee's strep infection developed when bacteria came into contact with a gash caused by a blocked shot he took in the second round against the Ottawa Senators. The cut didn't require stitches, but it wouldn't close because pucks repeatedly struck the area in practices and games.
Strep infections of the skin are rare, but cases involving athletes usually are the result of old, sweaty equipment. Buffalo's longest-tenured player still uses pads from his junior days. His shin guards are relics.
McKee's in his 10th year, IIRC.
quote:Yet about five hours later, agonizing leg pain awakened him. He spent the next hour trying to walk off the pain, but it progressed to the point he couldn't stand any more and went to the emergency room. On the ride to the hospital he broke out into a heavy sweat and both legs began to convulse.
McKee was being treated with intravenous antibiotics. His symptoms calmed down by Thursday afternoon and became more flu-like. He was nauseated, sweaty and had no appetite.
He still held out hope Thursday morning he could make a dramatic recovery and zip over to Raleigh in time for faceoff.
Beyond tough. I hope the Sabres re-sign 74 in the offseason. He's lightyears better than any other UFA defensemen out there.
Good luck, Edmonton and Carolina. I may be one of the few here in the US that watch the games, but I know this will be a great series. I'll be rooting for Edmonton to just crush the 'canes, they'll be playing a team that actually has it's lineup intact. Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :
Canes 5-0 to make the series 2-0. They just plain outplayed the Oilers. Oilers played undisciplined and were giving away power plays like no tomorrow.
And don't even try to tell me its because they didn't have Roloson. Markkanen played spectacularly. He just didn't have a team to back him up. Canes were solid.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
That sucks. I don't want the Canes to win, Brind'amour is such a smug ass. I hope Pronger cracks him one over that nose, it would probably break his stick though.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I don't want the Canes to win either.
I hope the Oilers can pull a rabbit out of their helmets.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
I won't be really worried unless the Oilers get down 3-0 in the series. Unfortunately not all Edmontonians are as cautiously optimistic. The streets were littered with folks who jumped off the bandwagon a little too fast after the first game. I imagine the naysayers will get even gloomier tomorrow. Nevertheless, I'm thinking the Oilers can and will win game 3, and then the momentum will shift, just like in the San Jose series.
Posted by thrak (Member # 5499) on :
I, for one, am happy that the Canes are doing well. Of course, I am a season ticket holder so I may be a little biased.
I would like to add that I have been impressed with the Oilers team. The team plays a very exciting game and had this fan sitting quietly in the stands after the first two periods in Game One wondering what we would have to do to match their physical, smart play.
Most of all, the fans have made these last two games very enjoyable to attend. The Oilers fans have been very gracious when ahead or behind. They act as if they have been here before.
In the last series, I seriously considered giving up my tickets since a large contingent of Buffalo fans made it their goal to make it uncomfortable and even dangerous to attend games. Luckily, the RBC beefed up security after Game One and we could come and watch a well played series that was only marred by a few bad apples in the stands and a coach who couldn't let his team do his talking.
While attending Games 3 and 4 in 2002 against Detroit, I thought that would be my only chance to catch the Cup Finals in person. I am thankful for the "new" NHL and the possibililty of seeing an Edmonton/Carolina final instead of the usual suspects every season.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Some Buffalo visitors have countered that they got a hostile reception in the Triangle.
"After the [Monday] game ended, Carolina fans screamed obscenities at me as we tried to leave the arena," wrote Thomas Burger, 43, a Sabres fan and Charlotte minister who brought his daughter to Monday's game. "I am sorry I decided to bring my daughter into that environment and will not be back if Raleigh can't handle its fans."
Several fans at the games blamed the abuse of alcohol. The arena's managers allow drinking in the parking lots before games, and alcohol is sold inside.
"The worst cussing and the most obnoxious behavior I saw was by a Carolina Hurricanes fan, I hate to say," said Ricky Thompson of Tarboro. "It was the alcohol doing the talking."
quote:Three of the six fans arrested at the RBC Center during the first two games of the series were Hurricanes supporters.
Quotes from your own Raleigh newspaper. Anyway, why bring it up again? Behavior was bad on both sides, you guys won so move on (and be thankful Buffalo knocked Philly out of the mix).
Posted by thrak (Member # 5499) on :
I will admit that I did jab at the Buffalo fans behavior. I am sorry. I guess I bristled at the Brind'amour comment. IMO, he is the hardest working player in the NHL and I have never heard him considered "smug".
I will say of the 8 other playoff series in Raleigh, none had the ugliness of the last series against Buffalo. Perhaps it is the NJ, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit and Edmonton fans that are the exceptions.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
He's a former Flyer, it comes naturally. I mostly get it from his yapping back and forth with Lindy Ruff. Speaking of, I actually think all of Lindy's yapping was calculated, keep the spotlight on him and off the Rochester Amerks that were filling the Sabres ranks.
Posted by thrak (Member # 5499) on :
At least for me, Brindy has been here in Carolina long enough to ignore his Flyer past. I hope that this is the season and team that he will be remembered for.
I understood most of the modivation behind Ruff's comments during the conference finals, but I do agree with the off-the-cuff remark that Brind'amour said after game 7. He basically said that Ruff seemed to steal the spotlight away from the players. Personally, my hat is off to the Buffalo team. That was one hard-fought, back and forth series that was truly not over until it was over.
As for Edmonton, I fully expect them to come out and play great hockey at home. I do not want to predict the outcomes, but I hope that the Canes can get a split. It will be tough. From what I have seen of the Oilers, they are a great defensive team that really only needs good goaltending. If they can establish the fore-check and keep the Canes off the power play, they should do well.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Edmonton needs to shoot the puck. They seem so focussed on setting up perfect plays that they forget that ugly goals count too. They got 4 past Ward in game 1, they can beat him if they just shoot the puck.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
I stayed up to catch the game. The Oilers' lone goal was absolutely gorgeous. I think you may have a point. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Especially when you have guys on your team like Pronger, who can rip it in there for a good rebound.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Pronger seems to be having trouble hitting the net when he does shoot though. I'd be drilling on that in practice.
The goal they scored was a beauty. If they can get the puck on net, they can make the tips that they have been so good at through the playoffs up until now.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I missed the goal! My wife got home just before the third period ended and I was talking with her and had flipped it to some show she likes to watch. I thought I still had plenty of time, but no, when I flip back they are interviewing Pisani.
I was so mad that the tieing goal counted. There is no way the ref saw that puck and the whistle should have gone for sure.
I guess it didn't matter ultimately though!
They're coming back to Edmonton!!!
Posted by signal (Member # 6828) on :
Woohoo!!! Canes win the cup!!!
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
This should not be. If the Whalers were to win a championship, it should be in CONNECTICUT.
Posted by Astaril (Member # 7440) on :
Sigh.
Maybe next year.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
A lot of moving and shaking happening in Edmonton right now. The biggest case being Pronger, his request for a trade, and the granting of that request moving him to Anaheim. Losing Pronger is a huge blow to the Oilers. The way he chose to leave Edmonton was pretty disgraceful. Not a single word to the fans about why he wanted to leave.
Now we've lost Spacek, and the Oilers D is looking pretty weak. Kevin Lowe picked up free agent Daniel Tjarnqvist, adding a bit of depth to our defence. But in no way is Tjarnqvist a replacement for Pronger, or even Spacek. He has a pretty bad +/- record, but in all honesty he's played for some lousy teams, so I don't know if that's a good stat for the basis of an opinion.
The Oilers also let Laraque go over a silly dispute involving a no trade clause. Laraque really wanted to stay in Edmonton, and was apparently even willing to take a pay cut.
It's a stressful time in the off season, now that the pool of UFAs is growing thinner. The Oilers really need to pick up a defenceman who can anchor their powerplay. We also have 3 players whose contracts are going into arbitration. As bad as that is, I hear Buffalo has 12 players seeking arbitration, so I'll avoid complaining.
I've mostly been paying attention to the Oilers, so I'd be interested in hearing some perspective from other fans on how their team's off season is going.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Cautiously optimistic for this year. It's sad to see McKee and Grier go, but to get Spacek is a good signing (and cheaper). Grier apparently didn't want back as bad as he was saying, Darcy (Sabres GM) has mentioned he offered a similar deal to what Grier took for San Jose, so whatever. Roster spot for one of the young guys. They need another goaltender, as they should be trading Martin Biron, who has been nothing but a professional with that whole situation.
I'm not as worried about 12 in arbitration, as much as I am for next year when a whole bunch of folks will be straight up free agents.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
By the way, anyone looking for a unique playoff souvenir, the NHL is auctioning off the official line-up cards for the Stanley Cup playoff games.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Training camps are opening up for most NHL teams...time to get back into HOCKEY!
How about the Islanders giving DiPietro a 15 year deal? He would be 40 years old when the deal finally expires, and if he retires due to injury, he gets to keep the money. Of course, the Isles just have to look at Yashin to see how deals like that can go wrong...
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Yeah, I've been reading about that deal on HFBoards. The Islanders fans are hoping that somehow Bettman says no to the deal, though I don't see how he could. Owners are allowed to be idiots. I haven't seen one single poster over on those boards say it is a good thing. The most optimistic I've seen of them says that there is a small chance this could someday work out to be a good thing, but most likely isn't.
As a renewed penguins fan (you can go back to the beginning pages to see me come very close to abandoning them, thank you akhockey for setting me straight), and hockey fan in general, I'm very much looking forward to the new season.
I even am planning on getting NHL Center Ice, so that I can actually watch more than one or two penguins games this year.
I've been following the Malkin fiasco all summer it feels like, reading the topics on the forums every day. It's been crazy, and hopefully the drama is mostly over. I'm hoping the boy can learn some english real soon, and that he plays nicely with Crosby, who is clearly the heart of the team.
Besides Crosby blowing everyone's expectations away, last year was a bit of a dissapointment as a pens fan, with all the hype they were getting right before the season. I have much higher hopes now that they have a coach who will push them, and a younger team with some drive to it.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm probably going to see a Pens game or two, either here or in Pittsburgh as I have family there now.
Posted by Sean (Member # 689) on :
My understanding is that assuming Wang is willing to spend over the salary cap the DiPietro deal is a good move. If he turns out well the Islanders get an advantage from having a cheap elite goaltender. If he sucks he becomes the best paid minor league player in history and doesn't count against the cap. If that's right it's a rules loophole they'll probably have to address.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Still a pretty gutsy move for the team, it limits their options. Even if he starts to perform somewhat poorly in the future, they can't toss him aside as easily as another player with a smaller contract. With such a large investment, they are almost forced to put up with substandard play, if it means NOT giving up a 45 (or however much) million dollar player
There's risks and advantages on all sides. We'll have to wait and see, especially this season, to see how he does, and how good a deal it really was.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The Sabres showed off their new jerseys today for the first time. You know, I like it. I'd still prefer something with the crossed sabres, but it's unique. It reminds of some of the European jerseys you see at the Olympics.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Not sure how I feel about the colors, but I like the design.
Colors are too much like Pittsburg.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
Yeah, you're right TheTick. The new jerseys have a very European feel to them. I, like Lyrhawn, definitely like the design, but I'm not quite sure about the colors yet. They'll grow on me.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
So the penguins won their first game, against the hated flyers, and in convincing fashion no less. Season couldn't have started much better than it did.
Fleury looked incredible. He supposedly wasn't very good in the preseason, and a lot of Pens fans didn't think he deserved the start. Some fans even wanted him traded or sent to the AHL. Good to see him go out there and dominate.
Staal actually looked pretty decent in his first game. Ruutu looked like an awesome addition to the team. Colby Armstrong was probably my favorite player tonight. He made a big hit at center ice, and then won the fight with the guy who attempted to punish him for it. The kid looks like he's 150 pounds soaking wet, so it was fun to see.
It is great having Center Ice and being able to see every single game I want to.
I see that the Baffaslugs also won last night, TheTick . (Sorry, that nickname makes me chuckle every time I see it )
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Is Center Ice like MLB tv?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I'd imagine so. You pay a flat fee, and then you have something like seven or eight channels which only show NHL games.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
You know, I created an 06/07 thread...
Making jokes about the new logo is a great defense mechanism...remember that when the Sabres beat down the Pens/everyone else this year. Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Who are these "sabres" of which you speek? I don't see any such thing on that logo .
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
This from a fan of the lamest animal mascot in professional sports? If they get moved, maybe they can upgrade to 'Waterloo Wiener Dogs' or 'Hamilton Housecats'.
Besides, it's not like the red/black sweaters had the sword featured prominently...in fact, in the exact same place as on the new ones, the secondary logo on the shoulders.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Battle of Alberta
Round 1 - Oilers 3 Flames 1
Sykora with a 3 point game. Hemsky 2 assists.
Round 2 is tomorrow night.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I know people were 'worried' about this with McKee gone, but Buffalo blocked 28 shots in their first game.
Time for Montreal to show just how much they improved this offseason.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Stupid ref was RIGHT THERE, and he couldn't see the puck?? Huet was no where NEAR covering that and it was plain as day from the angle where the ref was. ugh.
Vanek to Novotny for the first Buffalo goal of the game, a sick backhand pass from behind the net...great assist from new guy Spacek as well.
[ October 06, 2006, 08:48 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Awww yeah, never give up, not when Vanek and Afinogenov are on the ice with 15 seconds left! They cemented the win by both scoring in the shootout. You fantasy players would do well to grab Vanek if he's available. He got in coach's doghouse last year for not holding his own in the defensive end, but he's been light years better this year. He's even been seeing some PK minutes. Vanek worked out more this off-season, dropping 10 lbs and getting stronger.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Tomorrow night, Lyrhawn. Hasek will be left weeping in the crease, assuming he plays. He's never liked facing the Sabres since he left here.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
We're coming off a 9-2 victory pal. I don't care if they fill the rink with Hasek's tears then freeze them to skate on, we're still going to beat the pants off you. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
You might find the Sabres just a bit tougher than the Coyotes, dude. They ARE unbeaten with a struggling powerplay...guess what they are working leading up to this game?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I know the feeling, we're 2 for 13 I think for the season, after having one of the most feared power plays last season. Guess we're missing Shanahan and Stevie Y as much as we feared we would.
Still, I have faith in the youngsters. We're turning into a younger team, more raw talent, less refined, swifter, but we have maybe a year or two of struggling before we get back up with the elite teams. I think we're still the best in our division at least.
[ October 12, 2006, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
The Penguins are 0-8 on the power play so far, but they have also killed all 12 penalties against them.
Only two games so far though.
I'm hoping for a good game tonight against the Rangers. Wait, no, actually I'm hoping for another Philadelphia style blow-out, but whatever .
I didn't get to see the Pens/Red Wings game, but I hear it was a snoozefest. I ended up getting a DVR so that I can catch the Saturday night games without becoming a hermit. So in order to see the pengiuns as I wanted to, I had to purchase digital cable, NHL center ice, and now a DVR. Yikes.
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
They got the win, with 3.3 seconds left, but it was a nail-biter .
Oh and this is Xavier.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
What a comeback for the Oilers! I didn't get to see the game but I watched the highlights this morning. Smyth breaks Gretzkys hat-trick record* of 2 minutes 18 seconds by 17 seconds. He also got his 500th point. Now if only the Oil can stop putting themselves behind the 8 ball with all the penalties...
* - Oilers team record. The all time record is an astonishing 21 seconds.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by solo: What a comeback for the Oilers! I didn't get to see the game but I watched the highlights this morning. Smyth breaks Gretzkys hat-trick record* of 2 minutes 18 seconds by 17 seconds. He also got his 500th point. Now if only the Oil can stop putting themselves behind the 8 ball with all the penalties...
* - Oilers team record. The all time record is an astonishing 21 seconds.
That was awesome*2^35bajillion. What a comeback.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Stupid snowstorm. Didn't get to watch the game, nor could I get online to GLOAT! Go Sabres! First time they've won 5 straight to start a season in 31 years. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I almost feel sorry for the Flyers. They were completely outclassed in pretty much every facet of the 9-1 Sabres win last night. Maxim Afinogenov skated around Hatcher like a pylon for his goal, and added 4 assists. Thomas Vanek had 2 goals and 2 assists (+5 on the night), Derek Roy had his first 2 goals of the year, and in all 13 players had points. Ryan Miller made 37 saves including a penalty shot in the first period.
I'll probably have more thoughts later. Wow.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Friday's game (here vs. the Canes) will be even better than the first one. Both teams are playing much better, and that's saying a lot as the season opener was great.
Now if they wouldn't just have 3 games in 4 days and then none for a week, we'd be doing all right.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Congrats to the Buffaslugs, they appear to be the consensus best team in the league right now. I wish I had watched that game, especially because it was the Flyers getting creamed.
I'm looking forward to Malkin playing in his first game tonight. I'm also hoping they don't let LeClair anywhere near him. He's projected to be paired with Recchi and Malone tonight, two players who've been just awful this year. I wouldn't be surprised if they drag Evgeni's play down, but I hope it is Malkin who makes them better players.
I'm really excited in the projected power play of Crosby - Malkin - Armstrong - Gonchar - Whitney, if Malkin is near 100% it should be fun to watch.
So far the Pens season has been a very mixed bag, with a terrible game played last Saturday. They've beaten the two division rivals they've played, so hopefully they can do so again tonight and tomorrow night. If they win them both they will be on top of their division, which while it is early in the season, is far far better than they did last year. (I believe they went 0-9)
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Beating the Flyers is definitely special, the only way it could be better is if they could beat the Leafs the same way.
Looks like Malkin will do just fine with whatever linemates he gets stuck with. With his size and skills, he can create his own chances. He'll be a tough matchup for teams, no question.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Yeah, he played pretty well last night. Better than Crosby plays some nights (including last night). I hope he keeps it up (game again tonight!).
I think the Pens may have played their best game of the year for them last night, they just got stoned by Brodeur every chance they had, and had a couple of costly defensive mistakes.
Brodeur is unstoppable when he's having a good game. If an average goalie (say Esche from the Flyers) was in net for the Devils, I think the score would have been 5-2 at the end of the night.
Oh well, hopefully Crosby can have a break-out game against the Islanders tonight, to bring them back to .500.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
And the Sabres are now the only undefeated team after chasing Hannu Toivonen and the Bruins off the ice with a 6-2 win. A somewhat slow start gave way to yet another offensive explosion. There's not a better line in the league right now than Vanek/Roy/Afinogenov. Vanek has 5 goals, 7 assists, and most surprising is +10 to lead the league. Max has 5 goals and 9 assists, Roy 2 goals and 6 assists.
Oh yeah, and that is the THIRD LINE. You have to get past the captains Danny Briere (11 points) and Chris Drury (leading the league in goals). Add in production from the D (3 assists from Campbell tonight, Spacek scoring goals) and, as Rick Jeanneret says, they are scary good.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
This season is starting off rather disappointingly.
Oh Red Wings, where did you go?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I think they left with Shanahan. He's been tearing it up on NY. I have to think your division improved, really most of the teams couldn't get much worse. I still think Detroit will end up at the top, but it'll be a LOT tighter than last year.
The Sabres (on Versus tonight) can break the franchise record for consecutive wins to start a season tonight, as they go to Montreal to face the Canadiens. It would be the 14th straight regular season win. The NHL record for wins to start a season is 10, which would require the Sabres to then beat the Islanders to tie it, and the Thrashers to set the new record. Wish my cable was back so I could watch the game at home tonight. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yeah the division did get better. Chicago and St. Louis are still dead weight, but Nashville is good and getting better, despite the loss of their star goalie last year.
Shanahan wasn't the only reason we took a bit of a nosedive, but it certainly hit us hard. And his performance in NY is annoying, but I wish him well. I understood his reasons for leaving and I don't have any ill will for him. But we can't rest our offense on Datsyuk and Zetterber, despite Datstuyk's sick sick goal the other night.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I thought Chicago was going to bring something this year, but now that Havlat and Khabibulin are both down that's a bit more problematic (until they are both back).
It certainly is fun to look at stats so far, and all the Sabres up at the top. Max tied for the lead in points (Drury and Vanek 3rd), Drury for goals, Max and Briere tied for 3rd in assists, Vanek leading +/- with a +10, Ryan Miller with 6 wins (tied to lead). It sure is nice after last year, with no one in the top 40 in scoring or whatever it was.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
The Oilers are doing amazingly well considering that nearly none of their veterans (other than Smyth) are doing any scoring. I really like what I've seen from Lupul so far and Sykora has been a great addition. There is a lot of depth to the Oilers offence and the defence hasn't been looking too bad considering the loss of Pronger.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heck, you're doing pretty well considering you've only scored 20 goals, 10 of them by Sykora and Smyth. The D has to be solid to survive that.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Very true. Roloson has been great so far. We have to watch the penalties and get some scoring from our top lines if we want things to last though.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
9-0. Really, Niinimaa, you didn't have to provide any extra motivation for the Sabres. I'm sure your teammates loved hearing that.
When Guillame Latendresse stepped on the ice for the first time for Montreal (against the Sabres) he was the first player ever to wear the number 84 in an NHL regular season game. 84 was also the last number never to be used in an NHL game. Just a bit of trivia from the radio broadcast for the Habs/Sabres game.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
10-0! Solid 3-0 win over the Islanders, Ryan Miller was amazing in his first shutout of the season. 15 year man DiPietro got beat by Maxim Afinogenov on a break. The rickety old building proved to be Miller's worst enemy, as some wacky bounces nearly caused a goal right at the start.
Stat update: Max is tied for the league lead in points, Drury and Vanek not far behind. Drury still tied for league lead in goals. Vanek and Tallinder are 1-2 for +/- at +12 and +10. Miller has the most wins of any goalie with 8, his GAA is down to 2.19 with the shutout and his save percentage is .925.
The Atlanta Thrashers are in town for the record-breaking game this Saturday. I have to get to a TV with cable for that one!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
ALL RIGHT! The Senators smashed the Leafs 7-2. Rock on.
Ottawa's on it's way up. Keep it up.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Or was it 6-2?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
So close! The boys didn't play their best game, but fought back 4 times, including a tying goal with less than 2 minutes to play. Lehtonen was tough in the shootout, stopping 3 of Buffalo's best (Briere, Afinogenov and Vanek). Afterwards, the fans gave the Sabres a standing ovation, and the players raised their sticks in salute.
One major loss is Henrik Tallinder, who has been the Sabres' best defenseman this year. He broke his arm against the Isles and could miss two months. The same arm was broken last year against the Hurricanes in the ECF. Rookie Nathan Paetsch steps in to play, one of his two previous starts was in that ECF, game seven. Talk about jumping in with both feet.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I *almost* turned off the game last night, after Boston scored the fourth goal. Ryan Miller held them together in the first period, weather a barrage of 16 shots, but it just looked like the boys didn't have it. Then Maxim Afinogenov showed why you don't ever leave a Sabres game early, scoring twice after the hard work of Vanek and Roy got him the puck in the slot. Drury and Gaustad worked around the net and set Kotalik up for the game-tying goal with less than 2 minutes to play. It went to a shootout, and Briere and Kotalik were too much for Tim Thomas.
