NHL Playoffs

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:25 am

XXXIV wrote:
pk500 wrote:And now it's time for Detroit to step up to the varsity in the second round. The Wings better be ready, as it will be much tougher than the Calgary series.

Take care,
PK
On the otherhand I doubt they will have to deal with a goalie making 50 saves a night....

Because they will play a team that has a concept about team defense, so again, Detroit better be ready.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:34 am

Depending on the outcome tonight, DET will face SJ or DAL. WE already have seen how conservative the Stars are and with Turco playing out of his mind, they are a team to respect. SJ will definitely give any teams fits, they got size, speed and scoring. And J. Thornton has been at his best in any playoffs game that I've seen of him.

And tonight at the garage, it's the last game of round 1. Would anyone be surprised if it ends in OT? I surely wouldn't with how close & tight these two teams are playing. It's going to come down to special teams and see which team is more disciplined. Game six was a disaster for the 'Nucks and a lot of the veterans were whipped by coach A. Vignault.

Not too take anything from Turco but on game six the offense was pathetic and going thru the motions. I expect a much different effort from VAN tonight and like the coach said whether you win game seven or not, it's the effort & work ethic that counts. And the work ethic was missing last game.

Go Canucks go!

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:46 am

pk500 wrote:
XXXIV wrote:
pk500 wrote:And now it's time for Detroit to step up to the varsity in the second round. The Wings better be ready, as it will be much tougher than the Calgary series.

Take care,
PK
On the otherhand I doubt they will have to deal with a goalie making 50 saves a night....
Because they will play a team that has a concept about team defense, so again, Detroit better be ready.

Take care,
PK

I was agreeing with how bad Calgary was

ubrakto · Post by **ubrakto** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:00 pm

pk500 wrote:And now it's time for Detroit to step up to the varsity in the second round. The Wings better be ready, as it will be much tougher than the Calgary series.

Take care,
PK

I think the Wings are tougher this year than they've gotten credit for, but I'll admit I refrained from getting invested in them this year since I wasn't going to make myself ill watching every second of another top seeded, first round playoff exit. Now that they're out of the first round I hope to be able to relax a bit and just enjoy the ride in the next round (win or lose).

---Todd

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 1:05 pm

Interview with Snoop Dogg from between periods at the Anaheim-Minnesota game last week at Honda Center. It was his first hockey game. A CLASSIC interview -- hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04zgcTMoNo

I love Snoop. He cracks me up.

Yabba dabba dizzle, fo shizzle!

Take care,
PK

CrazyPsycho · Post by **CrazyPsycho** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:11 pm

Avery's already running his mouth, I think this is exactly what Buffalo needs.

"Well I checked to see which players I had run-ins with and that I have scores to settle, and I figured out that I hate them all."

I don't understand his logic here, but I guess that's just the way he is...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:23 pm

Avery and the Rangers have nothing to lose by spouting off. They're not supposed to win this series, so why not try to get under the Sabres' skin before it even starts?

After all, there's no better agitator, pest and general pain in the ass than Avery now that Domi has retired.

I think it's great. Get the hatred fires stoked before the puck is even dropped.

THAT'S PLAYOFF HOCKEY!

Take care,
PK

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:20 pm

pk500 wrote:Interview with Snoop Dogg from between periods at the Anaheim-Minnesota game last week at Honda Center. It was his first hockey game. A CLASSIC interview -- hilarious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h04zgcTMoNo

I love Snoop. He cracks me up.

Yabba dabba dizzle, fo shizzle!

Take care,
PK

lol, great stuff!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:04 am

What a close series! It definitely could have gone either way and in the end VAN was hungrier. Special teams was the difference as I predicted, and this time DAL run into some discipline problems. I think Turco has proven himself in this playoffs and in a way it's a shame he goes home. Canucks' veterans showed up big this time (especially Trevor Linden) and it's a treat to watch when all the guys play to their potential. Bobby Lou was oustanding.

Not much rest now, Wednesday it's back on the ice with ANA. Bring on the Ducks and B. Burke.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:23 am

Time for second-round predictions:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Buffalo vs. N.Y. Rangers. This will be very similar to the Buffalo-Islanders' series. Games will be very close, but Buffalo's skill and depth will prevail. The Sabres can roll four lines with ease. When Drew Stafford and Tim Connolly are on your fourth line, that speaks volumes about team depth. Plus I'm not convinced that the Rangers' defense can stop Buffalo or that their offense can keep pace with the Sabres. Buffalo in 5.

