NHL Playoffs Thread

[CalgaryBearsFan]

Two more days gone and we are starting to see some teams weeded out of the first round, surprising teams at that.

Philadelphia Flyers[4] Elim. Pittsburgh Penguins [2] : The comeback had started to seed its way into the backs of the mind for fans and players alike in Philly, but with the pressure on and back on home ice the Flyers put the nail in the coffin and eliminated the Stanley Cup favorites in round number 1 on the back on upcoming superstar Claude Giroux who posted 3 points in that game and has a ridiculous 6 goals and 14 points in 5 games. The Flyers will await their round 2 opponent which at this point could be any one of Florida, New Jersey, Washington or Ottawa.

New York Rangers [2] at Ottawa Senators [3] : I dont know the last time that two first seed playoff teams were eliminated, but one more win for Ottawa and they could help achieve this feat along with the Los Angeles Kings. Another series where goals are hard to come by and beating the goalie just once can be enough to take a game. The Sens stole one on the road Saturday night and go back to Ottawa to try their hand at upsetting the Rangers. Jason Spezza finally pulls through with a huge game, and the team seems to roll the way that Spezza rolls. Look for him and quite possibly Daniel Alfredsson to have a huge game in game 6, while the Rangers will depend on their top end defense and world class goalie to get them the W and force the game 7. My pick: Ottawa upset.

Florida Panthers [3] at New Jersey Devils [2]: Color me surprised. I will admit that I saw this series as a worst possible outcome for the Panthers in their first playoff birth in a dozen years. The Panthers have made a statement by coming out and competing incredibly hard against the Devils and are looking effective in all 3 zones of the ice. Scoring and Defense are both strongpoints for the cats, and with some top end eastern teams out, they would have first dibs at the 8 seed that is the Senators if they can pull off the series win and Washington would upset the Bruins. Dont be surprised in the Panthers make some noise to round 3, we have seen crazier things in these playoffs.

Boston Bruins [3] at Washington Captials [3] : Another team that deserves some credit are the Washington Capitals. A team that addmitingly backed into a playoff spot this season, had alot of issues involving heart and drive for a team that wanted to win a cup. However, we have seen their top players play like top players, which we all know, when that happens they can be considered in elite company. With a stable goaltender finally in the pipes (When will this kid falter?) The Caps have a very, very good shot at upsetting the Bruins and other teams better hope this cohesian dissloves by the time they hit round 2, because Ovechkin and Backstrom effective together can spell disaster for the other Eastern participants.

Los Angeles Kings [4] Elim. Vancouver Canucks [1] : Pfffffffff. HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAAAAAA...
HAHAHAHAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

...bitches

[vmx12]

Well, now that the Hawks are out I'm gonna go with Philly beating the Preds for the cup.

[CalgaryBearsFan]

Away on holidays, catch up time:

Nashville Predators at Phoenix Coyotes: Nashville comes in as the favorites here after making quick work of the Detroit Red Wings in a 5 game series. The addition of Radulov looked to be paying some big dividends and the team got a nice, long break before series two. The Phoenix Coyotes, also tore through Chicago fairly quickly, but with a bit more luck and alot better goaltending. Given the number of overtime frames we saw in that series, alot of people were not quite sold on the Coyotes and they were targeted as chump meat when it came to faceing the Predators.
However, things dont always quite pan out the way we fans think they will (right Vancouver?), and the Coyotes came out huge and shocked the Predators by taking the first 2 games of the series in Phoenix. The goal scoring saviour by the name of Radulov was suspended for team conduct reasons along with deadline acquistion Andrei Kostitsyn. After the significant suspensions, Nashville struck back and took game 3 in Nashville and look to be getting back in their round one groove, but we all know that Phoenix is a team you need to be in top form to face. Will be interesting to see whether or not Radulov and 'Tits make it back in for game 4, or if they go with the hot hand.