Oh, and to add injury to insult, Paul Gaustad popped Zdeno Chara in the face, cutting him over his eye. Great warmup for that jerk Darcy Tucker and the Leafs this weekend.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sabres took their time recovering from their first loss in regulation, having to come from behind to defeat the Ranges in OT. Top scorer Max Afinogenov is out for at least 10 days with what is most likely a seperated, so the Sabres called up Drew Stafford to fill in on the Roy/Vanek line. Briere kicked it up a notch in Max's absence, with 2 goals and an assist, including the game winner. Vanek scored his eighth goal on a wraparound, and Pominville picked up his ninth.
They get 4 days off before facing the Panthers back at HSBC Arena.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Oilers on Friday night were robbed not once but twice! Lindros interfered with Roloson on the first Stars goal and then, with seconds to go, McGeough calls a hand pass from across the ice through traffic! The Oilers scored on the play but it didn't count as the whistle had blown. Apparently the Stars players stopped playing when the whistle blew but it didn't look like it to me. What really sucks is that in this division a single game can really affect a playoff spot.
Craig MacTavich has been fined $10000 for his comments after the game regarding the reffing. A local radio station has been set up around town taking donations to pay the fine.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Good. Coaches should have a RIGHT to complain about officiating like that. It's not like the refs get fined, something had to happen.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
WOOHOO! Sabres are 14-1-1 despite the first run of injuries on the season. For the second straight game, they won in the first 20 seconds of OT after tying it late. Tonight's hero was Daniel Briere, who both tied the game and won it. Ryan Miller is battling a muscle strain so Marty Biron has been in net. Henrik Tallinder is still out long term after breaking his arm, and Toni Lydman missed the game tonight to further thin the defense corps. A few times tonight Buffalo had one of the youngest lineups in the league on the ice, with Derek Roy (23) centering Vanek (22) and Drew Stafford (21), and the rookie defense pairing of Mike Card (20) and Nathan Paetsch (23).
As a side note, there were THREE fights in this game, to be expected after the bad blood from the playoffs (and the 9-1 drubbing from earlier in the year). Barry Melrose's mullet is going to grow an inch just watching the highlights. Too bad Ken Hitchcock is no longer the Philly coach, the mouthing off between he and Lindy Ruff after the game would be priceless.
My 11-4-1 Red Wings are making a comeback! 8-2 in our last 10 games, and on an eight game win streak right now.
Too bad Jason Williams is out for probably a half dozen games with a concussion, but we'll wina few for him.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings extend their streak to 9 games.
This last one we won with Holmstrom, Kronwall, Williams, and Osgood (who would have started) all on the IR. They'll all be back soon, but it'll be tough going in to play red hot Calgary next.
Great comeback after a rough start to the season!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sabres kicked the poor Hurricanes while they were down, letting them back in to tie it at 3 before shutting them back down with a score on the faceoff, leading to a 7-4 win. Vanek and Pominville each picked up their 11th goals, Hecht had two, and Gaustad scored in his third straight game. My son's favorite player Teppo Numminen broke Jari Kurri's record for most games played by a European born/trained player at 1,252. The reeling Senators are up next to get steamrolled.
All Star Balloting starts today! Vote early and vote often (write in votes for Thomas Vanek much appreciated).
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Sabres had a couple of rough games against the Sens recently (beating the Pens in between). They got RIGHT tonight agains the Tampa Bay Lightning, a game which I ATTENDED!!!!! The Sabre-guys came out a bit listless in the first, letting the bolts dictate play. Ryan Miller kept it close with some spectacular plays, 1-0 after the first period. Paul Gausted opened the Sabres scoring in the second with hard work in front of the net, followed quickly by youngster Jiri Novotny to make it 2-1 2 minutes in. Vanek scored next on a rebound slapped home at the side of the net, which was reviewed for what seemed like half an hour. I guess they were driving the footage here from Toronto, stupid Peace Bridge. Anyhoo, Gaustad scored again, followed immediately by Jaroslav Spacek. Vanek netted his 15th of the season after that (thankfully not reviewed this time or I'd still be at the arena). Co-captain Chris Drury finished the scoring for the good guys. The Sabres were beating them so bad they ended the period early! Well, OK, they had to fix the boards at the Lightning end but still. Crazy fun.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Sabres had a couple of rough games against the Sens recently (beating the Pens in between).
While the Pens lost, I thought they did pretty well. In their last four games, they've won three, and only lost in what I thought was a good effort against what is clearly one of the best teams in the NHL.
They handled the Flyers again tonight, 4-0 so far against them this year. They have been dominating their division, going 8-1 right now.
The next handful of games are mostly against other division rivals, so I hope that can continue.
They have the Bruins on Wednesday (only out of division game in the next 5), the Islanders on Friday (1-0) Rangers on Saturday (2-0) and then the Islanders again. If they can get at least five points out of those four games, then when they play the Devils, it will probably be to determine who is first place in their division at that point. Then they play the Islanders again (three times in five games!) and back to the Rangers.
I hope they can keep their momentum up, because every single one of those games is winnable. If they can do well in this stretch, it will be great for their standings.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
At least the Flyers are making a game of it now, even if they still aren't winning after the shake-up. And I would say it was more like Crosby, Malkin and Staal kept you in that game. Hopefully you can build up some depth in the next year or two and take the division back from the NY/NJ teams.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The Sabres bounced back from the loss in Washington with a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Poor Lightning goalie Marc Denis has ceded 11 goals in the last two games against the good guys. Danny Briere peeled himself off the boards/ice in Washington in time to get his first career Hat Trick. Sabres are 1-1 to start a five game road trip.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
WTF!!! Okay, Jaroslav Spacek nails Scott Nichol of the Nashville Predators (not so much tonight) into the net. Ref was already going to call a penalty on Spacek, but what does that chicken **** Nichol do? He gets up, and even though it is PLAIN as DAY that Jaro is looking up ice, Nichol punches him in the NECK. Spacek goes down in a heap, and only Martin Biron leaping to his defense (and battering Nichol with the butt end of his blocker pad, thanks for teaching him that one Dom!) saves Jaro from getting completely Bertuzzi'd. This was NOT a fight, it was assault plain and simple. The NHL needs to take care of these shots from behind or teams will start to carry a goon squad again.
Reposted from the other river. The Nashville media today called what happened a scrap. Doesn't a scrap sort of entail the other guy involved not be motionless on the ice for several minutes?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
9 games. Not enough. If Carmelo Anthony gets 15 games for a punch and run, Nichol should get at LEAST that.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Good to see they at least did something about it.
But then, they have been a lot harsher on crackdowns. For all the talk of making the game go faster (and it really does), they call penalties on even the most minor of offenses.
I think the punishment is less because there's an inherent level of physical contact in hockey that is absent from basketball. Do you have a video of the event I could look at? I haven't even seen it yet.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I missed your reply! This clip has the hit on Spacek. Jaro was damn lucky he was able to keep his head from hitting the ice, helmet or no.
The Sabres got a bit of revenge on the Capitals for the big loss in Washington. They took a 6 goal lead in the first 11 minutes and cruised the rest of the way. Andrew Peters and Donald Brashear went at it also, one of the matchups hockey fight fans love to see. Brashear was trying to rally his team. Perhaps Nichol was home watching during his suspension and learned a thing or two about how to bring it face to face next time.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
This Picture pretty much describes what the Sabres did to the Canes tonight. After a scoreless (and darn near shotless) first, the good guys ripped into the defending 'champs'. Pominville netted his 17th, thanks to quick thinking from Jochen Hecht. Drury and Vanek both scored their 20th goals on hard work in front of the net. Ales Kotalik handed John Grahame his jock on a penalty shot to round out the Sabres scoring. Miller stopped 29 shots (dude is just allergic to shutouts I guess).
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Spacek did drive Nichols into the post away from the play. He should've been expecting retaliation. That's how hockey works. Not that Nichols' hit wasn't a cheap shot, but "I'm just sayin'"...
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
No way, dude. If Nichol felt wronged, he should face Jaro like a man, turn him around FIRST, drop the gloves and challenge. A punch from out of nowhere is at best classless, and at its worst, life threatening for Spacek. JS's mistake was keeping his back turned on a known cheap-shot artist, but it's a play that happens several times a night, the officials had ALREADY penalized it, it should've ended there.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:If Nichol felt wronged, he should face Jaro like a man, turn him around FIRST, drop the gloves and challenge.
quote:That's how hockey works.
That looks better.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
So how about those Pens, Tick?
They've played very well these past three games. I thought this one was especially good. Lots of very fast and exciting hockey.
I hope they can keep it up.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Oops, I'm a bit behind, here. That Sabres/Pens game was the first in a stretch without Henrik Tallinder. Last night's beatdown of the Bruins is what we look like with him in the lineup. Had he been healthy, you likely would've had an all-Sabres defense pairing in the All-Star game. He just always makes the right play, wins the battles in the corners when outnumbered, and makes whoever is on the ice with him look even better. Thanks to Danny Briere's hat trick, the Sabres have 5 players with 20 or more goals.
Other good news for the Sabres, Tim Connolly is skating on his own and could be back in 6-8 weeks. He showed a lot of skill last year, and his game is basically custom made for the 'new' NHL. His return would be huge, especially for the struggling power play.
Xav, the Pens have played great recently, the future is bright. I honestly hope you guys hang on to that playoff spot, and not just because it helps keep Toronto out. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Apparently, I am what is called a "puck bunny". I, at least took the time to learn the game and cheer as a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins before I outed myself as a Sidney Crosby fangirl. I have been told I am unable to communicate complete sentences whenever a Crosby commercial (I too would like to find Sid in my shower) or interview comes across the screen. I'm ashamed but can I help it that he is a god of the ice?
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote: Other good news for the Sabres, Tim Connolly is skating on his own and could be back in 6-8 weeks. He showed a lot of skill last year, and his game is basically custom made for the 'new' NHL. His return would be huge, especially for the struggling power play.
I actually played against Tim Connolly in the upstate New York youth hockey leagues at least a handful of times (around age 10-13). He's from Syracuse, and is very close to my age. He was quite good back then, but no one thought he was NHL material, at least that I had heard. Once Robbie Shremp starts playing games, that will be two NHL players I knew growing up.
quote:Xav, the Pens have played great recently, the future is bright. I honestly hope you guys hang on to that playoff spot, and not just because it helps keep Toronto out.
Yeah, it's been a blast to watch. 8-0-1 in their last nine games.
Yesterday's game against the Caps was a bit on the slow and boring end of things, nowhere near the intensity of the Montreal game. The fact that their offense stunk, and they still managed to win based on Fleury stealing the game is comforting. You can't expect Crosby to win every game for you, if you want to be a playoff team.
Today's rematch against Montreal should be a good game. I hope the excitement is high, and that the Pens play like they can. I'm not sure who will be in net though. Thibault is playing well this year, but he's no Fleury.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Go Sens go.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Habs take it 4-3 over the Pens in OT. Really good game.
[ February 04, 2007, 04:45 PM: Message edited by: Flaming Toad on a Stick ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Red Wings in a nice come from behind victory over Rangers last night. A little bittersweet to be playing against Shanahan, but he made his choice, and I wish him well.
Tied for third in the NHL with Buffalo, just need a couple more wins and some luck to take control of the league! Wings are going all the way this year!
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Pens defeat the league leading Predators 4-1.
They were clearly the better team tonight as well. Outplayed the "best team in the league" in every facet of the game. That makes them 9-0-2 in their last 11.
Next game is against Philly, who they have dominated 6-0 so far this season .
Mark Eaton being back from injury is huge as well. The Pens are now something like 15-3-1 with him in the lineup.
No team in the league has been better the last month or so.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I almost feel sorry for Atlanta. They have a fantastic team, able to skate with the best. I got nervous every time Hossa, Kovalchuk and Kozlov streaked into the Buffalo end ("Please let Henrik Tallinder be on the ice for this rush!"), much as the Thrashers would get nervous seeing a reunited Vanek/Roy/Afinogenov line bearing down on them. They have a young goalie who will be making the big save for years to come...but the few hockey fans they have there have to listen to the chants of the opposing team. Anyway, our powerplay feasted on Atlanta's terrible kill so hopefully they will get hot for the playoff run.
Big game tomorrow against Ottawa, who've had our number this year. Our Western Conference friends Calgary and Edmonton come in next, which will be fun. Too bad we don't see them more often.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Good work Pens! Detroit appreciates your efforts Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Outstanding win for the Sabres last night! The Senators had beaten them 4 straight but the reunited RAV line would not be denied. Thomas Vanek scored his 27th and 28th goals (including the game winner), and Maxim Afinogenov broke out of a 9 game goal-scoring slump. As long as Paul Gaustad isn't hurt too bad (skate blade to the leg) we should be rolling when Calgary and Edmonton come in. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Fantastic win for the Wings last night too, they're on a 12 game winning streak at home, and a five game win streak overall.
Henrik Zetterberg, my hero, scored two goals and picked up an assist, including his career 100th, to prove once and again that he's the most consistant, best offensive weapon the Wings have to wield. His first goal was a damned highlight play, he took it all the way in on the right wing, swooped around behind the net, and faked out Cujo and the Phoenix defense long enough for a backhanded wraparound. Smooth as ice. Pavel Datsyuk also scored, off a feed from Zetterberg. I doubted Pavel a bit in the beginning of the season, but I'm convinced more than ever that the two of them together on the ice is a sight to see, a damned fine sight to see.
Also, kind of funny, during one of the intermissions an advertisement for Toyota came up on the big screen and the entire crowd booed them.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Penguins are 12-0-2 in the last 14 games.
The crazy thing is that while the Pens are in 4th place in the east, they are still only 7 points away from being in 9th place.
Big game in Jersey on Friday. They've been rather hot themselves, so hopefully it will be a good game.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings have pulled within one point of the league lead after a great third period against the Stars, led by our ace, Henrik Zetterberg, with three points of his own in the game.
We're tied for second now with Buffalo, though admittedly we are a game ahead of Nashville and two ahead of Buffalo, but there's still a LOT of hockey left to play.
Congrats to the Pens too, jeez they're on a streak.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The Sabres won a great game against an Oilers team desperate for points. Miller and Roloson traded big saves, and Danny Briere came up clutch in OT. Max and Vanek got to play catch on the first Sabres goal, with TV taking the hit in front of the net and tipping his rebound to Max. Unfortunately, Max broke his wrist on the shift before, and is out at least six weeks. He joins Paul Gaustad and Tim Connolly who are also out with long term injuries. Jiri Novotny also aggrivated one of those 'high ankle' sprains, so he's on the shelf. It really sucks because the RAV line was clicking again. I imagine Drew Stafford will come up to fill Max's spot, not sure what'll happen for Jiri's.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Now that was a great game. Wings pull into first place in the Western Conference, one point shy of the league lead, Henrik Zetterberg gets his first career hat trick off some amazing feeds from Datsyuk. There's no line in the NHL that can match Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstrom. They're a force of nature!
Also really cool of Datsyuk to give the empty netter to Jason Williams, he needed that, and it said a lot about the kind of guy he is. Now if he can just not be a selfish bastard when contract negotiations come around...
Sad to see what happened to Shanahan too Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They can have the title of best line in the West. I'd put either the RAV line or the Briere/Hecht/Pominville line up against 'em any day of the week. Both are within 10 points of the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom line. That's considering Roy and Afinogenov missed 7 games each (and still counting for Max). That's pretty good, considering neither line has Drury's 32 goals.
The Rochester Americans, er, Buffalo Sabres doubled up the Flyers 6-3 last night, scoring 3 on the power play. Drew Stafford continued his strong play in place of Max, and Clark MacArthur made some great plays as well. Unfortunately, yet ANOTHER guy got injured, Daniel Paille will sit for a couple of weeks with a broken finger. Andrew Peters had an amazing goal for an enforcer, deftly kicking the puck to his stick and slamming it home in front of Esche. For those who like the rough stuff, RJ Umberger fought Brian Campbell, who hadn't dropped the gloves since junior hockey, and Fedoruk took on Peters 2 minutes in leaving Andrew an assist shy of the Gordie Howe hat trick.
I'd like to watch the Sens game tomorrow without anyone getting injured.
edit: I agree about Shanny, we were out that night, and the first thing I saw on the TV in the bar was the stretcher with him on it. What a great season he was having.
[ February 21, 2007, 07:52 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings sail past the Blackhawks tonight with another goal for Datsyuk and two for Zetterberg. Datsyuk's goal was his 100th. That pulls the Wings into the lead of the West, and one point away from leader of the League. Nashville, Detroit and Buffalo are two points apart, with one point separating each team (sequentially).
Maybe we'll finally have some fire going into the playoffs this year!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
OMG OMG OMG
Massive fight Sabres vs Sens...Drury gets cheapshotted by Neil, and Lindy sent out Mair, Peters and Kaleta to clean house. EVERYONE fought, including Ray Emery and Marty Biron!! Lindy Ruff and Bryan Murray had a shouting match at the benches, and the cameras/mics caught Ruff dishing out 'You don't go after our f***ing captain!' with Murray giving it right back.
NUTS!!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Holy crap, that was an insane brawl! First time I've ever seen a goalie fight a non-goalie. The awesome thing is that Emery was smiling and laughing throughout both of his fights.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Emery was downright GLEEFUL. Great fight.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
That was cool. Emery pwns. The game was pretty good too.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Round two tonight. Emery is crazy, there's a reason he always has boxers painted on his masks. It was brave of Marty to step out there and take him on, should've tried talking him to death though, it's what he's best at. Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
What a game. What a game. 6-5, and given the way both offences were playing, I wouldn't have been surprised if those scores had been doubled. Sucks to be Briere though. Really.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Good news on Drury, he is not having any headaches so he may not have a super-serious concussion. Hopefully he can see out of right eye now, too.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
So how about these last minute trade deals?
Keith Tkachuk goes to Atlanta for a plethora of draft choices and Metropolit. St. Louis made a damned smart choice there I think. They got a first and third round pick for 2007, a second round pick for 2008, and if Tkachuk re-ups with Atlanta, they get the first round for 2008 as well. St. Louis is planning for the log haul. They'll get some great players in the next couple years and should emergy in 08 and 09 as a serious team.
We could have gotten Tkachuk in Detroit for a similiar deal, Ken Holland was perfectly willing to give up draft choices, but not top young prospects.
Our own deal got us Kyle Culder from Chicago, form Philadelphia.
Philly traded Culder to Chicago for Kukkonen and a third round draft pick.
Chicago turned right around and traded Culder to Detroit for Jason Williams. I like Jason Williams, he was one of my favorite players, but he's had a bad slump this year. Last year was the best year of his career. Culder is having a similiar slump, after being a scoring leader for his previous team. I don't like losing Williams, slump or not, but Culder adds a brute force checking power that we've been sorely lacking on our team. Everyone says Detroit isn't physical enough, so we looked at tkachuk and forsberg, losing both, I guess we decided to go with Culder, still retaining our offensive power.
We'll find out tomorrow night against Chicago.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
St. Louis made out like a bandit. Atlanta is desperate not to miss the playoffs and it shows. He and Kovalchuk may end up making a scary pairing, but it could be too little too late.
The Sabres want a power forward, preferably with a Stanley Cup winning pedigree. Barring that, some depth defensemen they can stash in Rochester would be fine. They won't give up the future to get them, though.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The Sabres trade Biron to Philly for a high draft pick, and pick up Ty Conklin from Columbus for a 5th. This opens up about 1.6mill in add'l cap room for more moves. Come on Darcy, get us some depth!
edit: Bertuzzi to Detroit???!?
[ February 27, 2007, 02:34 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Oh man, the Oilers traded Ryan Smyth... Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
St. Louis gives up Guerin for yet another first round draft pick. They're giving away the store and betting everything on drafting a young team.
quote:Bertuzzi to Detroit???!?
Don't get me started. I dislike Bertuzzi strongly. Ken Holland is banking on Bertuzzi getting better by the playoffs, and being a strong offensive power, probably on a line with the newly aquired Calder and Robert Lang.
He wants toughness and some grit on our front lines, and though we had to give up a prospect to get him, it wasn't anyone really important, and if Bertuzzi can't play, we don't lose any draft picks. As far as Holland is concerned, if Bertuzzi does well and we win a cup, we'll be happy to give up some draft picks. If Bertuzzi doesn't, then we haven't really lost anything.
I don't blame Florida for trying to cut their losses. They lose Luongo for the useless Bertuzzi, and they wanted to try and get something out of it.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If he recovers in time AND plays to his potential, he could be a huge signing. I don't think I could ever cheer for him. Like you said though, not much to lose.
I think Buffalo did well today. Marty would've been gone at the end of the year no matter what, and he deserves a team where he will be the starter. Novotny has potential, but I like adding Zubrus for his size, and he is pretty good alongside major league scorers. All the eggs are in the Ryan Miller basket though, so here's hoping he stays healthy.
The poor tired Maple Leafs fans got booed out of their building after a 6-1 loss to the depleted Sabres. Jochen Hecht was pressed into service at center as Danny Briere sat out with the flu, and scored 2 goals. Callups Drew Stafford and Clark MacArthur also scored, along with Pominville and Roy (who has really picked it up with all the injuries). I can't get over how well these guys, who have all of 6 or 7 games of NHL experience are playing, with real ice time to fill (14-18 minutes for Ryan and MacArthur).
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Very exciting game between Buffalo and the Pens tonight.
You could tell the Pens were fired up from the arena news (I am happy for them, but it would have been nice to be able to drive the 2 hours to KC to see them).
They were racing for the pucks, putting on hits, and just showing an amazing amount of effort.
They blew a 2 goal lead, going to overtime for like the billionth time in a row, even though they had thoroughly outplayed the Sabres (twice the number of shots, over twice the number of hits). They pulled it out in the shootout, however, which they've been winning automatically recently.
In the beginning of the year, Fleury's shootouts were embarrassing, and Crosby was like 1-7. They've both turned it around big time. (Christensen has been a pretty much guaranteed SO goal all year.)
[ March 14, 2007, 01:41 AM: Message edited by: Xavier ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I caught part of the game while I was watching the Wings game at a sports bar. Fun game.
Wings beat the Nashville Preds tonight in the first game of a home and home to put us within one point of the lead in the Central, the West, and the league
Wings I thought performed very well for still being without a few key players, as did the Predators. It's amazing to watch the guys who come from the AHL come in and totally rock, and I think they all try very hard. Filppula has been very impressive in his stretch of time on the Wings. I look forward to seeing him in the playoffs and being a regular on the team next year. I hope Zetterberg comes back soon!
