Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 7:51 am

Sudz wrote:will PK bust his load on the TV screen itself or use his sock?

AWESOME GAME!

samsonov....AWESOME...

LOL!

It's odd: If I was home, I would have gone absolutely insane tonight. WHAT A GAME!

But since I'm on the second floor of an apartment building for the month in Indy, I can't scream and jump like I do at home. Instead, I just get up and run around, pumping my fists and doing the "silent scream."

The Oil showed their true grit last night, but I'm not surprised at the heart. This club has shown similar heart all year. You never can give up on this team. No lead for an opponent ever is safe. Just ask Detroit. And now just ask San Jose.

Edmonton's relentless physical punishment of the Sharks is starting to show. The Sharks are losing guys to injury, and they're getting worn out by the pounding. They're also getting frustrated, as Thornton got all pissed off just because Moreau held his stick.

Running Toskala out of the game also was a big mental boost for Edmonton. I expect Toskala to be strong in Game 6, but at least the Oil knows it has cracked the guy in a game and that it can do it again. San Jose still hasn't done that to Roloson.

Jason Smith had his best game of the year, by far. Gator is a stud defensively, but that backhander to score the game-winner was a beauty. Fitting that Gator scored on an old-school shot, a backhander, because the guy is a big-time throwback.

Devorski and crew really swallowed the whistles last night. And the special treatment that Cheechoo gets is sickening. That guy is a f*ck. He could be the Warren Young of 2006, a one-year goal-scoring wonder, yet the refs treat him as if he was Bobby f*cking Hull.

As Greg Millen said, Pronger showed impressive discipline not to lay out Cheechoo for the rest of the game after Cheechoo elbowed him in the face/throat. If that situation occurred five years ago, Cheechoo would be dead. Pronger would have annilhilated him.

Edmonton's depth is showing through right now. The team has had four strong lines contribute all season, and that is proving the difference right now.

Game 6 is vital. The Oil must prove that they can win at the Tank. Someone has to break serve in this series, and that someone needs to be Edmonton!

Man, what a game. Rexall was ROCKING!

GO OIL!

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 7:52 am

tjung0831 wrote:
XXXIV wrote:
tjung0831 wrote:I don't know about you guys but i'm as drunk as i've been in sometime!!! FUGGGIN AAAAA!!!
Aint it coool?!
i'm so drunk i'm actually watching the Clippers and Suns!!!

Wow, that redefinies intoxication. I think a drug test is in order!

Take care,
PK

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sat May 13, 2006 10:56 am

Damn, just checked the scoresheet, and Roloson isn't getting an assist on Sammy's goal. I have to try to find a clip of that somewhere, that was uncanny!

I was a little concerned after Pronger got hit in the throat, as his first shift afterwards, he looked a little laboured and that he was headed back to the bench. But he stayed on......

PK: I live in an apartment/condo and that hasn't stopped me from jumping up and down and screaming....

Though I haven't screamed as loud as I did in the last Detroit game yet, but I'm sure it will come.

The girlfriend just thinks I'm nuts, that's all.

I could care less about the neighbors when the Oil are on the tube!

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 11:36 am

Gang:

I'm just a temporary resident, so I guess I should go nuts!

I was worried about Prongs' throat, too. Crushed larynx crossed the mind.

Cheechoo better watch his back for the rest of the series because you know Prongs is going to line him up and crush him, and I will smile when I see Cheechoo get scraped off the boards or ice. That little f*ck deserves to get nailed, especially with the preferential treatment he gets from the refs.

I'm not sure if Rolie should get an assist on that amazing goal. He wasn't trying to pass the puck; he was just making a save, and his damn blocker was like a trampoline!

GO OIL!

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat May 13, 2006 11:42 am

I'm very happy to see Roli's doing a good job for the Oil. I need to watch some more games. A rainy Saturday here might give me an excuse to tune in this afternoon...especially if there's no action at Indy today.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat May 13, 2006 1:20 pm

I was impartial, but after what Cheechoo did I hope the Oilers get a win in game 5 then get a four goal lead in game 6 so someone can crush that piece of s*** without worrying about penalties. Pronger was actually kind of lucky - if he caught that viscious elbow in the temple he'd have been knocked cold.

