NHL Playoffs

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:18 pm

Feanor wrote:Nope. The Hull goal was legal at the time because the rules stated that a player with possession of the puck may proceed the puck into the crease, just like they can proceed the puck into the offensive zone.

NHL officials supervisor Bryan Lewis stands by his explanation: "Can he have a foot in [the crease] and the goal count? Yes. He played the puck from his foot to his stick and shot and scored. He was deemed to be in control and possession of the puck even if a skate was in crease."

Wrong!!!!!!!!!!....I know the NHLs blowjob excuse....Did you ever see the replay?...REALL?......OR?

Are you from Dallas?

Anyone not a Stars fan knows that that was total bullshit.

LAking · Post by **LAking** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:16 pm

Feanor wrote:Nope. The Hull goal was legal at the time because the rules stated that a player with possession of the puck may proceed the puck into the crease, just like they can proceed the puck into the offensive zone.

I second that it was legal. I remember the same exact thing happening to the kings earlier in that season. A player scored on Jamie Storr when his foot was in the crease. The scorers foot preceded the puck into the crease, he even blocked Storr from getting to the puck by putting his leg between them (puck and Storr) and scored. Goal counted. I was pissed at the time, but those were the rules.

The goal yesterday was also good. I can't count how many times I've seen good goals scored when a player redirects it into the net. A player can even be moving his foot to angle it on goal and it's still good. It's got to be a distinct kicking motion. Alfie only directed the puck on net. It only looked like like he was kicking it as he had to put on the brakes after the "shot". The guys on NBC were exactly right when they described it that way. I was surprised that it was a goal only because the NHL had disallowed a similar goal in the NY/BUF series and i figured they would want to stay consistent (consistently bad in this case).

I'll also put my two cents in on Pronger. He's a head hunting dick who should have been suspended for more than one game after his second elbow in less than 10 games. I'm sick of the NHL being so lenient on this type of crap. So what if he's an all star, so what if it's the playoffs. Players shouldn't have to fear having their careers ended by guys like Pronger. He's never going to stop dishing out elbows if all he gets are one games suspensions. Repeat offenses should command bigger punishments, even if the first cheap shot was worse than the second. And it shouldn't matter how injured the guy is. Intent to injure is intent to injure. No other major sports league allows crap like that just because the player was lucky enough not to end up in a coma.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:23 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_URO6cwLbM

The replay does not lie...No matter what the refs or the red faced NHL wanted to say...His foot was in before he had control.

According to the rules of the time... NO GOAL!........I have eyes and choose to use them.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:20 pm

Haha, NBC had CBC Hockey Night's Don Cherry.

Basically called out NBC execs and the NHL for sanitazing the game for the American audience. Very nice to see that.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 11:49 pm

Key win for ANA without C. Pronger. Jiggy was huge in the first as he was the only reason the game was only 1-0 but the Ducks turned the tables around in the second and dominated the play. Late in the second it was clear that Alfie's clearing shot was aimed at S. Niedermayer and that incident alone just was an enough rally to get ANA going into the third.

OTT wil say otherwise but it was a frustrating cheapshot by Alfredsson. Any positives for them? D. Heatley played his best game yet in the series, R. Emery continued his strong play, so did M. Fisher, but the rest of the gang needs to chip in more, not just here & there but the full 60 minutes. This is the weakest that I have seen W. Redden play in an important series, he may be hurt, as the Ducks forwards continue to pound the Sens' D, and they continue to turn over the puck.

Alfie will be marked man on Wednesday as ANA will try to wrap up the series. It may get ugly...

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:10 am

Alfredson ....what the hell was that?....2-2 with a chance to tie the series and he loses his mind....scarey...

Anaheim should just finish the Sens and not worry bout that idiot til next year....but why do I doubt that Pronger can control himself?

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:12 am

Alfredsonn gave Anaheim momentum going into the 3rd. Before that incident I thought Ottawa was in command and leveling the series.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:12 am

A deserved win for Anaheim.

Ottawa simply forgot its game plan in the last two periods. It stopped skating and getting the puck in deep in the second and third periods. I think I saw the Sens cycle the puck maybe two or three times in the last 40 minutes.

Part of that was because Anaheim tightened defensively, especially at the blue line and in the neutral zone. But the major reason was because Ottawa's defensemen have been simply terrible on both ends of the ice during this series, collectively.

Volchenkov was abused by MacDonald on his second goal, on which Emery looked very soft, too. And Penner was allowed to cruise down the slot on his game-winner, set up by a beauty of a pass by Selanne.