Hopefully by the end of the night tomorrow we'll be the league leaders!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
It was a great game last night. I wish we could've pulled it out in the shootout, one place where we are missing some of our best (Max, Kotalik). Miller also looked a bit shaky, normally he's money in the SO. If only we could've played the whole game like the last 10 minutes...still, this is the game the league had in mind with the new rules. Back and forth, two goal leads lost, shootout magic by Crosby, Christensen and Stafford. Hopefully we can get right against Florida. One bright spot from last night is that several of our scorers might be getting out of some mini-slumps. Now if Vanek could get a few more goals, I want him to get to 40. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wow! That was one hell of a game between the Preds and Wings.
Wings managed to take both the games in the home and home versus their divisional rivals. The Wings now move into the lead in the NHL, after two hard fought games. The game was played with playoff like intensity, tons of sweet checks and a fair amount of trash talking. I think these guys will meet each other in the Conference Finals (where the Wings will beat them to play maybe the Sabres in the East ).
Sadly Valterri Filppula is out with an undeterminted injury for the time being. Both teams took a hit, with Erat being out for the Preds after a bad hit last night. This is most distressing. He's a great up and coming star. Ken Holland, Wings GM, said he hopes to have ALL the Wings healthy and playing by the playoffs, with Zetterberg being the last to come back.
quote: Starting this season, the four conference finalists will get the bottom four picks in the NHL's entry draft, according to multiple reports.
Previously, only the Stanley Cup winner was assigned the final pick in each round.
Now, regardless of their regular-season record, the 29th selection in each round will go to the Cup runner-up, the paper reported. Losers of the conference finals will draft 27th and 28th, with the team with the better regular-season record drafting in the lower spot.
The change, apparently spearheaded by Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, gives teams with good regular-seasons that flop in early playoff rounds better spots to pick from.
"I've been talking about this at the GM meetings the last number of years. In the end, I guess it was voted through," Holland told the Detroit Free Press. "You look at the NFL, where their draft selection is based on playoffs. I just think it's hard to win two rounds in the [NHL] playoffs. If you win two rounds, you get to the final four."
NHL teams voted 23-6-1 in a fax vote over the past week to approve the changes, the Sun reported.
Most of the comments I've seen on this deal are as I expected, they think it's hilarious that the Red Wings are spearheading an effort to give teams who burn out in the playoffs a better bid. However the Wings won the President's Cup last time they burnt out, and might again this year, which would put them at the bottom of the barrel, making the point moot. To say nothing of the fact that our best players were picked in the third, fourth and fifth rounds in their years, and we consistently trade away high draft picks to develop less popular players. Tough luck haters.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
The Pens blanked the devils tonight, 3-0. Two impressive wins in a row.
They are 4 points behind New Jersey right now, and have a reasonable chance of passing them to win the Atlantic, and being second seed.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Effective use of ALL your draft picks will be the key to success in the NHL now. It shouldn't be possible to sign free agents out the wazoo with the salary cap. Some Sabres and their draft positions:
We should be getting Spacek, Kotalik and Paille back in a week or so. We've been playing like a team with half it's lineup out, and perhaps a bit comfortable at home (with a short bus ride to Toronto mixed in) for too long. A road smackdown of the Florida teams would great for getting on track.
A Sabres/Wings series would be awesome. I can hardly imagine the booing Hasek would get for a Finals game here. We would drill him as we usually do, so hopefully Osgood or whoever is comfortable coming off the bench.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
If the Playoffs Started Today, a handy page at Yahoo sports that shows what the matchups would be, how the season series went between the teams and who is on the outside looking in.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:A Sabres/Wings series would be awesome. I can hardly imagine the booing Hasek would get for a Finals game here. We would drill him as we usually do, so hopefully Osgood or whoever is comfortable coming off the bench.
I'd love to see that series! I imagine Hasek would probably get about the same treatment in Buffalo that he got here after he left us the last two times then came back. But he's been stellar this season, so I can't really fault him there.
Ozzie played an awesome, awesome game on Tuesday. He's on top of his game, and I think would be totally ready to go in Buffalo.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Ty Conklin got his first Sabres start and win last night against the Florida Panthers. He weathered a storm of 45 shots, while his mates only managed 20. The Sabres made the shots count, getting 5 in on that old fossil Belfour. Drew Stafford scored twice, and one each for Zubrus, Drury and Pominville. Brian Campbell played an absolutely fantastic game too, assisting on 3 goals with some great passes while soaking up 28 minutes. Unfortunately, Toni Lydman went out with an upper body injury, so we may see Spacek back a day early for tonight's game.
For the fans of other teams: is it just me, or are fewer obstruction penalties being called? I'm hoping it is an aberration but we've only been getting 2 or 3 power plays per game. Normally our team speed helps generate more. Something to keep an eye on.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Don't even get me started on the crappy officiating lately. The home and home with the Preds had some of the worst officiating I have ever seen.
If they are going to call little crap, then they need to call EVERYTHING to make it fair. Otherwise let's play it like the old days had let all that little crap go, but I'm sick of some of the crappy calls and lack of calls I've seen lately.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
w00t! Sens win again. Great game between the Leafs and Habs too. As always, they went to a shootout, and the Habs ended up taking it.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Yup yup. All I ask if for the league to consistently call the penalties they promised to call when things started back up. I guess it was a good week for them though, nobody else got cracked in the grill with a stick or severly concussed with a late hit.
The Sabres picked up 6 of 8 points on their current road trip, to stay ahead of the boring Devils for first in the East. The team's play has been uneven of late, but they had a lull last year before getting hot heading into the playoffs. I was not home for HNIC last night, being stuck in a bar filled with old geezers who watched horse racing instead of hockey.
BTW, Vanek isn't soft. Scored his 35th today, still has time to reach 40. Campbell is an assist machine (14th in as many games), and Drew Stafford struck again, making a case to stay in the lineup no matter who comes back.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Absolute worst call I have ever seen in hockey today in the Wings/Blues game. The puck was clearly over the line, and it was still called a save, losing us the game, especially after letting in Dough Weight's questionable goal, I think the refs just handed the game to St. Louis, totally ridiculous.
We earned that win, which we needed after a horrible game against Columbus. Now we'll have to play that much harder against Anaheim and Nashville next week.
Total. Crap.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Absolute worst call I have ever seen in hockey today in the Wings/Blues game. The puck was clearly over the line, and it was still called a save, losing us the game, especially after letting in Dough Weight's questionable goal, I think the refs just handed the game to St. Louis, totally ridiculous.
We earned that win, which we needed after a horrible game against Columbus. Now we'll have to play that much harder against Anaheim and Nashville next week.
Total. Crap.
I'll have to agree with you on that one. Much to my dismay.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sometimes I really hate technology, I had this post all set up, then hit the backspace button to get rid of something, and the page went back one and I lost the whole post.
Anyway, the abbreviated version, this is a survey taken from 80,000 fans of all 122 professional sports teams in the four major sports.
The Buffalo Sabres rank first, as the team that provides the most overall fan satisfaction.
Detroit has three teams in the top 18, the Pistons are fifth, Tigers 12th, and Wings 18th. Our highest rankings are sixth, ninth and second, respectively, for ownership to fan relations. There's a breakdown in eight different categories you can check out on the link.
Nice that we have three in the top 18, but the Detroit Lions are 122nd. And they deserve it.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I was waiting for my ESPN the mag to come to post about this, but yeah, the Sabres rule. Interested parties should click on the link for the Sabres to get a brief rundown on what the team has gone through.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
A Pens-Sens opening playoff series will be amazing.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I almost want to apologize, Tick.
That was the worst performance by the Penguins all year, in my opinion.
Sloppy plays left and right, and mistakes on every play. Yuck.
Hopefully they jump back into form before the playoffs.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I was just going to look for this thread.
With a Wings win and a surprise Blackhawks win over the Preds, the Red Wings secured the Central Division for I think the sixth year in a row.
The Sabres I believe also clinched the Eastern Conference. Congrats to them.
Anaheim and Nashville would have to win all their remaining games, and Detroit would have to lose back to back games against Chicago (who we're currently 6-0 against for the season) to give either of them a shot at the Conference title. Hopefully we have it locked up ::knock on wood::
Colorado pulled within five points of a playoff berth, but they'd still have to win all their remaining games, and Calgary lose all of theirs to make it. It looks like Detroit will be playing Calgary in round one. Should be a good first round matchup.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Recchi kicked it in. The Gods (and video replay officials) conspire against yet another Ryan Miller shutout. You don't need to apologize, although Gonchar should apologize to YOU for getting his jock handed to him by Vanek. Thomas has been dominant lately, scoring his 40th goal and one assist away from a 40/40/+40 season.
It is quite possible Tim Connoly will be on the ice tonight as a power play specialist, something we sorely need. Max should be on his way back too, if not tonight than one of the weekend games.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Heh, it will be backwards: Max returns tonight, Timmy C no earlier than Saturday. I have no idea what they do with their lines. We might end up with 4 lines that can score like mad. Poor Boston...
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They spotted the Bruins a 2 goal lead...but came from behind to drill them 4-2 with 4 unanswered. Thomas Vanek was unfair, scoring 2 including the game winner, and passing up a possible hat trick to give a teammate a sure thing. The goalies were both awesome, Toivonen kept it close. In the end, the Sabres saluted the hometown crowd after a very entertaining game.
BTW, with the Frozen Four on ESPN2 it was like old times, Gary Thorne and Barry Melrose on the worldwide leader. All they needed was Bill Clement.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Red Wings clinched the Central Division for the sixth straight year tonight.
For some reason we couldn't beat Chicago to clinch the Conference, but I expect that will be done this weekend.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Poor Leafs (not). Sabres/Islanders in the first round, I have a ticket to the first game on Thursday night! IT'S GONNA BE NUTS! The Isles won't know what hit 'em when our fourth line rolls and scores all up on 'em over and over. Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
w00t! Leafs are out. Sens all the way dudes.
And Tick, you are a lucky son of a gun. I live within 5 minutes of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, but there's still little to no chance of me making it to a game anytime soon. Grr.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
We'll have to catch a game next season Toad. No sense in living that close to the Joe if you can't take advantage of it
I checked the prices for Red Wings playoff tickets. Cheapest ticket was I think $63 for standing room, but some nice seats in the low 70's. Still too expensive for me, but I want to catch a couple games next year.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
The Leafs/Islanders game was exciting. I'm very glad that TO didn't make the playoffs.
Oilers totally lost it after the Smyth trade, but one could argue that Kevin Lowe made nothing but bad decisions in the off season, and that Smyth leaving was just the nail in the coffin. I think it's about time that the Oilers find a better coach, and if they don't, maybe hire a GM who's willing to fire MacTavish.
Anyhow, I'm rooting for Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Going to pick up my ticket today - there are advantages to working 50 feet from the Arena. I like Pittsburgh's chances against the Sens, although that would be at least one round early for the Sens yearly playoff meltdown.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Drury is, in fact, one of the greatest clutch players in sports. Ever. At 13 he led Trumbull, Conn., to its shocking win over mighty Taiwan in the 1989 Little League World Series, five months after helping his Greater Bridgeport Pee Wee hockey team win the '89 amateur national championship. Ever since, the wins and the honors have rolled in like boxcars: a state hockey title in high school, an NCAA title his freshman year at BU, the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's best hockey player, the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie. Hardly a prolific scorer, Drury knocked in four playoff game-winning goals that first year for Colorado, and two seasons later, stepping out of the shadows of Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, he scored 11 goals in the Avalanche's 23-game playoff run to the 2001 Stanley Cup title. He has tallied 12 playoff game-winners -- one more than the great Lemieux -- and his four overtime goals in the postseason are tied for second most among active players. And Drury is only 30.
quote:Still, nothing marked Chris as extraordinary until the '89 Little League World Series. For a boy to hit .527 and go 8-0 in the preliminaries and at Williamsport, to toss a crafty complete-game five-hitter in the final, to drive in two runs in that 5-2 shocker over Kaohsiung, Taiwan, seemed the perfect foundation for a lifetime of winning. Taiwan had won three straight titles, outscoring the U.S. by 43-1. Drury still remembers hearing people chanting "U-S-A!" hours before game time, the feel and noise of 40,000 people surrounding him and watching every move. Mostly, though, he still sees the cocky Taiwanese players, just before the teams paraded onto the field. "I remember how casual and loose they were, like they already had it won," Drury says. "And I remember thinking, That's not right. This is not how it's going to be."
Dating his future wife:
quote:During dinner he asked her to go with him to The Beanpot, Boston's storied annual four-college tournament. Two nights later she rode up in a van to Boston with Ferguson and three others. They got to their seats inside the Fleet Center, Rory figuring she'd meet up with her date then. "Where's Chris?" she said to Ferguson.
"Right there," he pointed.
Drury was out on ice, number 18.
quote:"I'm not extraordinary," Drury says. "I have to work extremely hard because that's how I'm going to succeed. If I coasted or put on weight or didn't work on my game in the summer or didn't lift, I'd take a step back. I would never say, 'I'm good enough.' There's not time enough in the day for me to work on stuff I need to work on."
Quietly, and in perfect concert with Briere, Drury took hold of the locker room. As the team started to win last season, Drury gradually let the music play later and later. He asked that the club put a picture of the Stanley Cup on the wall, to remind everyone what they're playing for. He protected the team from distractions, shutting down an in-game conversation this season between a local TV personality and a trainer, even barring Quinn from entering the locker room one morning because the team was about to meet. "I don't know any former captains who would've said that to me," Quinn says. "But I loved that. It's his room."
Also, American audiences will be exposed to Don Cherry, the very outspoken former Bruins coach will be teamed with Brett Hull on the NBC broadcasts.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: We'll have to catch a game next season Toad. No sense in living that close to the Joe if you can't take advantage of it
I would love to.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Cherry's going to NBC? Wow, can't wait to see the reaction American audiences give him. Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm not sure how much Cherry we'll get. FWIW, Hull will also be on the the Canadian broadcasts.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
YAY! Henrik Zetterberg is going to be back for Game 1 against Calgary. Bertuzzi will be out until Sunday most likely, but Hank is back!
It's funny, Zetterberg is still the team scoring leader, even after being out for a quarter of the season. Datsyuk has been on a tear ever since Zetterberg went out, and interestingly, ever since he switched to a new stick that has holes in it, which I guess cut down on wind resistance. Weird looking stick, but he has other Wings trying it out.
Datsyuk was signed to a 7 year, 6.8 million dollar a year contract the other day, mostly on the word of Wings VP Steve Yzerman. I think it's a very good move, he still has room to improve, and I think he'll take his hot stick with him into the playoffs this year.
Usually I don't catch hockey games the Wings aren't playing in, but tonight I'm watchingt he Penguins play (and rooting for them). I can't believe they didn't call that a goal at the beginning of the third period. Kicking motion my foot!
HAPPY PLAYOFFS EVERYONE!
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Considering the Habs didn't make the cut I can't see why anyone cares about the playoffs, quite frankly.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 0-0 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 1-0 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 1-0 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 1-0
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 0-0 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 0-0 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-0 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 1-0
[ April 12, 2007, 05:13 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Penguins were disappointing tonight to say the least.
Exciting OT between SJ and Nashville right now.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Is that on tv where you are? I'm stuck watching Stars/Canucks on Versus. Good job to Nashville coming back from a two goal deficit to take it into 2OT.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Yeah, it's on TSN, and when they briefly lost their signal they picked up the FSN feed. So if you have FSN, check that out.
Edit: Except it's over now, Rismiller just scored to give SJ the win.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Anyone else watching the 4th overtime period of the Vancouver vs. Dallas game?
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Gah! Is anyone else watching Dallas vs. Vancouver? It's about to go into OT #4! Awesome way to start the playoffs (for the fans, not so much for the players). Good thing I don't have to wake up early tomorrow.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I am. I can't believe I'm still up...but this is mesmerizing. I can't believe how hard they are still fighting after playing what amounts to two game back to back and still more!
Kudos to the fans for sticking around at the game, but then again, seriously, who in their right mind would leave after their team has played that hard for that long?
This is why I love the playoffs!
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Finally! I knew if Vancouver scored it would be a Sedin.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
The Sedin's are officially money.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Great game. Poor Turco, worked so hard and so long, and to Luongo as well for seventy some odd saves, but someone had to lose.
That was an instant classic. Amazing that two out of four first night games went to double overtime or more.
16 hours until my Wings play Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Whoa, what a first night of action! What the heck happened to Fleury? I thought the Penguins would keep it closer. 132 total shots in the Stars/Canucks game. Just wow.
The Islanders are going to wish they stayed in the hotel tonight.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I'm w00ting all the way home. 6-3 baby!
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Whoa, what a first night of action! What the heck happened to Fleury? I thought the Penguins would keep it closer.
The Pens came out flat. The Sens came out flying. You could tell that the crowd had them pumped up.
I've never seen home ice advantage demonstrated like that. Makes me wish that the Pens had managed just one more point this year, to have faced the Sens at home.
Fleury wasn't the problem, really. The Sens had at least two or three good scoring chances every shift. He at least kept it respectable for a while. When it was 2-0, right before the third goal, I mentioned to Niki that this could easily be a 5-0 game at that point.
As crappy as the Pens were, I've rarely seen a team clicking on all cylinders like the Sens were last night. They got to every loose puck faster, their passes were crisp and clean, they barely allowed the Pens any room to maneuver in the offensive zone...
Well, that one is in the past, and I expect the Pens to come out a lot stronger in this next game. I predict that it will be won either by one goal in regulation, or in overtime.
If it is the Pens who come out on top next game, I like their chances in Pittsburgh, where Fleury is much better this year. I actually wouldn't mind if they played Thibault on Sunday, and then played Fleury at home.
Every game is huge, but the next one is vital. If they win on Sunday, I see the series going back to Ottawa 2-2. If they lose by one goal on Sunday, I see them losing in game 6 or 7. If they give up another 6 goals in a route, then a sweep is certainly not out of the question. They will limp back into Pittsburgh with no confidence.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Two hours until game time Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
1.5 hours. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
With just about two periods over, Detroit is up by FOUR!
HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings win it 4-1. As suspected, a very physical game, but the Wings held their own and dealt a bit out too. Great opener. Datsyuk snapps his playoff drought with a smooth goal.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 1-0 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 1-0 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 1-0 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 1-0
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 1-0 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 1-0 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-1 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 1-0
Top seeds seem to be doing well so far. Last year in the West, all top four teams were knocked off. This year, all four start with a one game lead.
[ April 12, 2007, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Yep, everything pretty much as expected. I thought Calgary would give more of a fight, but they got owned. I don't think Iginla got a single shot on net.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
WOW What a night! The Sabres drilled the Islanders, never trailing in the 4-1 win. They only allowed 1 shot in the first period and 21 overall. Our powerplay clicked, which was a concern all season. Dainius Zubrus is a BEAST, I can't say that enough. What a great deadline pickup. Captain Chris Druuuuuuury and Soupy each had 2 goals, and Zubrus assisted on 3 of them. Miller wasn't challenged much, but he poke-checked Ryan Smyth on a breakaway. Wade Dubielewicz did what he could, keeping it 2-1 until the 3rd (and getting ample help from the goalposts) but in the end his teammates just weren't up to snuff against the 4 lines Lindy was rollin'. We'll see what adjustments Ted Nolan has in store Saturday. I'm hoping it has nothing to do with the rough stuff at the end, special mention to Drew Stafford, Thomas Vanek, and Jochen Hecht for sticking up for themselves in the various scrums.
I don't really see the Thrashers doing much. The Lightning need a goalie. Pens need to man up, the Sens aren't that much better than them.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
You know, I noticed that there were a lot of empty seats, or at least it seemed that way compared to the Vancouver game and others, so I checked. We were like a thousand people under capacity. And at the end of the game they said there were still tickets available for Sunday.
I couldn't believe that, I thought tickets would be impossible to get. So I checked it out. Standing room only tickets are $68. If you actually want to sit down in the upper deck? $83. Are prices like that all over the league?
Why not lower the price when seats are open and both allow fans to sit there and at least make a little bit of money? The price is just ridiculous.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
No SRO here, our 300 (upper) level started at $75. It was a LOT less for Season Ticket holders, though, who owned 80% of them and had first dibs at buying more at the Season Ticket price.
My seat was at the absolute TOP of the arena, and it was awesome! I got to sit with some of the real crazies, with the various signs (Druuuuuury, Welcome to Pominville, The Mair's Office, There was even a shout out to Zubrus).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I wouldn't mind sitting at the top of the stadium at all. There's not a bad seat at Joe Louis Arena, I've been there for concerts. I just can't afford $80+ for a ticket. Going to a Wings game is like an extreme special event, considering the price, it's just impossible for the average joe to afford tickets on anything resembling a regular basis. I guess economically it makes sense to make tickets more expensive when they are in such high demand, but when the price is so high that no one can afford them, what's the point?
For all the money we spend here in Detroit, and considering the salary cap has cut the team's salary in half, you'd think they could afford to cut the price of tickets. Tickets to Comerica Park where the Tigers play cost a fraction of that, and they went to the World Series last year! Opening Day tickets were almost impossible to find, thousands of people entered into a lottery to get seats, and still tickets could be had in the $40 range for SRO, and $60 for a decent seat. It's just ridiculous.
I've been considering moving to Grand Rapids, where the Griffins play (the Red Wings AHL team), and I looked at season tickets there. I could get 2 seats, for the entire season, at the front row of the upper level, for about a grand. That's a damned good deal (I mean it's AHL, but who cares? Half the guys there will be on the Wings some day anyway), and I plan on doing that when I get over there in a couple years.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
For season ticket prices, you can get in the door for about $1400 for 2 seats, for where I was sitting last night. They can then buy additional tickets for round 1 and 2 for the same price, and it goes up $5 or $10 for subsequent rounds.
Listening to the highlights, and I LOVE hearing Tim Connoly's name all over them. He and our '4th' line were responsible for the first goal, with a great one-time pass to Soupy.
[ April 13, 2007, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And here we go again.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
This Nashville/SJ game is very exciting. A lot of animosity between these two teams. Radulov put a vicious hurt on Bernier, and bad blood is just getting worse.
On top of that, Nashville scored shorthanded, and just scored again with a 2 man advantage. I was all set to watch Dallas/Vancouver, but this game is way too intense to stop watching.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
The Dallas/Vancouver game was great also, very intense. Marty Turco mans up in the playoffs with a shutout. He was one deflected puck away from an empty net goal, too.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 1-0 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 2-0 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 1-1 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 1-1
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 1-1 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 1-1 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-2 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 1-1
Looks like the West evened things up a bit tonight, I didn't get a chance to catch really any of it, but I'm watching the Wild/Ducks game right now. Just evened things up.
