NHL 08 Playoffs

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:00 am

Big win for Flyers - Price looked awful though. At least 2 and maybe even 3 of the Flyers 4 goals could be attributed to pretty horrible play on his part. His positioning was exceptionally poor most of the night and it looked like he was unsure of where he was in the net and was struggling to get set.

Flyers speed up front was pretty impressive though. Price is really going to have to raise his game or the Canadiens will be heading to the golf course.

Best wishes,

Doug

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:16 pm

dougb wrote:Big win for Flyers - Price looked awful though.

Easy on the kid now. He's only what...20? I don't blame him on the first two goals as Koivu screened him and the second goal, the D-man's stick defected lightly the puck to change enough direction on him. He's been ordinary in the second round for sure. He's been giving some juicy rebounds that may be costly in the end.

dougb wrote: Price is really going to have to raise his game or the Canadiens will be heading to the golf course. Best wishes, Doug.

No doubt and he proved he did just that during game seven in the BOS series by blanking them. But as I said in this post earlier the Habs will go as far as this kid can take them. His inexperience does show at times but he's also as cool as a cucumber when the pressure mounts. It's only game two, far too early for any panic.

Overall I don't think the Habs have played badly but they have to feed off the support from their fans and play with more emotion. Going away will be good for them I think. On both games they have flashes of brilliance and then, they disappear abruptly with some mental errors on D. Flyers were opportunistic at the chances that they were given, but let's be honest folks, from what I have seen so far in this series, surprisingly it's the most boring series of the four going and both teams will need to pick up their intensity.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 1:23 pm

Naples39 wrote:I thought the Habs played a pretty strong game last night...definitely much better than the game 1 and better than most of their round 1 performances.

On the one hand the Flyers have withstood a pretty strong punch from the Habs and got the split, and could very easily be up 2-0.

On the other hand the Flyers were heavily outshot and relied on Biron to play his best game of the season. Series could either way back in Philly.

Now here's a rational Flyer's opinion on the game.

Habs did not play a bad game at all, Marty stole the game for Philly. Period. He was brilliant. And it's not that easy playing in front of a strong French-Canadian crowd calling on your name as D. Briere will also tell you.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:56 pm

10spro wrote:
Naples39 wrote:I thought the Habs played a pretty strong game last night...definitely much better than the game 1 and better than most of their round 1 performances.

On the one hand the Flyers have withstood a pretty strong punch from the Habs and got the split, and could very easily be up 2-0.

On the other hand the Flyers were heavily outshot and relied on Biron to play his best game of the season. Series could either way back in Philly.
Now here's a rational Flyer's opinion on the game. Habs did not play a bad game at all, Marty stole the game for Philly. Period. He was brilliant. And it's not that easy playing in front of a strong French-Canadian crowd calling on your name as D. Briere will also tell you.

Oh I absolutely agree that the Habs played a good game - and Price is very young to be in that position. It's a shame he had such a tough night - and it's not his first tough night of the playoffs either. Koivu did screen him on the one goal, but as was pointed out on HNIC Price should have been farther out of the net on the play. He really was staying very deep in his crease most of the night. The fourth goal was a bit of a disaster - he has looked a bit awkward with his glove for some reason.

Personally I think that this year the playoffs are a bonus for the Habs - and that's why I didn't mind that Gainey didn't go out and get some veteran talent. The team is built for the future and to be long lasting - kind of like Detroit, Colorado, and Dallas were built at one time. Contrast that to the Leafs who usually are looking for a few over the hill veterans in their mirage like quest for their first Stanley Cup in over 40 years.

Best wishes,

Doug

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:35 pm

dougb wrote:The fourth goal was a bit of a disaster - he has looked a bit awkward with his glove for some reason.

Maybe he has a limp wrist.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:50 pm

Sound familiar Flyers fans?

Peter Forsberg went through the warm-up Saturday, then figuratively gave the thumbs-down...

With that, although his skates were off, Forsberg streaked across a line.

He entered the zone of diminished returns.

There is no turning back.

Forsberg has become more trouble than he is worth. His unreliability is demoralizing.

http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_9068453

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 7:57 pm

Naples39 wrote:Sound familiar Flyers fans?

Peter Forsberg went through the warm-up Saturday, then figuratively gave the thumbs-down...