Ottawa's defensemen also had a very tough time starting any kind of breakout in the second and third, even when Anaheim's forecheck wasn't crashing and banging. Terribly sloppy play offensively and defensively by Anaheim's defensemen. Trust me, I know horrible offensive breakouts and bad defensive zone coverage: I watched the entire Oilers' season this year.

Speaking of forechecks, what happened to Ottawa's? It disappeared after the first 20 minutes.

My "false dawn" theory after Game 3 also proved to be correct. There's no way Ottawa can expect its second, third and fourth lines to produce every game like they did in Game 3. Still, the first line of Spezza-Alfie-Heatley had its best game, so the blame must be pinned squarely on Ottawa's defense.

Mike Comrie is doing his best disappearing act for Ottawa, too, but Comrie has been one of the more overrated, lazy players in the NHL since he arrived in Edmonton. So I'm not surprised.

I have no clue what Alfredsson was thinking when he fired the puck at Niedermayer at the end of the second. Nice going, Alfie: You gave Anaheim a ton of motivation just when the Sens looked to be turning the tide. Quality leadership move, there. Definitely not worthy of the "C" on your sweater.

It was great to see Grapes on between the second and third period. For those who don't get to see "Hockey Night in Canada," that was pretty tame by Cherry standards. But it still was superb.

In fact, I think NBC's team for the playoffs has been very, very good, with one notable exception. Brett Hull is Grapes in training, with some very strong opinions, Clement is a good host who keeps things moving along, Chicken Parm (Ferraro) breaks down the game well from the desk, McGuire offers good observations from the ice, and Eddie O really has developed into a strong, observant analyst.

But will someone please arrange for the trade between NBC and CBC and send Mike Emrick to Canada in exchange for Jim Hughson? Emrick is insufferable. He's just a hockey dweeb, period.

The endless screams on routine plays, the obscure statistical references, the constant references to where the guys played in the minors and Canadian junior hockey, etc., etc. You're not calling the game for the CBC where your audience knows or cares about the AHL and Canadian juniors, Doc. Emrick is becoming more and more brutal as the years pass.

I hope the NHL has the big mug shiny and ready Wednesday. The Ducks are closing out this series and bringing the Stanley Cup to SoCal, where no one outside of the arena other than JimmyDeicide and Terry will give three sh*ts.

Maybe the NHL can bring the Stanley Cup to Paris Hilton's prison for a conjugal visit. That's about the only thing that will boost interest in hockey in SoCal and make it legitimate immediately.

Take care,
PK

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 5:12 am

Mike Emrick is good for the broadcast and good for the hockey audience.

I think he brings the excitement of the game into the broadcast.

My CBC's is great, I don't know. But hell that last thing hockey in the US needs is a casual play-by-play guy.

As for Hull, I'm waiting for the show where he body checks Ferraro. He's getting close.

Lastly, I love how the team is opiniated and speaks out for the good of hockey. It's seems less sanitized than an NFL broadcast. You never hear, retired football players talk about the passion in the game like Hull, Ferraro and Clement. Too bad it's NBC which seems to have the personalities on 1/4 throttle.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 9:13 am

JRod wrote:My CBC's is great, I don't know. But hell that last thing hockey in the US needs is a casual play-by-play guy.

The CBC announcers aren't casual. They know the game as well or better than Emrick, but they also know not to scream when a guy is skating in to touch-up for icing.

Emrick screams so much that it's become cliche. Plus he constantly tosses in obscure statistical references that have ZERO meaning to the game and references about minor-league hockey either to prove to the audience how encyclopedic his knowledge of the game is or because he's just a total dweeb. Probably a bit of both.

Watch a game with Jim Hughson or Mark Lee calling play-by-play on CBC and compare them to Emrick. There is no comparison. They make Emrick sound bush league.

JRod wrote:As for Hull, I'm waiting for the show where he body checks Ferraro. He's getting close.

My money is on Chicken Parm. He was a hell of a lot tougher than Hullie during his career.

Hullie's opinions are great, but I have to roll my eyes whenever Hull calls out someone for not working, such as Heatley. Until the latter stages of his career, Brett Hull was one of the laziest, one-dimensional star forwards in the history of the NHL. All shoot, nothing else. I don't think the guy even knew what a backcheck was.

JRod wrote:Lastly, I love how the team is opiniated and speaks out for the good of hockey. It's seems less sanitized than an NFL broadcast. You never hear, retired football players talk about the passion in the game like Hull, Ferraro and Clement. Too bad it's NBC which seems to have the personalities on 1/4 throttle.

You're spot-on, JRod. As I listen to the NHL on NBC team, I think to myself, "If only Cris Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis and John Madden were half this good and half this opinionated on NBC NFL coverage Sunday nights."