Thrashers just lost two at home, that's seriously going to hurt. Man that Penguins/Ottawa game was back and forth. I wonder why the Wings and Flames were the only teams to get a two day break. Maybe the others will get a two day break later?
Islanders/Sabres and Devils/Lightning are on at 730pm EST.
[ April 14, 2007, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
That was what the first game should have been like.
Like I said, I expect this to go back to Ottawa 2-2. We shall see...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings go up 2-0 on Calgary in the first four minutes of the game. I think Calgary already has 10 minutes of penalty time. They're falling apart. Calgary is trying to be physical and hit back but they are going overboard resulting in penalties. Datsyuk has another goal, looks like his postseason slump is just a distant memory .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 2-1 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 3-1 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 3-1 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 2-1
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 3-1 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 2-2 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 3-1
Updated 10:20 Wednesday
Rangers sweep the Thrashers, some teams take bigger leads, some inch closer to a comeback.
[ April 18, 2007, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Whew, what a tense game last night. Bodies were flying, shots were blasted off goalie masks, and there were several controversial calls. One of them led to a rain of debris on to the ice from the Islanders fans. Apparently there were some jerks yelling during the anthem AND a moment of silence for the VT shooting victims, also.
Adam Mair had a great end-to-end shift on the first goal, knocking Trent Hunter off the puck and one end, and racing down to put home the Drury pass at the other. Vanek's wraparound was reviewed for what seemed like half an hour but was awarded...the only evidence for the goal was the fact that it disappeared from view behind the post before DiPietro deftly slid it back out. I hope the refs don't make too many mistakes on Wednesday, it could get ugly.
I want the Lightning in the next round...
Pens/Sens is a must watch tonight.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 2-1 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 3-2 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 3-1
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 3-1 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 2-2 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Wings are currently down 3-2 against Flames. They really need to get back on the ball in this game and start killing off these awful penalties!
[ April 20, 2007, 02:23 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Booo-urns! I was really hoping Detroit would win at least one game in Calgary, so that they could win the series at home in the next game. My favorite teams: Oilers and anyone who's playing against the Flames.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well we'll either beat them at home on Tuesday, or whomp them in Calgary on Sunday. Either way we're taking this series!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
It's tough to imagine Calgary winning a road game, they've been terrible on the road. Pens lost because Crosby can't/wouldn't grow a playoff beard.
Sabres should close out the Islanders tonight. I'll be glad to see them go.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:t's tough to imagine Calgary winning a road game, they've been terrible on the road. Pens lost because Crosby can't/wouldn't grow a playoff beard.
Nah, they lost because Ottawa was clearly the better team. Better playoff team, anyway. They looked seriously good this series.
And the Pens had absolutely no secondary scoring. From their forwards: Sid had three, Staal had three, Roberts had three, and that was it! That is just plain ridiculous.
But, considering that the Pens' top three goal scorers this year were two rookies and a sophamore, you gotta believe that the future is bright. Here's to next year.
Letang is likely going to be up from the juniors and playing with the big club next year. I expect big things from him, perhaps even competing for the Calder.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
That was a good series. I'm hoping the Sens will keep enough momentum to advance past the second stage. If we can keep playing like we did this series, we'll definitely be contenders for the Cup. All the way, baby.
Sidney Crosby would look really weird with a beard, playoff or otherwise. Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
He probably has some kind of contractual agreement with his promoters to not grow a beard. It'd ruin his "Sid the Kid" image. Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
LOL.
From where I'm sitting, it looks like Buffalo's through to the next round.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I certainly hope Calgary can't win a home game. The first two games we just walked away with it. They fought back hard in the second two, but they only just barely won both of those games, they didn't walk away with them.
All we have to do is win every home game. I don't know how feasible that is, but our power play needs some serious, serious work. We're like 1 for 28 or something like that. It's totally letting good chances slip through our fingers.
Last night would have been different if not for the poor officiating, but we can't blame the refs for us not capitalizing on every chance we had.
Props throughout the series to Valterri Fillipula. He's the next Datsyuk or Zetterberg, and he's really shown what he has with the chances he's had. He started the playoffs with 8 minutes a game, and a goal a game, and he'll get more ice time because of it. It's good to show off that the future of the Wings is just as bright as the past was. We just need to see all our lines click a little better. Once Zetterberg is back in game shape, we'll be on a tear. If we can get to that point.
Posted by Bob the Lawyer (Member # 3278) on :
Perhaps if Hasek spent less time on his back trying to draw penalties?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
He got clipped and might have overreacted, but he popped right back up. Should have been a penalty regardless. You don't touch the goalie in the crease, that's supposed to be the rule.
When he flopped around like a fish out of water a dozen games ago, that was ridiculous. Thursday night it was ridiculous that there was no call.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Wings & Flames, and Canucks and Stars play today.
[ April 24, 2007, 03:30 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: He got clipped and might have overreacted, but he popped right back up. Should have been a penalty regardless. You don't touch the goalie in the crease, that's supposed to be the rule.
When he flopped around like a fish out of water a dozen games ago, that was ridiculous. Thursday night it was ridiculous that there was no call.
He still embellished it like a soccer superstar. Normally you get the penalty call and the diving call in that situation.
(GO SABRES!! WOOHOO!!!)
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow. Just... wow. Like... Iginla. And McLennan. What the hell was that? Calgary's going to be a bloodbath tomorrow.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I would have accepted a diving call and an interference call.
As for tonight's game: That was bull.
Alright, hockey is a physical game, and there is a psychological aspect to the physical play. You're trying to scare off the other team as much as you are just trying to grind them down.
But the kind of cheap shots that Iginla and especially McClennen took on our players at the end of the third period were about one thing: Injury.
Those were cheap shots meant to harm us, not to try and get in our heads. Iginla should know better, he's their captain, and his explanation was crap.
Frankly, I think the whole damned thing was shady. Their coach sends McClennen in with THREE MINUTES to go in the game? He IMMEDIATELY chops away at Franzen and gets kicked back out? Fishy as all hell.
It's going to be a free for all tomorrow, and for their effort, I hope we beat them tomorrow on THEIR ice. Beating them at home on Tuesday would be fine, but I want the satisfaction of seeing their fans deflated. And I hope we beat the crap out of them tomorrow.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I was wondering how you'd react to that game, Lyr. Despite Calgary usually being my second team, I'll be rooting for the Wings tomorrow. No chance of that being a clean match, though.
[ April 22, 2007, 12:52 PM: Message edited by: Flaming Toad on a Stick ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I didn't get to watch the entire game, I was at work.
Fortunately, I work at a sports bar, so there's a half dozen giant plasma screens that I got to catch every now and then when traffic was slow.
I caught Cleary's penalty shot, which was friggin' amazing. I was a little disappointed that Filppula didn't manage to scoop the puck into the net in the first period, the kid made almost an identical play in Game 2 and scooped it up, but I'm not going to fault him. He's a rookie who has had a great year with little ice time, and he's making the most of it. I'll say it again, he's our next Zetterberg.
I think I scared some of the customers at the restaurant when McClennen hacked at Franzen. I slammed my fist down and yelled at the screen...which is probably 50 feet away from where I was standing.
I just think it was incredibly unsportsmanlike. You can beat up on each other during the game (like what Bertuzzi did to Phaneuf), but a player, especially a goalie, hacking away at another player (especially under those fishy circumstances) is NOT good hockey. That's cheap. And much as I usually hate the kind of behavior our fans displayed, I'm GLAD they were tossing crap at McClennon when he was being escorted off the ice.
If they want to be frustrated at anyone, Calgary should be frustrated at themselves for playing crappy hockey, and not being able to win a game outside the Saddledome, but don't purposely try and ruin the chances of the other team to get any further.
Did you see Babcock staring down Calgary's coach after the play? I think he thought it was just as fishy as I did. Scotty Bowman would have laid into him, and Bowman was usually one of the quietest guys in the Joe.
Until the last five minutes or so, it was a great game, with unmatched intensity. Then they ruined it. I think McClennon should get tossed for the remainder of the playoffs (until Tuesday basically) and then 20 games starting next season. He's a backup goalie, which is why you didn't see Kiprusoff doing that. Who cares if McClennon gets tossed for a game or two? He's never going to play anyway! His suspension should reflect the severity of his actions, and the reality of the situation, which I think means extended punishment into next season. Those cheap ass penalties at the end of the game, when they KNOW it will have no carry over to the next game has to have a fit punishment.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I agree with you. I'm also of the opinion that Iginla should miss a coupla games. I don't know if you saw him when he rammed a player with the end of his stick, then did a group of cross-checks, but that just struck me as totally over-the line. That's a suspendable offence, so I hope the NHL reviews it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Update:
quote:Calgary Flames goaltender Jamie McLennan has been suspended for five games, Calgary coach Jim Playfair has been fined $25,000, and the Calgary Flames organization has also been fined $100,000 for a number of late game actions in Detroit, according to NHL media relations.
With the Red Wings up a commanding 5-1, McLennan was given a match penalty late in the third period for his slash on Detroit's Johan Franzen. The infraction was one of four late-game penalties incurred by Flames players for aggressive or illegal use of their sticks in the closing moments.
The NHL made it a point to inform its coaches and general managers before the playoffs began that actions taken with games already out of hand would not be tolerated.
"In our pre-playoff conference calls with the coaches and General Managers of the respective organizations, we addressed a number of topics - and one of them was actions late in the game when the score was out of hand," said Colin Campbell, NHL Senior Executive Vice president and Director of Hockey Operations. "The coach and the organization must be held accountable for the players' actions."
McLennan's suspension will begin with Game 6 of the series, Sunday in Calgary. Detroit led the series 3-2.
I think Iginla should have gotten something as well. The money isn't much of a big deal, it won't effect their gameplay. And a five game suspension is a slap on the wrist for a backup goaltender. McLennan hasn't even played in the last five games, with the exception of his hatchet job. Still, I'm glad the NHL at least took note of this and handed down some punishment, even if I don't think it was enough of a deterrent. For all the damage they tried to do at the end of that game, they did so knowing there would be zero carryover into the next game, which apparently the NHL tried to head off ahead of time, so props to them.
But fines, to me anyway, won't change the way this series is being played at all.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And it's over. Good riddance. It was a fight till the 2nd OT. Wings advance.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
As if there was any question....
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Count it baby! Wings win the series in double over time!
I got my wish, we won there. And man did the Saddledome clear out fast. It was like someone pulled the fire alarm, only worse (actually the fire alarm DID go off a couple games ago and everyone ignored it).
That was sweet, SWEET poetic justice with Franzen getting the series winning goal.
Before I run down the street waving my Red Wings banner at 1AM, I have to add that Calgary is a dirty, dirty team. Physical play is one thing, but they play dirty. You don't slash to the face and sucker punch and crosscheck with the intent to injure, and you don't friggin' send out a backup goalie to do a hatchet job on the other team.
When you do stuff like that it proves two things: 1. You have NO CLASS. 2. You can't win any other way and you SUCK.
You'll have to forgive my energy at the moment. I think the Flames played like hacks, and I'm thrilled beyond belief that we stomped them at the Saddledome.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quarterfinal Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Semifinals Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 4 Sharks 0-0 2 Ducks vs. 3 Canucks 0-0
East 1 Sabres vs. 6 Rangers 0-0 2 Devils vs. 4 Senators 0-0
Next round starts on Wednesday. Interesting that last year the top four seeded teams in the west lost, and this year the top four seeded teams in the west all won. The only upset this year was the Rangers annihilating the Thrashers.
All four of the series are going to be great I think. I'm only slightly worried about the Wings against the Sharks. Personally I would have rather played the Stars, who I think we could have womped on. This will be a much tougher series, but if we ever had to prove we had toughness, it was in the last series. I think we're ready for whatever they throw at us. I'm looking forward to the Rangers/Sabres series.
Anyone want to make predictions?
Lyrhawn's predictions:
Red Wings in 6 Ducks in 5 Sabres in 6 Devils in 7
Devils struggled a lot against Tampa Bay while Ottawa had a seemingly easy first round against the Penguins. But I have faith in Brodeur.
The Ducks had it easy in their series, and the Canucks are coming off a weary seven game series against the Stars. I think the Ducks come in with strong home ice advantage and a lot of power up front against a somewhat tired Canucks. It's going to be a more physical game than their series against the Stars wars (which was already pretty physical). I think the Ducks will take 2 at home, steal one in Vancouver, and finish it at home.
Sabres and Rangers is a hard one to call. The Rangers in Sean Avery and Brenden Shanahan have found themselves a powerful new voice that hes totally reenergized this team. They are a force to be reckoned with, and the Thrashers obviously learned that the hard way. But the Sabres are no Thrashers, and they feel a sense of destiny about them that I think will lead them to push back just as hard. I think this will be a long hard series, but the Sabres have a lot of talent up front, and in the end I think they'll end up outplaying the Rangers, who aren't really ready for a team that puts up more of a struggle than Atlanta did.
The Wings got beat up a lot in their six game series against Vancouver, but thus far in the playoffs are not only undefeated at home, they've scored a monumental amount of goals at the Joe. They'll have a few days off before they start on Thursday, and both teams will come in fairly rested, but I think the fire in the Wings is more noticeable than in any year since 2002. They play a much, much more physical game now, having lost none of the finesse that is usually attached to them. hasek will stonewall much of the San Jose offense, assuming they can get past a defensive shield that has kept Calgary to less than a few dozen shots over six games, while the Wings posted a couple HUNDRED shots. If they continue to win at home and even steal a game in San Jose early on, this thing might be over in five, but don't count out a level of fatigue and a fired up and hungry pack of Sharks. This won't be an easy round.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Every time I look at the Senators/Devils series I change my mind as to the winner. Will the Sens implode? Will the Devils let them hang around like they did with the Lightning? Right now I'm leaning Sens as they can put up some goals, and NJ can't keep up...but Brodeur is the wild card.
I have a feeling the Sabres will really start to roll this round. Really, the lines are only just now coming together as everyone came back from injury leading up to the playoffs. The guys really seem to have the right attitude to deal with Avery. Sabres in 6 sounds good, although 5 games would not surprise me.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quarterfinal Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Semifinals Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 5 Sharks 2-2 2 Ducks vs. 3 Canucks 4-1 Ducks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 6 Rangers 2-2 2 Devils vs. 4 Senators 1-3
This has been a crazy semifinal round. The Rangers are holding their own against the Sabres and have now made it into a best of three series. I think the Canucks are finished, as are the Devils.
The Wings are going into OT right now, and we need to take this game or we go down 3-1 in the series. I would love to go back to Detroit with a best of three series with home ice advantage. We need to score fast! Our OT record is not something of envy, but I think we can eke out a win here. Go Wings go!
Edit to add: Wings tie the series! It's back to Detroit for Game 5!
[ May 04, 2007, 05:25 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
WOOOOO! Well, I have to say, Marty Brodeur is certainly putting up a hell of a fight, but even the best goalie will eventually break if we keep out-shooting them like that. Sens in 5, baby!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
GO RED WINGS!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'll be out of town this weekend, and might not even have a chance to see the game on Saturday (which is depressing since it's on NBC, and the NBC commentators crack me up). So I wanted to say it while I could:
LET'S GO RED WINGS!!
Wings fans, cheer them on!
Posted by The White Whale (Member # 6594) on :
Can I hear a
YEEEEEHAAAAAW!
for the Sabres!? Tying it in the last seconds. We better not lose now... Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And here we go. It's time to finish these pesky Devils and advance. Sens in 5 baby.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And that's it. Three Ottawa goals in the second period, with Gomez scoring at the very beginning and the very end for the Devils. They kept fighting till the last minute, and gave us an intense game, but we ended it.
Props to both teams for providing a great game with only 3 penalties on each side, and minimal icing and cheap playing. Props to Brodeur and Emery for some seriously solid goaltending throughout the series.
And now it's done. WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Oh, and the Wings game was pretty solid, although you feel that SJ got their hearts ripped out. 4-1 Wings take it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quarterfinal Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Semifinals Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 5 Sharks 3-2 Wings WIN!!! 2 Ducks vs. 3 Canucks 4-1 Ducks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 6 Rangers 4-2 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 4 Senators 1-4 Senators WIN
Conference Final Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 2 Ducks 0-0
East 1 Sabres vs. 4 Senators 0-0
Wings win an awesome game on Saturday and aim to clinch the series on Monday night in San Jose. Losing Schneider won't be a disastrous loss, but it will hurt us. Lebda should be back soon, and if we can hold on long enough, Niklas Kronwall might even be back in time, which will be a huge boost to our defense. We played five man defense and still dominated Game Five.
I hope we can take Game Six in San Jose, and finish it out like we did against Calgary. At least we finally have the upperhand, in score, momentum, and drive.
Senators and Sabres should be an amazing, hard fought series. Can't wait to see it.
[ May 08, 2007, 12:42 AM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
I'm a bit behind, so let me get some game 5 thoughts out of the way. WOOHOO CHRIS DRUUUUUURY! I should know better than to doubt the comeback ability even with 16 seconds left. Max responds to his benching with an incredible slapshot FTW. I was watching with my brother and his friends (of the 'isn't hockey boring?' variety) and we went nuts. Locals are basically ready to hand Drury a blank contract and let him fill it in.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings win! Wings Win!!!!!!
Sharks are shut out in the final game of the series. Wings are 11-0 in their last 11 games when their opponent was facing elimination. We know how to close out a series
Wings face Anaheim on Friday. Sabres face Ottawa on Thursday.
And not to toot my own horn too much, but I was dead on with three out of four predictions for the results in the Semis. I made the mistake of giving Jersey way too much credit apparently.
So I'll make further predictions for the Conf. Finals.
Sabres in 6 Wings in 7
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
GO RED WINGS!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quarterfinal Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Semifinals Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 5 Sharks 3-2 Wings WIN!!! 2 Ducks vs. 3 Canucks 4-1 Ducks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 6 Rangers 4-2 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 4 Senators 1-4 Senators WIN
Conference Final Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 2 Ducks 1-1
East 1 Sabres vs. 4 Senators 0-2
Senators steal a game from Buffalo in the opening of the conference finals. Tonight the Wings square off against the Ducks at home. This is odd, as the Ducks swept us off the map a few years ago, and last year we were favored to win but lost, now the Ducks are the favorites to win and we're on the outs. The critics are saying that all our injuries are finally going to catch up to us, especially with Schneider out.
But for the third time in this playoff season we're the underdogs. A lot of people said we'd lose to a physical Calgary team becuase we were too weak. Then we we were supposed to lose to the Sharks because our offense wasn't good enough and because they were just as physical and we were old and slow. Now we're getting the same speech again for Anaheim. Wings will be outplayed, Ducks defense is stifling. Well we had a better record against Anaheim than against San Jose, and every time they tell us we're not supposed to win, we pull out the stops and win it. Even down three defensemen, bringing up AHLers, and in the last game against the Sharks playing a five man defense rotation we still won, win style.
Wings are going to make this a tough series, and with our grit and determination, I think we can win it.
GO RED WINGS!
7:30pm EST
[ May 13, 2007, 10:53 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
As long as Emery stays sharp, the Alfredsson-Heatley-Spezza line keeps up the pressure, and Volchenkov keeps blocking shots, we're going to be hard to beat. The Sabres are definitely still in this, and when they rally, they're really hard to stop. We know that the Sabres can play much better than that, and we have to be very focused. Still, it's a promising start.
GO SENS GO!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings win to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference Finals!
HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!
That was a seroiusly intense game. They battled through the whole thing, tons of misses, stifling defense on both sides, and some great plays. Zetterberg continues his amazing play with the opening goal of the game. Zets is my pick at the moment for the Conn Smythe after the Wings win the Cup. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Anaheim ties the series on a lucky goal late in OT. Now the series goes to Anaheim, were I'll be satisfied if we split the series there to make it a best of three.
Buffalo plays at Ottawa tomorrow night in what I imagine has to be a must win game to avoid a three game deficit.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Funny how the other teams goals are "always" lucky ones, huh?
Go Red Wings!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Just like we like to complain about officiating. Nice 'call' on Alfie there, guys. I guess boarding is an optional penalty in the playoffs. Did any of you guys see the shot of Vanek's that was ruled no-goal? Just curious what a 3rd party observer thinks of it.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Sometimes even the team that benefits admits the officiating was questionable, though.
I didn't see the game myself, unfortunately.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Frankly I thought one of the Anaheim goals shouldn't have been allowed, I think Hasek was pushed into the goal by a Ducks player with his stick and it shouldn't have been allowed.
But the shot that won the game was lucky, but it was cool. And I admitted, I guess not on this board but somewhere else, that BOTH of the goals the Wings scored in the first game were ugly, lucky goals, but I'll take them where I can get them.
Wings need to get back to their basics, control the puck, and play physical hockey. Too much of the play was controlled by the Ducks. I think we're really feeling the loss of Schneider, but I have a good feeling about splitting the series in Anaheim to make it a best of three series.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Even if Anaheim's goal was lucky, they were definitely outplaying the Wings in that OT.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
WOOOOO! Ottawa take a 3-0 lead with a 1-0 win at home. Volchenkov proves, yet again, that he's one of the best defenders in the league. Ottawa played very physically throughout the game, and completely shut down the Sabres' power play.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I never for a moment thought the Senators would take a 3-0 lead in the series. Sabres need to step up their game if they want to turn this into a series.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Miller played like a MAN, the rest of the team like boys. There are several players, I can't even remember if they were on the ice, and a few others I DO remember for all their bad plays (Briere missing the wide-open net, Kalinin the TO machine).
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
End of the second in Anaheim, Wings up 4-0. I just saw Holmstrom get nailed by Pronger and Nidermayer. It was pretty bad. I thought he was out cold for a minute, bleeding from his forehead, but he got up. Anaheim's completely lost their cool, and they're playing really dirty to boot. Despite hating Bertuzzi, I'm smiling everytime he nails a Duck today.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
5-0 Wings, final score. Hasek pulls off some sleek, unpredictable goaltending at the end, and Filppula sends them off with a nice goal. Maltby high-sticks Getzlaf right at the end, cuts his eye open. Looks like Detroit's line-balancing strategy really worked against the Anaheim defense.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Gotta LOVE that!
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:I never for a moment thought the Senators would take a 3-0 lead in the series. Sabres need to step up their game if they want to turn this into a series.
I am honestly not surprised. They outplayed Pittsburgh by a healthy margin, and the Penguins are a pretty darn good team.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Bam! Great game. Babcock's line juggling looks masterful. Filppula was finally a major factor after a few games of great chances but no results. I expect great things from him in the future, and it was great to see him get an assist and a sweet goal at the end there.
I like that Babcock split up Hank and Pavs, the two of them are playmakers, even when they aren't scoring themselves, and they make the people around them into much better players. I think this was a good move to increase output from the other lines.
Smokin' victory. Maybe we can do more than I'd hoped for and take two games in Anaheim, but I'll still be happy for a 2-2 return to Detroit.
