NHL Playoffs 2009

[R_of_G]

The NHL playoffs begin tonight (Wed April 15).

This should be a very interesting year.

In the East, the two teams who met in last season's Conference Final (the Flyers and Penguins) meet this season in the first round. We will also get a chance to see if Boston and Washington are for real. I suspect at least one is not.

Can anyone beat Detroit or San Jose in the West? What will happen if they meet one another?

I'm sure Marnold will be along shortly. It is a hockey thread after all.

[marnold]

Red Wings! Playoffs! Rabid foaming!

That Anaheim/San Jose series could be fun. I'd be really worried about Columbus too except for the fact that this is their first time in the playoffs and they have a rookie goalie. Everything changes in the playoffs. It's nice to know there will be at least one series for the Wings without west coast travel.

[Blaze]

I m watchin Washington vs New York , you can tell already that s playoff hockey just by the intensity ..

Scales practicing in front of tv for a good while comin ..

[R_of_G]

So how do you guys feel about Alexander Ovechkin? It is undeniable that he is one of the top (if not the top) players in the league right now and he plays his butt off every shift every game. For that I will give the guy all the credit in the world.

However, it appears to me that he has very little class. The most recent episode came yesterday when he showed up at the Rangers' practice session and sat on the bench watching. When the Rangers' personnel asked him to leave, he told the media it was because they're "afraid" of him. A lot of sports media seem to be defending his actions as a great form of "intimidation" during the playoffs and pointing out that he backed it up by having a great game last night.

To me, that's all besides the point. First and foremost, he knows perfectly well that opposing players are not allowed to watch the other team practice. More importantly, the comments are not "intimidating" they're just low class. You want to intimidate your opponent, do it with your stick, not your mouth. The game he played last night should be intimidating enough without the stupid comments.

Think about it for a second... what would the reaction have been if it were Sean Avery who sat there watching the Capitals practice? The league and the media would have tripped over themselves to criticize and penalize Avery.

I'd not think twice about it if this were the only time Ovechkin acted like this. His "my stick is on fire" celebration after scoring against the Lightning earlier this season is another example. Firstly, is it really that big of a deal to score against the Lightning? It's not much of an accomplishment, everyone does it. Secondly, celebrating with your teammates is one thing, showing up the other team is something else entirely. I think of the great players of the previous era... Gretzky, Lemieux, Yzerman, Sakic, et al... these guys handled themselves with class and grace. Even among the greatest of Ovechkin's contemporaries I don't see this kind of attitude. Sydney Crosby handles himself with a lot more class than that.

Ovechkin is a phenomenal talent, but he seems to have a lot of growing up to do.

Ok, rant over. Let's go hockey!

[Blaze]

Bob Gainey s era is done , the Habs are just dead ,i don t care ,i hate them since i m 10..

Who s gonna replace Gainey s as general manager , who s gonna be the new coach ,a lot to come in Montreal next summer ?..
+ the Habs are for sale , anyone interested... Happy 100e :rotflmao: :D :rotflmao: :D

[R_of_G]

+ the Habs are for sale , anyone interested... Happy 100e :rotflmao: :D :rotflmao: :D

Want to split it with me Blazes? I'll pay half you pay half. I've always wanted to own a hockey team and I would prefer to own a Canadian one. :rotflmao:

[marnold]

The frightening thing is that a group including Celine Dion and her husband and among the leaders to buy the Habs. Yikes.

Re: Ovie My only complaint with him is that he doesn't play a lick of defense. He's a tremendous offensive talent and I like the way he throws the body around, but in his own zone he's a major liability. Maybe I'm just overly blessed to root for a team that has Datsyuk, Hossa, and Zetterberg on it.

Re: Avery He redefined the word stupid in that game last night. I'm not going to say he single-handedly lost it, but he came awfully close.

I've been pleased that the Wings quickly slid into playoff gear and Ozzie is back to his form from last year's playoffs. Hopefully they learned from Nashville last year and there won't be a let-up in Columbus tonight. I've been surprised by the way the Sharks are choking. I know that Anaheim plays tough, but they've basically got one scoring line. I don't know what the management blows up if they lose this series.

[R_of_G]

You're right, the prospect of Celine Dion owning the Habs is terrifying. Surely a sign of the apocalypse.:master:

I agree on Ovechkin's lack of defensive drive. It's not that he doesn't have those skills, he just doesn't use them full time. In fairness, he played some pretty good defense last night at times.

I also agree on Avery. The guy is a caricature.

And yes, you are very lucky to root for your particular team. Year after year you get a team that is a legitimate contender for the Cup, and wins plenty of them and as you correctly note, it's because you have a team full of guys that prioritize sound defensive hockey. Many of them also have impeccable offensive skills. It's what made guys like Yzerman and Fedorov so dangerous in the 90's. They could outplay anyoe on both ends of the ice. You also get great goaltending. A fan of my team envies that beyond description.:thwap:

[marnold]

And yes, you are very lucky to root for your particular team. Year after year you get a team that is a legitimate contender for the Cup, and wins plenty of them and as you correctly note, it's because you have a team full of guys that prioritize sound defensive hockey. Many of them also have impeccable offensive skills. It's what made guys like Yzerman and Fedorov so dangerous in the 90's. They could outplay anyoe on both ends of the ice. You also get great goaltending. A fan of my team envies that beyond description.:thwap:
I really appreciate what I have too, because when I first started rooting for the Wings, nothing could have been farther from the truth. They were lucky to make the playoffs and if they did it wouldn't last long. Most of that was thanks to the Norris family running the team into the ground. Few people remember that Mike Illitch had to give away cars at Red Wings games just to get anybody to show up.