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:03 am

pk500 wrote: But will someone please arrange for the trade between NBC and CBC and send Mike Emrick to Canada in exchange for Jim Hughson? Emrick is insufferable. He's just a hockey dweeb, period.

In your dreams PK. The voice of the Vancouver Canucks is happy at home and his knowledge of Hockey & game calling is unmatchable at this point. He also has a no trade contract.

pk500 wrote: Maybe the NHL can bring the Stanley Cup to Paris Hilton's prison for a conjugal visit. That's about the only thing that will boost interest in hockey in SoCal and make it legitimate immediately. Take care, PK

Sad but true. In a State where people are more focus on L. Lohan's drinking problem and when P. Hilton will get out of jail, Lord Stanley will be just a dusty decoration in Cal.

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 11:33 am

Jim Hughson ? No frikkin way do i wanna listen to NHL 05/06 on my tv .

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:38 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:Jim Hughson ? No frikkin way do i wanna listen to NHL 05/06 on my tv .

Jimmy:

I thought the exact same thing before I got NHL Center Ice last year. The virtual Hughson is insufferable, melodramatic. But the real Hughson is SUPERB -- the best play-by-play man in hockey, hands down.

It's obvious that EA wanted Hughie to go over the top for the video game.

Take care,
PK

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:36 pm

Yeh i know ive listened to enough Canuck games by him hes good i still like doc thats all , even tho i agree with you on the shouting.

Brett Hull is growing on me And Chicken parm is always awsome.
The Cherry, Hull segment was great.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:58 pm

Jimmy:

I'm lucky: Chicken Parm is the Oilers' TV analyst for the entire regular season. Ferraro is one of the few team announcers who will criticize his team's players.

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:25 pm

most teams will fire you on the spot if you say anything negative during the broadcast.

i worked for fox sports (carolina hurricanes).

and F the sens "captain"... that was a total puss move.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:04 pm

Sudz wrote:most teams will fire you on the spot if you say anything negative during the broadcast.

i worked for fox sports (carolina hurricanes).

Ugh. Tripp Tracy. Absolutely BRUTAL. 'Nuff said.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:10 am

So, when Anaheim hoists the Cup tonight, who will win the Conn Smythe? There are plenty of candidates, which is a tribute to Anaheim's depth, and no real standouts.

Giguere: Has been very good and great when needed. But he hasn't been head-and-shoulders above any other goalies in the playoffs. Turco, Luongo and Ryan Miller are the best goalies I've seen this year in the playoffs.

Pronger: Has been a rock on the blueline, but his horrible Game 3 performance in this series and two suspensions will prevent him from winning the award.

MacDonald: Has scored some very timely goals, but also has disappeared at times.

Selanne: See MacDonald. But Teemu will earn quite a few sentimental votes.

Getzlaf: Has emerged as arguably the best young power forward in the NHL in these playoffs, with some huge goals. But he still takes some shifts off and has shown some ill-timed bouts of lack of discipline.

Pahlsson: Was an offensive and defensive force in the earlier rounds. But he has disappeared offensively in this series despite doing a good job against the Alfie-Spezza-Heatley line.

So that leaves us with the one guy who has been consistently good the entire playoffs: Scott Niedermayer. The guy is just so steady, so smart, so good. You see at least one -- and usually a lot more -- times per game where the guy makes a play either with a pass or blocking a pass or backchecking where you say, "Whoa, did you see that?"

Much like Pronger last year for Edmonton, Niedermayer is the best defenseman in the world right now.

What sealed my vote for Niedermayer was his reaction to Alfredsson firing the puck at him after the second period Monday night. Yes, he went after him somewhat but didn't turn the affair into a Pier 6 job. That allowed the Ducks to keep their focus on the stupid move by Alfie to fire the puck instead of an ensuing brawl, and that provided a TON of motivation for Anaheim in the third period.

That's the move of a true leader. It's also a move by the best player in the NHL Playoffs this year.

What do you cats think?

Take care,
PK

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:18 am

Completely agree with Niedermayer...don't forget it was his shot that deflected in with 47.3 seconds left to beat Detroit in game 5, or Anaheim very well could have been eliminated there (by Detroit, not in game 5). The only others I could make a strong case for are Giguere (who kept them in games against Detroit that they had no business winning) and Pahlsson. I don't think he's completely disappeared, as his line scored both game winning goals in games 1 and 2 (the interception and shot-between-the-legs of Corvo to win game 2 was incredible), but the top line of Ottawa has come on a bit in the last two games, so that probably dampened his hopes for the award. His performance on faceoffs has been unreal, though, and allowed Anaheim to keep puck control away from a puck control team many times.

