Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:40 am

pk500 wrote:
Feanor wrote:I checked the end of season stats today at ESPN and saw that Cheechoo got 56 f**ing goals! I knew he was doing well with Thornton but that's an amazing number.
Exactly the reason why Thornton is MVP, not Jagr. Cheechoo had seven goals when Thornton arrived and centered his line. Cheechoo finished with 56.

Plus Thornton carried a Sharks' team well out of the playoffs into the No. 5 spot. Jagr had a GREAT year, but Thornton deserves the Hart more.

Take care,
PK

The day after the Thornton trade was made I turned around and traded Sergei Zubov for Cheechoo in my fantasy hockey league!!! What a steal for me!

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:29 pm

Best name in sports...Jonathan Cheechoo!

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:36 pm

That's the schtick from the Adam Carolla show.

The higher the expectations for the Sharks, the more they're apt to disappoint.

Year before the strike, they dominated their division and then fell flat in the playoffs.

Then at the beginning of this year, they were caught unprepared for the rule changes. Instead of the defensive team they'd built up over the years, they found the new rules favored the offensive teams.

Thornton helped the scoring but as their shoot-out numbers show, they still don't have enough shot-makers.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:42 pm

Looks like my Flyers are heading for Buffalo. Not a bad draw...plus last time up there the Flyers handles the Sabres rather easily. I love the NHL playoffs.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:51 pm

wco81 wrote:That's the schtick from the Adam Carolla show.

Exactly...was waiting to see who actually listens to that show. Hell, they made a song about Cheechoo...that's some funny sh*t.

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:55 pm

Diablo25 wrote:Looks like my Flyers are heading for Buffalo. Not a bad draw...plus last time up there the Flyers handles the Sabres rather easily. I love the NHL playoffs.

After the Devils rallied to tie the Canadiens, I was hoping for a Devils OT loss. That would have put us in the 3 seed, against the 6 seed Rags. I think everyone in the East would like to be matched up with the Rangers right now, they're struggling. I wanted no parts of the Devils. They're rolling. I feel confident that we can wear down Buffalo in a long series, but we must win one of the first two in Buffalo.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:15 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Best name in sports...Jonathan Cheechoo!

A member of the all-influenza team, along with Walt and Keith Tkachuk.

Say either "Tkachuk" or "Cheechoo," and I'll reply, "Bless you."

Take care,
PK

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:19 pm

My complete playoff picks;

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Ott v Tb
In my opinion, when healthy, Ottawa is the best team in the league. Although it looks like they will be missing Hasek and a few other guys may be playing hurt, it is difficult to imagine TB, a team which has struggled all year to get anything going and who barely eeked into the playoffs giving the Sens a serious scare. OTT in 6

Car v Mtl
Carolina comes into the playoffs as one of the most surprising teams in the league with a great group of forwards, but a very unproven defense. The fact Carolina has given up more goals than any other playoff team raises some alarm, but then again, they are third best team at protecting a lead in the 3rd period—a strong indicator of playoff success. Car in 5

Buf v Phi
It is almost difficult to imagine now that at the halfway point of the season, these Flyers had the best record in the league. On any given night the Flyers can transform back into that team and dominate, but those performances have been too far and between. Buffalo is everything they Flyers are not; balanced scoring from every line, oodles of speed, and a rising star in net. BUF in 6

Nj v Nyr
In a difficult series to call, we have two teams headed in opposite directions. I’ll put my money on the hot hand and Marty Brodeur. NJ in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Det v Edm
Although any serious hockey fan will point out that the Wings point total was unduly padded by playing in hockey’s worst division, it is hard to argue with the consistency the Wings have sustained all year. The goaltending, special teams and defense is all there, along with the creativity up front. Wings in 5

Dal v Col
While the Stars have somewhat flown under the radar gaining the second best record in the west, it is hard to point to too many things they do overly well either. One factor to consider—the Stars won in a shootout 12 times, more than any other NHL team—thus padding their point total in a way that means a whole lot of nothing come playoff time. If Theodore can hold it together, I smell an upset. Col in 7

Cgy v Ana
Everyone knows Calgary lacks offensive punch, but consider this; only 3 teams in the league scored fewer goals than Calgary—Columbus, Chicago, and St. Louis—not exactly the kind of company you want to be in. The Ducks aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut either, so perhaps Calgary’s toughness and defense will prevail, though tougher tests lie ahead. CGY in 6

Nsh v SJ
The Sharks coming roaring into the playoffs with the best one-two center punch in the league. Couple this with the Vokoun injury, and Nashville is in trouble. SJ in 5

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:21 pm

wco81 wrote:Thornton helped the scoring but as their shoot-out numbers show, they still don't have enough shot-makers.

Bad analogy. There is no correlation between a team's scoring prowess and its success in shootouts.

Ottawa was No. 1 in scoring in the NHL this year, yet it was 28th in shootout success. Detroit was No. 2 in NHL scoring and was 19th in shootout success.

Meanwhile, Dallas was No. 1 in shootout success and 11th in scoring. New Jersey was second in shootout success and 22nd in scoring.

Forget this talk about the shootout. First, it's not used in the playoffs. Second, it's not a barometer of a team's offensive ability at all.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:25 pm

But don't forget folks, it's a completely new season now. Forget who just crawled in, in the last 2-3 playoffs' seasons, home field advantage made little difference. I don't think the Rangers fans will have a lot of travel whether they play at MSG or travel just across the border to NJ. The fans will always be there and loud.

Going back to J. Thornton, he's the type of player that makes everyone around him play that much better. Before the trade SJ was considered one of the teams that would make the playoffs no problem but they were trailing for the 8th spot like 8-10 points behind.

