NHL: Playoff Edition

[Caligula_K]

The Habs were a disgrace to hockey the entire series. Subban and Halpern especially.

Seriously? What did Halpern do? And sure, Subban must be annoying to other teams, but can you show me any dirty plays he takes part in?

Anyway, series is over and obviously I'm sad, but it was a damn good series and a damn good game, and the Habs played their hearts out. So I'm happy we had that. Sure, I can bitch about the reffing last night (it was very bad) but honestly, the reffing has been horrible all series and it balances out. Good series, Bruins. Though now my two most hated teams are playing each other for the second year in a row. Can both teams lose, please? I'm very down for a Tampa/Washington eastern final.

[Spaced Kelso]

Wow, what an amazing win for the Bruins in their series against Montreal. Not too often you see a team who has their powerplay completely shutdown (and allow a shorthanded goal) win a series. It was great to see Boston able to physically assert themselves against the Habs and get the players in front of Price to cause him some serious grief. The dirty Bruins paid for their indiscretions, but were able to win back the physical side of the game. Montreal looked at times hesitant to engage while defending, where earlier in the series they were playing man to man. Montreal did have some amazing goaltending from Price who did let up some untimely goals through the series, but put up better numbers than Thomas and played well enough to win the series. I had said that I was looking for Boston and Montreal to meet later in the playoffs not only because I liked Boston’s chances more, the stakes would have been higher and I honestly don’t like seeing Montreal make a first round exit from the playoffs. Bitter rivalry aside.

EAST

(1)Capitals vs (5)Lightning – Capitals in six.

Washington is still showing that they have some serious defensive game, not allowing the Rangers more than three goals in a game and Neuvirth is putting up some serious playoff numbers. The Caps are all top line scoring after the first round, but the top line is producing large. The Lightning really came on strong to finish off a weakened Penguins team and were able to have some huge offensive games. Being able to score eight goals in the playoffs is a great way to win one for any goalie and Roloson has been playing great, consistent hockey. Provided that the Caps goaltending can hold up, they are the better team and will work their way past Tampa.

Series winning goal - Backstrom

(2)Flyers vs (3)dirty Bruins – dirty Bruins in six.

There will be no game seven this time. Please don’t let there be a game seven.

Series winning goal - Bergeron

WEST

(1)Canucks vs (5)Preds – Canucks in six.

Two great defensive teams are going head-to-head in this series. The Canucks had a huge ego check in the last series and they all had to dig deep and work hard to win and avoid all the questioning that would have ensued. Vancouver is struggling when their top line is being shadowed by a strong defensive tandem and the Weber/Suter line could cause them problems. They could end up scoring a bunch on the powerplay though. The Predators looked great in games they won in their series against the Ducks and they do manage to come back strong in games following a loss. Rinne has looked very average and may be feeling some playoff pressure. Should be interesting to see how Nashville can adjust to playing against the Canucks.

Series winning goal – D. Sedin

(2)Sharks vs (3)Detroit – Detroit in seven.

Detroit has had lots of time to rest and practise since handing it to the Jets, but they also were shown to have a real lack of discipline late in games. Something a gritty Sharks team would do well to remember. The penalty kill was also a major problem for the Wings. But Howard has looked pretty decent keeping the opposition to three goals or less so far. Injuries could still play a role, but many of their players are just getting patched up and ready to go back in. The Sharks looked like a tough playoff team in their last series against the Kings, winning three of their games in overtime. Niemi did not look good at all, getting pulled three times in the series or something like that. Niittymaki has been great in backup, but you really don’t want to have games where you need to play the backup. I’ve probably got the number of games wrong, but whatever the number it should be Detroit.

Series winning goal - Cleary

[Week]

Seriously? What did Halpern do? And sure, Subban must be annoying to other teams, but can you show me any dirty plays he takes part in?

Cowardly. Which is almost worse.

The farce of getting helped off the ice after the Ference hit and then returning 2 minutes later? If you are a hockey player, then you shouldn't be helped off the ice unless you are going to be unable to play for about a week.

[BLU-RAY]

Oh, come on, that's fucking nonsense. At least win with some grace. You really think he was trying to sell it when he fell while trying to stand? This is why people hate Boston fans. I'm actually willing to give Ference the benefit of the doubt on that play; he actually came out and criticized a teammate earlier this season for a dangerous hit, but to think Halpern was faking is nonsense. It does likely mean that the Canadiens' medical guy is easily fooled or a jackass, b/c he probably shouldn't have been let back out, but I don't think for a second that he was acting.

