NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs

[Lord O' Bones]

For the wussiest* picks you've ever seen in your life I give you:

Boston over Carolina in 7

Pittsburgh over Washington in 7

Detroit over Anaheim in 7

Vancouver over Chicago in 7

No way this happens. I'm dying to make at least one change. But I can't see anything else.

*Edit: OK, I forgot that Chicago had 104 pts to Vancouver's 100, and that Pittsburgh is the lower seeded road team, but still...

[Lord O' Bones]

Jesus! Jiri Hudler got drilled! (I'm a couple hours behind on the DVR.) And Franzen just made them pay for it. Nice legal body check on Hiller, too.

[TheHoundRules]

Jesus! Jiri Hudler got drilled! (I'm a couple hours behind on the DVR.) And Franzen just made them pay for it. Nice legal body check on Hiller, too.

That was a frightening hit. Way late. I wonder if Brown will get a suspension.

[Faceless Man of Braavos]

The Hawks best chance for winning in Vancouver was Game 1 and they couldn't quite pull it off... look for the Nucks to put together a much more complete game tonight.

I'll be at the game, BTW. :cheers:

[BLU-RAY]

Nice series opener between Pittsburgh and Washington; one defensive breakdown by Pitt and one disgusting replay-it-a-thousand-times highway robbery save by Varlamov were the difference. I still think Pittsburgh in six, but man, this is going to be fun.

[StarkMyrmidon]

In today's Washington Post, Thomas Boswell wrote:

As might be hoped, both Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, the NHL's explosive fire and stylish ice, scored goals.

Hence,

• Ovechkin is Azor Ahai Reborn, and
  
• Crosby is the Great Other.
  

This also explains why the Caps and all their fans wear read (R'hllor supporters all!), and why their fury is being unleashed now. The Caps have more Russians than any other club; clearly, Russians = Dragons, and their flames make for a hot offense indeed. Varlamov, guarding his net, is clearly the Jon Snow of this series. I keep looking for Melisandre in the stands, but she's hard to pick out as everyone is wearing red.

[Arakasi]

The Hawks best chance for winning in Vancouver was Game 1 and they couldn't quite pull it off... look for the Nucks to put together a much more complete game tonight.

I'll be at the game, BTW. :cheers:

One would think a person would learn not to speak before the game is played. Every time you post about how good the Canucks are, they lose. :P

[Gold Storm]

Detroit gave one away today, they looked better and took more shots, but it was not going their way.

[Biter]

The 'Canes win, Ward is playing great. Wait, what year am I talking about?

[BlueRose]

Yuck, game 2 was an ugly loss. I watched part of the game on the ferry, and it was not good. I'd like to call it a wake up call for the Canucks, but I was hoping the almost loss in game one would have that effect. Anything could happen in game 3 I guess.

I find myself weirdly cheering for the Ducks. I watched into the triple OT hoping that Hiller would make the saves and someone would score.... I am a little troubled by this.

[Brandon Stark]

Me too. :P

I think I can talk about it now. I was pretty upset, but saw it coming. You can't carry the play for that long without capitalizing and win something wacky like a 3 0T game. I'm not going to read too much into it, though. The Wings are a good road team and With the way the shots, faceoffs, and hits were all in their favor I think Hiller stole the one he was bound to steal. Hopefully its the only one.

[TheHoundRules]

I find myself weirdly cheering for the Ducks. I watched into the triple OT hoping that Hiller would make the saves and someone would score.... I am a little troubled by this.

I am finding myself pulling for Detroit. I did not know I had such dislike for Anaheim.

All of the series have been good so far early. All teams are playing good. There have been some exciting games like this Caps game right now.

[S John]

Caps game tonight was amazing, exciting from start to finish. I could have done without Crosby matching Ovie's hat trick, but hey, we can't have everything.

Now, if we can just take one of two in Pittsburgh I like our chances back in DC for game 5.

[Lord O' Bones]

Now, I'm still rooting for the Caps. And I still like Ovechkin from the little I get to see of him.

But I'm starting to maybe see AZhotrock's point about Washington fans (not you S John, just in general.) They are seeming a little bit douchey. The main problem for me right now, is the PA guy. Everything he does screams "THIS ORGANIZATION IS A DOUCHEBAG!!!"

Typical Caps goal: Foghorn for 20 fucking seconds with a siren at the same time. Immediately followed by loud music with another goddamned siren at the same time for a further 20 or so seconds. Followed by the loud ridiculous circus MC listing the scorers' and taking his time about it. Interspersed with organ music. The whole thing sounds absurd and takes forever.

Typical away team goal: Quiet music. Crickets. And unless I missed it all three times, thy don't even announce the scorers. Come the fuck on.

I don't think I want Washington to ever score at home again.

[S John]

Typical Caps goal: Foghorn for 20 fucking seconds with a siren at the same time. Immediately followed by loud music with another goddamned siren at the same time for a further 20 or so seconds. Followed by the loud ridiculous circus MC listing the scorers' and taking his time about it. Interspersed with organ music. The whole thing sounds absurd and takes forever.

You mean THIS?! :lol:

Y'know, funny you mention it actually because I was wondering about the siren during tonight's game. I noticed that it's the same exact siren that MPDC uses. Maybe its just a fuzzy, familiar sound for Caps fans. :P

Another thing about that... I was at a wedding this weekend and pretty much everyone else in my extended family that follows hockey is a Pen's fan. Apparently, I am a traitor of the highest order. I dabbled in hockey as a kid but never truly followed it until I moved here, which means my hockey fan consciousness was formed around the Capitals. Plus, I just don't think I can get behind the Redskins so at least the Caps give me some common ground with my neighbors.