Xav -
It's no offense to Ottawa's play, I think they've been stellar, I just didn't expect to see Buffalo collapsing from the pressure, and frankly I thought it was going to be a toughter series just based on Buffalo's drive and determination, but we'll see tomorrow night.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
WHERE WERE YOU GUYS??? 3-0 in the second!
edit: 3-2...hold on boys, you can do it!
[ May 16, 2007, 08:53 PM: Message edited by: TheTick ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Good game Sabres, y'all almost tossed it away near the end, but you held on. Both of the series are now a bit more exciting. Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Definitely.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
My thoughts. I wonder if we'll see Nathan Paetsch in place of Kalinin next game. He was good on the point for the power play earlier this year. Zubrus is hurt, but there is an extra day to recover so hopefully he can go Saturday.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Looks like Anaheim's making a move.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
They did a good job breaking up the two man advantage, but it's still anyone's game.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And Anaheim take it. You gotta admire the Wings fans though, they still put an octopus on the ice. Best of three now.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Best of three doesn't worry me. We already won a best of three when we were up 2-1 coming into tonight's game.
I have faith we can do it again. We did it against Calgary too.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Quarterfinal Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 8 Flames 4-2 Wings WIN (YEAH BABY!) 2 Ducks vs. 7 Wild 4-1 Ducks WIN 3 Canucks vs. 6 Stars 4-3 Canucks WIN 4 Sharks vs. 5 Predators 4-1 Sharks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 8 Islanders 4-1 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 7 Lightning 4-2 Devils WIN 3 Thrashers vs. 6 Rangers 0-4 Rangers sweep Thrashers 4 Senators vs. 5 Penguins 4-1 Senators WIN
Semifinals Results:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 5 Sharks 3-2 Wings WIN!!! 2 Ducks vs. 3 Canucks 4-1 Ducks WIN
East 1 Sabres vs. 6 Rangers 4-2 Sabres WIN 2 Devils vs. 4 Senators 1-4 Senators WIN
Conference Final Standings:
West 1 Red Wings vs. 2 Ducks 2-3
East 1 Sabres vs. 4 Senators 1-4 Senators WIN
The only reason I'm disappointed in the result of Game 5 is that the Red Wings dominated that game. We outhit them, outshot them, in pretty much every category we dominated. But a flukey goal with 40 seconds to go in the game leads to an OT win by the Ducks. Giguiere kept them in that game, and won them in that game, kudos to him. One error by Franzen with 40 seconds to go kept us from clearing it, and one little error by Lilja in OT kept the puck in and allowed a goal.
It's sad to outplay an opponent and still lose, but it happens, it's hockey. But playing that well, I feel good about forcing a Game 7. I think we're far from out of this series.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Go Red Wings!
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
Killer OT loss.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And that's clinched. Superb OT Goal by Alfredsson, deking out three defenders and Miller. A stellar end to a stellar series. We're going to the Cup. WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
God willing, they'll be playing the Wings
We'll find out at least part of the answer to that hope in 18 hours and 15 minutes.
I have faith in my Wings. I'm sick of bandwagon fans saying "choke! choke!" about the Wings. We've defied all expectations for this year, we've played spectacular hockey in the face of all the critics, and dammit, we can still win this thing!
GO WINGS!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
They aren't playing so hot now.....
:::winces:::
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Amazing attempt at a comeback in the final period, but the distance was too great.
Great season Red Wings.
The only thing I fear now is the backlash from the bandwagon Detroit fans and the calls for firing half the team. There IS some deadweight to drop (I'm looking at you Lang), but I think much of the team is pretty solid, hell, they got us to the Conf. finals.
We'll see.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I am not a bandwagon fan, but I do get tired of them ALMOST winning it all.....
Great season though. Any other team should be happy. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
They have the longest playoff streak in professional American sports, they made it to the Conference Finals after winning the Conference after everyone said they wouldn't finish better than sixth or seventh in the conference.
A lot of people said we'd lose to Calgary.
EVERYONE said we'd lose to San Jose.
A lot of people said we'd get swept by the Ducks in four games, but instead we dominated them in multiple games.
There's nothing to be disappointed about, we went further than what any critic said we'd go. And so I still love my team, and support them, and I'm going to pounce upon the bandwagon fans who refuse to settle for anything but a Stanley Cup. The Tigers haven't won a World Series since the year I was BORN, and they still have the support of tons of fans, don't even get me started on the Lions. What does it take to win the respect of the city? And how did they lose it after being the toast of the town in the 90's?
My team doesn't disappoint me, my city does.
PS - Kwea, that wasn't aimed at you, I'm just really prone to Red Wings related outbursts at the moment, and probably will be for the next few weeks.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
*makes room on the bench for Wings fans*
So...who do we root for now? I have a hard time cheering for the Sens with all the history there, but there is nothing at all to compel me in the other direction. If I thought that a Ducks win would raise awareness of the sport in a 'non-traditional market' I'd probably lean in their direction. But I doubt it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I have an odd way of choosing which team to root for after my team loses.
I root for the team that beat me. If they go all the way, I can maintain the illusion that my team is the number two team, because if the team that beat my team gets beat, I feel even worse.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
All good man...I was a fan when they sucked back in the 80's and when they first got better but couldn't get past the second round of the playoffs.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Game 1 on monday. I'm pumped.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
And that's the end of it. Damn. They came to play, we didn't. They played every period of every game, while we played a period (at max). I don't begrudge Anaheim the Cup, they deserve it, but we really should have played much better. Ah well, good season guys, see you in a few months.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It's almost that time again....
Training camps start soon. Offseason trades have been made by the dozens. How did your team do, and what do you think your chances will be this season?
Personally I don't think the Wings did that bad. We lost Schneider, which would be a bad hit, but we replaced him with Brian Rafalski, which is nearly a man for man trade, so I can live with that. We dropped Lang, Bertuzzi and Calder, all of which I'm perfectly happy losing.
Danny Markov is probably a loss, I haven't seen him sign with anyone else, but I think he's asking for too much money to sign back with us. We picked up a couple other minor guys, and I think we'll have two rookies up from the farm system, probably Kindl and Grigorenko (the only thing close to a phenom in the system), and there's still that yearning hope of snagging Forsberg before training camp starts. But we'll see what happens.
Personally I think we dropped some dead weight, the team will be younger and faster, but still with the experience of some great older players to show them the way. At worst, we're as good as we were last year. At best, we got a teeny bit better, but I'll wait to see how the preseason games go. I would like to see Jimmy Howard brought up as the backup goalie to see how he does learning from Hasek and to get him some NHL experience, but he might need one more year in the AHL before the big leagues. He's the future of goaltending in Detroit, and I don't want to wait too long to bring him up, or bring him up too early and burn him out.
Already the naysayers in Detroit are busy bemoaning how much the Wings will suck this year whilst simultaneously talking about how great the chance is for the Lions to break through. Gimme a break! They even talk about the Pistons with great hope for this year, but they too will likely flop again unless Amir Johnson turns out to be a magical Lebron like phenom, which I don't see. It's going to be a great season for the Wings! HEY HEY HOCKEYTOWN!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Alrighty then, we've got some games going. I like the way the Sens are shaping up this season-so far we're 5 and 0. We're not scoring as much as, say, Detroit or Edmonton right now, but we've won all our games so far, and we've got a ton of steam behind us. How's your team doing?
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Things still look bright for the Sabres this year. The youngsters got a ton of playing time in the first 3 games, and in the first game with a mostly regular lineup, the Leafs got drilled 7-2. Derek Roy is doing his best to replace Briere, with 6 points including a natural hat trick in that game. Vanek has looked sharp and is causing massive problems in front of the net (4 points vs the Leafs). Ryan Miller is making plays as usual.
Of concern is injuries (already). Teppo Numminen is out for 3 months after a pretty serious heart surgery, so Nathan Paetsch steps in. Teppo normally covers for all of Kalinin's mistakes so that's a big loss. Maxim Afinogenov, Tim Connolly, Dmitri Kalinin, Paul Gaustad and Andrew Peters all have nagging injuries. Other than Teppo, all should be back for the opener.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Toad, if you look at the stats, you're only two and four goals behind Edmonton and Detroit so far in the preseason, which isn't bad at all. Frankly I think the more impressive number is goals against, of which the Sens have 10 so far in the preseason, which beats out the whole Western Conference (barely), and puts you in a threeway tie for third place in the Eastern. Looks like a well rounded defense and offense.
Detroit is doing good. It's hard to really get a feel for how the team will play when its the preseason and so many guys are playing for basically two spots, one on defense and one on the fourth line, and I doubt any but maybe one of them will make it.
THe lines were really juggled this year. I would've said last year that Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom was easily in the top three best lines in the NHL, maybe even the best line. But they've been broken up, and with good reason, to the first and second lines. It might make for more production, and might help less experienced players get more time with the stars, but it'll be interesting to watch. Kronwall is healthy, which will be nice if he can stay that way. Franzen is expected to have a breakout year, but I have my eye on Valteri Filpula, the Wings' only Finn, who had a fantastic postseason last year and has subsequently been moved up to the third line. He's a little green, and needs to shoot more, but he reminds me of Zetterberg in his rookie year, if not a little more unseasoned in some ways.
I have high hopes for the year. It's nice to finally see St. Louis and Chicago doing better. Those two have really got a lot going for them, and while I don't think they'll have a chance at winning the Central, at least we won't walk all over them this year. I like a challenge, which the Central doesn't usually provide. That might not be a worry if they change the scheduling next year. Only another week and a half until the regular season starts!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
All right. Preseason is done, and my Sens came out on top without a single loss. For all that's worth, it's still promising. Time for the season to get into full swing.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings came out strongly, point wise in a three way tie for first place of the NHL. We lost three games, but also played more games than any other team in the NHL too.
Season opener tomorrow vs the Ducks. I'm feeling good.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
WOO! Wings win the season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks in a dramatic shootout.
Wings 1-0 baby!
Posted by akhockey (Member # 8394) on :
Stastny's on par for 246 goals! Avs are on par for an 82-0-0 season! huzzah!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
BAM! What a way to start a season. Dramatic overtimes, tense shootouts, and a couple of fights to boot. Sens beat the Leafs in O.T., 4-3, with Heatley, our registered Leaf-Killer, netting two.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
October has been very good to the Wings so far this year Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
Most of my detailed thoughts are going here but the Sabres' season has been a roller coaster so far. A weak start with the Isles led to 3 straight wins where the team looked dominant...and then 3 straight losses where at times the guys looked lost. They were down a few d-men during the latest stretch (including a resurgent Jaroslav Spacek) but managed to gut out a couple of wins against the Florida teams with the help of a few lucky bounces.
Possibly the most important stretch of the season is coming up, with 10 of the next 11 games against division opponents. If Buffalo can dominate this stretch it will go a long way towards the Sabres getting back to the top of the standings.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Wings have been doing crazy good so far this year. Zetterberg is setting records with his point getting, though tonight was the first time this season that he failed to get one. Valterri Filpula on the other hand picked up another goal and assist tonight. He's my favorite of the younger up and comers.
What's funny is that for the last few years everyone says the Wings are a lock every year because the Central division is so weak, and I'd say there was a lot of truth to that...until this year. The Wings have lost five games so far this year, and four of those losses are to Central teams (the fifth being to Anaheim).
With 27 points, the Wings are dominant in the Western Conference right now. And yet Nashville, Columbus and Chicago are all right at the top of the points with the rest of the Conference with 19-20 points. Even St. Louis, who has been on a skid lately, is doing fairly well, and would be in the middle of the pack in any other division. My point? The Wings have been tearing up the Conference, and the teams that used to be pushovers are all of a sudden strong and not easy wins any more. This won't matter as much next year when the scheduling scheme changes, but I think it shows just how good the Wings are that they are still so dominant in the face of a rejuvinated Central Division. We'll see how it turns up in the next two weeks when they play all Central teams, but we're hot right now. Every season it seems people are all ready to jump on us for losses, like losing Schneider, Lang, and Markov, but we're still in there, and I think we're even better than last year.
Go Wings!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Senators have had an awesome season so far. We have yet to lose two games in a row. We've been missing Spezza the last few games, but he should be fine to skate on Thursday. Alfie has been tearing up, and he's inspiring our team like never before. Gerber's been showing some skill as well, and you can really see where his training's kicking in. Bring on the Pens. We're ready.
Go Sens Go!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Let's go Red Wings!!!!
We're at the halfway point this season. The Red Wings currently lead the NHL, with our closest competition in the Senators trailing us by seven points.
And for you all Wings haters who say we skate by with an easy division: We're 24-1-1 against everyone EXCEPT for the Central, and we're 6-7-2 against the Central. In other words? We're going to the playoffs, and we womped on everyone that we'll play when we get there.
And several of those victories came while top scorers Holmstrom and Zetterberg were out due to injury. Injuries are normal sure, but two top scorers, that has to say something. Our fourth line guys really stepped up in his absence and put a lot of pucks in the net.
I loves my hockey!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
The Wings have been truly excellent. You'll rarely see a team play with that much style. My Sens are, of course, not doing that bad for themselves, and we're getting out of a bit of a slump right now. We just beat Tampa Bay in a tense overtime game in which my favourite player (Mike Fisher baby!) came through in the end. Emery's also starting to shape up, and is showing that he's more than just Gerber's backup.
In other news, Canada just won the World Juniors. A great way to win it too, playing a hard game against a hard team for every minute (including a 20 minute overtime). 4 in a row baby!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Playoffs starting up. I decided to make some round 1 predictions.
Western Conference
Red Wings/Predators: Nashville has shaped up fairly well as a team, and have done pretty well against the Wings this year, but the Wings are just too damn deep to be knocked out in the first round. They outclass the Preds in almost every department (physical play being the glaring exception). If the Preds hope to do well, they're going to have the fight of their life. I can't see them winning more than one game. Wings in 5.
Flames/Sharks: The Sharks have played incredibly this year. They are incredibly cohesive as a team, and they have a great Stanley Cup chance. The Flames are also incredibly skilled, with great leadership and drive. Both teams have incredible goaltending. The Flames won the first one by a very close margin, but I think the Sharks will end up on top in the end. Sharks in 7.
Avalanche/Wild: Close call. The first game was a nerve-racker right up till the end. Colorado have got a lot going for them, but I don't see them holding up well in the long run against a much younger, tougher Wild team. Wild in 6 or 7.
Stars/Ducks: Decisive victory for Anaheim. Their goaltending is as good as ever, and their team is still very deep and tough. Ducks in 6.
Eastern Conference
Sens/Pens: I hate to say it, but if we keep playing like this, we're not even going to give the Pens a challenge. Losing Alfie and Mike hurts, but our playing ethic is what's really killing us. Unless we shape up, we've got no chance. Contrast that to the Pens, who are playing absolutely awesome hockey on every end. Pens in 5.
Canadiens/Bruins: Can't say I see any hope for Boston in this one. There's a reason the Habs dominated them 8-0 in the season series. It is the playoffs, so anything can happen, but it'll be hard for Boston to win a single game. Montreal in 5.
Rangers/Devils: When both teams have immaculate goaltending and defence, the offence will make the difference. And now Gomez is on the other team. Rangers in 6.
Flyers/Capitals: The Flyers have been playing some great hockey, but the Caps are riding a bullet train's worth of momentum. Caps in 5.
Do you guys have any predictions? I'd like to see them. This should be a great playoff.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
West: Wings, Sharks, Wild, Ducks. I think Dallas could surprise Anaheim, though.
East: Pens (though I'm rooting for OTT), Canadiens, Rangers, Flyers (WSH is not exactly a very deep team).
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It's go time baby! (very excited about the start of the playoffs tonight) WOOT!
Western Conference
Wings/Preds - Everyone around here is already talking about how the Wings are going to choke, and I can't say I blame them only for one reason: The Wings have a HORRIBLE record this year against Central division teams, of which Nashville is a part of. But we're still like 5-2 or something like that against them for the season, and we just got back a slew of injured players which should really get us back to where we were three months ago, but even then, we steamrolled everyone in March. Preds may not suck but, the Wings are going to crush them. Wings in 5.
Sharks/Flames - Both teams have excellent goaltending. Kipper is the only thing that kept the Flames in the playoffs last year, the guy stands on his head. But Nabokov isn't a pushover either, he's a stellar goali. But the Sharks will overpower them offensively and keep them away from the goal defensively, probably while getting beaten up by a physical Flames team in the process, but Sharks in 6.
Avalanche/Wild - The Avs have a lot of great young players on the team, but then, so do the Wild. Gaborik is a stellar player that will put up a lot of points on the board, and overall I think they are a faster, more well rounded team. Wild in 6.
Stars/Ducks - I don't think this is going to be nearly so easy for the Ducks as a lot of people are saying. I think the Stars are going to put up a serious fight. They were good down the stretch. The Ducks have great goaltending and defensinve parings that'd make most offenses want to cry, but the Stars have a great well rounded team as well. It's tough, it'll go 7 games, but in the end I think I'll give it to the Ducks.
Eastern Conference
Sens/Pens - Given how the Sens have played coming into the playoffs and the injuries, it seems a no brainer to say the Pens are going to roll over them, but I don't think Ottawa is a pushover team. Everyone comes to play in the playoffs, as if nothing that came before mattered, so I think they could turn it around but, seeing the Pens play without Crosby, and then with Crosby, and the energy they are bringing, I have to say Pens in 5, maybe 6 is the Sens put up a fight.
Canadiens/Bruins - No brainer, the Habs are on a mission this year. Look for the sweep, but Habs in 5.
Rangers/Devils - The Devils have stellar goaltending, a cut above the rest, but the cabinet seems a little bare when you get to the front of the lineup. Rangers are going to have some issues in later rounds, but for now, Rangers in 6.
Flyers/Caps - Have you see Ovechkin at all this season? Sorry Flyers, you aren't a BAD team per se, but this kid is on FIRE, and his team is along for the ride. Caps in 5.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Flyers/Caps - Have you see Ovechkin at all this season? Sorry Flyers, you aren't a BAD team per se, but this kid is on FIRE, and his team is along for the ride. Caps in 5.
Playing in the SE division really helps build momentum. Besides Ovetchkin, they have 2 guys with over 20 goals this season. And they're both negative in the +/-. On D, they've got Mike Green and Tom Poti. That's it. Huet was a good addition IMO, but he's in a sticky situation--with Kolzig on the bench, he could get pulled at any moment.
The Flyers are a much deeper team. If they can find a way to slow Ovetchkin down, they've got a great shot. Playoff hockey against the Flyers isn't a skate in the SE division park. AO is the best in the league, but you can count on him stealing 2 games for you, at best. The role players have to show up if they're going to advance.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Well, the Wings and Habs games were as expected. The Flames/Sharks matchup is incredibly tense. Every game is going to be close.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Flames and Sharks are close.
The Stars stunned the Ducks. 4-0 shut out? Maybe I should have said Stars in seven and not the Ducks.
Everyone else is going, if not according to plan, then at least unsurprisingly.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
DAL leads ANA 2-1 SAN - CGY tied 2-2 COL - MIN tied 2-2 DET leads NSH 2-1
------------
So far, the East is exactly as I'd expected. MTL should finish off Boston within a game or 2, although they've been under performing, in my opinion. PHI should be up 3-0, were it not for a huge blown lead in game 1. The last 2 games were absolutely controlled by PHI. Ovetchkin has 3 pts in 3 games, and 2 of them came in the game 1. He'll have to turn it up if WSH is going to hang around. Game 4 is in PHI. PIT is drubbing OTT, who is already vacationing. I hope OTT pulls a game or two out before it's over, but I don't see it happening. NYR in front of Jersey... This series could go either way, depending on Brodeur's play, but the Rangers are a much deeper team. Could give PIT trouble in round 2. PIT fans have got to be praying for a NJD victory.
The West is still a toss-up. NSH is the only team I consider to be out of the running at this point. DET is much, much better. CGY has played very well, but as the series drags on I think it works in SAN's favor. As far as the other 2 series go... who knows. I don't follow the West that closely. My money is still on ANA against DAL. COL just might pull it out against the Wild. Minnesota's got a great hockey atmosphere, though, so I'll stick to my guns and say MIN in 7.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:PIT fans have got to be praying for a NJD victory.
The Rangers certainly are the scariest team in the east for us Penguins fans. I think it would have a big potential to go 7 games, and I'd give the Penguins about a 55% chance of victory.
Possible second round matchups for Penguins (assuming they close it out)...
Other series: [1] Canadians vs [8] Bruins [3] Capitals vs [6] Flyers [4] Rangers vs [5] Devils
Possible victors: who Penguins would play. 1,3,4 : Capitals 1,3,5 : Capitals 1,6,4 : Rangers 1,6,5 : Devils 8,3,4 : Bruins 8,3,5 : Bruins 8,6,4 : Bruins 8,6,5 : Bruins
This of course makes it seem far more likely we'll play the Bruins then reality, since I'd give them very poor odds of pulling out a victory.
My guesses on probability: 1 (93%) vs 8 (7%) 3 (35%) vs 6 (65%) 4 (70%) vs 5 (30%)
So in my previous matchups:
1,3,4 : Capitals (.93 x .35 x .7) = 22.785% 1,3,5 : Capitals (.93 x .35 x .3) = 9.765% 1,6,4 : Rangers (.93 x .65 x .7) = 42.315% 1,6,5 : Devils (.93 x .65 x .3) = 18.135% 8,3,4 : Bruins (.07 x .35 x .7) = 1.715% 8,3,5 : Bruins (.07 x .35 x .3) = 0.735% 8,6,4 : Bruins (.07 x .65 x .7) = 3.185% 8,6,5 : Bruins (.07 x .65 x .3) = 1.365%
Leaving:
Rangers: 42% Capitals: 33% Devils: 18% Bruins: 7%
Which when you come down to it just means: If the Captials, Bruins, or Devils win this round, we won't play the Rangers next round.
Posted by LargeTuna (Member # 10512) on :
Go Flyers!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Well, that's the end of it. Hopefully well shape up and give a better performance next year.
Looks like the Predators are stepping up.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Shh!
Monday was a fluke, the Preds are going down.
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
quote:Originally posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick: Well, that's the end of it. Hopefully well shape up and give a better performance next year.
Looks like the Predators are stepping up.
I will miss Murray attempting to say 'undishiplined penaltiesh', it's true.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by TheTick:
quote:Originally posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick: Well, that's the end of it. Hopefully well shape up and give a better performance next year.
Looks like the Predators are stepping up.
I will miss Murray attempting to say 'undishiplined penaltiesh', it's true.
That's cheap. Hilarious, true, but cheap. *sulks*
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Shh!
Monday was a fluke, the Preds are going down.