Does Cheechoo get special treatment, or are the refs just blind idiots? I remember in October when Primeau got elbowed in the chin by a Montreal player and the ref just watched and made no call. The illegal elbow ended Primeau's season. I thought maybe the ref was protecting a Montreal star, and then I found out the guy was just an average player who could have killed someone in minor league hockey by swinging his stick into their head like it was an axe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Perezhogin

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:19 pm

Zebras are trying to do the best they can on a game where everything just goes soooo fast that missed calls are always a possibility. Whether you're a player from Montreal or California, I don't think it matters, and in the heat of the action, they don't have the time to penalize a specific player based on where they come from.

But between a skilled forward and a defender, most of the times the penalty will be called on the D-man with the exception of the Cheechoo incident yesterday. If Pronger was 3 inches shorter, he would have been hurt, but full praise goes to him for controlling his emotions.

Playoffs hockey is tough and the way this series is going, I wouldn't be surprised if it goes all the way to seven games and ultimately be decided by a PP goal as I predicted in the series. So controlling your emotions is very important. Did the zebras missed that flying elbow on Pronger? Yes! But if Pronger would have complained about it On and ON, a penalty may have been called on him instead and who knows what would have happened. SJ does have a very good PP.

It's the best of three now, it's been a physical series and it'll probably go to 7.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:23 pm

I think the ref told Pronger that Cheechoo missed. That ref needs glasses or a new line of work. Cause everyone in the bldg saw he was hit.

When they are this incompetent they need to be gone.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:26 pm

XXXIV wrote: When they are this incompetent they need to be gone.

Bettman was clear before the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see that ref for any remainder of the series.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:54 pm

Feanor wrote:I was impartial, but after what Cheechoo did I hope the Oilers get a win in game 5 then get a four goal lead in game 6 so someone can crush that piece of s*** without worrying about penalties. Pronger was actually kind of lucky - if he caught that viscious elbow in the temple he'd have been knocked cold.

Does Cheechoo get special treatment, or are the refs just blind idiots? I remember in October when Primeau got elbowed in the chin by a Montreal player and the ref just watched and made no call. The illegal elbow ended Primeau's season. I thought maybe the ref was protecting a Montreal star, and then I found out the guy was just an average player who could have killed someone in minor league hockey by swinging his stick into their head like it was an axe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Perezhogin

Speaking of Primeau, he is coming to the Indy 500 this year, and the guy who is bringing him here told me yesterday that he will introduce Keith to me. That will be cool.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 2:56 pm

10spro wrote:
XXXIV wrote: When they are this incompetent they need to be gone.
Bettman was clear before the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see that ref for any remainder of the series.

Especially since he missed the boarding call earlier in the game on Horcoff. If Laraque gets a major and a game for his boarding hit on Cheechoo in Game 4, and Big Georges deserved it, then McLaren deserved a minor for boarding for drilling Horcoff into the boards.

Take care,
PK

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sat May 13, 2006 3:14 pm

pk500 wrote:then McLaren deserved a minor for boarding for drilling Horcoff into the boards.

Take care,
PK

McLaren is a piece of crap. He is the guy that almost beheaded Zednik a few years back just because he got by him. This guy belongs in a cell...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat May 13, 2006 4:47 pm

Are there only four commercials being shown during Stanley Cup telecasts in the U.S. this year?

1. TGIFridays "BEEF"
2. Verizon wireless with the slackers wishing Mom had a better phone plan
3. VW Jetta "bullhorn"
4. Dodge commercial with the fairy

Holy f*ck, I'm getting sick of those ads!

Take care,
PK

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat May 13, 2006 7:53 pm

pk500 wrote:Speaking of Primeau, he is coming to the Indy 500 this year, and the guy who is bringing him here told me yesterday that he will introduce Keith to me. That will be cool.

Take care,
PK

That's really cool. I didn't used to think too much of him as a player, and I was pissed when Bob Clarke traded Rod Brindamour for him. But he was unbelievable in the 2004 playoffs - a real one man wrecking crew. I think he just had surgery to fix a broken nose so perhaps that'll help him with his ongoing concussion problems.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat May 13, 2006 8:26 pm

For those of you that have coverage to HNIC, CBC, Don Cherry spoke today on Coach's corner and I couldn't agree more with what he said about head injuries. A lot of people think that hits to the head should be abolished in the game, that it should be illegal, etc, etc.

Here in Canada, they start to teach kids at 10 years old to always keep your head up when you have the puck. And it isn't the force of the HITS that's injuring players, consequently suffering from concussion symptoms, but the material that the shoulders pads are made of these days.

It's a very tough plastic that can hurt people when it impacts your head, and then Don Cherry brought a shoulder pad of yesteryear where they were made of soft foam, what not. Much smaller in size as well.
B. Shanahan among other veterans still wears those pads.