[Demonblade]

Wow. I didn't do too badly in the first round. Guess that's what you get when you mostly pick the favourites, eh? ;) A lot of those series could have gone either way, but sadly, the Detroit/Phoenix series did not result in an announcement. Now I hear that the Thrashers are the front-runners to moving to Winnipeg, which suits me fine as I like that team better. They still have to be called the Jets, though. :cool4: Anyway, moving on to the next round:

Caps vs Lightning - Washington in 7

- TB has got the goods, but the Caps are better. Should make for a good series, regardless.

Flyers vs Bruins - Boston in 5

There is no real reason for this. I just want the Flyers to get their asses kicked and I doubt that they'll be swept.

Vancouver vs Nashville - Vancouver in 5

If Luongo can keep his head in the game and not get psyched out, this should be cake.

San Jose vs Detroit - Sharks in 7

Of course, you can never count out the Red Wings, but I've got a feeling that the Sharks are going to take this one. Thornton is finally showing that he realises the concept of playoff hockey, so maybe he'll actually show up this post-season.

[Caligula_K]

Cowardly. Which is almost worse.

Oh no! Our number one defenseman doesn't get into stupid fights! What a disgrace to the game. How dare he?

There are players like Matt Cooke running around this league and dangerous from behind hits like Lucic's on Spacek in game 6 and this is what makes players disgraceful? Seriously?

The farce of getting helped off the ice after the Ference hit and then returning 2 minutes later? If you are a hockey player, then you shouldn't be helped off the ice unless you are going to be unable to play for about a week.

Wow. Just wow. Bluray's already responded to this very well but... You take an elbow to the face and see how quickly you get up. Again... Seriously? What would Halpern have even had to gain by faking? No penalty was called. Like Recchi insinuating that Pacioretty was faking it after Chara nailed him, this is absolutely goddamn ridiculous.

Edit: And predictions-

Boston vs. Philly- Bruins in 6. Like I said, my two most hated teams, but at least I can respect the Bruins. This one's hopeful more than anything (though I'm sure they can do it), because I'm goddamn tired of the Flyers winning series.

Washington vs. Tampa- Washington in 7. I think Tampa can put up a fight- Washington didn't necessarily have an easy time with the Rangers, and their newfound "let's play defensive, boring hockey even though we used to be the most exciting team of the post lockout era" strategy has

really crippled Washington's defence.

Vancouver vs. Nashville: Vancouver in 6. Kind of unfair prediction time since Vanc just one game one, but I'm actually not confident about their ability to win this series. If there's one thing Vancouver loves choking against Chicago (and damn did it come close), it's choking in the second round.

Detroit vs. San Jose: Detroit in 5. Should be a good series, but Detroit's looking very good and San Jose... Not so much (plus the whole choking thing). Add in Niemi, who I don't think is a very good goaltender, and Detroit should have this. Go Wings go!

[Lord O' Bones]

Weekapaugroove continues to be an asshole, the Sharks are not expected to win shit, and the entire sports world quakes with the normalcy of it all.

So who will surprise us this year? The Sharks? Weekapaug? No one at all?

[Habber]

Savard should stop faking too. He's just sitting out so they can get more cap room! :dunno:

People not in the know should not make comments regarding others health.

Just ask Dr. Recchi.

I think we all agree fan extremism is a bad look for any team.

[BLU-RAY]

Weekapaugroove continues to be an asshole, the Sharks are not expected to win shit, and the entire sports world quakes with the normalcy of it all.

So who will surprise us this year? The Sharks? Weekapaug? No one at all?

Oi, I picked them! Though I do expect Vancouver to come out of the west, so maybe you're not that far wrong...

[Sirius]

For the record, fan-bias goes two ways. Weekapaug, I hate Subban as much as any non-Canadien fan, but Halpern has given no reason to be treated the same way. I don't think Halpern was faking. He took a solid SHOULDER (<- see that Caligula) to the chin. A shoulder squarely to the chin is going to make even Ben Eager a little woozy. But Caligula, it was clearly a shoulder, watch the clip again if you haven't, I know you're angry about the hit, but it was obviously a shoulder and not an elbow.