Teemu has played well, but whether he's on the ice or not, Anaheim does it's thing. McDonald really took charge in the 2nd period on Monday, but he's been invisible throughout the playoffs for the most part. Getzlaf takes more ill-timed penalties than I can stomach. Almost all the forwards are interchangeable, but Niedermayer is the rock. That's hands-down MVP in my book. The only other guy that I find myself really liking every time he's out on the ice (other than Pronger the goon) is Francois Beauchemin. He's not all-world, but the guy is just a hockey player.

They just need to hand the damn award to the entire checking line. Here...Penner, Moen, Pahlsson. Come on down.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:50 am

TCrouch wrote:The only other guy that I find myself really liking every time he's out on the ice (other than Pronger the goon) is Francois Beauchemin. He's not all-world, but the guy is just a hockey player.

Beauchemin is this year's Fernando Pisani, no doubt -- the journeyman who breaks out during the playoffs. Let's hope he has a better season next year than Fernie did this year for the Oil.

Beauchemin played in Syracuse in 2004-05. He was very solid here. Beauchemin didn't play well in the first or second periods Monday, but he was playing on the wrong side due to Pronger's suspension, so I'll give him a pass.

Great points about Pahlsson's early goals this series and his faceoff performance, Terry. Forgot about those.

Amazing how more dialed in to the details you are when you have a passionate rooting interest for one of the teams, isn't it? Big fun, too.

I could dissect nearly every Oilers' player performance last season. This year, I'm just sitting back and enjoying the hockey.

While the presentation of the Cup always gives me a chill that's only matched every year by the start of the Indianapolis 500, it's also a bit of a bittersweet moment because there's a sudden, harsh realization that there's no more NHL for another 3 1/2 months.

Hockey is the ONLY sport I could watch every single day of the year and not suffer viewing fatigue. I've loved it since I was a 7-year-old kid, and my passion remains unabated 35 years later. It's just the greatest sport on Earth.

Take care,
PK

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:07 am

Ill name that tune in 1 ... Giguere!! They always favor the goalies.

Niedermayer while awsome to watch is just been making too many little mistakes for me, maybe not tha last few games but i had noticed and asked myself what all the fuss was about.

Alfredson blew his chance when he shot the puck at Niedermayer.

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:17 am

He already won it in 2003, though...I thought they were reluctant to hand awards like this out to the same player a lot? I'm still coming up to speed on hockey traditions and tendencies, so bear with me.

And Giggy would have been my pick after the Detroit series, easily. Even after game 1 of this series. But in the games since, Ottawa has exposed the only real flaw in his game, and pk hit on it up front...lateral movement. If you have precision passing you can move the puck from side to side and beat him. Detroit never could get that going and preferred to just rifle shot after shot at him and hope for a rebound, which he controls very well. That will not beat him.

Ottawa has really put in more goals on fewer shots by setting up the attack well from time to time. I'm sure the goalies are always in contention, but when you have "the big two" defensemen, and one gets suspended for a game TWICE in two different series in a single playoff run...and the other anchors the effort and wins both games in which Pronger was suspended...I guarantee you that sways a lot of opinions. It certainly swayed mine after watching the game 4 performance. He may make a mistake here and there, but what hockey player can you NOT say that about? His mistakes are usually corrected immediately and not repeated.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:25 am

My vote for MVP goes to Jiggy this year. Not to take anything from the captain but Giguere was just outstanding in tbis year's playoff. Not easy, as we all know he had some personal issues too with his newborn but when it came to the ice, he made some key saves for his team which turned the momentum around for ANA.

S. Niedermayer. What a player indeed. His experience in Stanley Cup finals really shows. He gathered his team around yesterday and told them not to take the Alfie incident personal and concentrate on game five. A true leader in every sense, a Captain.

And since we all know who's going to win the Cup, how about a little trivia. Eightteen teams in SC finals were in the same position as OTT where the were 1-3 going into game five. Only one team ever came back to win it all in seven. Hint? A team I hate

.

Boy, did the NYI did themselves a huge favour in buying out one of the highest underachievers in the NHL. A. Yashin. Will they pursue Smytty with the extra cash?

TCrouch · Post by **TCrouch** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:28 am

Unless I'm mistaken it's the Toronto Maple Leafs in like 1942 or something ridiculous, isn't it?

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:36 am

All goalies are exposed going lateraly that is not a flaw in his game , how about Selannes pass across the crease for the game winner was it that kinda exposed Emry a little....ERRR pulled so far out of position a peewee would be scolded.