Then he went on to compare the glass at the Rexall Center compared to the glass made in BUFF and SJ. You can see that whenever a player was being hit in the boards the plexiglass just shakes all over like a trampolin.

Unlike in EDM when Horcoff was hit in the boards by MacLaren, you could see the stiffness of the glass there. No flexibilty at all. So the question is: Why some stadiums have the ideal glass and some others don't? Why shoulder pads are made so stiff today?

Those are issues that the league should look at during the offseason and according to Cherry the primary reason for the head injuries.

I couldn't agree more...

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sat May 13, 2006 8:52 pm

I thought every NHL Arena had already been made to get rid of the hard glass because of all the head injuries it was causing. But obviously at least Edmonton still has it.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sat May 13, 2006 10:14 pm

Congrats to the Buffalo Sabres!!! Hard fought, well played series.
THEY FREAKIN DID IT!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 14, 2006 12:08 am

BUFF deserved to win. OTT never was able to play to their potential, players like M. Havlat, D. Heatley and J. Spezza were well covered by the Sabres and were almost invisible the whole series. The D-men were soft in many instances and I don't think goaltending was an issue. Something is still missing there. They do so well year after year during the season, only to fall on a 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs.

Well, there goes my pick for Lord Stanley. Kudos also goes to NJ, they had a great game and with M.Brodeur playing like he did today, don't count those Devils out just yet.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun May 14, 2006 8:32 am

tjung0831 wrote:Congrats to the Buffalo Sabres!!! Hard fought, well played series.
THEY FREAKIN DID IT!

By one goal each game, too. So I think the 4-1 series edge was a bit deceiving.

Still, Buffalo proved that grit and depth are just as important as talent in the new or old NHL, especially in the playoffs. The Sabres are four lines deep, and every player skates hard and is willing to pay any price to win.

You can't say the same about the Sens. Ottawa relied too much this season on the Heatley-Alfredsson-Havlat-Spezza axis, and when some of those guys didn't show up in this round, the Sens were sunk. When Pothier has as many goals as Alfie, you know the Sens are in trouble.

I just never saw much depth with Ottawa or much desire in this series. Take Drury's goal last night -- how the f*ck could that be allowed to happen? And how does Ottawa let Pominville skate in short-handed like that to win the game?

Is it just me, or does Bryan Murray seem not to have the fire as a coach? I don't think you need a Tortorella type, but Murray just looks so damn passive on the bench. You hardly ever see him chattering to the players, firing them up.

Assuming Carolina wins, I think the difference between the Canes and Sabres right now is Ryan Miller. I think he's playing better than Ward and could be the decisive player in a series if his strong performance continues. The Sabres never showed a killer instinct against Ottawa by achieving a blowout win, but Miller held them in games, and the Sabres' grit, desire and depth carried the series.

Well done, Buffalo. My dream Finals matchup of Edmonton-Buffalo is still alive. I'll probably be the only person in Syracuse not rooting for the Sabres.

Take care,
PK

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sun May 14, 2006 11:50 am

Yes, the heart has been ripped out of this city for sure. So many expectations, such a let down. It's cold and rainy here today, perhaps fitting.......

Personally, I think Alfie should be gone, or at least not the captain. What the *uck was he doing on the winner? Cream him, stick check him, ANYTHING, but don't let him walk around you and then halfheartedly one hand your stick into his skates...... And not ONCE this year (or last playoffs, or before) have i ever felt Alfie reach down, grab the whole team and pick them up like I've seen Messier do, or Yzerman..... just because Alfie has been here forever and is one of the better scorers (at least regular season)_ doesn't mean he's a captain.

The player I feel for is Razor.... rookie goalie, forced into this because of Hasek's injury..... I still feel Ray could have made some stops this series that would have changed things all together, but then again, I don't think he should have been forced into being the #1 guy right now anyway......

It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason with all the FAs.... Chara and Redden the biggies. Melnyk must be having a fit in Barbados over his "investment" tanking in the 2nd round.....

Butttt, for me, it's ok. I still have my # 1 team, and i just prayyyyy that they can put up another effort tonight like they did on Friday.

There's plenty of room on the bandwagon boys..... PK is your lovely stewardess, and he'll get your drink orders once he gets into his uniform.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun May 14, 2006 12:22 pm

Gangrel wrote:There's plenty of room on the bandwagon boys..... PK is your lovely stewardess, and he'll get your drink orders once he gets into his uniform.

LOL! The Oil is ready for take-off tonight, baby!

