Its' Here! NHL 2008 Playoff Thread

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

New York over Pittsburgh in 7
Montreal over Philadelphia in 5
Colorado over Detroit in 7
San Jose over Dallas in 6

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

hockey genius!

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Montreal 5
New York 7
Colorado 6
San Jose 7

Great minds...

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Ironically enough, there was also another epic overtime game on May4th of 2000. I'll let Suburban fill ya'll in on the details.

I assume you want me to talk about Ron Tugnutt's amazing 70-save performance.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Wow, I want it to keep going and end at the same time. I have to go to bed. And I'm on the West Coast! I can only imagine what Stars fans in Texas are dealing with.

I went to bed. But the save by Nabby in the 1st overtime...WOW!

[Honolulu_Blue]

As tough a loss it was for the Sharks and as disappointed as they must be, they really can be blamed for folding in this series. While the Sharks fell short, they definitely showed a lot of character battling through a tough, physical series with Calgary and then mounting a brave, though ultimate failed, rally against the Stars. They definitely showed some character in both series, but they just fell in too deep a hole against Dallas.

Dallas has already knocked off the two teams, Anaheim and San Jose, who many believed were not only the best in the Western Conference, but the best in the NHL. Turco is playing amazingly well and Morrow has been a force. Richards, Robidas, and Ribeiro have also all had very good playoffs.

Should be a good Conference Finals.

[Dr. Sak]

Same rules as last year...you will see your record as Wins-Losses-Correctly Picking Series Score. Double check me because I sometimes make mistakes.

After Round 2

1. Pumpy Tudors 10-2-1
2t. Suburban Rhythm 9-3-3
2t. Travis 9-3-3
4. JonMiddleGa 9-3-1
5. Maple Leafs 8-4-2
6. yacovfb 8-4-1
7t. Honolulu_Blue 7-5-2
7t. Fidatelo 7-5-2
9t. Bsak16 7-5-1
9t. TazFTW 7-5-1
9t. MikeVic 7-5-1
12. Draft Dodger 6-6-2
13t. DetoxRox 5-7-1
13t. Pyser 5-7-1

[Fidatelo]

Detroit beats Dallas 4-2
Penguins beat Flyers 4-3

[Travis]

Detroit over Dallas in 5
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in 6

[MikeVic]

Detroit over Dallas in 6.
Pittsburgh over Philly in 6.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Detroit over Dallas in 6
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in 7

[Draft Dodger]

Detroit in 6
Pittsburgh in 5

[Pumpy Tudors]

Detroit in 4
Pittsburgh in 6

[Suburban Rhythm]

Dallas in 7
Pittsburgh in 6

[Pyser]

dallas in 6
philly in 5

im in last, gotta go against the grain and against my better judgement

[yacovfb]

Detroit in 6
Pittsburgh in 6

[yacovfb]

Detroit in 6
Pittsburgh in 6

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

I assume you want me to talk about Ron Tugnutt's amazing 70-save performance.

Pitt-Florida, right? Almost five whole OTs?

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

Pitt-Florida, right? Almost five whole OTs?

Flyers-Pens 5 OTs. Keith Primeau's winner in the 5th OT. Actually it was a strange series, the Pens won the first two in Philly and Philly took the next 2 in Pittsburgh and 4 in a row to win the series. But that OT game was the turning point in the series.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Flyers-Pens 5 OTs. Keith Primeau's winner in the 5th OT. Actually it was a strange series, the Pens won the first two in Philly and Philly took the next 2 in Pittsburgh and 4 in a row to win the series. But that OT game was the turning point in the series.

Oh that's what you wanted me to bring up!

Yeah, I still remember it, literally in shock that the Pens won those first two in Philly. And can still see Kasparaitis sliding across the ice, past Primeau.

[Dr. Sak]

What is even more surprising is defenseman Andy Delmore netting a hattrick in Game 3. Only never to be heard of again.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

What is even more surprising is defenseman Andy Delmore netting a hattrick in Game 3. Only never to be heard of again.

Do you mean An_y _elmore?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Well, the Fabian Brunnstrom North American Freedom Tour 2008 has finally ended. I think he visited, what, with Dallas, Detroit, Toronto, and maybe Montreal? (Or did he not make it to Montreal?)