With that, although his skates were off, Forsberg streaked across a line.

He entered the zone of diminished returns.

There is no turning back.

Forsberg has become more trouble than he is worth. His unreliability is demoralizing.
http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_9068453

I am shocked

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:26 pm

Marty friggin Turco.

Thats all i gotta say bout that.

Only 10 mins in 4 huge saves.

OOPS jinxed him lol.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 11:41 pm

Jimmydeicide wrote:Marty friggin Turco.

Thats all i gotta say bout that.

Only 10 mins in 4 huge saves.

OOPS jinxed him lol.

He aint jinxed yet......Stars kicking themselves some anthem hater ass!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:47 am

DAL got a huge boost in getting S. Zubov back after a lengthy injury and what a sweet pass he made to M. Modano with the go-ahead goal. I wonder if Nabokov is starting to feel tired, he's got the worst save percentage among the goalies in the second round as he played like 90% of the games during the regular season and round one went to seven games. He better be ready for games 3 and 4 as they are back to back. Stars look solid.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:06 am

I think Forsberg helped the Avs make the playoffs and get out of the first round, but his continued injury troubles show that any ideas he could have returned to Philly were foolish.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:32 am

Good site to learn about NHL salaries for each team and player:

http://www.nhlnumbers.com/

Think Johan Frantzen is earning his money at just $900,000 this season? Wow!

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:54 am

A complimentary story about the Flyers from the Toronto Star's Damien Cox:

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/Hockey/article/419032

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:04 pm

This is how 'Nucks nation felt when we missed the playoffs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWeCKqM_P1M

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:38 pm

Big 5 on 3 kill Flyers...One bouncing puck, one goal post and a sweet glove by Biron...

This guy stays hot...the Flyers look good.

EDIT: add a crossbar...

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:54 pm

XXXIV wrote:Big 5 on 3 kill Flyers...One bouncing puck, one goal post and a sweet glove by Biron...

This guy stays hot...the Flyers look good.

EDIT: add a crossbar...

Biron looks sharp again and MTL can't finish.

That 5on3 was pretty bizarre--I'm not sure I've ever seen a 2 minute 5on3 born out of simultaneous offensive zone penalties.

It was also pretty funny to watch MTL's reaction to Downie tripping Price. Two Habs literally pin Downie against the boards and start punching him in the face. Then Kovalev comes flying and falls on his ass. Classic.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:06 pm

If MTL had scored on that penalty right at the end of the first period, Downie would have looked like an idiot. An even bigger one than usual.

Diablo25 · Post by **Diablo25** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:15 pm

Feanor wrote:If MTL had scored on that penalty right at the end of the first period, Downie would have looked like an idiot. An even bigger one than usual.

Yep. He needs to slow his roll a bit...just a bit.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:42 pm

Price looks terrible.

3 goals on 4 shots.

If your a Hab player having carried the play for the majority of about 5 periods in a row and getting these results you have to start losing interest.

Naples39 · Post by **Naples39** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:55 pm

That Downie penalty was a huge turning point. Obviously if MTL had scored they could've built on it, but as it stands they began to lose their nerve at that point. Halfway through that ineffective PP I was talking to my friend and we both agreed that if the first period ended scoreless the Flyers were all but certain to win the game.

Fast forward 20 minutes and some leaky goals yielded by Price and the Canadiens are totally off their game. They're running around trying to hit people which perfectly plays into the Flyers hands. Big turnaround from the first which was all Habs.

I wonder how patient Carbonneau will be with Price. He looks like he is stoned tonight.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:02 pm

Naples39 wrote:

I wonder how patient Carbonneau will be with Price. He looks like he is stoned tonight.

I would have pulled him after the 2nd sloppy ass goal especially the way he dropped the puck off to anyone that wanted it earlier....Its too late now.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:02 pm

Price is on the bench as he should. Habs look done tonight.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:10 pm

Hatcher isnt in prison yet?

Didnt he almost kill a Devil a few years back in finals game when he was with the Stars?

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:14 pm

10spro wrote:Price is on the bench as he should. Habs look done tonight.

Maybe done for the season...

Edit: or maybe not

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:23 pm

What an incredibly stupid penalty by Hatcher.