Take care,
PK

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun May 14, 2006 12:52 pm

pk500 wrote:
tjung0831 wrote:Congrats to the Buffalo Sabres!!! Hard fought, well played series.
THEY FREAKIN DID IT!
By one goal each game, too. So I think the 4-1 series edge was a bit deceiving.

Still, Buffalo proved that grit and depth are just as important as talent in the new or old NHL, especially in the playoffs. The Sabres are four lines deep, and every player skates hard and is willing to pay any price to win.

You can't say the same about the Sens. Ottawa relied too much this season on the Heatley-Alfredsson-Havlat-Spezza axis, and when some of those guys didn't show up in this round, the Sens were sunk. When Pothier has as many goals as Alfie, you know the Sens are in trouble.

I just never saw much depth with Ottawa or much desire in this series. Take Drury's goal last night -- how the f*ck could that be allowed to happen? And how does Ottawa let Pominville skate in short-handed like that to win the game?

Is it just me, or does Bryan Murray seem not to have the fire as a coach? I don't think you need a Tortorella type, but Murray just looks so damn passive on the bench. You hardly ever see him chattering to the players, firing them up.

Assuming Carolina wins, I think the difference between the Canes and Sabres right now is Ryan Miller. I think he's playing better than Ward and could be the decisive player in a series if his strong performance continues. The Sabres never showed a killer instinct against Ottawa by achieving a blowout win, but Miller held them in games, and the Sabres' grit, desire and depth carried the series.

Well done, Buffalo. My dream Finals matchup of Edmonton-Buffalo is still alive. I'll probably be the only person in Syracuse not rooting for the Sabres.

Take care,
PK

See Washington Capitals circa mid to late 1980's, Red Wings for a pretty good pattern of Bryan Murray coached teams - excellent regular season, bow out early in the playoffs. That's why I was so surprised when they name Murray headcoach as the Senators answer to weak playoff performances - it didn't make much sense.

On the other hand, Sabres were full value for the win and very impressive. They had outstanding goaltending but this certainly wasn't a one player victory as we've seen with some teams in the past.

Best wishes,

Doug

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Sun May 14, 2006 1:29 pm

Gangrel wrote:
It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason with all the FAs.... Chara and Redden the biggies. Melnyk must be having a fit in Barbados over his "investment" tanking in the 2nd round.....

After watching this series if i'm a GM looking to add defense next year, I pass on Chara and Redden. They aren't going to be worth the money they will command. I'll take Jay McKee at less than half the cost of Chara and or Redden in the offseason.
Muckler might take the fall too, he failed to make additions to help this team. The Sens are close, sometimes you have to give up that draft pick or prospect when you are that close. I remember after the Canes traded for Doug Weight, Muckler said the Blues price was too high, I wonder if he feels that price was too high now.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun May 14, 2006 1:40 pm

pk500 wrote: By one goal each game, too. So I think the 4-1 series edge was a bit deceiving.

Not to mention that 3 out of the 5 games series went into OT.

pk500 wrote: I just never saw much depth with Ottawa or much desire in this series. Take Drury's goal last night -- how the f*ck could that be allowed to happen? And how does Ottawa let Pominville skate in short-handed like that to win the game?

It summarized the way OTT played the entire series with the exception of a few periods far and between. No intensity, no sense of urgency.

pk500 wrote: Is it just me, or does Bryan Murray seem not to have the fire as a coach?

He did a terrific job for OTT during the regular season, obviously he has his own personality, but the problem here is that he was outcoached by L. Ruff. How could you put D. Alfredsson as your point D-man (granted he has a good shot) with the game on the line, the series down 1-3, and into OT? Pominville noticed that, because Alfreddsson is not a natural defender, he knew it, he took a chance and it worked!

pk500 wrote: Well done, Buffalo. My dream Finals matchup of Edmonton-Buffalo is still alive. I'll probably be the only person in Syracuse not rooting for the Sabres.

Guess which team Canada is rooting for here pk?

I have a feeling that M. Bordeur and CO may have something left in the tank. It works for them that they play again today as they want to carry the momentum they have. The two players that most impressed me were John Madden and Scott Gomez.

In OTT, they changed coaches, added toughness, brought in Hasek (unfortunate he couldn't play, but again I don't fault R. Emery one bit), kept the core group players, now what? Many free agents coming up, is GM J. Muckler next to go?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun May 14, 2006 1:40 pm

This bandwagon jumper is looking forward to the Oilers- Sharks game in a big way....Just gotta love the way these guys play...

Lets go OILERS!!!