[marnold]

Buh-bye, Jackets. While I'm glad to see them disposed of quickly, I hope this is the beginning of good things in Columbus. Now to hope for a long, nasty battle between San Jose and Anaheim.

[Blaze]

Pittsburg vs Washington should be some exciting game tonight - starting now ..

[marnold]

You called that one, Blaze. Dueling hat-tricks! I'm not looking forward to the west-coast starts for the Wings series now. I'm hoping that that 3OT thriller will be a phyrric victory for the Ducks.

[R_of_G]

I keep waiting for the rookie goalies with Washington and Anaheim to start looking like rookies but it keeps not happening.

[marnold]

I had an estimated 47 heart attacks last night watching the Wings finally send the Ducks home. Now for an all-Original-Six western conference finals! And no west-coast trips! Huzzah!

[R_of_G]

It should be a good series. Chicago is overmatched but playing very well right now. I laugh at some of the Avalanche fans I know who called for Quenneville's firing. It didn't take him long to sell his system to the young players on the Hawks and now they're in the Conference Finals while the Avalanche have been playing golf for two months.

Not really looking forward to the Eastern Conference Finals. Pittsburgh should blow Carolina away (Hurricane pun not intended).

[marnold]

Not really looking forward to the Eastern Conference Finals. Pittsburgh should blow Carolina away (Hurricane pun not intended).
Of course, I thought that about the Devils and Bruins too.

[R_of_G]

Of course, I thought that about the Devils and Bruins too.
I was surprised by the Devils' early exit, but I thought Boston was a paper tiger since day one. There's just something about Chara that reminds me of Kjell Samuelsson. So big and so unwilling to use the body when it actually matters. Both play good positional defense, but with that 6'9" 250lb frame, Chara should be a terrifying prospect for opposing forwards, not just a speed bump. I think Boston plays well at times, but they overachieved this season. They were the East's edition of San Jose.

Carolina may put up a good fight against Pittsburgh, but I'm not sure they can win four out of seven against this Pens team.

[Blaze]

Too bad Boston is gone but i guess Carolina had to win it , what a good game last night ..

Carefull with Carolina they can play ,Ward is some Goalie..

Detroit should win cause they are Detroit ..

Could we have the same final teams as last year ?

But the big question is : Is Patrick Roy will be the next Hab's Coach ? Hum !!:whatever:

[R_of_G]

Most people probably realize as a Flyers' fan that I don't really care for either team in the finals. Until last night, I couldn't have cared less who won the Cup this year. That changed with the lack of class displayed by the Penguins last night. "Sending a message" for the next game or being "frustrated" with being blown out does not include slashing, particularly the slash at Datsyuk's injured foot.

There's a difference between sending a message and intentionally trying to injure someone. I have no tolerance whatsoever for that kind of nonsense. If you want to send a message to the other team, be a man and drop the gloves. If you need to use your stick to send a message, try using it to put the puck in their net.

I won't exactly be "happy" with the Wings winning, but I will now be content to see the Pens lose.

[piebaldpython]

+1 re the Red Wings winning, the Pens losing and first and foremost, +1 on being a Flyers fan. We bleed orange and black and so because we have the "orange" in us, that it would make sense if we went out and bought the Orange Tiny Terror when we get a GAS attack. :D

[marnold]

So I shouldn't bring up 1997 then? *ducks*

I was really disappointed in Pittsburgh last night. They don't seem to react well to a team that can really challenge them, defensively especially.

One . . . more . . . win

[R_of_G]

So I shouldn't bring up 1997 then? *ducks*

That's what I get for rooting for your team. :D

[piebaldpython]

Game 6-------what a cracklin' good game that was. Damn, that was FUN to watch!! :beer: The refs let the guys play too. Damn, that was FUN! :D

[R_of_G]

That was a good game. I was actually hoping to see the Cup tonight, but I'm always down for a game 7.

[R_of_G]

Congratulations to the Penguins. Tonight proved to me once again that even if I can't stand the teams involved in the finals, there is still something so special about seeing the whole awarding of the Stanley Cup and all that comes after that's unlike anything else in sports.

As for the game itself, the last few minutes were kind of exciting, but overall it looked like the Wings didn't have much of a sense of urgency in the third period. I know their whole thing is how calm and collected they are and it usually pays off, but being down in game 7 is the time to pull out all the stops.

So, how long until next season starts because I miss hockey already.

[Blaze]

Hourra ! for the Pens,great solid performance by 2 Quebecors ,Talbot & Fleury,but mostly a great team effort ..

:bravo: :master: :bravo: :master: :beer: :bravo:

[ZMAN]

I start playing hockey in the second week of Sept. Most of the hockey around here is over by the end of April and that is 8 months. To have the final game on June 12 is crazy. My team lost and I am not happy about that. It was pretty sneaky of Pittsburg to send Hossa over to the Red Wings so he could take up a spot of a real player who cared!
I was in the US for the month of May and part of June and the sports shows were mentioning that Hockey got between a 2 and 4 on the ratings. That meant that between 2 and 4% of the people who were watching TV were watching hockey. That can do nothing but harm. They have to knock the payoffs down by 1 series. It is just too long.

[tremoloman]

I'm glad the Pens won... happy to see Bill Guerin hoist the cup once again. Hal Gill on the other hand... *puke*

guy is 6'7" and doesn't check... sickening!

[R_of_G]

Hal Gill on the other hand... *puke*

guy is 6'7" and doesn't check... sickening!

same with chara at 6'8". they both remind me of kjell samuelsson.