[BLU-RAY]

Now, I'm still rooting for the Caps. And I still like Ovechkin from the little I get to see of him.

But I'm starting to maybe see AZhotrock's point about Washington fans (not you S John, just in general.) They are seeming a little bit douchey. The main problem for me right now, is the PA guy. Everything he does screams "THIS ORGANIZATION IS A DOUCHEBAG!!!"

Typical Caps goal: Foghorn for 20 fucking seconds with a siren at the same time. Immediately followed by loud music with another goddamned siren at the same time for a further 20 or so seconds. Followed by the loud ridiculous circus MC listing the scorers' and taking his time about it. Interspersed with organ music. The whole thing sounds absurd and takes forever.

Typical away team goal: Quiet music. Crickets. And unless I missed it all three times, thy don't even announce the scorers. Come the fuck on.

I don't think I want Washington to ever score at home again.

:lol:

I dunno, I just find Washington difficult to root for. Mainly because there's generally at least four teams in the east that I kind of like, but... bleh. I've just never really liked them.

[Sis Who Swears]

Basically I'm rooting for the Caps cuz I can't stand Crosby. He is just such a spoiled whiner...

Apparently Sidney Crosby wasn't too crazy about the hat trick Alex Ovechkin scored or the following celebration. From Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's D.C. Sports Bog:

'"People kept throwing hats," Sidney Crosby said tonight. "I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop. I mean, the first wave came and then I think they were all pretty much picked up, and then more started coming. So for us, we just wanted to make sure we kept kind of moving and kept the game going, wanted to try to get back in it. So wasn't complaining about anything."'

EN Says: If you don't like the hats, don't let up a hat trick.

Fuck man... what else can you bitch and moan about?! Wish he wasn't from Canada, he really grinds my gears.

Sure Ovechkin is over-the-top but at least he's fun and interesting... isn't that what it's all supposed to be about?

I hear ya on the Caps annoying-ness though... kinda reminds me of Calgary. :P

[Maithanet]

Basically I'm rooting for the Caps cuz I can't stand Crosby. He is just such a spoiled whiner...

Apparently Sidney Crosby wasn't too crazy about the hat trick Alex Ovechkin scored or the following celebration. From Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's D.C. Sports Bog:

Fuck man... what else can you bitch and moan about?! Wish he wasn't from Canada, he really grinds my gears.

Sure Ovechkin is over-the-top but at least he's fun and interesting... isn't that what it's all supposed to be about?

I hear ya on the Caps annoying-ness though... kinda reminds me of Calgary. :P

Yeah, I was going to post about that too. I gotta say, that is pretty high on the hilarity scale of stupid things for Crosby to complain about.

Maybe the water tastes a little funny in DC? Is the traffic pattern not to your liking? Tell us Crosby, tell us.

Someone mentioned the announcing, and I agree that it is irksome at Caps games. I remember that when the opposing team scores, its not that they don't announce their name, I remember them doing it really late. You've almost forgotten that a goal was scored, and then it comes on the loadspeaker who it was. Petty hometown shit. Whatever.

[Rexor]

Basically I'm rooting for the Caps cuz I can't stand Crosby. He is just such a spoiled whiner...

Apparently Sidney Crosby wasn't too crazy about the hat trick Alex Ovechkin scored or the following celebration. From Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post's D.C. Sports Bog:

Fuck man... what else can you bitch and moan about?! Wish he wasn't from Canada, he really grinds my gears.

Sure Ovechkin is over-the-top but at least he's fun and interesting... isn't that what it's all supposed to be about?

I hear ya on the Caps annoying-ness though... kinda reminds me of Calgary. :P

Here's the main problem I have with your assessment there...

There was a rule put in place after the Panthers and their "rat" period that was instated to try and cull excessive fan celebration. All Crosby did was go up to the ref and say, "hey, about this..." Any other captain in the NHL does it, it's a great move. Crosby does it, it's whining. There's a severe double standard with how people react to Crosby, perpetuated by the Philly and DC media, mind you. They call him a whiner, they call him a diver...but no one wants to call out Ovechkin for his two outlandish, embarrassing dives last night. In fact, VS. laughed about them both. No one wants to talk about how absurd Ovechkin looks when celebrating a goal (last night, VS. cuts to a shot of him ON THE BENCH when Steckel scored and he was still jumping around like an asshole). No, it's his "passion" for the game. It's also his "passion" to take runs and cheap shots, but Crosby's a "baby" and "dirty" when he does anything remotely cheap.

Look, I'm not saying the Pens haven't dug their own goddamned hole this series. They have. Their defense has disappeared. Malkin's gone from MVP to WTF. "The best third line in the NHL" has generated next to nothing. Their power play has been a power failure. I could continue, but I won't. The Pens need to step it up and play defense. If they just shut OV down, I won't have to be filled with violent rage when he scores.

[BlueRose]

We are getting the Caps Pens games on Hockey night in Canada, and that makes me happy. I caught the 3rd period, and I was telling my boyfriend about Ovi's hat trick. Later, the highlights were on Sportscenter and we couldnt believe the announcer yelling like that. We laughed, and I told him that that was certainly not the announcer I heard!

I like Ovechkin, and I dont really have a problem with Crosby either. But Crosby gives the most bland, boring, textbook answers to the media. I loved the differences in post-game interviews last night

Ovechkin: "Sick game"

Crosby: "I suppose from a fan point of view it was probably an entertaining game."

I'm cheering for the Caps, but it's not because of the stars. I love goalies, they are my favourite part of the game. So I'm cheering for Varlamov, I think his run so far has been amazing.