And Wednesday too?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well now I don't think it's a fluke, I think it's Hasek.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Whew....Nice Flyers win in double overtime. The Flyers now have a 3-1 lead going back to Washington
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Debbies knocked out by the Rangers. PIT-NYR in the 2nd round, unless Boston surprised MTL. PIT has got to be the favorite, but the Rangers have played well against PIT. The Pens won 3 and lost 5 against NYR.
Great Flyers win last night. They've done a great job so far, killing the Caps momentum. With MTL stuttering a little against BOS, they have the potential to make a decent playoff run. I know it's premature, but I'd really like to see a PIT-PHI ECF. Barring that, anything the eliminates the Pens from the playoffs is fine by me. Can't stand them.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Well now I don't think it's a fluke, I think it's Hasek.
Osgood got the win tonight. Is Hasek still DET's #1 guy?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Osgood played 59 minutes and change of shut out hockey. They tied it up with seconds to go and then secured it in OT.
I don't see how you could look at Hasek's play in the first three and a half games, and Osgood's play in the last game and a half and say that Hasek is the #1 guy. Babcock has always said that you play the hot goalie, and right now, Osgood is on his game, and Hasek isn't. If Babcock starts Hasek on Sunday, I think it'll be a pretty big blunder.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
DET played a solid game today (including a shorthander from Lidstrom) to move onto the 2nd round. The picture will become clearer tonight, but the most likely opponent by my reckoning is COL.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Looks that way, unless Calgary pulls out a miracle win.
That Lidstrom goal was beautiful.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well Calgary has forced a Game 7 in San Jose.
More rest for the Wings Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Well Calgary has forced a Game 7 in San Jose.
More rest for the Wings
They'll only get more rest if Calgary wins. With a SJ win, they still play COL, right?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well the Ducks were just knocked off by the Stars so, if Calgary wins game 7 in San Jose, we play Calgary, 1 Detroit vs. 7 Calgary, and 5 Stars vs. 6 Avs.
If SJ wins, it'd be 1 Detroit vs. 6 Avs and 2 SJ vs 5 Stars.
Tuesday night at the latest we'll find out who plays who, in both conferences, in the second round.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
My best bet for round two:
PIT-NYR PHI-MTL
DAL-SAN DET-COL
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
You know, the Bruins have really impressed me recently. They might just pull this off.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
C! A! P! S! Caps! Caps! Caps!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Montreal finished the Bruins off.
The Caps have forced a final Game 7 tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we'll see how the second round is going to look.
When will it start? Thursday?
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
The Flyers came out flatfooted and played terrible, terrible hockey. If they don't make a dramatic turnaround, it'll be curtains for them tomorrow night.
Playing this way, they'd be cooked in the 2nd round, anyway.
Edit: Post #666 in the thread is about the Flyers. Given their rep, only NJD would've been more appropriate.
[ April 22, 2008, 01:53 AM: Message edited by: Fusiachi ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well if Philly does pull it off, they'll be easy prey for the Habs.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Philly sealed it in OT.
Sharks and Calgary are set to square off in a few minutes.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Flyers in OT!
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Now that I can breathe whew...I'll take the win.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow, the CAL/SAN game's giong right down to the wire. What a contest.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
San Jose is pulling away. 4-2.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Make that 5-2.
While not clinched...I think the next round it pretty well set now.
Conference Semi-Finals
West
1. Red Wings vs. 6. Avalanche 0-0 2. Sharks vs. 5. Stars 0-0
East
1. Habs vs. 6. Flyers 0-0 2. Penguins vs. 5. Rangers 0-0
I'm guessing the teams will get tomorrow off and we'll start on Thursday, or maybe Friday if they get two days off.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Flyers - Habs is scheduled for Thursday. Looks like Saturday night will be HNIC.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
For a city that's won 2 dozen cups, you'd think they'd know how to handle a 1st round victory....
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The schedule has been released for the second round. Detroit and Colorado square off on Thursday along with the Flyers and Habs. The other four teams play on Friday, and then they'll alternate days as usual.
Predictions for the second round?
West
Wings/Avs - The NHL's biggest rivalry renewed? Maybe. The last time they faced off was 2002, when the Wings leapfrogged them from a 3-2 deficit to make it to the finals and win the cup. The Avs have some young, quick players, but that's tempered by the fact that they have a lot of old guys in Foote and Sakic. The Wings have a lot of young talent with the same old guy issues, but the devil is in the details. I think the Wings are a deeper team throughout, and I think Osgood will continue his stellar play. A big question is what Theodore will do. Stellar or bomb? Hard to say, but either way the Wings win this series. The Avs knocked off the Wild, who were favored to win, but the Wings are rolling on two straight wins and a lot of fire, I think they win it. Wings in 6
Sharks/Stars - The Stars wiped the floor with a defensive heavyweight Ducks, and the Sharks struggled all the way to game 7 against a Calgary Flames that shouldn't have really had a chance this year. Momentum vs skin of your teeth? That doesn't replace the fact that the Sharks are a very good team. I think this one will go seven, and the Sharks won't be steamrolling anyone. It's a tossup, but I lean towards the Sharks. But I wouldn't rule out a Stars upset. Sharks in 7.
East
Habs/Flyers - I know they stumbled a bit against the Bruins, but the Flyers just barely eked out their own win. The Habs will steamroll them. Habs in 6.
Pens/Rangers - The Pens have the momentum and talent to get to the conference finals this year. They dismantled the Senators pretty handily and had plenty of rest going into this series. But the Rangers aren't pushovers. I thin they'll stretch it out to seven games, and the Pens win. Pens in 7.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
In the 1st round I picked with my head, now it's time to go with the heart.
COL over DET. I have no love for the Wings. (Reality: DET wins. Lidstrom is a machine.)
SAN over DAL. I'm rooting for Roenick in this one. (Reality: It's a toss-up.)
PHI over MTL. The Habs are better, but I'm a homer. (Reality: MTL finally gets rolling on the PP and scored about 25 PP goals.)
NYR over PIT. As a Flyers fan, I hate hate hate both teams. But Cindy Crysbsy pushes me over the top. (Reality: PIT probably wins, but I hope they get bludgeoned in the process.)
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
COL/DET: Theodore has been flippin' amazing, but Osgood's no pushover, and his defense is slightly stronger. I think the wings will get more and better shots on net. Wings in 6.
SAN/DAL: This one's gonna be tight as hell. I'll put my faith in the Stars, but it's really just a toss-up. Stars in 7?
MTL/PHI: Boston was a much stronger playoff team in the first round then Philly was, and the Habs pulled through all the same. And with Koivu back in action, I don't think they'll be stopped. Habs in 5.
NYR/PIT: Another toss-up. I kinda want the Pens to lose, so I'll predict it and hope it comes true. Rangers in 7.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Man am I ever off so far in this round.
Conference Semi-Finals
West
1. Red Wings vs. 6. Avalanche 2-0 2. Sharks vs. 5. Stars 0-2
East
1. Habs vs. 6. Flyers 1-1 2. Penguins vs. 5. Rangers 2-0
I thought for sure the Rangers and Sharks would put up a much better fight than that. The Stars stole two on the road and play the next two at home? San Jose is done. Even if they split the two games in Dallas, I don't see them winning three straight after that. This is two rather crushing victories in a row for the Stars. They're headed to the Western Conference finals.
And seriously, I thought the Rangers would put up a better fight than that. They'll head home for two games now and we'll see if they can break the Pens' flawless playoff record.
Wings and Avs are going much like I expected, with the Wings soundly thumping those Rocky Mountain airheads. Maybe Theodore really does have the flu, but either way he's being picked apart, and I don't think Budaj is a playoff goalie that can carry them in this series. Their goaltending is falling apart, and the offense is having no luck against Detroit's D.
Montreal and Philly is probably the scrappiest series. I can easily see this one going back and forth a couple times.
I think it'll be over by this weekend.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:And seriously, I thought the Rangers would put up a better fight than that.
The Pens won both games by the skin of their teeth. The first was by an amazing 0-3 to 5-4 comeback, aided by no less than 2 goals that went in off a defenseman's foot. Even so, the Rangers hit the post with 14 seconds left, another inch to the right and it would have gone to overtime. The second game was a 1-0 nail-biter, with a late Ranger goal waved off by an early whistle. They then had two power plays in the last 5 minutes to tie, and failed.
For the most part, the Penguins have outplayed the Rangers, but Lundquist has been keeping the games ridiculously close.
The Pens have lost all four games in MSG, I'm just hoping for a split there and go back to Pittsburgh 3-1.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
The Rangers absolutely deserved at least a split out of those two games. They shut down PITs offense in game 2, only to have the tying goal called off. In game 1, the ticky tacky penalty on at the end sealed the deal.
Likewise, the Flyers deserve to be up 2-0.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:The Rangers absolutely deserved at least a split out of those two games. They shut down PITs offense in game 2, only to have the tying goal called off.
Pittsburgh outshot them 32-26 in game 2, and had the better scoring chances as well.
In game 1 New York gave up 4 straight even strength goals, blowing a 3 goal lead.
Rangers don't "deserve" anything.
[ April 28, 2008, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: Xavier ]
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Presumably you missed Crosby's Greg Louganis impression in game one? NY melted down, for sure. Inconsistent officiating didn't help. The refs let a lot of nonsense go that game, only to call a marginal penalty right when the Pens needed it.
In game 2, the trap worked pretty well. Outshooting a defensive-minded team by 6 shots isn't saying a lot. The Pens are going to put up a lot of shots on goal, especially with 5 PPs (And yes, I know the Rangers had 6. But, as I said, they're defense first.) 'Better scoring chances' is subjective. NY scored a goal that was called back. That game should have been 1-1 at the buzzer.
PIT has played only slightly better than NY so far.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I admit I only caught bits and pieces of both games, I watched while I was at work. The first game all I remember is the Pens evening up whenever the Rangers scored, and the second game, didn't the Pens win 2-0?
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: I admit I only caught bits and pieces of both games, I watched while I was at work. The first game all I remember is the Pens evening up whenever the Rangers scored, and the second game, didn't the Pens win 2-0?
Second goal was on an empty net.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:Presumably you missed Crosby's Greg Louganis impression in game one?
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
I just sayin'...
The guy is supposed to be as strong of a skater as anyone in the league. He falls to the ice when it's convenient. Call it gamesmanship, call it whatever. Up to this point in his career, Crosby has not played the sort of hockey that I admire.
When Straka and Shanahan call you out for diving, maybe they're onto something. Those guys have been around the league for a while.
Anyway, as I said before, the Rangers should've had a shot at OT in game 2. In game one, they really took it to PIT early. The Pens do not impress me at all.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Flyers pull out a 3-2 win to take the series lead two games to one. Sitting on a 3-0 lead, Hatcher took a five minute major penalty (w/a game misconduct to boot). MTL scores two goals during the 5 minute PP. It should have been 3 minutes, due to a trip non-call, but that's besides the point.
Flyers PIM - 29 MTL PIM - 8.
The Flyers had 6 minutes of PP time on the night, and 2 of those PPs were due to technical calls--too many many, delay of game...the sort of thing refs kind of have to call.
Oh well. Good teams play through this sort of stuff.
Flyers, in 6, in Philly.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Conference Semi-Finals
West
1. Red Wings vs. 6. Avalanche 4-0 WINGS SWEEP 2. Sharks vs. 5. Stars 1-3 (Next game Friday)
East
1. Habs vs. 6. Flyers 1-4 Flyers Win 2. Penguins vs. 5. Rangers 3-1
Flyers won tonight to push them up to a two game lead. The Stars are currently playing the Sharks, and have a one goal lead going into the second period. The Sharks are on the verge of being swept. Tomorrow night we'll see if the Avs and Rangers suffer the same fate.
[ May 03, 2008, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Sharks pull out a victory and stave off defeat, for now.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Flyers have put themselves in a position to eliminate the Habs, and the Rangers have managed to take one away from the Pens for the first time.
The Wings are currently up 3-1 going into the second period. Looks like a sweep...
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Freaking Franzen...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Mule is on fire!!!!
(Now 4-1 off a goal from Hank) (Now 5-1 off another goal from Hank) (Now 6-1 off another goal from Franzen)
SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP
(Now 7-1 off another goal from Franzen, Franzen gets his second hat trick of the playoffs, and breaks the Red Wings team record with 11 goals so far in the playoffs)
[ May 01, 2008, 11:44 PM: Message edited by: Lyrhawn ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Final score 8-2. Wings sweep the Avs with a crushing finish.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Dallas and San Jose are tied 2-2 right now after SJ has answered back with two goals.
I thought this thing was over going into the third, but SJ is hanging on.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Flyers onto the ECF.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Semis might be over tomorrow if the Pens and Stars win.
Conference Semi-Finals
West
1. Red Wings vs. 6. Avalanche 4-0 WINGS SWEEP 2. Sharks vs. 5. Stars 1-3 (Next game Sunday)
East
1. Habs vs. 6. Flyers 1-4 Flyers Win 2. Penguins vs. 5. Rangers 3-1 (Next game Sunday)
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Hossa scores in OT, Pens advance.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Welcome to the meat grinder.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Well this is certainly a way to up a rivalry....the Penguins/Flyers games this year have been intense. Looking forward to more the same this sieries with the Flyers winning in 6.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Pens are having a hell of a year.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Flyers in 6? I don't see that happening.
Sharks and Stars are nearing the end of the third OT with the score still tied at one.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Flyers in 6? I don't see that happening.
Sharks and Stars are nearing the end of the third OT with the score still tied at one.
I'm not growing a playoff beard just so the Flyers can lose to the Pens. Flyers in 5.
Oh, and DAL wins in 4OT.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well we have our matchups.
Stars/Wings and Pens/Flyers.
I say Wings in 5 (wishful thinking, maybe six), and Pens in 6.
Either way, two great matchups.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow, San/Dal was the best series I'd seen in years.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
I'm going with Pens in 6 as well, but hoping for them to win in 5. I think Philly is a little better than Ottawa, but not quite as good as the Rangers.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well the Stars finally broke the Wings' win streak.
Really I should say the REFS broke their win streak, but whatever. If they hadn't robbed us of two goals and given them one that shouldn't have been, it would've been over.
But whatever, I have no problem finishing this at home. Wings in 5 is still my guess.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Really I should say the REFS broke their win streak, but whatever. If they hadn't robbed us of two goals and given them one that shouldn't have been, it would've been over.
LOL, unless the refs names are Brendan Morrow and Marty Turco, then the refs didn't steal that game from the Wings. And I would be careful about counting out the Stars just yet, this might be that moment, like Ortiz's home-run in game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, that gives the Stars just enough confidence and momentum to make a series out of this. In that sense, I don't think this series goes 5...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Really? Disallowing a goal that was clearly fair while allowing a Stars goal that clearly wasn't? We lost 3-1, could have easily been 2-2 going into OT. They waved off another goal with a whistle blow that I thought was too fast too.
But you think THIS Stars team against THIS Red Wings team will be the first team in 30 some odd years to come back from a 3-0 deficit? Doubtful. Without the refs helping them out, the game either would've ended with a different winner or would have been a LOT closer.
The Wings won nine straight before last night. They're still a team on fire. I don't think they lose four straight.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
GO WINGS!
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Really? Disallowing a goal that was clearly fair while allowing a Stars goal that clearly wasn't? We lost 3-1, could have easily been 2-2 going into OT. They waved off another goal with a whistle blow that I thought was too fast too.
I wouldn't say that goal was clearly fair, I thought it was goalie interference, and it's a call I think should have been called on Detroit on at least 2 other goals in this series as well. Call those as well and maybe this series is actually 2-2 instead of 3-1.
With that being said, THIS Stars team is clearly different than other Stars teams. I thought for sure that they would lose to Anaheim, I thought for sure they would lose to San Jose, and I thought they would be the team that would give up a 3-0 lead. But none of that happened. I have seen this team have a 2-1 lead in the third only to give up the tying goal and lose in OT so many times that I have come to expect that. But it's not happening here, they beat San Jose on OT goals that I never expected given what they normally do, and there is something about the Dallas Stars and Brendan Morrow and Marty Turco and Brad Richards and Mikey Mo that has really made these playoffs, unlike the past four, really, really fun. Brendan Morrow is the best Captain in the league, and this team plays like they love the guys around them. Just ask the Patriots, there is nothing like that in sports...
I am not saying the Stars will win, but I don't think it will go 5 either. I think they will make the Red Wings earn it in either 6 or 7.
Also, the last time a team came back from 3-0 was 1975 and before that 1942, which leaves 33 years between times it happened. 1975+33 is 2008. The Stars seem like a team of destiny, and that would just be perfect wouldn't it. Go Stars!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The numbers aren't on your side. Before Wednesday, Turco had only beat the Wings I think three times total, and never at the Joe.
If Franzen is out for the rest of the series and the Stars keep playing with the energy they played with in the last two games, they could make a series of it. But the Wings are hungry this year, and look a heck of a lot more like the team of Destiny than the Stars have.
I think we'll win at home on Saturday.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I hope so.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote: The numbers aren't on your side. Before Wednesday, Turco had only beat the Wings I think three times total, and never at the Joe.
I believe The Patriots were at least 10 point favorites in The Super Bowl this year and The Stars had lost four straight opening round series before making it past both the Ducks and the Sharks. For the most part, numbers don't mean much when it comes to teams and winning. The numbers said that The Patriots should have destroyed the Giants but we all saw what happened there.
Marty Turco seems to like this challenge, this Stars team seems to be different than previous ones, so maybe this one will be different. I surely hope so.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Which Stars team? The one that lost the first three games handily, or the one that barely pulled it out in Game 4 with the help of the refs?
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
If the Superbowl was a series the Giants wouldn't have had a chance.
Poor example...the reason series exist is to take away the one game wonder type of play, and make it more likely the most talented team wins.
In pool the longer the race is the more likely the better play is to win. Anyone can win one game, even if they don't play as well overall, but their chances of doing 4 out of 7 times is far slimmer if the opponant is a better player.
I use pool/billiards as an example because it is something I am very familiar with, but the same applies for anything, really.
My bet is the WIngs go all the way to the Cup....and not just because I am a Red Wings fan.
That just makes is all the sweeter.
[ May 17, 2008, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: Kwea ]
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
Stars 2 and the Red Wings 1.
Game 6 in Dallas on Monday, and that should be very interesting.
Go Stars!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Great game from Osgood, and decent defense in general, but we didn't take it to them the way I'd have liked to. The crowd had some great energy too.
I'm still not worried though. We can win in Dallas, and they aren't going to sweep us.
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
Flyers spanked today.
Now I can only root against the Pens.
The Pens are everything that is wrong with the "new" NHL.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Ouch, another year of waiting I guess. I still consider the Flyers season to be a success. Still losing like this is a tough pill to swallow.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Much better
This was the way I'd hoped they'd come out and play. They pretty much put it out of reach after the first period. Not out of reach perhaps, as a three goal deficit isn't crushing, but it takes a serious effort to get the lead back from three unanswered goals, and when the fourth came, I think that sapped Dallas' energy until nearly the end of the third, but by then it was too late.
So now we go to the Stanley Cup Finals. Starts this Saturday at 8pm in Detroit.
Detroit in six. I'd like to say five, but that's too optimistic against a team that has been just as crushing on the Eastern side of things that Detroit has been on the Western. Besides, I have no idea how the Malkin/Crosby line will match up with Zetterberg/Datsyuk.
Should be a great matchup.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
Congrats to the Wings... was a fun series.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Thanks....this should be a great finale.
I was born in Pittsburgh, and lived for 12 years in Detroit (well, the suburbs of it anyways), so this is a great year for me.
That being said....
GO WINGS!
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Fusiachi, I can't believe that all the whiners and criers from www.hfboards.com have their own representative on Hatrack. I'd be curious to know how many of the games the Flyers "deserved" to win, by the way.
I think this series will be a blast. Most everybody on the hockey boards I frequent predicts an easy win from Detroit. Don't get me wrong, I think Detroit is a great team, but I think underestimating the Penguins would be a big mistake. Most predictors of a Red Wings easy victory site the Pens' "horrible defense", going off past reputation instead of current reality (Pens lead the playoffs in GAA).
I say that it will come down to whether the Pens can win one of the first two games in Detroit. If they lose them both, I say Red Wings in 6. If they win one of them, I say Pens in 7.
Edit: If they manage to win them both, I'd say Pens in 5. However, I consider this rather unlikely.
[ May 20, 2008, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Xavier ]
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings come out strong blanking the Pens in a 4-0 victory!
I'd love it by the way if the refs could stop stealing goals from us, that'd be nice. We didn't end up needing it, but it's the principle of the thing.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:I'd love it by the way if the refs could stop stealing goals from us, that'd be nice.
While it was a borderline call I felt, the dude's stick was in between MAF's legs. If they want to stop getting goals called off, they should tell that dude to stop interfering with the goalie.
Anyway, the Pens got outplayed, but the biggest cause for concern is that the first two goals came from being outworked. Blanking the Pens' high flying offense is very impressive. The game started out exciting and then got very boring for a Pens fan.
I'm thinking they're going to be a bit more fired up for the second game, and get at least a couple into the net. I still like their chances if they can win one in Detroit. They haven't lost at home since February.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
And they haven't won in Detroit in eight years A minor fact given the few number of times they've even played at the Joe in that time, but it SOUNDS nice.
quote:While it was a borderline call I felt, the dude's stick was in between MAF's legs. If they want to stop getting goals called off, they should tell that dude to stop interfering with the goalie.
I never saw his stick touch Fleury. His stick is allowed to be there. There's no rule against it. I've seen goals where players crash full on into the goalie and the goal still counts, but our goals get waved off when Holmstom's backside is over the line? Or when his stick isn't actually touching the goalie but is NEAR him? He's not interfering, and the goals shouldn't be called off.
If Fleury can't stop a goal under those circumstances, he has no business being a goalie. It's ridiculous. There was no way he was going to stop that goal either way; Holmstrom's stick had zero bearing on the goal.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Great game though!
Posted by TheTick (Member # 2883) on :
They've got to focus on that rule in the off-season, there have been WAY too many games affected by that, either calling it too tight or not at all.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
They need to take a serious look at the rule in general. If that Lidstrom goal that was disallowed is how the rule will be called from now on, then a LOT of goals are going to be called off in the NHL. Holmstrom was outside the crease and got his stick in there a little bit, but I've seen dozens of goals that were jammed in through a goalie's pads or jammed in in the middle of a scuffle or in some other way shape or form dealt with contact with the goalie.
The crease isn't a magic force field, and even if it was, Fleury likes to come out of the crease to make a play. If you can't have traffic around the goal, get ready for the goal totals to significantly drop around the NHL.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
BOOM!
120 minutes of shut out hockey from Detroit!