St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings: Almost the same situation as the other, except Los Angeles is not being looked past after their first rough victory (right Vancouver?). This is a team coached by a playoff stud and knows what it takes to win. Throw in the fact that St. Louis has looked like junk in games 1 and 2, and it is no surprise that we see a 2 game defecit for the Blues here. Hitchcock and co are going to have to get their shit together if they want to see round 3 this year, because LA wont go down quietly and with a 2 game lead its going to take all hands on deck to see St. Louis come back from this one. The next two games are back in Cali, and if St. Louis wants to make it interesting, they are going to likely win both games on the road.

New Jersey Devils at Phildelphia Flyers: All out offense doesnt always win you games (right Vancouver?), you need goaltending, defense and work ethic and so far, NJ has it in spades while the Flyers have been complacent andjust hoping that their big dogs and pot goals when they need it, which still has been working to their credit, but New Jersey has been putting the screws to the Flyers so far in this series and if it continues, my money is on the Garden State boys. Zach Parise has been a monster as has Danny Briere and as always Claude Giroux.
Broduer in net for the Devils always leaves an aura of hope as we have seen him come up huge so many times before. He is certainly not what he used to be, but dont count out father time either, he can still steal games with the best of them. The other story of this series is the back injury of the 11 million dollar man, Ilya Kovalchuk. However the one win the Devils got in the series was sans Kovi, so who knows. Philly needs the goaltending to stand on its head if they want to continue through.

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals: When you come in hot, you're always dangerous. That is what we are seeeing with the Capitals who entered the playoffs on fire and have already eliminated the reigning champs. The Rangers came out huge in game one and were pushing around the Capitals to 3-1 victory, but Washington showed some pushback as they beat the Rangers in game 2 at MSG. Last night was the longest game of the NHL playoffs this year as it wound down to the final 5minute4s of the third OT period and clocked in at about 12:30 am in DC. Washington is showing some balls and by giving Ovechkin less time on the ice, more offensive opportunity with less defensive responsibility he will play well for you and thats what we are seeing with Hunter behind the bench.
We have 2 great goalies this series and Holtby has not showed signs of letting up. The better goalie wins this series, which is why im sticking with NY in this one, but moreso for their playoff attitudes and 'win or die trying' menality being portrayed on the ice.

Happy Round 2





(right, Vancouver?)

[CalgaryBearsFan]

3/4 of the conference finals is decided, including a WCF between LA and Pheonix. Probably the two most impressive teams in the playoffs so far.

New Jersey upsets Philly last night in another 5 game set, and my sleeper pick keeps rolling.

No real preference of the winner between New York and Washington, but a battle between NY and NJ would be pretty cool to see

[ZifanQ]

I'm rooting for Kings and Caps. Don't really care which one of them is going to win it.

[purplejokr]

3/4 of the conference finals is decided, including a WCF between LA and Pheonix. Probably the two most impressive teams in the playoffs so far.

Well, they were the two most impressive teams in the playoffs. Now, there's one most impressive team in the playoffs.

[CalgaryBearsFan]

Well, they were the two most impressive teams in the playoffs. Now, there's one most impressive team in the playoffs.

Still cant believe that the Kings are now 10-1 in the postseason from the 8 seed. Looks like they may also be taking out all 3 western division winners along the way to the cup, which hasnt been done since.....

2004 Calgary Flames

The Kinds look unbeatable right now, but Im hoping the Devils can take the Eastern Conference and put up a fight against them.

[purplejokr]

I'm completely stunned by their accomplishments in this post season. What they've done thus far is nothing short of remarkable!

[vmx12]

All hail LA. These guys are owning the post season

[purplejokr]

All hail LA. These guys are owning the post season

It's a damn shame that we just don't have any fan support here for any of those teams! LOL!!

Kings fans are encouraged to get to Staples Center early tomorrow. Staples Center has Krispy Kreme catering the before noon festivities. They're anticipating a ton of people tomorrow for the hockey game AND the basketball game.

The crazy part about all of this playoff activity at Staples Center this weekend?? The MLB leading Los Angeles Dodgers' series with the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals is almost being ignored and the Dodgers only play about a 10 minute drive from Staples Center.