NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs

[Rexor]

Pittsburgh in six, Detroit in five.

Apparently, I suck at this game?

Then pick Carolina to win! =)

[Lord O' Bones]

Well. Dish Network double screwed me. Not only will I not watch this game, I also thought I had another hour to make my picks. I wonder WTF my DVR is recording tonight?

I was gonna say, Detroit in 6 and Pittsburgh in 7. But with an impressive win already under the Wings belt, as a penalty for my tardiness I'm going with Detroit in 7. 7's seem work for me anyway. ;)

[dalThor]

I loved this quote from the Detroit Free Press article:

You can’t blame the Red Wings for falling behind in the opening minutes Sunday afternoon. It takes a while to put your teeth in, slide the orthopedic shoes on and get the walker out of the closet.

“With our legs, because we’re so old, like everybody says, you gotta loosen up in the morning,†deadpanned Chris Osgood. “And we didn’t get a chance to do that.â€

He chucked.

Then he put in his hearing aid.

I managed to find a live stream with sound this time. Oddly, it was a couple of minutes ahead of the Detroit radio feed which was sad because I'd have preferred to listen to them instead of the idiots on NBC.

Great game. Judging by the first period Chicago looked as if they were going to rule them. I'm glad the Wings woke up. They played a very good game. I went to bed when it got to 4 - 2.

[Biter]

Bettman provides a very interesting twist in the Coyotes story:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278929

Gary Bettman would prefer to see the Phoenix Coyotes move to Winnipeg than Hamilton, according to court documents filed as part of the NHL team's bankruptcy case.

...

In an affidavit filed Friday, Earl Scudder says that Bettman informed him Hamilton wasn't an ideal destination because Copps Coliseum is over 30 years old, saying "if the team did return to Canada, it would be to Winnipeg."

I say bring back the Jets! It makes more sense geographically and with conference alignment.

[BLU-RAY]

Bettman provides a very interesting twist in the Coyotes story:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=278929

I say bring back the Jets! It makes more sense geographically and with conference alignment.

Agreed. Also, it's not like the freaking city can't support an NHL team. What else is going on in Winnipeg?

[BlueRose]

Yike,s i forgot to make my picks. I've been avoiding posting in here since I lost a bet about the last round and have to pretend to support the Hawks for a bit longer.

I'll take: Wings vs hawks: Detriot in 6. I dont like the Hawks, and I think Osgood and experience are better.

Pens vs Hurricanes: I have abolsutely no idea. Whoever wins this series is the team I'll cheer for in the finals. I'll take Pens in 6.

[TrevorLahey]

Matt Cooke with the dirty knee-on-knee on Erik Cole...a shame he had to pull that after all us Pen fans' complaints about Ovechkin. Our players keep pulling that shit on the poor guy, and Canes fans will hate the Pens as much as Flyers fans.

[Swordfish]

Matt Cooke with the dirty knee-on-knee on Erik Cole...a shame he had to pull that after all us Pen fans' complaints about Ovechkin. Our players keep pulling that shit on the poor guy, and Canes fans will hate the Pens as much as Flyers fans.

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if he gets suspended. I actually thought the Eaton hit on Ruutu was even worse.

[Rexor]

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if he gets suspended. I actually thought the Eaton hit on Ruutu was even worse.

The Eaton on Ruutu thing was nothing. Eaton lost his edge, and they got tangled up, it was as simple as that.

The Cooke on Cole hit wasn't really that bad, either. It was shin on shin, either player could have ended up hurt on that one. It was careless on both accounts.

[Mme Erzulie]

Fleury had some huge saves for the Pens in that game.

And Detroit looked stronger (albeit a lot slower) than Chicago. I thought both of Chicago's goals were kind of flukey.

Doubt I'm gonna be able to stay awake for tonight's game, but Go Wings!

[dalThor]

Doubt I'm gonna be able to stay awake for tonight's game, but Go Wings!

Whew. Overtime? Glad they hung on to take it. Osgood faced 19 shots in the first period (yet only 39 overall - not too bad in an overtime game).

