The Official NHL Playoffs Thread

[Hopey]

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I don't know if I've been more upset/embarrassed by a team in my life. Most likely not. This could go down as the most disappointing thing I've ever seen.

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This is how every Ottawa fan has felt just about every year since the Sens started making the playoffs. Welcome to our world.

[Hopey]

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...I dont want them to overhaul the Sabres, but they definitely need to upgrade there defense...

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Isn't this going to happy anyway? Aren't you losing Briere and/or Drury and/or a bunch of other guys next season to free agency/cap issues? I keep hearing that Briere is going to Montreal. The fact that a lot of these guys know that they won't be in Buffalo next year might be a small factor in how little heart they have shown so far in the playoffs.

[Triumph36]

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...I dont want them to overhaul the Sabres, but they definitely need to upgrade there defense...

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Isn't this going to happy anyway? Aren't you losing Briere and/or Drury and/or a bunch of other guys next season to free agency/cap issues? I keep hearing that Briere is going to Montreal. The fact that a lot of these guys know that they won't be in Buffalo next year might be a small factor in how little heart they have shown so far in the playoffs.

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i have to disagree with this one. just looking at last year's cup champions, who had several players likely to leave - these guys are pros.

i've missed most of this series but from what i've seen, it looks like last year in reverse. i think the senators are ashamed of the way they lost in last year's playoffs, and the sabres think the president's trophy is the stanley cup.

[GambleGamble]

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...I dont want them to overhaul the Sabres, but they definitely need to upgrade there defense...

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Isn't this going to happy anyway? Aren't you losing Briere and/or Drury and/or a bunch of other guys next season to free agency/cap issues? I keep hearing that Briere is going to Montreal. The fact that a lot of these guys know that they won't be in Buffalo next year might be a small factor in how little heart they have shown so far in the playoffs.

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i have to disagree with this one. just looking at last year's cup champions, who had several players likely to leave - these guys are pros.

i've missed most of this series but from what i've seen, it looks like last year in reverse. i think the senators are ashamed of the way they lost in last year's playoffs, and the sabres think the president's trophy is the stanley cup.

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..Sabres never treated the Presidents Trophy as anything, even after they clinched it they all openly stated who gives a [censored]...it doesnt mean anything to us...so I dont think thats it....

....I really believe the Sens are peaking along with the Sabres transition game being "figured out" so to speak...I cant rememeber the last true odd man rush we have had, and I attribute this to Ottawas speed and overall defensive scheme...my hats off to the Sens at this point for stifling the Sabres....

...I will say that its not like the Sabres have laid down or are getting blown out of the water...in Game 1 the 3rd period was basically overtime in that 1st team to score wrapped that game up and a rotten defensive play by Khalinin helped hand that game over...

Game 2 was the first time the Sabres have lost a game after having a 2 goal lead and they are now 46-1 this year so it happens...we had our chances in OT same as them

Game 3 was just a great defensive effort by Sens to limit them to 15 shots, but again they only scored on a fluke rebound off a save which is the bounces not going our way..this series could easily be much much different but it sucks there down 0-3 and now we just need to be only the 4th team in proffesional sports to come back from that deficit in a 7 game series....it can be done!!!

[wh1t3bread]

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Is there a more useless trophy in sports than the Presiden't Trophy? It should be renamed the "We're going to tank in the playoffs" trophy.


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Over the last 20 years the President's trophy winner has won the cup 6 times, 30% of the time. If you seed all of the playoff teams 1-16 I bet that's the best percentage per seed. I could of sworn I read an article that stated pretty much the same thing, can't find it now.

[Zurvan]

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...I dont want them to overhaul the Sabres, but they definitely need to upgrade there defense...

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Isn't this going to happy anyway? Aren't you losing Briere and/or Drury and/or a bunch of other guys next season to free agency/cap issues? I keep hearing that Briere is going to Montreal. The fact that a lot of these guys know that they won't be in Buffalo next year might be a small factor in how little heart they have shown so far in the playoffs.

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The Sabres bought in to their own hype a long time ago. Everyone believed they were far and away the best team in the East, if not the league, and they did too. They thought they'd just drift to the Cup, not put in any effort for 50 minutes, and then make their big dramatic come back at the end of any games they happened to be losing.

They've been playing like that since January, and it's finally coming back to bite them in the ass. This is a team that got way overconfident, and now that they're getting smoked, they don't know what to do about it.

[rafiki]

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lol @ rafiki's sweep - this is the dope who earlier up the thread was putting money on sabres -150 in game 2 - how'd that bet work out for you, rafiki?

sabres can make this comeback, but jesus - i missed most of the game, but how a team so offensively talented can put 14 shots on the worst goalie left in the playoffs (and it's not even close) - i think briere's playing his way on to some other team.

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lol you and I both know how that game went, could have gone either way. So far after last night's sens win I'm 7-3 in my conference finals bets, so I'm not doing too bad.

And this certainly isn't the first appearance I've made in this thread.

but more importantly, how do none of you have ANY sense of humor. Like zero. I just don't get how you can all take everything 100% seriously on the internet, it's remarkable.

[MacGuyV]

I kinda wish the Leafs had snuck in at the #8 spot...at least winning the 1st round would've been somewhat fun [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Hopey]

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i have to disagree with this one. just looking at last year's cup champions, who had several players likely to leave - these guys are pros.

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I'm not saying that it is the primary reason why Buffalo is losing the series, just that it may be a factor. And it might be enough of a factor that it is the difference in a series with such evenly matched teams.

Also, the "players who were about to leave" on the Hurricanes were almost entirely veteran players who came to Carolina for one more shot at the cup. Buffalo doesn't have any Recchi and Brind'amour type players. They're a young team, with a bunch of talented young players who are about to make huge $$$ in free agency in the off-season. Most of these guys feel like they have 10+ good seasons left in them -- plenty of time to win the Cup. There just isn't the urgency in their play that you'd see with veteran players who know that this might be their last shot at winning.

I saw the same thing year after year with the Sens. Your Drury and Briere were our Hossa, Havlat, and Yashin.

[Cry Me A River]

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Over the last 20 years the President's trophy winner has won the cup 6 times, 30% of the time. If you seed all of the playoff teams 1-16 I bet that's the best percentage per seed. I could of sworn I read an article that stated pretty much the same thing, can't find it now.

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Yeah, but...

How many of those are by dynasty teams like the Red Wings or Penguins? Teams so talented, so mature and so focussed that they don't fall into any complacency traps. They are, in effect, the exception that proves the rule.