Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

1 Buffalo vs 8 New York Islanders

Easy win for the Sabres.

2 New Jersey vs 7 Tampa Bay

Pretty easy win for NJD. Tampa's efense and awful goaltending is going to kill them.

3 Atlanta vs 6 New York Rangers

Neither of these teams is a threat to do anything at all in the playoffs, who wins this crapfest is a tossup.

4 Ottawa vs 5 Pittsburgh

The opposite of the crapfest from above. Tough series, two great teams. My money is on Pittsburgh. I'll take young and unproven over older and proven chokers any day.

WEST

1 Detroit vs 8 Calgary

One of the easiest series to pick imo. Calgary should take this one pretty handily. Detroit is too old, too European, and Datsyuk and Zetterberg are proven chokers. Calgary may have the best team in the nhl on paper and the playoffs is their time to shine.

2 Anaheim vs 7 Minnesota

Anaheim is a powerful team. Minnesota is a great team, but Anaheim is just that much better.

3 Vancouver vs 6 Dallas

Marty Turco is a joke. I hate the Canucks, and Luongo has proven nothing, but nothing is better than proven awful. Canucks take this one handily.

4 Nashville vs 5 San Jose

Two great teams. It's too bad one of these teams gets tossed in the first round. I have no idea who takes this one. Toss up.

My "power rankings" going into the playoffs:

1. Buffalo
2. Anaheim
3. Calgary
4. San Jose
5. Nashville
6. Minnesota
7. Vancouver
8. Pittsburgh
9. Ottawa
10. New Jersey
11. Detroit
12. Dallas
13. Tampa Bay
14. NYR
15. Atlanta
16. NYI

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

wtf, cal just lost 4 games in a row and are not playing good hockey.

They have been suspect pretty much all year. Put them closer to 16th than 1st.

To say Cal will win easily is laughable. Det has home ice and are 29-4-8 at home this year.

I give Det the easy win.

But I guess I should post all my picks to be fair so you can rip mine apart also.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Yeah, Calgary as #3 is a joke. They're the 8th seed for a reason. They have a team that could possibly go places - but Detroit isn't exactly a bad team either.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

EAST

Buf over NYI in 5.

Might be a sweep, total mismatch.

NJ over TB in 5.

NJ is a playoff team, plain and simple. I expect Marty to shine as usual. TB goalies suck and goalies win games in the playoffs.

Atl over NYR in 7

Tough one as both teams have similiar offense (Jagr vs Hossa/Kovalchuk) and similiar goalies.

I like Atl but can go either way.

Ott over Pit in 6.

Tough call here as Pitt is dangerous but I think Heatley/Spezza cancel out Crosby/Malkin and the rest of Ott is deeper than Pitts.

2nd rd

Buf vs Ott Buf in 6
NJ vs Atl NJ in 6

3rd rd

Buf vs NJ Buf in 7


WEST

Det over Cal in 6

Cal sucks this year. Det is solid as long as Hasek is healthy, they beat Cal no prob.

Ana over Min in 5

Min has a good playoff team but Ana is just too deep and too strong.

Van over Dal in 6.

This will be a very tough series but Luongo will be the difference over Turco in this one. You read it here, Luongo's 1st time in the playoffs and he is going to shine, he has been waiting his whole career for this chance.

SJ over NSH in 7

Wow, what a series this will be. This could easily be the West finals based on the caliber of the teams. I am picking a minor upset here as I like the Thornton/Cheechoo/Guerin/Marleau offensive combo even more than the great offense of NSH.

Looking forward to this series more than any other. Well this and Pitt/Ott.

2nd rd

Det vs SJ Det in 7
Ana vs Van Ana in 7

3rd rd

Det vs Ana Ana in 6


Stanley Cup

Ana over Buf in 7


There we go!!!

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

That's insane. Calgary, the best team on paper? You're joking, right? Besides Huselius and Iginla, this team doesn't have much serious scoring power, and their defense isn't outstanding. The only way I see them beating the Wings, or ANY other team in the Western Conference is if Kiprusoff stands on his head, a la 2003-2004. I'm not saying the Flames don't have a chance; they do, just like every other team, but I feel Detroit's forwards will be the difference.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]

My "power rankings" going into the playoffs:

1. Buffalo
2. Anaheim
3. Calgary
4. San Jose
5. Nashville
6. Minnesota
7. Vancouver
8. Pittsburgh
9. Ottawa
10. New Jersey
11. Detroit
12. Dallas
13. Tampa Bay
14. NYR
15. Atlanta
16. NYI

[/ QUOTE ]



[/ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty funny list. You really think that...
6 of the top 7 teams are in the West?
The 4 worst are in the East?
The Devils are 10th?

