Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Chief Rum · 04-07-2003, 02:54 PM

Wow, that was harsh, Maple Leafs!

I'll agree, though, that the Wings are the one team the Ducks could have problems with. They have shown they can play with Dallas and the Avs, and I personally think they would have had a 50-50 shot against the Canucks or the Blues.

But the Wings have always done us in. They always seem to beat the crap out of us. Every now and then we pull out a good one (I think we beat them 3-1 in Detroit in January), but for the most part they have this mystifying control over us (mostly, of course, because they are damn talented, but this seems to go even beyond that).

HB is right in that the Ducks have played the Wings in each of their other two playoff years, although he's wrong in that they are the only team we have played-- we beat up on the Yotes in '97 before meeting the Wings in the second round.

But HB is also right about this Ducks team being deeper and having better goaltending. Not that we stack up against the WIngs, and like I mentioned before, the psychological edge for the Wings seems huge, but we aren't just a one-line team anymore. Kariya-Rucchin-Sykora has been one of the best lines in the NHL, and Oates, LeClerc, Thomas and Chistov are solid scorers behind them. Three of those players have oodles of playoff experience, and Kariya and Rucchin have playoff experience as well in the Ducks' last two visits to the postseason. Olausson and Ozolinsh are fine blueline scorers who have also seen more than a few playoffs (Olausson was wearing the white wing ringed in red last year, you know), and the still have a tough D with Salei, Carney, Vish and the rookie Sauer.

The one piece that could make the difference for us is Jiggy. When he is on, he is pretty hard to beat. But he has been just on-and-off the past couple months, and so far as I know, this is his first playoff. Ouch!

I see the Wings in 6, a tougher series than some of you are expecting, but still a win for the Wings. And I'm going to cross my fingers we can repeat the miracle series the Kings had against these guys two seasons ago.

Thanks, HB, for the congrats on the FOFC hockey win. It's about time I won one of these damned things. SOme of my picks just worked out well.

Chief Rum

04-07-2003, 02:54 PM	#26
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Wow, that was harsh, Maple Leafs! I'll agree, though, that the Wings are the one team the Ducks could have problems with. They have shown they can play with Dallas and the Avs, and I personally think they would have had a 50-50 shot against the Canucks or the Blues. But the Wings have always done us in. They always seem to beat the crap out of us. Every now and then we pull out a good one (I think we beat them 3-1 in Detroit in January), but for the most part they have this mystifying control over us (mostly, of course, because they are damn talented, but this seems to go even beyond that). HB is right in that the Ducks have played the Wings in each of their other two playoff years, although he's wrong in that they are the only team we have played-- we beat up on the Yotes in '97 before meeting the Wings in the second round. But HB is also right about this Ducks team being deeper and having better goaltending. Not that we stack up against the WIngs, and like I mentioned before, the psychological edge for the Wings seems huge, but we aren't just a one-line team anymore. Kariya-Rucchin-Sykora has been one of the best lines in the NHL, and Oates, LeClerc, Thomas and Chistov are solid scorers behind them. Three of those players have oodles of playoff experience, and Kariya and Rucchin have playoff experience as well in the Ducks' last two visits to the postseason. Olausson and Ozolinsh are fine blueline scorers who have also seen more than a few playoffs (Olausson was wearing the white wing ringed in red last year, you know), and the still have a tough D with Salei, Carney, Vish and the rookie Sauer. The one piece that could make the difference for us is Jiggy. When he is on, he is pretty hard to beat. But he has been just on-and-off the past couple months, and so far as I know, this is his first playoff. Ouch! I see the Wings in 6, a tougher series than some of you are expecting, but still a win for the Wings. And I'm going to cross my fingers we can repeat the miracle series the Kings had against these guys two seasons ago. Thanks, HB, for the congrats on the FOFC hockey win. It's about time I won one of these damned things. SOme of my picks just worked out well. Chief Rum __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.