Its' Here! NHL 2008 Playoff Thread
 

it's the most wonderful time of the year.

some great first round matchups.

bring it on, king henrik.

The best part about playing the Devils? I'll actually be able to get to some games. Not at the Garden of course, but in the brand new Prudential Center, which the Devils can't sell out on their own so it will be 60% filled with Ranger fans. I'll be at Games 5 & 7 for sure if it goes that far, and probably Game 2 as well.

Go Blues!


I mean, it's baseball season!!!

Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum. The NJD-NYR series will be a bunch of 1-0 and 2-1 games. PIT-OTT might be some 6-5 games in there.

Also of note-- Jagr scored vs. NJ today. giving him 17 straight 25+ goal seasons.

So, they're out playing golf right next to the Hawks, I see ;)

SI

Regardless of what happens I'm thrilled the Caps are in. There's a lot o talent on that team and the should be a Cup contender in the next few years.

I second that. Games 1, 5 and 7 for me. Jagr seems to be peaking right now, hopefully that will be the difference.

So here's what Pierre McGuire has to say about the Wings:

"It hurts me to say this, but I think the Red Wings are in trouble. I think they are an older team. I think they're in trouble because they're not a balanced offense. I think they're in trouble because their goaltending is unproven this year."

Wow. That's pretty fucking original Pierre. The Wings old? That's an incredible observation. Perhaps you could also mention how they lack toughness and will get pushed around by the likes of San Jose or Anaheim.

And their goal tending unproven? Completely. It's not like they won the Jennings Trophy this year or anything. Oh wait...

There are plenty of knocks against the Wings. They are far from a sure thing in these playoffs, but I would really like some expert/analyst to come up with something original and based on, oh, I don't know, facts or actual performance of something.

I like how he doesn't just say that they are old. He "thinks" they're old.

Man, I really hope we can sacrifice Colin White to take out Jagr. Not because the fear of him scoring, it's just that he's such a bitch I would love to see him get Lindros-ed. :woot: playoff hockey.

I don't know, maybe it's me or I'm just not remembering his early days well...but Jagr's play doesn't scream out "bitch" to me. The guy's about 240 lbs and plays like it when he needs to.

I'm really excited for the playoffs to begin. I hope the NHL is wise enough to build in several days of unnecessary days off so that my interest can drop down to a reasonable level before the games start.

How about the two full travel days between Games 2 and 3 of the NYR-NJ series? It's pretty important to have all that time to make the 7 mile trip.

Since when is 2 days (Monday and Tuesday) several? A couple days between the end of the regular season and the playoffs is pretty common, no? If anything, I think it helps build some anticipation, gives time for people to analyze all the series, figure out when the games are, etc.

Game 2 of the Avs-Wild series is Friday night at 9pm on Versus. Which is totally cool, except that they'll be joining that game in progress after the 7pm Washington game ends. If there's no OT, I'll only miss the first 30 minutes or so. No biggie - I'm sure there was a good reason to not have the game just start at 10 or something. Probably a conflict with midget trout fishing or celebrity bull riding.

That's horrible.

One of McGuire's other arguments a couple weeks ago on NBC was another original: "They only have over 100 points because they're playing in the weaker Central division and have CHI, STL and CBJ to feast on"

:rolleyes:

It should be noted that Draft Dodger is pretty much the only person on this planet who's interested in the Avs-Wild series. I think he cares more about it than the players and coaches do.

Speaking of this series, it's great that the Wild went out and got Chris Simon in addition to Boogaard and Fedoruk to, you know, contend with the likes of Ian Laperrier.

That's the best one.

Let's see what reality has to say about Pierre's original observation:

Overall vs. Central
Win%: 65.9 53.1
GFA: 3.13 2.81
GAA: 2.24 2.47

Oops...

this is true.

HB is on fire

I'm going out on a limb...
Stars = done in 5

it gets funnier. a week or so ago I was watching the Wild & Avs play and the Wild guys were going on and on about how much tougher the Wild were this year and how much different it was going to be for the Wild in this postseason. And I'm thinking, are any of those guys even going to play???