Fast forward to the post trade, there's nothing streaky about this team, one of the hottest one actually if you look at their record and this Cheechoo guy scoring over 50 goals? Not to mention their 2 goalies, no team has a better 1-2 going into the playoffs right now. Either Toscala or Nabokov can carry the team and how many teams can say that about their goalie situation?

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:39 pm

Interesting picks Naples. The one I am going to disagree with you it's the COL-DAL game.

J. Theodore was a bust this season in MON, and then he got injured not playing hockey but during his leasure activity during the Olympics. COL took a big gamble at the trading deadline and since he's been back the last 4-5 games of the season, he has not shown flashes of his past form and has been mediocre at best.

DAL has been tough the whole year, solid goaltender in Turco and a stingy D.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:43 pm

10spro wrote:Interesting picks Naples. The one I am going to disagree with you it's the COL-DAL game.

J. Theodore was a bust this season in MON, and then he got injured not playing hockey but during his leasure activity during the Olympics. COL took a big gamble at the trading deadline and since he's been back the last 4-5 games of the season, he has not shown flashes of his past form and has been mediocre at best.

DAL has been tough the whole year, solid goaltender in Turco and a stingy D.

Yeah, I definitely went out on a limb with Dallas pick, but every year a high seed goes down, and Dallas looks to me the most vulnerable. While it's not exactly the Avs teams of the past, they still have some gamebreakers in an overall very good group of forwards. Defense and goaltending is obviously the big question mark, so we'll see.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 1:47 pm

To james and Airdog, you poor Leafs fan. Or are you? Change is in the air guys...

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/stor ... 024&k=1721

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:04 pm

I like Maurice's quote, referring to him possibly replacing Pat Quinn: "You don't replace a Cadillac with a Volkswagen."

Yeah, but if that Cadillac doesn't run and still uses carburetors instead of fuel injection, I'll take the VW. And so should Leafs' fans!

Quinn is a dinosaur. What's the common denominator between both of the teams he coached this season? Failure, at Torino and in the NHL.

Take care,
PK

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:14 pm

10spro wrote:To james and Airdog, you poor Leafs fan. Or are you? Change is in the air guys...

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/stor ... 024&k=1721

I HATE the leafs. Diehard Senators fan here, since the day they got a team again (living in Toronto area now... gotta watch my back.)

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:21 pm

James_E wrote:
10spro wrote:To james and Airdog, you poor Leafs fan. Or are you? Change is in the air guys...

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/stor ... 024&k=1721
I HATE the leafs. Diehard Senators fan here, since the day they got a team again (living in Toronto area now... gotta watch my back.)

Well, that Hasek better get back into action soon, because I picked them all the way baby.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:25 pm

pk500 wrote:Exactly the reason why Thornton is MVP, not Jagr. Cheechoo had seven goals when Thornton arrived and centered his line. Cheechoo finished with 56.

Plus Thornton carried a Sharks' team well out of the playoffs into the No. 5 spot. Jagr had a GREAT year, but Thornton deserves the Hart more.

Take care,
PK

Talking of Thornton reminds me of an article I read recently that said the NHL should expand again - Boston and Chicago are great cities that deserve hockey teams.

@ Naples39 - I agree that the Sabres will probably win in 6 because they're a better overall team, but the Flyers' goalies are more than a match for Buffalo's. Esche was incredible last time they held the Stanley Cup playoffs and has played very well in the last month.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:55 pm

Well since my beloved Hawks sucked again this year I'll be rooting for my close second favorite Devils. They got hot at the right time so hopefully they carry that into the playoffs. I think the Sens will be tough in the East though. I like the Stars in the West.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:05 pm

Feanor wrote:@ Naples39 - I agree that the Sabres will probably win in 6 because they're a better overall team, but the Flyers' goalies are more than a match for Buffalo's. Esche was incredible last time they held the Stanley Cup playoffs and has played very well in the last month.

Yeah, I would probably agree that Esche will hold his own this year based on his last playoffs and his recent form, but I was also referring to the much higher celing Miller possesses. We may or may not see it the next few weeks, but I think there is another level to Miller's game that Esche can't reach, as the word around the league is that Miller is a future perennial allstar.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:18 pm

One of the main reasons that this is a great thread, other than that we have some knowledgable, passionate hockey fans at DSP, is becoming quite evident to me as I read.

Our predictions illustrate one thing: This is going to be one crazy Stanley Cup playoffs, as there are at least four teams in each conference that wouldn't surprise me if they made it to the Finals. You can't say that about many other leagues.

In the East, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if New Jersey, Buffalo, Ottawa, or Carolina made it. In the West, the same goes for Calgary, Detroit, Dallas or San Jose.

And don't forget my Oil!

Roll on the Quest for the Cup!

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:26 pm

Ah pk, I can't wait with equal enthutiasm when finally a killer NHL game comes to the 360 whether is 2K or EA.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 12:07 am

10spro wrote:To james and Airdog, you poor Leafs fan. Or are you? Change is in the air guys...

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/stor ... 024&k=1721

Maurice is fine with me. And change is good, the Leafs have needed it for awhile.

And btw, I read that article in my local newspaper this morning. Bob Duff is the head hockey guy for The Windsor Star. I don't like him much though.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 2:21 am

laurenskye wrote:I just hope the refs don't put away the whistles like their is already talk of. The Wings have really learned to live and die by the power play, if the calls change in the playoffs they will have a much tougher go of it.

Oh, and PK, the glory days of the Oil are long gone my friend. Time to quit living in the past . A little smack talk to start off. See ya on the ice!

For those in doubt:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... yoffs/home

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:33 am

Detailed first-round schedule for all teams, with times and TV:

http://www.edmontonoilers.com/news/index.php?id=409

Take care,
PK

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 9:37 am

I'm guessing Edmonton is about 2 hours different than East coast time?