I am not sure what to think of this guy. Apparently, he wants all sorts of assurances like that he'll be on the top two lines, who he'll play with, all sorts of weird stuff. Vancouver was going to give him all that and Detroit wasn't. It all sounds a bit too high maintenance for me. He could be the next Jiri Dopita for all we know.

That said, he'd come cheap (the value of his initial contract amount is limited by the CBA) and it'd be worth taking a flier on him. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. Last I heard, Toronto is the current front-runner for his services.

Like I mentioned above, given the low financial risky you're taking with a guy like this (thanks to the CBA), a team would be crazy not to try and sign him. Still, you have to question his desire. It sounds like he just wants everything given to him, guarantees about playing time, what line he'd be on, who he'd be playing for, etc. Sure, it'd suck to come to North America and then get sent down to the minors, but ideally, you'd think, you'd want a great player to really want it. To be willing to work hard. Hey, if he's good enough, he's going to stick, if not, well... All the guarantees in the world aren't going to help. Being stuck on a top line when you can't keep up isn't going to make anyone happy.

Here's a quote from Mike Babcock on Fabian Brunnstrom, it made me laugh:

Wings coach Mike Babcock said Brunnstrom signing with Detroit should be a no-brainer, considering how many Swedes the team has.
"It's so obvious it isn't even funny, just move into Novi, Little Sweden, and hang out, it's like the old country,'' Babcock said. "I can't even understand how anybody else is in the running. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. All they (Swedish players) do is they come here, they're comfortable, they play better than they ever have in their life."

Here's what Holland had to say after Brunnstrom had dinner with him and Scotty Bowman on Thursday night in Denver, then watched Detroit wrap up the sweep of the Colorado Avalanche, 8-2.

“He’s either going to look at the game and say to himself, ‘I’d like to be a part of that,’ or he’s going to say, ‘Where do I fit in? He’s looking for opportunity, but he wants to feel he’s got a legitimate chance to go to training camp to play. If he’s going to struggle in one city, he’s going to struggle in 29 cities. If he’s ready for the NHL, he’s going to be ready in 29.”

I think that's about right. I'd much rather have a guy who would "like to be a part of that", but I am not sure if Brunnstrom is that guy.

[Maple Leafs]

He's going to sign with Toronto because he wants a chance to play. Every other team on his list is "good", and has "good players" who get all the playing time. He doesn't want to worry about that. Advantage, Leafs.

And you all thought we didn't have a master plan.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

He could be the next Jiri Dopita for all we know.

Fucking Jiri Dopita...scored in his first game and went downhill from there.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Fucking Jiri Dopita...scored in his first game and went downhill from there.

ditto Jaroslav Hlinka

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

So...

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play...parisza01.html

Where's your Scott Gomez sponsoring??

Holy crap... I didn't catch the significance of this the first time, but you can sponsor pages on hockey-reference now?

The next time I get drunk at home, I'm going to wake up with a $1,000 paypal bill.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Holy crap... I didn't catch the significance of this the first time, but you can sponsor pages on hockey-reference now?

The next time I get drunk at home, I'm going to wake up with a $1,000 paypal bill.

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play...clarkwe01.html

You know you want to.

[DeToxRox]

Wings in 6
Pens in 7

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

http://www.hockey-reference.com/play...clarkwe01.html

You know you want to.

You know I already did.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

You know I already did.

Haha, oh great what's it gonna say.

[MikeVic]

I like Gretzky's sponsor message hahaha. Of all the things to comment on.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I like Gretzky's sponsor message hahaha. Of all the things to comment on.

I offered Mirtle 50% of the fee if he'd change it to "It was a high stick"

Edit: Actually, just checked his blog and he's willing to switch it to whatever I want. Any ideas?

[Maple Leafs]

You could even sponsor bsak's favorite player:

[MikeVic]

Haha, I just saw. What is half the fee? Make him look good please!

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Haha, I just saw. What is half the fee? Make him look good please!

He hasn't said. I'm hoping Gretzky is in the same ballpark as Howe and Orr ($100).

[DeToxRox]

Someone will be sponsering Darren McCarty on an internet site now, as well as in Real Life.

[Simms]

Leafs fire Maurice.

Not terribly surprising.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Simms

Leafs fire Maurice.

Not terribly surprising.

Thank god.

[Draft Dodger]

there's some chatter in Denver about Joel Quenneville. His contract is up, and the silence from the front office about a new contract has a lot of people thinking he'll be moving on. Anyway, Quenneville is from the Toronto area and got his playing and coaching start (hired by Cliff Fletcher, no less) for the Leafs.

just in case that actually comes to fruition, I'll give you Leaf fans the answer to the trivia question you'll hear about 18,000 times. The two coaches besides Quenneville to coach and play in 800 NHL games is Bob Pulford and Jacques Lemaire.

[Maple Leafs]

Odd stat: Since their last Cup, the Leafs have had 17 head coaches. Of those, only three ever coached in the NHL again after leaving Toronto.

[MikeVic]

On TSN this morning, they showed how many teams made the finals since the last Leafs' final. I'll just summarize that it's been almost the entire league.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Odd stat: Since their last Cup, the Leafs have had 17 head coaches. Of those, only three ever coached in the NHL again after leaving Toronto.

Wow. That is a Detroit Lions-type stat (I don't think any Lions' headcoach in decades has ever left the Lions to go on to be a headcoach in the NFL again). That reallly puts things in perspective...

[Honolulu_Blue]

Dallas in 6
Pittsburgh in 7

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

On TSN this morning, they showed how many teams made the finals since the last Leafs' final. I'll just summarize that it's been almost the entire league.

Of course, one of those teams that hasn't made it is the Jets/Coyotes franchise

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

On TSN this morning, they showed how many teams made the finals since the last Leafs' final. I'll just summarize that it's been almost the entire league.

I hate this stat. It's so overplayed and lazy. We know that bashing the Leafs equals ratings/readers/clicks, so now the media creates measures of success out of thin air just to target one team.

If you list the teams that have won a Cup since 1967, the Leafs aren't on the list, but neither is half the league.

If you list teams by playoff wins, appearances, rounds played, etc., the Leafs aren't at the top of the list but again there are many teams that are well below them.

Neither of those stats helps confirm the starting hypothesis that the Leafs are the worst, dumbest team in the league and their fans are morons. So somewhere in the past few years, some clever person found the sweet spot -- you have to talk about appearances in the Finals (not Cups won, just appearances). That leaves you with a list that has the Leafs at the bottom, so you run with that.

I mean, sure, you want to go to the Finals whenever you can. But is it really any kind of measure of overall success? Does anybody really want to argue that the Leafs have been less successful over the years than the Capitals, or the Panthers, or the Sabres?

[MikeVic]

You're just cranky that the Leafs haven't been to the finals.

[Dr. Sak]

This is a playoffs thread so why are we talking about the Leafs?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I don't think any Lions' headcoach in decades has ever left the Lions to go on to be a headcoach in the NFL again.

These are kinds of things that tempt my curiosity.

There's an *asterisk exception to this really -- Dick Jauron, who went 1-4 as the interim Lions coach between Mooch & Marinelli before going to the Bills.

Otherwise though ...
Mariucci ... nope
Mornhinweg ... nope
Ross ... nope
Moeller ... nope
Fontes ... nope
Rogers ... nope
Clark ... nope
Hudspeth ... nope
Forzano ... nope
McCafferty ... nope
Schmidt ... nope
Gilmer ... nope

That brings us to George Wilson, who left the Lions after the 1964 season and coached Miami from 1966-1969.

edit to add: And of that list, only Mariucci, Ross, Clark, and McCafferty (4 of 12) were ever head coaches anywhere before the Lions job.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

These are kinds of things that tempt my curiosity.

There's an *asterisk exception to this really -- Dick Jauron, who went 1-4 as the interim Lions coach between Mooch & Marinelli before going to the Bills.

Otherwise though ...
Mariucci ... nope
Mornhinweg ... nope
Ross ... nope
Moeller ... nope
Fontes ... nope
Rogers ... nope
Clark ... nope
Hudspeth ... nope
Forzano ... nope
McCafferty ... nope
Schmidt ... nope
Gilmer ... nope

That brings us to George Wilson, who left the Lions after the 1964 season and coached Miami from 1966-1969.

edit to add: And of that list, only Mariucci, Ross, Clark, and McCafferty (4 of 12) were ever head coaches anywhere before the Lions job.

Thanks for that, Jon. That was very depressing...

[TazFTW]

Stars in 6
Flyers in 6

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by bsak16

This is a playoffs thread so why are we talking about the Leafs?

I think it's all part of the "master plan" along with the sucking so bad to get Brunnstrom and the whole "no trade" clauses thing. It's quite ingenious and pervasive this "master plan."