There was a little incident at the end of Sunday's game involving Lappy and Gaborik. Lappy grabbed Gaborik's stick and Gabby pushed at Lappy. The two eventualyl traded a couple of lame blows but it wasn't much of a fight. I was shocked they each got 5 for it instead of roughing minors. Heck, Lappy didn't even take off his gloves.

Boogaard (a scratch on Sunday) has been talking a little shit about it, but it hasn't generated much buzz. The Avs are not the Ducks. Lappy will fight anyone, but he's maybe 6' tall and if guys like Gaborik is willing to take him on....The other "tough" guy is Cody McLeod. He can fight...but he tends to, shall we say, choose his battles very carefully.

It's playoff time. It's time to step it up.

In fact, thanks to Lady H_B's cousin's dog (a German Sheppard/Akita) trying to eat my face over the weekend, it looks like I will be growing a playoff beard for the first time in years. It's hard to shave properly when you have an 8 stitch gash from the bottom of your left nostril to your upper lip. It reckons to be one kick ass scar...

early thoughts

boston over montreal in 6
pitt over ottawa in 5
washington over philly in 6
new jersey over rangers in 7 (gotta think positive)

detroit over nashville in 6
calgary over san jose in 6
colorado over minn in 5
anaheim over dallas in 4

Boston over Montreal, bullshit. The others are ok.

i like bostons game, dont trust price, and think boston gets a boost from bergeron being around again

if anything, the sj pick is the crazy one

Carey Price is the truth. I expect a huge series from him.

You got it! :p

I know, I just wanted to strangle Pierre for that, you'd think he could just, I don't know, actually check that out before he spews crap out of his mouth. I knew it was the case, but I went to ESPN to check right before I posted.

DET vs. Central 17-12-3
DET vs. Northwest 15-2-3
DET vs. Pacific 15-5-0


I can't stand the Wings at all, but I hate ignorant announcers even more.

Hey, don't leave the Jackets out of it!

Anyone know if the games on NBC will be in HD or not?

Hmm, too many people picking the Ducks to schlack the Stars. I know y'all are just trying to jinx them. No way this is an easy series, I don't care how the Stars finished the season. Way too many tested vets on that team to go quietly, and the Ducks haven't exactly been smooth sailing recently either, with their injuries and the Pronger suspension.

I'm as concerned about this series as I am upcoming possible series with Detroit or San Jose.

NHL Draft Lottery is in a few minutes. Projected first overall pick Steven Stamkos has 11 goals and no assists in 7 games so far with the OHL's Sarnia Sting in the playoffs. All other potential first overall picks are defensemen: Alex Pietrangelo, Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian.

Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Atlanta, St. Louis and New York (I) have a shot at the first overall pick.

every sunday game theyve aired for the past few years has been in hd. no reason to think they wont be for the playoffs. though they are only on sunday on nbc, right?

or maybe there is sarcasm here that i am missing altogether.

My tested vets you mean tested in first and second round play? They've had a complete meltdown the last month and they've shown no real signs of breaking out of it. The offense isn't dynamic enough to score on Anaheim, and the D isn't strong enough to take the beating they'll get from the Ducks forwards. Turco may've played great last playoffs but he still has the stigma of the unclutch goalie and lastly Anaheim is reaching their stride, while Dallas hasn't even hit the worst of their slide.

No sarcasm, I don't have HD so I never paid attention, but a friend of mine (who does) is a massive Flyers fan so I may see if he'll be watching the games on the weekends. And they are showing games on Sat. and Sun. for the playoffs.

Montreal over Boston in 6
- Price may look slow early but should bounce back. Boston doesn't have enough fire power, and they have questions in net.

Pittsburgh over Ottawa in 5
- Ottawa has issues in net, and their Captain is out. The Pens will just flat outscore Ottawa, and worry about their defensive game in the second round.

- Washington over Philadelphia in 6
When a team is playing as great of hockey as Washington to make the playoffs, it translates over nicely into the chase for Lord Stanley's cup. Philly has no D, and though the Cap's D is also flakey, their offense has more punch then the Flyers.