As for why people hate Subban? He's a cocky bitch, and he runs from fights, unless the refs have already restrained the other combatant. Sure you can argue it's because he shouldn't be fighting, but the same argument can be made for Lucic and Horton who fight plenty. Alright, so he avoids conflict, that's not a crime, but he is cocky to the extreme, which is also admirable at times so we'll give him the benefit of the doubt there too. But there's no excuse for the slew-foots. This kid hands out more slew-foots than anyone in the league, and he gets away with them. And then afterwards, he's just Saint Subban getting called out for being a good player. No, he's getting called out because of those gutless little plays, and he deserves the heat for them. For me it's the slew-foots that make him hated, I can deal with the rest, but a slew-foot is right up there as one of the biggest bitch moves in hockey. He's a good player, but people aren't going to respect him until he cuts the shit.

For the record, I'm not here to argue about whether he's dirty or deserves to be hated or not. Brad Marchand is one of my absolute favourite players, and it's because he's a little shit-disturber. The thing is, I don't try and defend him to non-Bruin fans. He's dirty, he gets away with it, deal with it :)

[Habber]

Subban had 4 fighting majors this year. Granted Horton and Lucic had 7 each, but we'll agree they are must more physical players anyways. It's like not PK won't drop the gloves ever.

I of course love him because he's a cocky bitch, but he's a great player who can back it up with his play so why not? Marchand barely gets any criticism for his yapping, probably because he backs it up as well. I don't really differentiate between them to be honest. One of those guys you love on your team or hate on the other.

[Caligula_K]

Sirius: You're right, it was a shoulder. My bad.

As for Subban, I'm not saying I don't understand why fans of other teams dislike him. I'm just arguing against the notion that because he is one of those annoying, yappy players who doesn't consistently get into fights (though as Habber points out, he did get into four this season... And how many players fight during the playoffs?) that he is somehow a disgrace to the game. Nearly every team has players like that. Hell, it's not like Subban is as bad as Lapierre, whom we had until this year.

[Biter]

Marchand barely gets any criticism for his yapping, probably because he backs it up as well. I don't really differentiate between them to be honest. One of those guys you love on your team or hate on the other.

Speaking of Marchand, did you hear about Pacioretty's twitter comment?

Pacioretty tries to make a joke about Marchand.

[Sirius]

Sirius: You're right, it was a shoulder. My bad.

As for Subban, I'm not saying I don't understand why fans of other teams dislike him. I'm just arguing against the notion that because he is one of those annoying, yappy players who doesn't consistently get into fights (though as Habber points out, he did get into four this season... And how many players fight during the playoffs?) that he is somehow a disgrace to the game. Nearly every team has players like that. Hell, it's not like Subban is as bad as Lapierre, whom we had until this year.

Lapierre was much more of an embarrassment, in that he wasn't good for anything. That's the kind of player even teammates hate. Subban is a good hockey player, his play speaks for itself. What Habber said was exactly my point, both guys are the guys you love on your team and hate on the other. Maybe I'm biased in that I'm not a huge Canadiens fan, but I liked Subban before he got to the NHL, now it seems like every time I watch him play he's slew-footing. Also, yes, I'll admit that he drops the gloves on occasion, but I watch damn near every fight all year and I don't recall a single one where he instigated it or even looked willing. So yes, he backs himself up, but I wouldn't say to the degree that lots of people give him credit for.

[Maithanet]

Washington vs. Tampa- Washington in 7. I think Tampa can put up a fight- Washington didn't necessarily have an easy time with the Rangers, and their newfound "let's play defensive, boring hockey even though we used to be the most exciting team of the post lockout era" strategy has

really crippled Washington's defence.

Is this a typo, or do you actually think that Washington's defense is worse since we adopted a less aggressive approach? Because while the offense isn't scoring like it was, this Caps team looks to me like much more of a threat to win the East than they have in the last ten years. And the reason is the defense.

I could make predictions, but I don't know anything about the teams out West.

[HP Loveshaft]

Lapierre was much more of an embarrassment, in that he wasn't good for anything. That's the kind of player even teammates hate.

People in Vancouver are loving Lapierre right now. I don't think he's done anything especially dirty here.

[Sirius]

People in Vancouver are loving Lapierre right now. I don't think he's done anything especially dirty here.

He hasn't, and I'm giving him a second chance because he was well-behaved wherever he stopped over between Montreal and Vancouver. But I think just about the entire league hated him when he was in Montreal, including any friends of mine that are Habs fans.

[Habber]

It's not that Lapierre'ss really dirty, it's that he's a little bitch.

Pacioretty's tweet was funny I thought? Marchand is ugly yet I'm sure he can still get the girls. