[OT] Hockey Fever: The NHL Playoffs Thread Part II

[Agamon]

Hate to go off-topic in an off-topic thread, but if any hockey fan/gamers are interested in playing in an NHL fantasy sim league, I'm starting one up.
Check it out: UFHA

Back to out regularly scheduled playoff discussion...

 

[Acmite]

What I said before:

Grrrr....stupid Calgary, putting the Oilers out of the playoffs. I hate Calgary.

Vancouver in 7 (I hate the following players: Hasek, Chelios, Hull--and you have to cheer for the canadian team, eh?)

Colorado in 5 (Sakic has been my favorite player since his early
Quebec days--man, he's got a sweet wrist shot)

San Jose in 6 (Phoenix's lack of experience will hurt them here)

Chicago in 6 (Of the two teams, I like St. Loius more....but I don't think TKachuk <sp?> can stay out of the box long enough to make a difference and their goaltending leaves much to be desired. Hopefully the defense corps can prove me wrong.)

Boston in 5 (I really wish I could say Montreal, but I think Boston is going to go really far this year.)

Ottawa in 7 (OK, this is a bunch of crap, but I still hope it happens. Realistically? Philly in 5)

New Jersey in 6 (I think Carolina will give them a run for their money even though Stevens will put their major players out of commission for the rest of the season)

Toronto in 7 (I don't like Toronto. Period. But they have enough grit to cancel out Peca's influence, which should just be enough to beat the Islanders led by the playoff-weak Yashin. Toronto's goaltending is a little sketchy though....Barrasso out, Cujo hasn't been the same since the Olympics, never mind his injury, and they won't start their backup (who's been playing very well) unless something seriously goes wrong)


Overall: Leafs suck, Oilers should have made it, I'm happy that Dallas didn't make it, Chelios sucks.

OK, so I suck. I pegged Boston to go far (maybe the finals), and I underestimated Ottawa. I pegged Chicago to beat Jonhson's inexperience (whoa, was I wrong!), and I though Jersey would take the series, even though it would be longer than they expected.

Let's try this again, then:

St. Louis in 7: I think Hasek will crumble, the old guys will tire, and we still haven't seen guys like Weight step up yet. Detroit took the first game, but I think this is STL's time to shine.

Colorado in 6: Selanne is streaky so this is a tough one to judge, but I think Roy and Colorado's depth will push them through. Ricci will play well for SJ, but goaltending may be suspect.

Montreal in 5: This may be optimistic (it might take them 6), but there's only so much a few guys can do (FRancis, Brind'amour, etc). Goaltending situation in Carolina is strange (and Irbe is moody), while Montreal has a Hart candidate in net.

Ottawa in 7: I hate the leafs, and this is not the same Senators that they can shove around. I think we'll see Toronto continue to take stupid penalties (especially Tucker and Domi) as they get frustrated that they can't bully Ottawa around. McAuley <sp?> will have a series to remember--he's starting to come into his own. Lalime will dwarf Cujo. It wouldn't surprise me if one of Ottawa's marquee players is taken out by a questionable (or illegal) hit (can you say Darcy Tucker?), resulting in a severe suspension, but nothing like Domi's last year.

Next Round Predictions (Enter Fantasy Land): The Colorado-STL series will go to 7 games, and I'd like to see the Avs go to the final, but we'll say STL in 7. Ottawa will take Montreal in 6. Ottawa will win the Cup in 6 games, as Keith Ktachuk camps out in the penalty box and the Sens play a disciplined game.

Oh, and ratings for the NHL drop 5 points, 'cause none of the "Big Teams" make it.

 

[theT0rmented]

Think someone's going to get injured

I hate to agree on this, but what Acmite said rings true: I expect at least 1 Ottawa player to go down to a questionable hit.

 

[Quickbeam]

As the weekend approaches, please allow me to say GO WINGS!!!

That said, I can't believe Ottawa put the wood to Toronto like that last night. Perhaps for the first time ever, the Sens players will live up to their ability.

Is it any coincidence that Yashin is no longer on this team?

 

[GreyOne]

What i want to know is that now that Vancouver's out, why is anyone still interested in this thread?

 

[Chairman_Kaga]

Hey my team's been out since jump street and I still show up to see who's predictions fall down go boom...

it's kinda that same morbid curiousity you get when you're watching a car wreck...

you just can't bring yourself to look away!

 

[Aopy]

Its always fun to watch teh leafs get SPANKED!!! Finally maybe people will see that Curti$ Jo$eph is a good goalie but not one capable of winning anything. See the Olympics.

LEAFS SUCK!

 

[Agamon]

Dang. Carolina made Montreal look like Boston...if you follow my meaning.

I mean, how fair is it that Theodore played absolutely awesome, Weeks played ok, and Theo loses and Weeks gets a shutout?

 

[Welverin]

?and I underestimated Ottawa.

Actually you probably overestimated Philly. Everyone seems to have forgotten or just not noticed how bad they were over the last month of the season. When you?re that bad you don?t just turn it on in the playoffs, plus they weren?t resting players like Detroit

St. Louis in 7 and Colorado in 6

I?ve got no idea on these two.

Montreal in 5: This may be optimistic (it might take them 6), but there's only so much a few guys can do (Francis, Brind'amour, etc). Goaltending situation in Carolina is strange (and Irbe is moody), while Montreal has a Hart candidate in net.

I think you?re underestimating Carolina in this one. If Weekes continues to play as well as he has in his three starts so far, I think the series will go Carolina?s way.

Ottawa in 7: I hate the leafs, and this is not the same Senators that they can shove around. I think we'll see Toronto continue to take stupid penalties (especially Tucker and Domi) as they get frustrated that they can't bully Ottawa around. McAuley <sp?> will have a series to remember--he's starting to come into his own. Lalime will dwarf Cujo. It wouldn't surprise me if one of Ottawa's marquee players is taken out by a questionable (or illegal) hit (can you say Darcy Tucker?), resulting in a severe suspension, but nothing like Domi's last year.

Without Sundin I don?t see this series going anymore than six and I?m tempted to say five. Of course it?s a little easier to say after game one.

Meant to add the first time that now that Ottawa has made it out of the first round I don't think their tendency to choke in the playoffs will be a problem.

Oh, and ratings for the NHL drop 5 points, 'cause none of the "Big Teams" make it.

Actually it?s more about the Canadian teams than anything, Canadian cities don?t count towards ESPN?s ratings. So it has less to do with the teams themselves and more with where htey are.

 

[Acmite]

As the weekend approaches, please allow me to say GO WINGS!!!

That said, I can't believe Ottawa put the wood to Toronto like that last night. Perhaps for the first time ever, the Sens players will live up to their ability.

Is it any coincidence that Yashin is no longer on this team?

Yashin actually played reasonably well in this year's playoffs, I think. He wasn't a standout player worthy of the MVP, but he certainly help his own. Keep in mind that in previous years he was completely stifled by guys like Corson. It wasn't that he wasn't "showing up" for the playoffs, it was that opposing teams could focus on him so much since the other players (McHeachern <sp?>, Redden, Alfredson, etc) weren't playing well at all. I think he has got more of a bad rap then he deserved (although he certainly does deserve some criticism).