Stanley Cup Playoffs thread

Sully · Post by **Sully** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:55 pm

Tough, tough loss for the Oil. If Roloson is out, this will be a short series. The pace of the game slowed to a crawl once Conklin came in, and he made a terrible mistake in his own end leading to the game winner.

It's frightening how good Carolina is when they finally get going.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:01 pm

F*ck.

That was a gutting loss, on a variety of levels. First, blowing a 3-0 lead. Second, possibly losing Roloson. Third, Staal was f*cking invisible tonight, and Carolina still won.

Still, I can take a few good things out of the loss. The Oil was flying in the first and second period but then stopped doing the things that make them effective in the third -- getting the puck in deep on offense, clearing the slot and forcing Carolina outside on defense.

One other thing that is encouraging is that the Oil forced Ward to make some ridiculous saves. Roli wasn't tested nearly as much, and the short-handed goal against Williams was soft, to the short side. Still, Ward's two saves on empty nets against Horcoff in the third period were just ridiculous. Superb saves.

If Roli is out for any period of time, then the Oil's prospects are very dim. Ty Conklin is an AHL goalie, plain and simple.

The Oil lost Game 1 to Detroit. They lost Game 1 and 2 to San Jose. So the Oil is down after this loss, but certainly not out.

I'm bummed, but if you're a fan of Carolina or neither team, that was one HELL of a hockey game to watch. Great pace, tons of hits, nine goals, great comeback by Carolina, backup goalie playing for the first time in the playoffs, ridiculous saves by Ward. Very fun to watch -- except for the outcome, at least for me.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jun 05, 2006 11:10 pm

F*ck. And double f*ck. Roli is done for the series, MacT just said in the postgame press conference.

My hockey heart just sank.

Take care,
PK

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:19 am

Hey...It is a sad day for a UNH Grad here....

Conklin can get hot at times and I saw it many times in college so maybe he can stand on his head like He did my freshman year his senior year.

fightingcamel · Post by **fightingcamel** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 12:26 am

I just got back from the game. WOW! That was unbelievable! I'm just glad we came away victorious after being outplayed for 2 periods. It was a very strange game. Between the penalty shot, Roli getting knocked out of the game, and the unbelievable save by Ward at the end, it was a game I'll never forget!

3 more to go!

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:04 am

pk500 wrote:F*ck. And double f*ck. Roli is done for the series, MacT just said in the postgame press conference.

My hockey heart just sank.

Take care,
PK

Carolina got the same break vs the Habs with Koivu...Then had the Sabers lose their D...Now this...
I know they are playing without Cole but its looking like destiny ...especiallly with the cheap winner they got tonight...

I was so looking to OT

Was still a great game and a great comeback. Carolina never quits.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 1:16 am

I feel bad for D. Roloson, he single handledly carried the Oils to the finals, a potential Conn Smithe and chances like this at 36 doesn't come everyday. T. Conklin will have to play great if EDM is to have any chance, and the guy hasn't played since Rolie was traded to EDM? That mishap with S. Smith is indicative of his lack of play and communication.

Oilers once were up 2-0 changed their gameplay, they went to that 1-2-2 press/trap crap again and with a team like CAR it won't last long. C. Ward was just superb, those two saves on Horcoff are probably franchise saves and along with the one he stopped on Afinogenov vs BUF on OT are just the best saves of the playoffs.

CAR just showed the same grit that carried EDM this far.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:17 am

Both EDM backups Markkanen and Conklin have same save % although I don't know how much confidence MacT has in them, a position they were weak during the regular season. So it's back to square one for EDM, but IMO I would start Jussi. That's my gut feeling now.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 2:31 am

10spro wrote:Both EDM backups Markkanen and Conklin have same save % although I don't know how much confidence MacT has in them, a position they were weak during the regular season. So it's back to square one for EDM, but IMO I would start Jussi. That's my gut feeling now.

Conklin must be pretty good if he was playing in the World Championships last year and the World Cup of Hockey IIRC.

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdis ... B%5D=46803

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:41 am

Zlax45 wrote:Hey...It is a sad day for a UNH Grad here....

Conklin can get hot at times and I saw it many times in college so maybe he can stand on his head like He did my freshman year his senior year.

One can only hope, but the gulf between Hockey East and the Stanley Cup Finals is enormous. I'm praying to the hockey gods that Conks and Jussi get so hot that they spontaneously combust when touching the Cup.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:44 am

Conks has played in one game since Roli arrived, the last game of the regular season against Colorado after the Oil had clinched a playoff spot the previous game.

