NHL Playoffs 09. Drop The Puck.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:48 am

If I may cheat and make some picks after the series have begun...

Boston over Carolina in 6

Pittsburgh over Washington in 7

Detroit over Anaheim in 7

Vancouver over Chicago in 6

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sat May 02, 2009 9:16 am

Too bad about the stupid cheap shot from Anaheim. That was about the last thing they needed to do, as they now have a player facing suspension, not to mention it gave Det a key PP goal. You cannot beat Detroit playing stupid hockey. I thought other than that play Anaheim looked pretty good and were competitive.

Boston dominated Carolina as I expected. The Bruins showed a little rust at times, but should play better next game now that they have a game under the belt. I expect Carolina to step things up the next game as well. Should be fun.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat May 02, 2009 6:22 pm

Speaking of cheap shots, I am surprised or rather disappointed that the league did not suspende B. Eager for his head shot on Rypien late Thursday, a late hit that was similar to Brashears' on Betts.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat May 02, 2009 7:41 pm

/youtubes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixg8F9bHv5s

Yeah, that should have been at least a 2-game suspension. From that (admittedly less than ideal) replay it seems the puck is nowhere close to Rypien, and there's obvious intent to injure.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat May 02, 2009 8:26 pm

Save of the playoffs:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/01Ow7Kxaqb4&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed>

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:54 pm

Give Hawks all the credit. Those kids don't quit and Bolland's shorthanded goal in the second period sucked all the air out of the 'Nucks turning the game around. We are still too undiscplined and their PP will make us pay, unlike VAN's PP which need better executing. This is a great series so far.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sun May 03, 2009 8:42 am

Vancouver looked to make this a laugher of a series early on, as they outplayed Chi in the first. You could really see the tide turning though in the second. Chicago was dominating play in the second, even before their first goal. That game was very physical, which is no surprise since Vancouver can mix it up with the best of them. Lots of credit goes to the Hawks for sticking with things and putting up 5 unanswered on a tough team. They have been one of my favorite teams to watch this season. I still think the Canucks will bounce back and take the series, though.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun May 03, 2009 10:20 am

That save by Varlamov was every bit as ridiculous as the save by Kiprusoff that TSN readers voted NHL Play of the Year.

Staggering. This kid is Cam Ward, circa 2006. Watch out for the Caps!

Now that the Pacquiao-Hatton fight is over, I'll re-engage with the second round of the playoffs after a two-day break.

Take care,
PK

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Sun May 03, 2009 1:56 pm

Luongo made a save every bit as good in a loss tho so im giving the nod to Varlamov considering it was after a howler and it kept his team in it and contributed to the eventual win.

Chicago are animals Wheres Scoop? Loving their grit.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 03, 2009 5:17 pm

Canucks played hesitantly in the second period when CHI was coming strong at them and it's not coincidence that the absence of Salo had to do a lot with VAN's struggle on the PP and the D not being as solid as they usually are with him.

He did not travel to CHI and he'll be missed big time with that boomer of his. I suspect Vannanen will take his place and I wouldn't be surprised if T. Pyatt makes the starting team sometimes this week as well.

Looks like M. Naslund is calling it quits. A classy guy, all time scorer for the Canucks and clearly thinks that his best days are behind him.

It's all Ducks so far in OT, Selanne just got rocked.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun May 03, 2009 6:41 pm

Busy as hell with work, so I took a short break to watch the Iso Cam on Datsyuk in the third OT on NHL.com. I like Iso Cam when it's on complete players like Datsyuk.

Within 15 seconds of watching Datsyuk, Anaheim scored its game-winner while he was on the ice. That was trippy!

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 03, 2009 6:47 pm

About time the damn game ended, it's all tied up in the series between DET-ANA thanks to a T. Marchant wrister. These guys haven't lost two in a row for awhile. Another super series. The way these two teams are playing they'll be dead by the time they play the Western conference finals.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun May 03, 2009 7:02 pm

10spro wrote: The way these two teams are playing they'll be dead by the time they play the Western conference finals.

Making it easier for the Hawks.