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Go Bolts!

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty funny list. You really think that...
6 of the top 7 teams are in the West?
The 4 worst are in the East?
The Devils are 10th?

[/ QUOTE ]

Happy 40th!

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
That's insane. Calgary, the best team on paper? You're joking, right? Besides Huselius and Iginla, this team doesn't have much serious scoring power, and their defense isn't outstanding. The only way I see them beating the Wings, or ANY other team in the Western Conference is if Kiprusoff stands on his head, a la 2003-2004. I'm not saying the Flames don't have a chance; they do, just like every other team, but I feel Detroit's forwards will be the difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Calgary - 6th in NHL in scoring, 2nd in Western Conference. 11th in NHL in GA, 8th in West.

Detroit - 10th in NHL in scoring, 2nd in GA.

Calgary - 4 players in the top 35 in scoring.
Detroit - 1 player in the top 35 in scoring (and that player averages 0.36PPG in the playoffs).

Calgary - Easily the best top to bottom defense corps in the NHL. A top 3 goalie and reigning Vezina winner in goal; The best leader currently in the playoffs.

A team full of playoff warriors. Iginla, Regehr, Huselius, Conroy, Langkow, Friesen, Kiprusoff etc etc.

What do the Wings have? A bunch of soft euros, a 41 year old goalie and a thug "superstar". Nik Lidstrom is the only player on that team worth talking about.

Buffalo is the only team that can match the Flames on paper.

I'm going to predict it right now - Buffalo/Calgary SCF. Who wins...I don't know. But it'll be a hell of a series.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

How is Huselius a "playoff warrior"? He played 7 playoff games in his career.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Nice rankings. Let's look at numbers:

Calgary scored 258 goals. Detroit's scored 254 goals. 6th vs. 10th sure means something here... Calgary let in 226 goals, and Detroit let in 199. Detroit can keep the score low, and win.

Not to mention Detroit had their top offensive player in Zetterberg miss 20 games (and when Zetterberg's gone, his linemates are obviously going to suffer), and had to sit old man Hasek every time they had back-to-backs. Hasek's playing far better, and Kiprusoff played 18 more games than Hasek this year.

Not to mention, Detroit's at home. Arguably the two toughest places to go into and win on the road in Joe Louis and the Saddledome, home ice means a lot in this series.

Come on, Dallas had a better record than Calgary and their top scorer is Ribeiro who's got 59 points, T79th overall. I'll chalk up some points for Calgary playing in the NW, but those were kind of silly statistics you brought up. Not to say Calgary can't beat the Red Wings -- I just don't think it's going to happen.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Calgary - Easily the best top to bottom defense corps in the NHL. A top 3 goalie and reigning Vezina winner in goal; The best leader currently in the playoffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol. I was with you until this statement. Calgary fans have been told how good their D is for so long it's now taken on a life of it's on in hyperbole land.

I think the Flames are going to win the series as well, but their D is not "easily the best" at anything.

Tuco.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
How is Huselius a "playoff warrior"? He played 7 playoff games in his career.

[/ QUOTE ]

in fact how the hell are Iginla and Regehr playoff warriors - they have one run to the Finals. Detroit has miles more experience in Chelios and Schneider than the Flames do with any player that matters (Friesen and Amonte don't count).

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Nice rankings. Let's look at numbers:

Calgary scored 258 goals. Detroit's scored 254 goals. 6th vs. 10th sure means something here... Calgary let in 226 goals, and Detroit let in 199. Detroit can keep the score low, and win.

[/ QUOTE ]

Reg season stats dont mean much when you look at the two divisions they play in. Trade divisions for both teams and numbers would look a lot different.

The real point is that Detroit are very soft playoff team and they are up against a team that is very difficult to play against.

Tuco.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Nice rankings. Let's look at numbers:

Calgary scored 258 goals. Detroit's scored 254 goals. 6th vs. 10th sure means something here... Calgary let in 226 goals, and Detroit let in 199. Detroit can keep the score low, and win.

[/ QUOTE ]

Reg season stats dont mean much when you look at the two divisions they play in. Trade divisions for both teams and numbers would look a lot different.

The real point is that Detroit are very soft playoff team and they are up against a team that is very difficult to play against.

Tuco.

[/ QUOTE ]

either Calgary is losing a ton of one goal games or they had some blowouts during the season, because their 'Pythagorean' win percentage is way better than their actual record.

Detroit can't be counted out - I think they'll win but it will be in a close series. To put Calgary as the 3rd best team in the playoffs is simply ludicrous.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty funny list. You really think that...
6 of the top 7 teams are in the West?
The 4 worst are in the East?
The Devils are 10th?