Ottawa vs. New Jersey. A very tough series to predict, as Ottawa looked so damn good in the first round against Pittsburgh. But New Jersey is a very different team than Pittsburgh -- it actually pays attention to defense. Plus Jersey has two really strong forward lines right now, as the EGG (Elias-Gomez-Gionta) line is really clicking. Plus I think Madden and the rest of the checking line can put a bit of a wrap on Spezza-Alfie-Heatley, especially at home when the Devils get the last change. But it always comes down to the men between the pipes, and I don't care how good Ray Emery played against Pittsburgh: Marty Brodeur is one of the greatest goalies of all time. New Jersey in 6.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Vancouver vs. Anaheim. I was not impressed with Vancouver or Dallas in the first round once you left their respective creases. Turco and Luongo were world class, but neither team's skaters showed much creativity or imagination with the puck. Vancouver simply can't play against Anaheim like it did against Dallas -- negatively -- and have a chance of winning. In fact, I don't think it matters how Vancouver plays against Anaheim. The 'Nucks are going home after this series. Anaheim is too deep, too big, too physical and too good. I was very impressed with Anaheim's dismantling of Minnesota, a skilled, disciplined team that was hot entering the playoffs. I won't go so far as calling Vancouver cannon fodder, but this series won't be that close. Anaheim in 5.

San Jose vs. Detroit. Let's face it: Detroit probably would have swept Calgary if not for Kiprusoff's heroics. So is Detroit that good, or was Calgary that bad? Probably a bit of both. Calgary probably is the second-worst team in the playoffs behind Atlanta. But I don't think Detroit is that good, either. San Jose is big, fast, tough and rolls plenty of lines. San Jose has the edge among skaters, especially in size and toughness. If the series turns physical or nasty, San Jose has a big edge over Detroit. But as always, it comes down to the men between the pipes. Hasek is an all-time great, but can Nabokov continue to play well? Detroit has Lidstrom, but Matt Carle is one of the most underrated young D men in the league. I think it comes down to toughness if both goalies play well, and San Jose has the edge there. San Jose in 7.

What are your predictions, fellas?

Take care,
PK

EZSnappin · Post by **EZSnappin** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 11:54 am

Buffalo will once again roam all over the Range;
the Senators will learn the hard way the Devil is in the details;
'Nucks and Ducks? like Chuck Jones best - "Duck Amuck";
Detroit may have taken fins off their cars, it is the Sharks that will be making soup from the Red Wings.

And yes, I'm feeling rather loopy this morning. Too much allergy medication for dealing with the sudden Spring.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:56 pm

Well, I did pretty well in my first round predictions with the exception of the sweep by the NYR vs ATL. So here goes round two:

San Jose vs. Detroit: It'll be a tight series, the Dominator is playing as if he's still 25 and ditto for C. Chelios. But SJ can grind you to pieces and in the end a younger and sharper SJ team will prevail. Their forecheck will tire out DET. The key thing for SJ is to control Zetterberg & Datsyuk while DET must do the same for J. Thornton, Cheechoo & Guerin.
SJ in 6.

Vancouver vs. Anaheim: Vancouver's best 40 minutes were played last night in the first round. Partly because many veterans didn't want to show up during the series with DAL, partly because of the asphyxiating trap system that the Stars imposed on VAN. ANA is a big team, very physical and they'll try to use their size to manipulate VAN. However that same physical aspect is what caused a lot of discipline problems for ANA when they played VAN during the regular season, and 'Nucks made them pay. Cooke and Kesler hopefully can play at some point and create some havoc to the likes of Pronger & Niedermayer. But still, VAN better show up for this series, no more taking a game off here and there. The longer the series goes, the better for VAN but for now I'll pick ANA in 6.

Ottawa vs. New Jersey: Will it be a boring series? All games with NY are, but I think OTT is better prepared this time than in 03 when they lost the series in 7. OTT has a sharper offense but they'll need to solve Marty Brodeur. They must also solve NJ's trap and not let them score first because it's almost lights out for any team and fans alike watching the game. But I was impressed by what I saw in OTT in the first round. If Emery stays sharp and injury free (got hurt during practice yesterday although he's downplaying it), this series will go to the Sens in 7.

Buffalo vs. N.Y. Rangers: How much of S. Avery's comments got into BUF's players? BUF is too good of a team to let anything get into them, not when they have a well prepared coach and much less from an idiot like Avery. Still, they haven't played like I have seen them capable of playing during the regular season and this is the time to do it. If they stay disciplined and ignore S. Avery's antics they should come out ahead in 6.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:51 pm

Very interesting fact about the Rangers from a CP story:

>>>>>

They have gone 17-3-4 since the Feb. 27 trade deadline, including their first-round sweep of Atlanta, while Buffalo has gone 16-7-2 over the same stretch.