Rangers over Devils in 7
- Seems like one of those series when something has to give. I don't like the Devils chances if they need to score 3 goals to win every game.

Detroit over Nashville in 6
- Nashville will play hard but when your #1 goaler is a 28 year old rookie, there is a problem there, no matter how good he's played.

Calgary over San Jose in 7
- Calgary is built for the playoffs. San Jose is a good team. and this should be the first rounds best series, but after the disappointment of last year, I expect Calgary to find a way to beat San Jose down and pull out a game 7 in the Tank.

Minnesota over Colorado in 6
- A popular pick is Colorado over Minnesota, but I don't see it with Colorado's goaltending situation. Plus this leads to my dream matchup ..

Anaheim over Dallas in 4
- Anaheim is playing their best, Dallas their worst. Wild vs Ducks, and Fight Night at the Xcel in the second round.

Awesome, Pumpy :D

SI

I think Tim Thomas has better numbers than Price this year, but with that said Montreal in 6. It's just nice the B's are back in the playoffs.

We have Turco. You win.

I generally agree with all this, but I still think Dallas has too much talent for us to sweep them or take four of five unless things just break our way. I suspect this will be a six or seven gamer. I believe we should win--we had the better record and we have home ice and we're the defending champs, with all that goes with that. But "should" doesn't win series, especially in fierce intradivisional playoff series--there is no love lost between Dallas and Anaheim, anymore than there will be if we play San Jose at some point. I think Dallas is still one very talented team, and if we rest on our laurels, we're going to get our asses handed to us.

lol

So do people really think we're playing at our best? I know it's easy to look at 18-5-1 (or whatever) in the last 24 games and figure that team's playing pretty well, but as a night-to-night observer of the team, I have to tell you, this team is not really clicking on all cylinders. They're actually grinding right now. That could be affected by watching San Jose just blow away competition, but I think that's pretty on the mark.

We lost Perry a month and change more ago, and we desperately need him back (he's probably going to miss the first round). We haven't had that instant score ability we had last year (although we did gain some of it back with the return of the Flash). Bobby Ryan is still trying to get the hang of things, and Bertuzzi and Weight are showing some age. Scotty, as amazing as he is, has seen his points per game and plus/minus drop. Maybe he'll turn it on now, maybe not. The power play has been much worse this year overall than last year. And everyone knows the wildcard that is Pronger. He's scary good when he's out there. But he's always a risk to draw a suspension.

We have been gutting out wins, we do have uber-tested playoff vets and our penalty kill and goaltending (especially in the playoffs) is lights out.

But I'll tell you now, this is just not the same team as last year. If we're going to win it again, we're going to have to step it up at least a couple notches. I don't think the team we ended the season with beats the Wings or Sharks in a seven game series with four on the road. I am of the opinion that only the Wings and Sharks will ultimately beat us, but that could just be silly fan enthusiasm (no, probably).

Turco has to not suck in the playoffs some day. I'm very worried about the Stars as well. I don't think there is any way it goes less than 6. If Turco can resemble anything close to a starting NHL goalie, it's going to be a very low scoring series with Perry still out. And Steve Ott and Mike Ribero have absolutely owned the Ducks this year.

I'm bracing for the ripping from the Wings fans, but I would rather see them than Dallas or San Jose. I just think we match up better with a less physical team.

am i crazy or did marty turco not stand on his head last playoffs and single-handedly keep dallas in the series?

i even remember posting that no matter what happens, turco had exercised his demons

maybe i have a terrible memory though

dola, i looked it up

in 7 games, turco allowed a whopping 11 goals. 5 of them came in game 1...but it went to quadruple overtime.

in the series, he had a save percentage of .952.

and oh yeah, all 3 wins were by shutout.

Looks like the Bolts will replace Richards much quicker, and cheaper, than expected.

I think criticism of Turco is one of the most ridiculous things in hockey. I would take him on my team in a heartbeat.

Well then there you go... in my defense the Dallas fans started it :D