[/ QUOTE ]

Happy 40th!

[/ QUOTE ]

i dont get it [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty funny list. You really think that...
6 of the top 7 teams are in the West?
The 4 worst are in the East?
The Devils are 10th?

[/ QUOTE ]

you're kidding right? every playoff team in the west, plus probably st louis and colorado, are better than just about every eastern team that isn't buffalo. the west was 82-48-20 vs the east, collectively.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Calgary - Easily the best top to bottom defense corps in the NHL. A top 3 goalie and reigning Vezina winner in goal; The best leader currently in the playoffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol. I was with you until this statement. Calgary fans have been told how good their D is for so long it's now taken on a life of it's on in hyperbole land.

I think the Flames are going to win the series as well, but their D is not "easily the best" at anything.

Tuco.

[/ QUOTE ]

Name a better top six.

Hint: There isn't one.

Four number one (top 30) guys, a solid number 4, a solid number 5, as well as two other solid number 5s who don't quite crack the healthy lineup.

Interesting tidbit: all 8 Calgary defenseman are better than any of Washington's dmen. Not that it matters, just thought I'd point it out.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Calgary - Easily the best top to bottom defense corps in the NHL. A top 3 goalie and reigning Vezina winner in goal; The best leader currently in the playoffs.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol. I was with you until this statement. Calgary fans have been told how good their D is for so long it's now taken on a life of it's on in hyperbole land.

I think the Flames are going to win the series as well, but their D is not "easily the best" at anything.

Tuco.

[/ QUOTE ]

Name a better top six.

Hint: There isn't one.

Four number one (top 30) guys, a solid number 4, a solid number 5, as well as two other solid number 5s who don't quite crack the healthy lineup.

Interesting tidbit: all 8 Calgary defenseman are better than any of Washington's dmen. Not that it matters, just thought I'd point it out.

[/ QUOTE ]

lollerskates. Four top 30 guys?? Ha ha - what a joke. Hamrlik is top 30? Regehr? Top 30 in the West - sure. I suggest watching other teams. Zyuzin and Hale ain't exactly number 5s either but you already knew that.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Regehr is a top-30... but this season he hasn't been playing his best. Calgary has a solid top 6, but it's not the greatest.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

After reading your posts in this thread, this statement from last month is beginning to make more sense:

"If the Flames had the canucks' chemistry, they would be heading for the Presidents Trophy."


-Soft Euro Fan.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That's insane. Calgary, the best team on paper? You're joking, right? Besides Huselius and Iginla, this team doesn't have much serious scoring power, and their defense isn't outstanding. The only way I see them beating the Wings, or ANY other team in the Western Conference is if Kiprusoff stands on his head, a la 2003-2004. I'm not saying the Flames don't have a chance; they do, just like every other team, but I feel Detroit's forwards will be the difference.

[/ QUOTE ]

Calgary - 6th in NHL in scoring, 2nd in Western Conference. 11th in NHL in GA, 8th in West.

Detroit - 10th in NHL in scoring, 2nd in GA.

Calgary - 4 players in the top 35 in scoring.
Detroit - 1 player in the top 35 in scoring (and that player averages 0.36PPG in the playoffs).

Calgary - Easily the best top to bottom defense corps in the NHL. A top 3 goalie and reigning Vezina winner in goal; The best leader currently in the playoffs.

A team full of playoff warriors. Iginla, Regehr, Huselius, Conroy, Langkow, Friesen, Kiprusoff etc etc.

What do the Wings have? A bunch of soft euros, a 41 year old goalie and a thug "superstar". Nik Lidstrom is the only player on that team worth talking about.

Buffalo is the only team that can match the Flames on paper.

I'm going to predict it right now - Buffalo/Calgary SCF. Who wins...I don't know. But it'll be a hell of a series.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ugh...this is the type of obnoxious and delusional stuff I'd expect to hear from a Leafs fan...not a Flames fan.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
Besides Huselius and Iginla, this team doesn't have much serious scoring power

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty ignorant statement. The Flames scored 258 goals while the Red Wings scored 254.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Warren Strelow, San Jose's goaltending coach, passed away this morning. This guy was a god when it came to coaching goalies.... and is the reason why Kipprusoff and Nabokov (both late-round picks) have had stellar seasons. I really hope this doesn't affect Nabby's play... not a great way to start the playoffs.

RIP Strelow.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

bump - 4 games tonight, finally.

Pittsburgh @ Ottawa - 7 PM EST
San Jose @ Nashville - 8 PM EST
Dallas @ Vancouver - 10 PM EST
Minnesota @ Anaheim - 10:30 EST

Center Ice ftw

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Besides Huselius and Iginla, this team doesn't have much serious scoring power

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a pretty ignorant statement. The Flames scored 258 goals while the Red Wings scored 254.