Playing in the World Championships doesn't mean that much. Only guys whose teams didn't make the Stanley Cup Playoffs play in the Worlds, which take place concurrently. So you're not exactly drawing from the cream of the crop.

Ty Conklin is an AHL goalie or a competent NHL backup, depending on which goalie shows up. Same with Jussi Markkanen. Neither has proven to be a consistent, dependable front-line guy.

The Oilers have depth at every position but goal. And the doomsday scenario -- an injury in goal -- took place at the wrong time.

I still have hope. That's about all you can have now.

Take care,
PK

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:52 am

pk500 wrote:.I still have hope. That's about all you can have now.

I hear a few drinks helps as well.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:52 am

The Canes were at the top of the NHL standings almost all season long. It really shouldn't be a suprise to anybody that they are where they are. They've played well the whole season and they are mega deep at forward even without Eric Cole. Hopefully Edmonton will manage to win at least one game, because the Canes and their fans deserve to win this thing on home ice.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:54 am

tjung0831 wrote:The Canes were at the top of the NHL standings almost all season long. It really shouldn't be a suprise to anybody that they are where they are. They've played well the whole season and they are mega deep at forward even without Eric Cole. Hopefully Edmonton will manage to win at least one game, because the Canes and their fans deserve to win this thing on home ice.

True. But anyone who watched last night's game knows that Carolina was skated out of its barn for the first 40 minutes by Edmonton. Carolina wasn't even in the game.

Props to the Canes for nutting up in the third period and coming alive, and brickbats to the Oilers for blowing it. Carolina's comeback is the sign of a great team. But to infer that the Canes are the clearly superior team before Roloson's injury is silly.

And the truth is that Carolina's forwards had much less to do with the comeback last night as the defense and Ward. The defense really buttoned up in the third, and Ward made some stupendous saves. He literally saved the game for Carolina three times in the third.

Meanwhile, the Oilers' defense made stupid mistakes in their end. Brind'Amour was left alone on his first goal late in the second, and Whitney's PP goal came when all four Oilers' defenders were on the left side of the crease, leaving Whitney alone on the right. Mental mistakes.

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:03 am

OLN? The game was on OLN? What a joke! Hockey sure is making a strong comeback....sheesh. I'm curious what the ratings were.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:19 am

sportdan30 wrote:OLN? The game was on OLN? What a joke! Hockey sure is making a strong comeback....sheesh. I'm curious what the ratings were.

Not good, I'm sure. But Games 3-7 are on NBC.

Plus OLN isn't quite the backwater that everyone thinks. It reaches 70 million households. Meanwhile, the ubiquitous ESPN2, which everyone figures reaches TV's from Fiji to Qatar, is on in 89 million homes. The difference is big, but not as massive as some think.

The biggest problem with OLN is that it's not a basic cable channel in some cities, and its penetration in institutional outlets (bars, hotels, hospitals, etc.) is pitiful. Bettman said Monday in in State of the League Q&A that increasing the institutional penetration of OLN is a priority for 2006-07.

I was a huge skeptic of OLN when the deal with the NHL was announced. But OLN has made the NHL the cornerstone of its programming, something ESPN never did and never would have done.

So while the NHL sacrificed some viewers short-term, OLN provides the best chance for the NHL to have a stable, growing home on the TV dial. The NHL never has relied on TV revenues like football for its revenue. It always has relied on a ticket sales-based economic structure, just like all niche sports.

And for the umpteenth time, hockey is a niche sport in the U.S. Always has been. Probably always will. Remember, the "Gretzky final" between L.A. and Montreal drew a 1.5 rating on ESPN in 1993. The X Games draw higher ratings than that, and poker draws comparable ratings.

Even Game 7 between the Rangers and the Canucks in 1994, with Messier, the mega-market Rangers going for their first Cup in 54 years with Sports Illustrated adorning hockey as "hot" and the NBA as "not" on a cover that spring, drew a 5.2 rating on ABC. Weekly NASCAR races draw higher ratings these days.

And frankly, I don't give a f*ck if Joe in Des Moines and John in L.A. aren't talking hockey. The league is poised for success with its new CBA, teams are now financially solvent, and the league's teams fill 91 percent of their seats during the regular season, a number every sport other than the NFL and NASCAR envies.

Hockey is my favorite sport. It might be a niche to America, but it's not to me. And that's all that really matters, especially since I don't work in the NHL front office or for one of its teams.