That was a fun game to watch. Love playoff hockey. Love playoff OT even more.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 03, 2009 9:12 pm

LaRose's goal should count. With 2 seconds left, Canes got the momentum going into the third. Can't understand why these video reviews take so long when there's an angle showing clearly that the puck was in.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 03, 2009 9:16 pm

Bruins get a huge break. Will it be enough for them to rally in the third? A total f**k up call by the officials and video reviewers in TOR.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sun May 03, 2009 10:16 pm

Boston sure had their chances to score in this game. Ward was way too much. The Bruins had to have been thoroughly frustrated by the final few minutes. Staal also was very good tonight, but Ward was simply awesome. Carolina really needed a performance like that to avoid going two down.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon May 04, 2009 12:51 pm

10spro wrote:Bruins get a huge break. Will it be enough for them to rally in the third? A total f**k up call by the officials and video reviewers in TOR.

On the no goal call? Why? if the goal line is a vertical plane and that puck was leaning when on edge i can see it not being a goal, no way is that a missed call.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon May 04, 2009 4:44 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:
10spro wrote:Bruins get a huge break. Will it be enough for them to rally in the third? A total f**k up call by the officials and video reviewers in TOR.
On the no goal call? Why? if the goal line is a vertical plane and that puck was leaning when on edge i can see it not being a goal, no way is that a missed call.

You must have missed the angle that I saw. I am not talking about a quarter puck or half a puck by the vertical line but the entire doghnut was shown past the goalline and there's a good zoomed pic on it.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Mon May 04, 2009 5:00 pm

Are you talking about the overhead view that is not directly on top of the goalline?

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Mon May 04, 2009 7:18 pm

No i didnt miss anything , i saw that pic and the puck wasnt exactly on edge it was leaning i saw the puck over the line too but if you line up the camera angle and the fact that the puck was probly leaning outwards i can see how it wasnt called.
The call on the ice was no goal not enough to overturn they say, i say a pretty good call by the on ice official.
You call it a total f*** up . Even after 2 days of reviews its inconclusive.

Im just sayin' i dont think it was a blown call at all, not even close to one turns out it was a very good call.

I hate officials in all sports but come on.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon May 04, 2009 8:36 pm

Fair enough, if you and I saw the same video and pic and you still claim that it was the correct call, then there's not much to argue for what I continue believe; the zebras blew the call. And the only reason this is not being overblown by the media is because it did not cost the Canes the game in the end.

After all its not the 1st time and we'll continue to watch bad decisions made by the officials who IMO are not doing a good job so far in these playoffs.

WAS ties it 2-2, this is a game where Malkin will have to step it up.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon May 04, 2009 10:01 pm

Crosby and Ovechkin both get hat-tricks, but the Capitals win it 4-3.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Mon May 04, 2009 10:48 pm

10spro wrote:Fair enough, if you and I saw the same video and pic and you still claim that it was the correct call, then there's not much to argue for what I continue believe; the zebras blew the call. And the only reason this is not being overblown by the media is because it did not cost the Canes the game in the end.

Actually, on video replays, all the calls are made from the War Room in Toronto, so the On Ice Zebras anyway are pretty blame free in this case.

The ref is at the mercy of what he's told on the bat-phone..............

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon May 04, 2009 11:02 pm

Gangrel wrote:
10spro wrote:Fair enough, if you and I saw the same video and pic and you still claim that it was the correct call, then there's not much to argue for what I continue believe; the zebras blew the call. And the only reason this is not being overblown by the media is because it did not cost the Canes the game in the end.

Actually, on video replays, all the calls are made from the War Room in Toronto, so the On Ice Zebras anyway are pretty blame free in this case.

The ref is at the mercy of what he's told on the bat-phone..............

Right, and when they're unsure of their decision like in this case calling it inconclusive the ultimate call goes back to the officials on the ice which in this particular case are much to blame.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon May 04, 2009 11:08 pm

A great show by the best two players in game two. Too bad someone needs to wake up E. Malkin soon or this series will be shorter than what most people thought would be. This guy was a liability with a capital L. Playing lazy and making dumb penalties. Pens need to play with more urgency overall.

Correct me if I am wrong. This is the match up that everyone wanted to see, yet it wasn't televised nationally in the USA? If so, way to promote the game.