I think the Pens showed their frustration a lot in the game, and not just with the cheap late hit on Zetterberg or the cheap head shots to Franzen. And the post game interviews were a whine fest with them all complaining about how bad the Wings are. To be fair, I think there were a few calls that should have been made against the Wings. Kronwall leaves his feet when making a lot of his hits, and that should be a penalty. But I saw a lot of things that should've been called on the Pens too. Val Fillpula was being interfered with when he scored the third goal on Fleury (which was a SWEET goal) but whatever. And for all the bitching there is about Holmstrom interfering, twice they clipped Osgood and then complained about the call. At least the calls in that regard were consistent.
So really, I don't have any complaints about that game, except perhaps the cheap intent to injure hits on Franzen (who himself had zero complaints about it). If the Pens don't want to give us any credit and want to cry their way to losing the Finals, then fine. Or they could give us some credit, suck it up, and try to actually score a goal.
I think the momentum will really be with them when this thing goes to Pittsburg on Wednesday. They'll get some major energy from the crowd and maybe they'll even put one between the pipes, but I'm really looking forward to a renewed competition between the two on Wednesday.
Let's go Red Wings!!
Posted by Celaeno (Member # 8562) on :
I have been away for ages, and this thread made me sad about that. I would've LOVED to be around to discuss the San Jose/Dallas series. I'm a new Sharks fan, but I watched all of the Sharks' playoff games, and I went to Game 7 against Calgary. (I've never screamed so loudly in my life, and I had bronchitis. Terrible combination.)
After losing to Dallas like that, I was really rooting for Dallas against Detroit. Oh well.
Does anyone have a take on the Sharks firing Ron Wilson? I haven't been following hockey long enough to discuss the implications of such a decision.
Sorry in advance for any possible derailing that might stem from this post.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Given their failure to make it past the Conference semis for the last couple years, especially given their talent pool (they were widely favored to beat the Stars this year, and I think they were favored to beat the Wings last year too), I guess I'm really not surprised. Management thinks a fresh face and new ideas might finally get them past their bugaboos.
The Sharks are still a great team so I don't see this hurting them too badly. But I haven't seen who they are replacing him with. There aren't a ton of experienced NHL coaches floating around right now. It seems the name of the game is either promoting from within or poaching from another team.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Better game from the Penguins, much better. They really, REALLY improved their defensive effort. They made a lot of problems from the Wings, and didn't allow them to fly out of their own zone in control of the puck, and they crashed the net a lot. The Wings I think bobbled it a bit. That first goal was off a mishandling from Stuart, and there were a couple other blunders, but they didn't lose because they played poorly, they played very, very well. The Penguins picked up their game enormously. They were more aggressive, more calm, crashed the net, played great defensive hockey, limited our shots on goal while increasing their own and fired on more cylinders.
All in all this was the game that everyone wanted to see. It easily could've gone either way. Stuart doesn't make that slip and there's no goal for the Penguins, Osgood doesn't get his glove on it in time and it's an extra goal for them, the net doesn't get knocked off its moorings and it's a tie game. Bad or lucky bounces and happenings made that game what it was, but I don't think any of it was because anyone played poorly. Good on Pittsburgh, and great game.
I was glad to see multiple calls on cross checking against Holmstrom. I think they easily could've made two or three more calls for cross checking against the Pens. Also, and I'll say this first, I think it was a fair goal, but I think it was the second goal when a Penguin was in the crease encroaching on Osgood's breathing space, which was all it took to get two of our goals disallowed in previous games and yet it was fine. I think all of them should be goals. The Penguin player wasn't out of line, but if we're going to call it, call it for everyone, or call it for no one.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
RED WINGS ARE 2008 STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!
Great series Penguins.
Hey hey Hockeytown!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I might add that Lidstrom is the FIRST European captain to lift the Cup. And the 2008 Red Wings are the very FIRST NHL team to win a Cup with more than 50% European players. The taboo is broken people!
I don't think this will lead to a swarm of scouts at Timra vs. Frolunda games, and I don't even think a lot of teams will really start to take on more European players in leaps and bounds, but I think it shows a lot about the quality of the Euro leagues.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
So we're on Day 2 of free agency? How is everyone faring?
The Wings signed Marian Hossa for a one year, 7.45 million dollar deal, making him the second highest paid player on the team. I'm not super happy about the price, but we still got him for a big deal since the Oilers were willing to pay 9 million plus for him and he's a fantastic top 6 forward. He's a great pickup.
Other than that we resigned Brad Stuart, which was another big deal for us. We've got our top four defensemen locked in and they're all awesome.
All we have left is to resign Valtteri Filppula and we're set for next year. I hate being the favorites to repeat, because the pressure and expectations suck, but man, picking up Hossa and keeping everyone else means we're going to be even better next year. I'm feeling really, really good Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Yeah, should be a hell of a year.
Again.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Apparently, we've had enough of Redden.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Freakin' mule.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
How's everyone doing?
The first round is yielding some interesting surprises and some all too expected results for others.
The Canucks have swept the Blues, and the Wings are one game away from sweeping the Jackets, as well the Bruins are a game away from sweeping the Canadiens.
Surprises? The Ducks taking two in San Jose. I thought it would be a crazy series, and that this was the worst possible match up for the Sharks, but dropping two at home? I didn't see that coming. It's a damned good thing for them that the eked out a win in Anaheim.
Other surprises, the Caps drop two at home as well. Carolina scores a freak goal in the last two TENTHS of a second of last night's game to even up the series 2-2.
It looks like the first round is serving up a lot of surprises and also a lot of great hockey. The Pens and Flyers are playing a great physical series.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
My Blackhawks are in the playoffs for the first time in seven years!! Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
And doing pretty well from the looks of things. They had some trouble in Calgary the other night, but that's to be expected.
They had a dramatic comeback in Game 2. And I think they'll move on to the next round, either to play the Sharks or the Canucks.
And I hope it's the Sharks. I don't want to play the Ducks next
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Yeah, I fully expected to drop a game in Calgary. We're tied at 1-1 at the first intermission. I think we'll take it in 5 but I'll take 6. I just don't want it to go all 7.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
GO WINGS!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: Yeah, I fully expected to drop a game in Calgary. We're tied at 1-1 at the first intermission. I think we'll take it in 5 but I'll take 6. I just don't want it to go all 7.
That was a wacky second period. Six goals scored? Time to tighten up that defense. Getting three passed Kipper is impressive for a single period though.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
And the Wings add a sweep of the Jackets to their resume. That was a close game. The Columbus offense finally turned on, and what looked like a hurt Osgood gave them a helping hand. I won't take credit away from them though, they played a hard damn game that came down to the last minute.
The Ducks won tonight, which makes it look an awful lot like Wings vs. Ducks and either Calgary/Chicago vs. Vancouver.
At least we get some rest.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
wOOt!
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow. Mike Brown. Just. Wow.
Take it easy there, big boy.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
FToS: Yeah, no kidding... ***OOF!!!*** Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Ouch.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
That was complete bullshit.
Why do we even have refs?
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: That was complete bullshit.
Why do we even have refs?
To make good, really good, calls that screw over the hated Red Wings!
The Ducks will win the series in 6.
BlackHawks and Capitals in the finals.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
How was that a good call? I didn't really have a problem with the calls throughout the game, though a couple for both the Wings AND the Ducks were pretty fishy, and stuff on both sides that might have been called wasn't, but that's fine. Not calling 2 minute penalties is part of the game that I can live with.
Whistling down a perfectly fair goal by any fair measure of what a fair goal is on the other hand, is handing the game to the other team. The Wings might still have lost in overtime, but now we're never know.
And in what insane world are you living where the Hawks beat the Ducks? If the Ducks beat the Wings (and they won't, it'll be the Wings in 7), then they'll stomp every team between them and the Cup. The Hawks, if they beat the Canucks, which I actually really hope they do, because I like the Hawks, will lose in the Conference finals to either the Ducks or the Wings. No contest.
ETA: He didn't even blow the whistle, it was "intent to blow," which is just as stupid. The puck was still loose.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: How was that a good call? I didn't really have a problem with the calls throughout the game, though a couple for both the Wings AND the Ducks were pretty fishy, and stuff on both sides that might have been called wasn't, but that's fine. Not calling 2 minute penalties is part of the game that I can live with.
Whistling down a perfectly fair goal by any fair measure of what a fair goal is on the other hand, is handing the game to the other team. The Wings might still have lost in overtime, but now we're never know.
And in what insane world are you living where the Hawks beat the Ducks? If the Ducks beat the Wings (and they won't, it'll be the Wings in 7), then they'll stomp every team between them and the Cup. The Hawks, if they beat the Canucks, which I actually really hope they do, because I like the Hawks, will lose in the Conference finals to either the Ducks or the Wings. No contest.
ETA: He didn't even blow the whistle, it was "intent to blow," which is just as stupid. The puck was still loose.
The call was good because...it was the Red Wings? No it wasn't a good call, it was a mistake, but it was the Red Wings, so I enjoyed it. Hey, I am a Stars fan, I have to get any pleasure out of these playoffs that I can.
Well, the BlackHawks are faster, younger, and more uptempo than the Ducks, and though I don't think they can beat the Wings if they face them, the Hawks are young and don't know that they would be underdogs to the Ducks. In my insane world, the Hawks skate all over the Ducks in 6 games, and that is bolstered by the fact that the Hawks beat the Ducks 3 of 4 times in the regular season.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Hey, I am a Stars fan, I have to get any pleasure out of these playoffs that I can.
::Thinks about it:: Sure, I can respect that.
quote:Well, the BlackHawks are faster, younger, and more uptempo than the Ducks, and though I don't think they can beat the Wings if they face them, the Hawks are young and don't know that they would be underdogs to the Ducks. In my insane world, the Hawks skate all over the Ducks in 6 games, and that is bolstered by the fact that the Hawks beat the Ducks 3 of 4 times in the regular season
Duck playoff hockey is crazy physical. I've only been watching bits and pieces of the Canucks/Hawks series, but I don't think they have it in them. I think they'll win a couple, but be ground into the ice. I think they're a great young team that is playing playoff hockey as if they've been doing it for years rather than this being their first trip.
I was hoping for a Wings/Hawks matchup since the playoffs first started, and I still think it's possible, though now both the Wings and the Hawks have to overcome 2-1 deficits, and I think both teams have it in them.
How come the Wings earn special hatred btw? Why can't we all band together to hate Anaheim or the Oilers or something?
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:How come the Wings earn special hatred btw? Why can't we all band together to hate Anaheim or the Oilers or something?
Oh trust me, the Ducks and Sharks are 2 and 3 on the list, but for the Red Wings, they won a few cups in the 90's, one of which should have been the Stars. In the 90's, the only team that really beat the Red Wings were the Avs because the Stars could never do it.
quote:I was hoping for a Wings/Hawks matchup since the playoffs first started, and I still think it's possible, though now both the Wings and the Hawks have to overcome 2-1 deficits, and I think both teams have it in them.
Yeah, that's what I thought, but man the Ducks do look good and seeing that this is exactly how they looked in 07 when they won the cup, I wouldn't be shocked if they won it all. Still, the Ducks are crazy physical as you said, but I think youth and speed, like the BlackHawks have in abundance, can overcome physicality. You can't hit something you can't catch, and I think maybe that's what the Hawks will do to the Ducks. If the Hawks meet the Wings, they will lose in 5, but still, I am kinda rooting for the Hawks.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
What a crock of shit.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
The Red Wings are the Red Sox of hockey, then? Man, I feel sorry for any team with the word "Red" in their name.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
quote:Originally posted by Humean316: Well, the BlackHawks are faster, younger, and more uptempo than the Ducks, and though I don't think they can beat the Wings if they face them, the Hawks are young and don't know that they would be underdogs to the Ducks. In my insane world, the Hawks skate all over the Ducks in 6 games, and that is bolstered by the fact that the Hawks beat the Ducks 3 of 4 times in the regular season. [/QB]
I honestly have little hope of us getting past the Canucks this series. If we'd pulled the Canucks instead of the Flames for round 1, I think we'd be out already. But considering this is our first playoff appearance in 7 years, our first second-round appearance in 13, and we've got an extremely young team, I'm proud of the boys for getting this far. It's amazing to see the changes in the roughly 18 months since Dollar Bill Wirtz died.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: The Red Wings are the Red Sox of hockey, then? Man, I feel sorry for any team with the word "Red" in their name.
Yeah, they might win championships. Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
The Coyotes might be moving. They filed for Chapter 11 and th current owner wants to sell.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
They've got a potential buyer too. Only thing stopping them is Bettman.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
6-3 Red wings GO WINGS!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
As far as the Coyotes moving goes, the potential buyer wants to move them to southern Ontario. Where the heck is that supposed to be? Toronto has a team, Detroit has a team, and in between them is...? It's a dumb idea. Selling the team and moving it, eh, whatever. They have a brand new arena there but fine. South Ontario? Nooooo.
Oh, and HELL YEAH WINGS!!!
The Ducks defense broke down there, and combined with a rejuvenated Wings offense, hockey fans the world over got a nice little show tonight. I'm loving the new Hossa/Filppula/Franzen line! The Ducks will come back strong in Detroit, they won't make the same defensive mistakes, but I don't think we'll see any 1 or 2 goal games anymore. It was nice to see Hiller taken out
Oh, and good job Blackhawks! Best of three series between them and Vancouver now, and I think they can do it!
Wings and Hawks in the Conference finals!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Wings and Hawks in the Conference finals!
That would soooooooo totally rock. I wish I could have watched the game instead of just listening on the radio.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: As far as the Coyotes moving goes, the potential buyer wants to move them to southern Ontario. Where the heck is that supposed to be? Toronto has a team, Detroit has a team, and in between them is...? It's a dumb idea. Selling the team and moving it, eh, whatever. They have a brand new arena there but fine. South Ontario? Nooooo.
I'd prefer them to come back to Winnipeg but anywhere in Canada would be great. I'm pretty sure that Buffalo is the city that would have the most proximity problems with a Southern Ontario team. The Leafs are consistently one of the top money makers for the NHL though and Southern Ontario can definitely support another team. It's not a bad thing to have a billionaire as an owner either. I'm so sick of Bettman screwing over Canada in his running of the NHL. He claims that they don't give up on cities and they won't walk away from Phoenix! Tell that to Winnipeg, Quebec, and Hartford!
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Also, I hate the Ducks and like the Wings (though not as much without Yzerman) so I hope they win. I think that the Canucks can shut down the Blackhawks though. The Canucks need to not sit on small leads for the rest of the series though. They've got to keep the puck in Chicago's end a lot more.
Posted by ...Arson (Member # 12052) on :
I am so completely astounded that there's this many hockey fans here!
Well just to catch up: I initially picked Philadelphia(begrudgingly over Pittsburgh and my favourite team: Montreal) and Vancouver to win their conferences.
Vancouver, a la GodziLLuongo, seems to be in position to do such. There's no way Chicago can keep getting peppered for 50 minutes a game and keep getting lucky as they are.
Philadelphia lost out to Pittsburgh (which was a hard series to call) but being somewhat of an Ovechkin fan I'm fairly happy how that series has turned out.
I truly hope Boston implodes, but if there's a team I like less than Boston is Carolina... I am truly torn. I still remember the 06 playoffs.
Anaheim has been really impressive, specifically the dominance of their top line and their defense+hiller. I just don't think they can take out the two top seeds and have enough left in the tank for either a young Chicago team or a deep Canucks one.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yeah Hawks! Chicago beats Vancouver to bring it back home for an elimination game!
Pittsburgh beat Washington in the third of three straight wins after going down two to start the series. Now they too go home to play an elimination game.
Tomorrow the Canes will be playing to eliminate the Bruins at home, and the Wings will be playing Game 5 in a 2-2 series at home. We draw ever closer to my Hawks and Wings Conference finals dream scenario.
Shame on you for doubting your Hawks Goody Scrivener! They're going to pull it out!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I'm a Chicagoan. I'm used to being disappointed by my boys LOL.
I really wish Buffy could have nailed his hat trick last night. Looked like he was off by just a few inches, and he had someone up in his face when he let that ENG attempt loose. And WHAT was with Salo bending Ladd backwards over the top of the goal box with a late hit? Where were the bleepin refs?!?
Godzilluongo. I like that. Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: I'm a Chicagoan. I'm used to being disappointed by my boys LOL.
LOL, I am a Texas Ranger fan, I know how you feel.
And sorry Lyrhawn, but I think the Ducks will still pull that series out. If so, after watching the Hawks last night, did they convince you that they could beat the Ducks? Like I said, if it does go Wings and Hawks, then it's the Wings, but still.
Posted by ...Arson (Member # 12052) on :
I don't think Chicago can keep playing the style they are and beat either the Ducks, or the Wings. The Ducks have 4 elite defense men they rotate to give themselves the best pairings, as well as match up against both top lines. Detroit is an offensive juggernaut, and will take advantage of how many giveaways Chicago produces in each game.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Originally posted by ...Arson: I don't think Chicago can keep playing the style they are and beat either the Ducks, or the Wings. The Ducks have 4 elite defense men they rotate to give themselves the best pairings, as well as match up against both top lines. Detroit is an offensive juggernaut, and will take advantage of how many giveaways Chicago produces in each game.
I agree completely about Detroit, Chicago does turn the puck over and against less powerful teams they can get away with it because of Khabibulan (I know I misspelled it but I don't even think Khabibulan can spell it correctly, so I am not worried). However, against the Red Wings, there is simply too much talent and Khabibulan is not a Brodeur or Roy, so he cannot cover up the mistakes those elite goalies could. However, during the regular season, Chicago was able to use their top 3 lines to tire out and skate around those elite defensemen of the Ducks, and though the games were close, the Ducks looked old, especially Pronger, when compared to the youth of the Hawks. We will see, but these playoffs have been really fun.
I really hope it is the Ducks and Hawks because I am rooting for the Hawks, and I think that's the only chance they have of making the finals. Of course, if that happens, then I think Ovechkin or Crosby will win their first cup, so that's not saying much.
Posted by ...Arson (Member # 12052) on :
NEver, ever, count out Luongo.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Humean, that's why I just call him Khabi. That last A should be an I, in case you wondered.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Humean316:
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: I'm a Chicagoan. I'm used to being disappointed by my boys LOL.
LOL, I am a Texas Ranger fan, I know how you feel.
And sorry Lyrhawn, but I think the Ducks will still pull that series out. If so, after watching the Hawks last night, did they convince you that they could beat the Ducks? Like I said, if it does go Wings and Hawks, then it's the Wings, but still.
Ducks have been crushed the last two games. I don't see them pulling out back to back wins after their performances the last couple games. They're tired. It might go seven, but I don't see how they pull it out.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I don't think the Ducks can win it. Even if they pull out a miracle Game 6, there's no way they could beat the Wings at the Joe.
I swear, just stepping onto that ice with the freakin Red Sea surrounding you must be the most stressful hockey environment in the world.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well they did it once. We both won one away and one home. I don't think it's impossible to believe that they could win here, but I do think it's a leap to see them winning two in a row after the dominance of the last two games, and I think that with them being one of the worst home teams in the league and the Wings being the best road team, it doesn't bode well for them Tuesday night.
::knocks on wood::
As far as oppressive environments, I think a lot of those Canadian teams probably beat us for noise. Fans are rabid in Detroit, but they foam at the mouth in Canada.
Neither here nor there, but my whole family commented on how awesome we thought the Canucks crowd was when we were watching the last Vancouver/Chicago game. I love that the entire arena sang along with their national anthem, and I wish we did that here.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
It's not just the fans in the arenas up here that foam at the mouth either. In the Oilers 2006 cup run the whole city was crazy. Streets were covered with chalk drawings of logos and Stanley Cups. Flags flew from most vehicle windows. The positive energy in the city was pretty awesome.
(There were of course some problems with rowdiness associated with this as well).
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Wow. I'm in shock. We're in the conference finals. How in the HECK did THAT happen?!?! Not only that, but I think this was the highest score I've seen. And yay Kane!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Crazy game. The scoring was just bang, bang, bang one after another. Chicago gets two quick ones, Vancouver gets three in a row, then back the other way. It was crazy. The pace was frenetic.
But frankly, defense on BOTH sides was atrocious. That's why the scoring was so high. Tonight's game was a firefight, and Chicago was more deadly. I look forward ::knocks on wood again:: to seeing them in the Conference finals next week. Good job Hawks!
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Who woulda thought that Luongo would let in 7 goals? That was pretty shocking. The defense was terrible (on both sides). I didn't see the whole game but from what I saw, Chicago deserved the win. They just played harder and outran Vancouver all over the place.
I was cheering for the Canucks in this series but I can't begrudge the Blackhawks. These kids worked hard for it. I think I'd like to see them in the Cup finals though I don't know if they can get passed the Wings.
Posted by theresa51282 (Member # 8037) on :
I'm a Wings fan and am thrilled at the prospect of a Wings Hawks series. It will be nice to have the games on at a reasonable time but more than that it is always fun to watch the young teams grow. Ultimately, I think the Wings will win but it should be a fun series with plenty of scoring.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
GO WINGS!
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: Wow. I'm in shock. We're in the conference finals. How in the HECK did THAT happen?!?! Not only that, but I think this was the highest score I've seen. And yay Kane!!!
Yeah, that was a great game. First thing that has pulled me away from work in a day two, and the shock of 7 goals against Luongo was amazing.
I wouldn't count the Ducks out yet, though it does look less than optimal. In many ways, sports is simply an exercise in mental toughness, and I have never seen a team tougher than Anaheim when they choose to be so I do not doubt that they could. Whether they will is another story.
And what a series between the Caps and Pens. Why isn't that series on national tv so that everyone can see? Is Gary Bettman that big an idiot? How you can watch that series and not fall in love with hockey is beyond me...
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: As far as oppressive environments, I think a lot of those Canadian teams probably beat us for noise. Fans are rabid in Detroit, but they foam at the mouth in Canada.
Oh fer sure. Habs fans during a Leafs/Habs game in Montreal, boy oh boy.
You know, I think Southern Ontario could support another team. Maybe Hamilton, or possibly London or Windsor (although having two NHL teams within shouting distance would probably be a bit of a hassle). There are plenty enough fans, and Hamilton already has a suitable arena.
Posted by Lord Solar Macharius (Member # 7775) on :
As a Hamilton Bulldogs* season ticket holder, the Copps is not suitable for an NHL team without heavy renovations. Too few, too small boxes would cripple corporate sales, and there's only a single concourse servicing the upper and lower bowls (which makes it impossible to navigate when the place is full. Literally, don't-bother-leaving-your-seat, impossible. Not hyperbole). Additionally, when they built a new government building across the street, they made parking very difficult for big events.
I could see them using it as a temperary home, but they'll eaither need to build a new arena or get ready to do a lot of work on the Copps if they want to make the move perminent.
*Montreal's farm team.