[/ QUOTE ]

Whatever, include Langkow, between him, Iginla and Huselius, they account for 40% of the Flames' goals this year. What I'm trying to say is that Detroit has a much more balanced attack. The Flames have 9 players with 10 or more goals, whereas the Red Wings had 13 players with 10 or more.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

who needs center ice if you are in canada? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Stop bickering with meaningless stats. Yes, when playoff time comes around all these stats being thrown around mean nothing.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
who needs center ice if you are in canada? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I was about to say the same thing:

Pitt/Ott - CBC
SJ/Nash - TSN
Dal/Van - CBC
Minn/Ana - TSN

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Looks like the only game that will be unavailable (save for time conflicts) in the near future is game 1 of Tampa/NJ. Oh well, not like I'm that interested in that series anyway.

Guess I can forget about getting anything done in the coming weeks.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

wtf am I going to watch, SJ/NSH or Pitts/OTT??

Flip a coin???

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

1 Buffalo vs 8 New York Islanders

Buffalo in 5

2 New Jersey vs 7 Tampa Bay

New Jersey in 6

3 Atlanta vs 6 New York Rangers

Atlanta in 6

4 Ottawa vs 5 Pittsburgh

Ottawa in 7

WEST

1 Detroit vs 8 Calgary

Detroit in 7

2 Anaheim vs 7 Minnesota

Anaheim in 6

3 Vancouver vs 6 Dallas

Vancouver in 5

4 Nashville vs 5 San Jose

San Jose in 6

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

I'll add my predictions so we can all laugh at me in a couple of weeks:

Buffalo over Islanders in 4.
Tampa over Devils in 6.
Rangers over Atlanta in 6.
Ottawa over Pittsburgh in 5.

Detroit over Calgary in 7.
Anaheim over Minnesota in 5.
Vancouver over Dallas in 5.
Nashville over San Jose in 7.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

I don't know if Ottawa is really this good, or if the Penguins are just that inexperienced.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know if Ottawa is really this good, or if the Penguins are just that inexperienced.

[/ QUOTE ]
A little of column A, a little of column B.

Actually, Fleury just looks petrified in net, and Pittsburgh has shown zero intensity so far.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

17 minutes in and no shots on net by Malkin and Crosby??

...think Ottawa will take this, predicted 5-2 Ottawa win tonight!!!!

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

I'm gonna give it a go with some predictions, mostly so I can look back at this after the 1st round and see how I did.

Alright so...

1 Buffalo vs 8 New York Islanders
- Buffalo in 4. Their offense is just to strong, they're a much faster team, and Dubielewicz replacing injured DiPietro for the Isles kills them.

2 New Jersey vs 7 Tampa Bay
-Tampa in 7. Upset special here. A lot of people are writing off Tampa in this one, but Tampa went 3-1 vs. the Devils in the regular season. Holmqvist can play really well if he gets going, and Tampa's offense can overcome the Devils D and Brodeur.

3 Atlanta vs 6 New York Rangers
-New York in 6. They got it going towards the end of the regular season, and I think Jagr is going to have a monster series. Atlanta's inexperience will hurt them too. Seems like whenever a team makes the playoffs for the first time it's one-and-out.

4 Ottawa vs 5 Pittsburgh
- Ottawa in 6. I'd like to pick to pick the Pens, but Ottawa experience should give them an edge here.

1 Detroit vs 8 Calgary
- Detroit in 5. Lot of people are thinking this will be a close series, but I think Detroit will take care of business quickly in this one. They'll win both at home to start, split games in Calgary and win game 5.

2 Anaheim vs 7 Minnesota
-Anaheim in 7. They split the regular season matchups. Anaheim's D (Niedermayer, Pronger, etc.) and home-ice advantage gives them the edge here.

3 Vancouver vs 6 Dallas
-Vancouver in 6. Loungo playoff debut and Naslund. Nuff' said.

4 Nashville vs 5 San Jose
- Sharks in 6. This will be a tough series. Forsberg always picks it up in the playoffs and as long as he doesn't get hurt he'll be a big factor, but I'll have to give the edge to the Sharks because they have two very good scoring lines, (Thornton's and Marleau's).

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Wow, anyone watching that Nashville game? Terrible kneeing call on Nashville. Major + misconduct. Garbage.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Pittsburgh is flat, and Fleury's first goal showed serious playoff jitters.

Re: The Official NHL Playoffs Thread
 

Cheechoo done for this game after knee to knee collision. Tough break for San Jose.