Take care,
PK

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:33 am

sportdan30 wrote:OLN? The game was on OLN? What a joke! Hockey sure is making a strong comeback....sheesh. I'm curious what the ratings were.

Dan,

The games have been on OLN all season and it's not different from years past where a few games were on ESPN to start. You aren't much of a hockey fan if i remember... you would probably prefer watching last nights Cardinals game over the Stanley Cup finals. If you were an NHL fan you would be watching the finals. That game last night was amazing. I'm a hockey fan first and foremost. If the Cardinals are playing in the world series and the Blues have a game the same night, I'm watching the Blues, no ands, if's, or buts about it.
I think OLN has done a fantastic job on the coverage and they really cater to the NHL. I hate the fact they are changing the name of the channel. I prefer OLN to "Versus". The OLN crew does a great job, and Keith Jones is turning into one of my favorite NHL analysts.

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:33 am

pk500 wrote:
sportdan30 wrote:OLN? The game was on OLN? What a joke! Hockey sure is making a strong comeback....sheesh. I'm curious what the ratings were.
Not good, I'm sure. But Games 3-7 are on NBC.

Plus OLN isn't quite the backwater that everyone thinks. It reaches 70 million households. Meanwhile, the ubiquitous ESPN2, which everyone figures reaches TV's from Fiji to Qatar, is on in 89 million homes. The difference is big, but not as massive as some think.

The biggest problem with OLN is that it's not a basic cable channel in some cities, and its penetration in institutional outlets (bars, hotels, hospitals, etc.) is pitiful. Bettman said Monday in in State of the League Q&A that increasing the institutional penetration of OLN is a priority for 2006-07.

I was a huge skeptic of OLN when the deal with the NHL was announced. But OLN has made the NHL the cornerstone of its programming, something ESPN never did and never would have done.

So while the NHL sacrificed some viewers short-term, OLN provides the best chance for the NHL to have a stable, growing home on the TV dial. The NHL never has relied on TV revenues like football for its revenue. It always has relied on a ticket sales-based economic structure, just like all niche sports.

And for the umpteenth time, hockey is a niche sport in the U.S. Always has been. Probably always will. Remember, the "Gretzky final" between L.A. and Montreal drew a 1.5 rating on ESPN in 1993. The X Games draw higher ratings than that, and poker draws comparable ratings.

Even Game 7 between the Rangers and the Canucks in 1994, with Messier, the mega-market Rangers going for their first Cup in 54 years with Sports Illustrated adorning hockey as "hot" and the NBA as "not" on a cover that spring, drew a 5.2 rating on ABC. Weekly NASCAR races draw higher ratings these days.

And frankly, I don't give a f*ck if Joe in Des Moines and John in L.A. aren't talking hockey. The league is poised for success with its new CBA, teams are now financially solvent, and the league's teams fill 91 percent of their seats during the regular season, a number every sport other than the NFL and NASCAR envies.

Hockey is my favorite sport. It might be a niche to America, but it's not to me. And that's all that really matters, especially since I don't work in the NHL front office or for one of its teams.

Take care,
PK

I can't agree with this more and can't believe all the complaining about OLN. There is NO WAY that ESPN give 1/10 of the coverage that OLN currently does. On the Fly? Hockey Legends? CBC simulcasts? ESPN had something close to On the Fly with NHL 2Night and cancelled it. Nice.

OLN has an HD feed, a decent and improving pre-game and post-game show, and some top-notch announcers. If they had Gary Thorne, it would be perfect.

The only real issue I have with OLN is that it is owned by Comcrap. Otherwise, for the short amount of time they got to set up a NHL production and broadcast, I think that they have done an excellent job.

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:37 am

Glad to hear the majority of the games are on ABC. I recall hearing something on the radio yesterday about how ABC didn't want to lose it's "Deal or No Deal" viewers, and thus opted to put the hockey game on OLN.

Hockey is a heck of a lot more exciting this season than in years past, and I just hope it continues to build. There's no reason it can't become more popular each year rather than be classified as a "niche" sport.

rubba19 · Post by **rubba19** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:43 am

I hope so, Dan. (Also, I know you meant NBC.)

I'm like PK. Hockey is to me like football is to most others. Really, I could care less if I miss watching games on NFL Sunday (but I try to catch some), but can actively watch an Anaheim/Vancover game at midnight when I know I really need to get some sleep.