Posted by Humean316 (Member # 8175) on :
Wow, see now that's a great game. The Ducks force me to say the best 2 words in sports, game 7, and I think they got a shot. Though I agree, other than the Canadian arenas, Detroit is probably the hardest place to play in the NHL. Anaheim 3, Detroit 1.
They just said on Versus that this will be the first game 7 for detroit in 7 years, so I have a question. Was that the game 7 a while back against the Avs where they scored 6 goals on Roy in 2 periods?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yes.
I'm going to check for tickets up at school tomorrow to see about Thursday's game. I really can't afford it, but man, I'd hate to miss a Game 7.
Tonight was a combination of a resurgent Duck's defense and some lazy Wings offense. They earned it as much as we gave it away.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Three game sevens huh? I love hockey.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Hawks/Wings... I'm going to be spending a lot of evenings at my parents' house...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Thank you hockey gods for granting my wish.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Lyr, you got tickets?
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
No, I wish. Sadly the hockey gods didn't go quite that far. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at my school at like 8am, but I won't be able to get there in time to buy them. If it goes to a game five I might have a shot though.
The local pool hall I go to though has a pretty good hockey atmosphere though.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings crush the Hawks 5-2 in the Conference opener!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Eager and Burish scared the bleepity bleep outta me. If Burish had been just a little closer.... (shudders and blocks the mental movie).
One game does not a series make. I think we had too much down time between the last game against the Canucks and today. And I'm sure we were at least a little intimidated by "omigod it's the wings again". Now that the first game is under our belts, we'll see what happens.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
wOOt! GO WINGS!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Hell yeah! Sweet overtime goal. Absolutely sweet play by Samuelsson, Hudler and Filppula!
2-0 Wings!
ooooh we're halfway there!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
wOOt!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Yeah, the Hawks are done. I'm proud of em for getting this far, but we're not gonna get past the Wings this year. They definitely looked better tonight than they did on Sunday, though.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
Hawks are up 3-0 in the 2nd period.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Excellent comeback attempt by the Wings in the second period. Three quick unanswered goals. I think if they Wings had won, it would have been devastating for the Hawks, not just to do down three games, which is in itself nearly impossible to overcome, but to give up that kind of lead like that.
I thought the call on Kronwall was overly strict. It looked like a fair, clean hit to me.
I knew the Hawks would win one at home, I was figuring we'd split the series there and come back to Detroit 3-1, and I still think that will happen.
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
Yeah, Kronwall got the shaft. It looked pretty nasty, though.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Wow, that was a trouncing.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Hawks totally broke down. I think some, SOME of the calls against them might have been excessive, but they took every opportunity to take a swipe at a Wing, and a couple of them were dirty, rather than actually play some hockey.
There was a lot of talk about how the speed and youth of the Hawks would overcome the experience and composure of the Wings, but I think that was an excellent example of how losing your composure can lose you a game. They stopped playing hockey for most of that game.
And for that matter, the Wings did it without Datsyuk and Lidstrom. Hossa and Zetterberg really stepped up, and I think Filppula was an unsung hero in that game two. He set up both of Hossa's goals beautifully, and scored one himself. He was responsible for setting up a lot of Franzen's goals when he was on a tear, and set up the OT winner a few games ago. Stunning assists.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: They stopped playing hockey for most of that game.
Exactly. I really hoped we'd win so we had the momentum going back to Detroit. I had a feeling it wouldn't happen, though. Hey, we still got further into the post season than anyone expected and further than we've gone for the last 15 years.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Well with the finals set, there are some big questions being asked before the finals:
Will the Wings be healthy (enough) by game time?
Will Crosby and Malkin keep up their high level of play against a defense the likes of which they haven't faced yet (and stifled them last year)?
Will Fleury and Osgood keep up their amazing goaltending?
And in my mind most importantly: What the hell is up with the scheduling?
Two days off and then back to back Sat/Sun games? Three games in four days? I've a number of thoughts on this that range from "what's the rush?" to "why is the NHL being treated like collegiate baseball?" And yes I admit my bias; the Wings are a little banged up and I'd like them to have more than 48 hours to rest a little bit before the finals start, but is that really so unreasonable a request? The Finals NEVER start this fast. Everyone thought there was going to be a week off (and even that was at NBC's demand) before the Finals started, now it's just a couple days before back to back games. Maybe the Wings should have thrown Wednesday night's game just to push the Finals back a week.
Seriously though, I don't get it. Personally I say screw NBC. Show the whole thing on Versus, or Fox Sports local cable stations. They aren't even paying for the rights, and they get to dictate an awful schedule for a major national sporting final that is unheard of and disadvantageous, not just to one team, but to the sport in general, just because they don't want to take up weeknight time or risk OT ruining Conan's debut?! It's clear where their priorities are, but Bettman should have been focused on HOCKEY, not kissing NBC's collective ass.
If the Wings lose, I won't come back and complain that we only lost because of the schedule, despite the role it might play, but I do think it's crap, and it'll be a factor now, and if anything, the schedule should favor the team with home ice advantage, which is nearly negated by a back to back performance.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
It was going to be 10 days off for the Penguins and 9 for the Red Wings. And then it STILL was going to be back to back games.
As odd as this schedule is, the other one would have been worse, in my opinion. They are clearly bending over for NBC either way.
I can understand them wanting to showcase the matchup on a prime network, having the most popular and successful team in the last 15 years playing against 2 out of the 3 top young NHL stars. Still, I can certainly understand those who are complaining about it.
quote:If the Wings lose, I won't come back and complain that we only lost because of the schedule
I think you'll be the only one who doesn't . During the playoffs I spend more time over at HFBoards than even hatrack, and I can guarantee it will be a common excuse if they lose.
Of course, there's a very good chance the Red Wings win the series, in which case no excuses needed .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Yeah, 10 days off followed by back to back games would have sucked too, but at least then the teams would be well rested, and I don't think they would have had to contend with three games in four days, which I think might be more of a killer than the back to back games.
If Game 1 goes into OT, Game 2 is going to be a snooze fest.
But no, I won't complain after the fact (that's what right now is for ). Overcoming injuries to win is one of the things that make winning the Stanley Cup so special, certainly I think more unique than other sports who are less injury prone (I'm looking at you NBA and MLB). It's extremely disadvantageous, but we'll see how it goes.
I think things are still far more evenly matched than a lot of people give the Wings credit for. With Lidstrom back (likely) and Ericsson (also likely), the Wings will have an overpowering defense, which will negate the supposed advantage of the Pens offense (top heavy and not a great deal of depth). So for me, when the Wings win it in six or seven, despite all the things stacked against them, it'll be that much sweeter.
But nothing will change the fact that I don't think NBC should get the Finals.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
10 days would have been much worse for the league and its attempts to build a larger U.S. fanbase. Right now there is some built up interest due mostly to Malkin and Crosby. With a 10 day break viewership stands a good chance of losing a lot of ground. Better to keep it fresh in the minds of the people.
The Penguins only have 1 additional day of rest though so I don't think that can really be considered. Yeah, the Wings have some injuries but the Penguins had just as much potential to be in that situation.
I do think it is stupid that game 2 is at noon on Sunday. Sunday night would have been a stretch but to only have 12-14 hours between the end of the first game and the start of the second? That's stupid.
Though, maybe someone has seen the problem there. I just checked the schedule on nhl.com and they are saying the time of game 2 is TBD.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Also, NBC having the finals - it's one of the ways to get national exposure. Hopefully they gain some fans for it. It's just too bad the commentators for NBC suck. I'm glad I get the CBC for that.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:which will negate the supposed advantage of the Pens offense (top heavy and not a great deal of depth)
With the way that the Penguins have been running their lines since Gonchar got injured, that's not really true.
Malkin and Crosby take turns double-shifting on the 4th line, and with Satan playing pretty well right now, it's a very dangerous line. The third line hasn't been scoring many goals, but is still pretty solid.
Not saying they are guaranteed to produce, but their bottom is almost as heavy as their top.
I'm gonna say Penguins in 6 or 7, though it could easily go the other way.
Added: I think the thing that will decide the series is Fleury's play. He's been both unbelievably good in some games, and completely mediocre in others this playoffs. He needs to bring his A-game for the Pens to have a chance.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings win the first one in a weird game. Fast pace, heavy on defense on both sides, very physical, most of the goals were a little on the flukey side.
Stuart's goal was a lucky bounce off the boards, Franzen's was going to get stuffed in by Cleary either way, Fedotenko's was a nice backhand after Osgood coughed up the puck, and Abdelkader's first postseason goal was a nice grab out of the air and top shelfer.
I thought Malkin getting denied by Ozzie was fitting considering he tripped Kronwall to get the puck on his breakaway. All in all Ozzie got both lucky and stood on his head. Fleury caught a couple bad breaks, but also made some nice stops. Ozzie's stop on Crosby's sweet little turn around move was probably a combination of luck and skill.
All in all, the Pens look a hell of a lot more impressive than they did in last year's Game 1. Tomorrow will be interesting, and I think for the Wings, their third and fourth lines will be huge role players, since they're largely made up of younger guys who play fewer minutes. They're rested.
Though, if we're getting goals from a Leino/Abdelkader combination, two guys who wouldn't even be in the lineup if three forwards ahead of them weren't out with injuries, I'm feelin damn good about those last two lines.
This is going to be a heck of a series. I still say Wings in 6.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I say they win in 5. Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings are up 2-0!
Five would be awesome. I'd love to win it at home. Royal Oak, where I live, is always the place on TV when the Wings win, as people stream out of the bars, clog the streets, and just plain party. It's a lot of fun.
Tonight's game was great. Filppula's backhand goal was amazing. I've wanted a Filppula jersey for awhile now, but can't justify the expense.
So much for the Pens being hungrier and the Wings being banged up and decrepit!
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
LOL...I posted that last comment BEFORE I knew they won tonight. LOL
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I think it's just a matter of how many games it will be before they win. I'm hesitant to count my chickens, but the Pens winning 4 out of 5? Highly unlikely against the Wings, and nearly unheard of historically.
::knocks on wood, turns around three times and spits::
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Series is at 2-1 now after the Penguins win last night. Puck drops in less than 15 hours for Game 4, a pivotal game in the series. Either they'll even it up, or go down a punishing 3-1.
Pavel Datsyuk may very well be back for Game 4. Depending on how he does in his first game back, he could have a huge impact on the game. He was already due for a scoring comeback, but given his drought before his injury, he might not be a scoring juggernaut in his return. For sure though he'll be a welcome relief for the PK unit that has struggled against the Pens offense. Datsyuk is a favorite to repeat for the Selke Trophy for best offensive forward, and that sort of defensive play will help tamp down the Pens defense, and especially their PP unit. He could have a huge impact on the game.
But we'll see. Game 3 was wacky in a number of ways. The Wings dominated the second period but had nothing to show for it. The first period was back and forth, and the third was a rather low energy. I think tonight almost starts the series over again. The Wings will be rested, with their main players back, and looking to put a death knell on the Pens. The Pens will be looking to capitalize on their win and momentum to even up the series.
This game should be sweet!!!!!
::PUMPED!::
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
Yeah, this is clearly a must-win for the Pens.
I cannot friggen believe how well the Red Wings have shut down Crosby so far. He's still had a bunch of chances, but keeping him off the scoreboard (besides one secondary assist) for three games is a hell of an accomplishment considering how great he played against the eastern teams.
I really want to see him bury a couple tonight. If the Pens have any hope of winning this series, his line needs to produce some offense.
Edit: This is Xavier.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Wow, the Wings kinda fell apart there. They were being outrun to the puck in key situations - especially on the Staal goal. I was surprised that after the early goal for Detroit in the second that the Pens weren't totally thrown off their game.
Now that Crosby is on, it's gonna be an exciting finish to this series. I think it'll go 7 and I can't decide who I think will win it.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:I was surprised that after the early goal for Detroit in the second that the Pens weren't totally thrown off their game.
They've been incredibly resilient this playoffs. They are much more confident than last year.
The Penguins definitely outworked Detroit last night. When they are "on" like that, the whole team goes after every puck like their lives depend on it. It makes for very exciting games, and they are very hard to beat.
They seem to turn it up when their backs are against the wall, like any great team. Hopefully they can win one in Detroit tomorrow. They'll have to win one game there at least to win the series.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I like Detroit quite a bit. They are a very talented team. They are tough without being cheap and I respect their game.
That being said, I am really hoping that the Pens can take the cup. They are an exciting team and I really enjoy watching them play.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I told my cousin, who is from Pittsburgh, that the Pens would only have a chance if they could make this a 6 or 7 game series. I honestly think it can make a series of it now, because their young team will have the better legs in a game 7.
That being said.....
GO RED WINGS!!!
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by solo: Wow, the Wings kinda fell apart there. They were being outrun to the puck in key situations - especially on the Staal goal. I was surprised that after the early goal for Detroit in the second that the Pens weren't totally thrown off their game.
Now that Crosby is on, it's gonna be an exciting finish to this series. I think it'll go 7 and I can't decide who I think will win it.
To be fair, the only reason Crosby was "on" was because Babcock took Zetterberg off him to rest him. Back home, with the last change, Crosby is going to get smothered again, especially with Datsyuk back in the lineup. Any time you inject a Hart & and Selke finalist, and Selke defender for that matter, into a lineup, it changes the game, and even if he only plays at 75%, it'll make a difference, and I think we're going to see that tomorrow night.
That being said, the Wings totally let up last night. I thought the last 10 minutes of the first period was great, and the third period in general was good, but that second period was God awful. The defense collapsed and let the Pens waltz in, and the forwards couldn't keep the puck in the other end. I expect tomorrow to be different, and for games 6 and 7, with more rest in between games, I expect a more up tempo match.
I still say Wings in 7. It's a new series, but with a well rested Datsyuk back for the Wings, and Draper on the PK and faceoffs, the Wings just got a shot in the arm.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
5-0 crushing shut out win for the Wings!!
Wow, it was like the teams did a role reversal. The Pens totally lost their composure, taking bad penalty after bad penalty. Cheap slashes, elbows and hooks led to three Wings power play goals, and their penalty kill was top notch to boot.
I think Datsyuk was huge in that game. The Wings played like the Wings again after a horrible Game 4. The Pens I think really, really let themselves go. When they're on, they're great, but I think the inexperience they claimed to be over bled through tonight. They could have made that game a lot closer by taking fewer stupid penalties.
It goes back to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, where the Cup will be in the Igloo! Anything goes after tonight I think.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Almost time for the wrap-up, isn't it? One more day.... LOL
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Puck drops in 15 hours.
tick tock tick tock...
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Not that we are counting....lol...
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
Game seven, eh? We're gonna see some octopus flying, I guarantee it.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
It's gonna be epic!
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Jeez that one was tense. I don't think I have any fingernails left to bite.
Normally my opinion on game 7 would be that all bets are off, but with the Pens being dominated in the other 3 games at JLA it's hard for me to feel that way.
Still, I'm betting the Pens at least try to come out flying. If Crosby can elevate his game like he's done in the past (and bury his chances), I think they have reasonable odds of coming away with the win. Or maybe if Malkin goes into "my Mom's in the crowd maybe I should dominate this game" mode. Of course Fleury playing like he did last night would help as well.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
Wings get the last change at home. I wouldn't put a whole lot of money on Crosby's impact Friday night.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Well hopefully he can make you eat those words .
He's been pretty well contained so far, but he is still Crosby.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
And Zetterberg is still Zetterberg, and Datsyuk is still Datsyuk, and Malkin is still Malkin. Blah blah blah.
I think he's good, but I think the hero worship he gets is a little crazy. I know Bettman is trying to build a new viewership around his golden boy, but he's been shut down by the Wings. Look at his production in the first rounds, and in the Cup finals. Zetterberg has been his constant shadow, and he can't get away from him.
I guess some of it comes from the fact that I only watch the Pens when they play the Wings, and sometimes in the semis, so the only real image I have of them is Crosby getting shut down by Hank, so I really don't see what everyone else sees when it comes to Crosbyphilia.
I just don't see him as being any better than most of the top notch players on any other team.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
quote:I guess some of it comes from the fact that I only watch the Pens when they play the Wings, and sometimes in the semis, so the only real image I have of them is Crosby getting shut down by Hank, so I really don't see what everyone else sees when it comes to Crosbyphilia.
Yeah, there's your problem. He was amazing this playoffs in much of the first three rounds. He's been largely shut down by Zetterberg and Lidstrom so far this series though, so I can certainly understand your skepticism.
I'd love for him to break out and show you what he's capable of in game 7, but if he gets shut down again and Pens still manage to win it, I'd be very nearly as happy .
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'll give you this, with Crosby being hamstrung, the Pens secondary scoring is stepping up in a way they didn't really have to in the first few rounds.
quote:I'd love for him to break out and show you what he's capable of in game 7
The hockey lover in me would certainly love to see that. But the Wings fan would like to see him with his face jammed into the boards as often as possible.
I saw some of the highlights from him in the Caps series, and he really was quite good. I don't know if he's better than Ovechkin, but then, Crosby has a lot more behind him than Ovechkin does, and that'll be even more pronounced when the Caps get gutted in the off season.
I hope the Pens make a game of it tomorrow night. They've managed to score only two goals in three games, with an 11-2 goal differential in those three games. The Wings have only lost one game at home so far in the playoffs. I thought Game Six was the closest game yet, but the Pens badly outplayed the Wings in the first 30 minutes. Osgood was the main reason the score was so low. Tomorrow night will be about playing with energy, but also poise. Desperate teams make mistakes if they can't control themselves.
Either way, someone is walking out of that building with the Cup tomorrow. Hopefully the Wings will bring it downtown after the game tomorrow night so I can see it.
::knocks on wood::
Posted by Fusiachi (Member # 7376) on :
....This isn't happening.
We might be witnessing the end of hockey.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
Wow. I missed the two Penguins goals (well, the first 13 minutes of the second period actually). What I saw of the game was incredible. Fleury stood on his head. Play was great in both directions. Emotions were high. Great hockey game. I don't think there could have been a much better end to the playoffs. Either team winning at this point would have been a great story but I'm happy to see the kids take the cup.
Posted by Xavier (Member # 405) on :
Beating the Flyers, the Caps, and the Red Wings in one playoffs... Wow, this really couldn't have been much better for the Pens.
Another crazy finish. What a game, series, and playoffs.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Great series. I said from the beginning that if the Pens wanted it it would take a game 7, where their youth would make a game of it. It's kinda sad, as the Red Wings outscored them at home for the series by far, but what a game.
I still think the Red Wings were the better team, but the Pens played amazing. Their goalie should have won MVP, because without him tonight it was game over for them.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
I'm not sure if Fleury deserved the Conn Smythe. You can't just look at the Finals, you have to look at play all throughout, and he played some weak games over the course of the whole playoffs.
Picking a playoff MVP winner was a lot easier for the Pens than it would have been for Detroit.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
So the Oilers and the Senators had a deal all but carved stone: Cogliano, Smid, and Penner in exchange for Dany Heatley. Heatley requested a trade because he wasn't happy with his relationship with Ottawa's coach. All that remained was for Heatley to waive his no movement clause, and everyone thought the deadline was yesterday at midnight, either Heatley accepts the trade or he stays with Ottawa and gets paid a $4 million bonus. Apparently now the deadline is tonight at midnight eastern, but Edmonton fans who were ecstatic about the news yesterday are now extremely bitter that Heatley has pretty clearly indicated that he has no desire whatsoever to play in Edmonton.
Another rumor floating around was that Hossa might actually want to play in Edmonton. That was bullshit apparently, as he signed with Chicago even though they offered less money than Edmonton.
Sigh, at least we got Khabibulin, and maybe Edmonton will snag another decent FA. Gaborik maybe *fingers crossed*.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
As I was writing that post it was announced that Gaborik signed with the Rangers. Woohoo...
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The reason Hossa went with the Hawks over the Wings or Oilers is because he wants money and a cup. Edmonton can't give him the cup, the Wings can't give him the cash, and the Hawks provided a reasonable happy medium between the two.
They lost Havlat, but the Hawks are going to be real cup contenders next year. Now they have experience, talent, and though I still think they are a little weak on defense, especially if they expect Huet to backstop them, I think they're one of the better teams in the West now. Besides, Chicago is paying Hossa 7.9 million for like the next six years until the contract drops off dramatically. They front loaded it on purpose, and that's some serious cash.
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Well he's got a longterm contract now, so when Chicago doesn't win the cup (and they won't) Hossa won't be able to join the next potential big contender. We'll see if this bites Chicago in the ass. They have some top players who are coming up on free agency and will be demanding top dollar, so Chicago is gonna feel the pinch of that frontloaded $7.9mil when they're looking for cap space.
Meanwhile Heatley again refused to waive his no-movement clause, meaning Ottawa owes him $4 million. I really wish Tambellini would've learned from the horrible mismanagement of Kevin Lowe the past few years. You don't put all your eggs in one basket! They could've spent some time trying to sign other free agents, but instead they flew out to Kelowna to talk to Heatley, for all the good that did. I don't know what's going to come of all this, but I fear Heatley has hurt his reputation in a big way. As disgruntled as I am, I'd still love to have him in an Oilers jersey.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
The Wings are 2-0 in the first days of preseaon (useless numbers sure, but still fun!). I'm liking a lot of what I'm seeing from the youngsters in the AHL and OHL system. Lots of good little Wings are in the pipeline for years to come .
It looks like the third line is going to be solidly composed of Ville Leino, Valtteri Filppula and Jason Williams, two of whom are Finns, and Williams played the lockout season in Finland. As such, I'm trademarking the phrase the "Finn Red Line," as I can already see the marketing and sports columns waxing poetic about their awesomeness.
Despite losing Hossa, Samuelsson and Hudler, I think we're actually going to come out of the offseason just as good as we were before. I'm not happy about picking up Bertuzzi, but so long as he does his job and we trade him between now and next year, I can't really complain. I think we're going to end up with more third and fourth line scoring than we did last year, which will more than make up for Hossa's lost production.
It's, as always, a good time to be a Wings fan.
Posted by solo (Member # 3148) on :
I picked up 4 tickets to the Oilers vs. Flames game tonight. Gameday tickets are half price so it didn't break the bank and the whole family gets to go for less than my wife and I in the regular season.
Both teams look to dressing a pretty solid lineup and Kipprisoff and Khabibulin are both apparently starting. It should be a great game.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Wait... Khabi!??! Who said he could leave Chicago??
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
Khabibulin signed with the Oilers months ago, with a 5 year contract. He was arguably our only big acquisition in terms of players, though startlingly enough the Oil also signed Comrie. We also got a veteran coaching team in Pat Quinn and Tom Renney. It's looking like the Oilers actually have a chance of making the playoffs this year.
Posted by Lyrhawn (Member # 7039) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: Wait... Khabi!??! Who said he could leave Chicago??
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Poor Boston...
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