Quote of the day from the Detroit Free Press:

When a goalie makes an absurd number of great saves in a game, hockey people say “he stood on his head.†The Wings almost never need their goalie to stand on his head. What they need is a guy to be steady on his feet, to make a bunch of solid saves and a few great ones.

But Osgood has done that and more. This game could have shifted momentum in the series and given the young Blackhawks hope. Instead, it ended in a way that Chicago coach Joel Quenneville described bluntly and accurately as “brutal.â€

I, for one, am glad Ozzie doesn't have to stand on his head very often.

[Mme Erzulie]

The Wings were actually outshot last night (albeit by just one). How often does that happen? Usually when I check the stats for Detroit games, they are closer to a 2:1 shot ratio compared to their opponent.

The two away games would be a good time for our top players to start producing. Hank is the only one who's been close to par so far, in my opinion.

[BLU-RAY]

Dominating performance out of Malkin tonight, though I must admit that the Canes are giving Pittsburgh a serious run. The game was closer than the score implies.

Cam Ward had a rough game, though, got touched up for six.

[Matrim Fox Cauthon]

So unless a miracle, we will more than likely see Wings vs. Penguins again? Ugh. (No offense to fans of either team.)

[Swordfish]

Dominating performance out of Malkin tonight, though I must admit that the Canes are giving Pittsburgh a serious run. The game was closer than the score implies.

Cam Ward had a rough game, though, got touched up for six.

When Malkin matures he is going to be a beast.

DGMW, I love Sid, but I haven't really seen a player control the pace of a game and impose his will the way Malkin sometimes does since.... Well.... Mario, and occasionally Forsberg.

When he's on, he just completely takes games over.

he didn't even really do that tonight, but it's pretty amazing when it happens.

Listening to him give interviews is just icing on the cake. The rumor around town is that he actually speaks decent english, but doesn't like to give interviews... Heh... No idea if that is true or not....

[Nymeria Sand]

When Malkin matures he is going to be a beast.

DGMW, I love Sid, but I haven't really seen a player control the pace of a game and impose his will the way Malkin sometimes does since.... Well.... Mario, and occasionally Forsberg.

When he's on, he just completely takes games over.

he didn't even really do that tonight, but it's pretty amazing when it happens.

Listening to him give interviews is just icing on the cake. The rumor around town is that he actually speaks decent english, but doesn't like to give interviews... Heh... No idea if that is true or not....

Awesome, awesome game last night! It's about time he came alive!

Malkin really does speak decent English. Mario didn't speak a word of English either when he first came here and now you can't even tell he's French Canadian.

Rumor has it that Geno just bought a house in my neighborhood. He's so cute I just want to take him home and adopt him. LOL

[Rexor]

Awesome, awesome game last night! It's about time he came alive!

Malkin really does speak decent English. Mario didn't speak a word of English either when he first came here and now you can't even tell he's French Canadian.

Rumor has it that Geno just bought a house in my neighborhood. He's so cute I just want to take him home and adopt him. LOL

The crazy thing is...he has been alive. He's had 9 points in the last 4 games.

He just threw it the eff down last night.

EDIT: Well, 9 points in 4 games before last night. After last night, 13 in 5.

[TheHoundRules]

Another great game tonight. Playoff OT....nothing better.

Do not count out the Hurricanes yet. I believe they have been down before and come back.

[Rexor]

Another great game tonight. Playoff OT....nothing better.

Do not count out the Hurricanes yet. I believe they have been down before and come back.

I'm not sure anyone is counting the 'canes out yet...

I think we need to talk about Miroslav Satan dropping the gloves. That's the second time that's happened in his career...and he was smiling the whole time. Ridiculous.

I'm excited for Game 3.

[Biter]

Several unexpected things will happen in the playoffs, but for some people it will be be business as usual. Take Niklas Kronwall, for example. He's going to throw a big hit and people will say that he left his feet before the hit. Seeing Havlat immobile out on the ice is scary, though, hopefully he'll be alright.