Official First Round of the NHL Playoffs Thread

[Punker]

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Trust me I have not counted my chickens till the Oilers win 2 more

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At least we aren't going to have to play Dallas!

[bigt2k4]

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I am not a huge hockey fan, but I will be in Motreal this weekend and think it would be fun to attend a game. Do Canadiens playoff games typically sellout? (I'm assuming they do) What are the chances of getting 4 scalped tickets at a reasonable markup?

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About the same as finding a French Canadian that wants to be part of Canada and does not think the rest of Canada owes them. Translation Slim

Phew that was close Oilers Rule

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This reminds me:
After watching some CBC broadcasts on OLN of the playoffs, I'm now officially anti-Canada.
I had previously had a soft spot in my heart for Canadian teams since I thought those teams with big fanbases that truly love hockey deserved some victories. However, the blatant homerism of all things Canada by the announcers was worse than listening to Hawk and DJ do White Sox games in baseball. That is enough for me to say FU, Canadian beer sucks, and I'm glad a city like Tampa celebrated the cup. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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Wow, I have noticed a slight bias in the Canadian coverage, but usually very slim. When watching or hearing highlights of the Sabres, Flyers, or some other American teams, the homerism is so ridiculous compared to any Canadian broadcast. Also, Canadian beer is not the greatest in the world, but it is head and shoulders above American beer, which I cannot seem to stand(except for High Life, which is very good for the price)

[mosuavea]

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Dear Buffalo Sabres,

Meet Peter Forsberg.

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He took that shot that Campbell hit into McKees skate ? When did he put on a 51 Jersey? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

[Lazy Meatball]

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Seriously, Meatball, it'd be cheaper to fly down to Raleigh and get tickets for game 5 (assuming there is a game 5, of course).

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Yeah, I'm not that interested. Just looking for stuff to do in Montreal, I'll probably watch the game on tv while some stripper bounces on my lap.

[lozen]

Aghh Beer,Strippers and Hockey Life is Good [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Triumph36]

Wow, the Devils are absolutely dominating the Rangers. These games haven't even been close.

The Rangers will have a lot of off-season work to do, and deciding whether or not they have the components for a championship team, or letting Sykora and Rucinsky walk for players from the system.

I'm also very surprised that Dallas is down 3-0 - I gave Colorado no chance to win that series. That was a mistake, given that Dallas has 'Dollar Bill' Guerin.

[capone0]

Devils have impressed. Devils have been playing great since after the Olympics. I'm not sure if anyone can beat them in the EC right now. A hot goaltender is about as good as gold when it comes to winning the SC. Rangers have come into the playoffs playing poorly and showing no heart. I can't feel too bad though as a Devil fan, actually I feel great [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

[wh1t3bread]

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Wow, the Devils are absolutely dominating the Rangers. These games haven't even been close.


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Yes they certainly are. Hats off to them. Thankfully, I have to go a wedding Saturday afternoon sparing me from watching my team get swept.

I think the Rangers just got injured and ran out of gas at exactly the wrong time (did the Olympics possibly cause this?).

You have to wonder if this series would be a little bit closer if Jagr, Rucinsky, Rucchin, Lundqvist & Kasparaitis didn't get hurt the last 3 weeks.

Going into the offseason the Rangers need to address their defense (I really hope they try to land Chara ~ they have the money and they need a defenseman of his size and caliber) and like you said, figure out what direction they want to go in with Rucinksy and Sykora.

They have some guys in the minors right now who look really good and could step up next year in Nigel Dawes, Jarkko Immonnen and possibly Hugh Jessiman.

The Rangers also have Marc Staal (Defense), a younger brother of Eric playing very well in the OHL this year. He is probably still 2 years away though. Thomas Pock another young Defenseman could also get thrown into the mix come next year.

[Wes Mantooth]

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Also, Canadian beer is not the greatest in the world, but it is head and shoulders above American beer, which I cannot seem to stand(except for High Life, which is very good for the price)

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LOL, .... High Life!!

[Triumph36]

But should they go after Chara? I mean, are you sure this team is ready for a deep run in the playoffs? The plan before this season was to use younger players - they need to get Immonen up here next year. Pock should be up if they think he's going to be a good player. Jessiman is unlikely to be an NHL player but Ranger management will bring him up at some point to justify his selection. It must be tough to imagine that the Rangers could have Dion Phaneuf and Rostislav Olesz instead of Jessiman and Al Montoya. They do have Staal who they are really high on.

I definitely think the series would be closer if the Rangers weren't so beat up - the Rangers are beat up I think because of the Olympics. I felt Lundqvist would have trouble as the season went on because he hadn't played more than 45 games in a season in Frolunda and it seems like he isn't the goalie he was earlier in the season.

Jagr will not be as good a player next year probably, and will certainly decline the year after. Should the Rangers really build a team around him given that he is irreplacable (given his salary/performance ratio) and beginning the end of his career?