<<<<<

Still doesn't change my prediction, but interesting nonetheless.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:07 am

The eight remaining teams can exhale in relief: Mick McGeough was dropped from the playoff referee roster after the first round:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=205372&hubname=nhl

Take care,
PK

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:08 pm

I think PK's analysis is spot-on. My quick picks;

BUF v NY - BUF in 6
NJ v OTT - OTT in 6 (very tough call, all comes down to Brodeur IMO)
DET v SJ - DET in 7 (practically a toss-up after impressive first round performances from both teams, but I'll take DET at home in game 7)
ANA v VAN - ANA in 5

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:39 pm

pk500 wrote:The eight remaining teams can exhale in relief: Mick McGeough was dropped from the playoff referee roster after the first round:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=205372&hubname=nhl

Take care,
PK

wow!

that is pretty crazy!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:38 pm

'Nucks-Ducks tonight. Does VAN have a chance in this series? Hardly. Not against a big, mean and physical team like the Ducks. But whatever little chance we have, we better ride the good momentum tonight in ANA and hope that they're a bit rusty. Instead, Ducks will try to run a banged up Canucks team out of the building as they did with MIN.

Only one department is in favour of VAN and that's Luongo in between the posts and the PK unit. If we are to have a chance, the PP unit better start scoring whenever the chance is there, as that physical game the Ducks play runs into some discipline problems.

We have to contain the Getzlaf and Selanne line and get into Pronger & Neidermayer skins. Without Cooke and Kesler it'll be hard to do that agitating job, so I hope all four lines are contributing tonight.

ANA is a strong team and as far I know the Ducks are still Mighty.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:50 pm

H. Lundqvist is the reason this game is still scoreless in the 1st period. BUF is all over NYR so far and nice to see T. Connolly back in the lineup.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:16 am

Anaheim will sweep Vancouver if Bieksa and Salo don't return to the 'Nucks blue line very soon.

It's highly unlikely that two of McDonald's goals, Selanne's goal and Getzlaf's goal would have been scored if Bieksa or Salo were on the ice. All came because of defensive scrambling by the Canucks, who looked awful tonight at both ends of the rink.

Anaheim still might sweep Vancouver even if Bieksa returns but Salo remains out for the series. Salo is such an important part of Vancouver's power play, and the Ducks packed their penalty-killing unit low because they didn't have to worry about Salo's big shot and passing ability from the point.

Buffalo proved that speed kills. And again, any team that has Drew Stafford and Tim Connolly on its fourth line is deep as hell.

Is there a more underrated star in the NHL than Thomas Vanek? The guy is a great player, a scorer, yet Briere and Drury -- also great players -- get most of the press on Buffalo.

Avery sure did put a hurt on tonight -- his own team, that is. Dumb penalties.

Did Jagr dress tonight for the Rangers? He sure looked invisible to me. If both Jagr and Shanny remain in New York next season, Renney needs to rip the "C" from Jagr's sweater and sew it to Shanahan's.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:36 am

VAN is banged up, no question, but it's not an excuse either. They came up flying the first 10 minutes and to my surprise they were the ones crashing and banging. Another stupid too many men penalty killed their momentum and ANA just took over. Ducks are an impressive bunch, great depth in their lineup.

The Getzlaf line took care of MIN and tonight it was the McDonald-Selanne-Kunitz unit that did the damage. Canucks need to stay out of the sin box if they have any chance and they were just plain outmatched tonight.

Sure, Bieksa (he may be gone for awhile) & Salo are two big losses and the D looked slow against the top two offensive line for the Ducks. But agitators Cooke & Kesler were missed as well. It's only game one, I expect them to get better. But ANA does look mighty good.

This is the BUF team I was waiting for in the playoffs. Their awesome speed was back PK like you mentioned, the skill, the show and if it wasn't for Lundqvist the score could have been worse.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:51 am

Well it was gonna be tuff anyway getting straight on a plane after that game 7, thats got to suck. No real chance of a rest any were in sight.
It took 10 mins for the Ducks to get back into the playoff pace and that was all she wrote.
Game went excactly like was predicted very boring realy.

Lets hope Canucks can make a series of it otherwise Ducks are gonna be well rested again.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:18 pm

It's the Sens at the swamp tonight and they'll try to steal a game from M. Brodeur. DET will be without the services of Mr crease T. Holmstrom who suffered an eye injury in the last game with the Flames. This is a good match up to watch.

PK, here's Eklund's view on R. Smyth and right below a chart of UFA's.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=7152

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:21 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/stor ... 425_hradek

cool read.

nothing new...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:37 pm

10spro wrote:PK, here's Eklund's view on R. Smyth and right below a chart of UFA's.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=7152

Thanks, James. Interesting read, but Eklund has about as much credibility with hockey transactions with me as Karl Rove does with honest government. The guy was SO bad and SO far off on nearly all of his "insider" tips on Deadline Day on Rogers Sportsnet that it was comical.

Eklund is prime proof that writing a blog doesn't automatically make you a voice of authority. The guy is a stooge. Spector (Lyle Richardson) is a much more credible source of transaction information, in my opinion.

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:42 pm

linkage?