The only thing that really comes close for me is Kansas basketball.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:52 am

tjung0831 wrote:If you were an NHL fan you would be watching the finals. That game last night was amazing. I'm a hockey fan first and foremost. If the Cardinals are playing in the world series and the Blues have a game the same night, I'm watching the Blues, no ands, if's, or buts about it.
I think OLN has done a fantastic job on the coverage and they really cater to the NHL. I hate the fact they are changing the name of the channel. I prefer OLN to "Versus". The OLN crew does a great job, and Keith Jones is turning into one of my favorite NHL analysts.

Agree, agree, agree. Very well said.

I'm an Oilers' fan, so last night's game was a kick in the balls. But at its most base form, that was a hell of a sports competition to watch last night. It had everything.

I agree on Jonesie, too. He's very, very good. And it was GREAT to see Mess at the analyst's table, too, even though he didn't offer that much to the broadcast other than cliches.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:55 am

rubba19 wrote:I can't agree with this more and can't believe all the complaining about OLN. There is NO WAY that ESPN give 1/10 of the coverage that OLN currently does. On the Fly? Hockey Legends? CBC simulcasts?

Don't forget "The Tournament." Very, very funny! Sort of a combination of "Trailer Park Boys," "The Office" and "This is Spinal Tap," with an insane hockey dad theme. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:00 am

rubba19 wrote:I hope so, Dan. (Also, I know you meant NBC.)

I'm like PK. Hockey is to me like football is to most others. Really, I could care less if I miss watching games on NFL Sunday (but I try to catch some), but can actively watch an Anaheim/Vancover game at midnight when I know I really need to get some sleep.

The only thing that really comes close for me is Kansas basketball.

I meant NBC. Sorry. My feeling though is that whether it be baseball, football, hockey, basketball, etc. you're more likely to draw in more viewers if the games are on one of the four main stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX). It's not a knock against OLN, who obviously does a tremendous job of broadcasting hockey games.

However, someone who's not a big hockey fan like myself and is surfing the channels will normally check the top 4 stations to see what's on. If he sees the hockey game is on NBC in primetime, he'll assume it's a major sporting event and his or her interest level will rise. Seeing that it's on OLN, even if its the Stanley Cup Finals, to me at least it doesn't give you the feeling of the magnitude of the game. Unless of course you are a fan from one of those cities, or are a huge hockey fan. Just my opinion.

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:09 am

pk500 wrote:
rubba19 wrote:I can't agree with this more and can't believe all the complaining about OLN. There is NO WAY that ESPN give 1/10 of the coverage that OLN currently does. On the Fly? Hockey Legends? CBC simulcasts?
Don't forget "The Tournament." Very, very funny! Sort of a combination of "Trailer Park Boys," "The Office" and "This is Spinal Tap," with an insane hockey dad theme. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Take care,
PK

totally agree. watched it one night a few months ago when i was sick. too f***in funny. dvr'd the marathon the other night. great stuff.

love the girl goalie..she kills me. she plays that role perfect.

hope they do another season of it.

"kmart" HEE HEE

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 11:14 am

Sudz wrote:
pk500 wrote:
rubba19 wrote:I can't agree with this more and can't believe all the complaining about OLN. There is NO WAY that ESPN give 1/10 of the coverage that OLN currently does. On the Fly? Hockey Legends? CBC simulcasts?
Don't forget "The Tournament." Very, very funny! Sort of a combination of "Trailer Park Boys," "The Office" and "This is Spinal Tap," with an insane hockey dad theme. I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

Take care,
PK
totally agree. watched it one night a few months ago when i was sick. too f***in funny. dvr'd the marathon the other night. great stuff.

love the girl goalie..she kills me. she plays that role perfect.

hope they do another season of it.

"kmart" HEE HEE

Denim is hilarious. Definitely like Tanner from "The Bad News Bears." But my favorite character is Aurora Farqueson. My two favorite Aurora scenes through the first three shows:

1. When she's talking for the first time with Raymond Mercier, and she asks him to repeat her name over and over because of the way his French accent says it.

2. When she's determining who to hire as the Warriors' coach and says this about Singh: "He's my gynecologist, and he's a damn good one. But just because he knows vaginas doesn't mean he knows hockey."

I nearly fell off my couch at that line. Hilarious!

The Stan Ryckman character also kills me.

Glad someone else is enjoying this quirky-as-hell show. Oh, and it's "Kumar," McConnell, "Kumar."

Take care,
PK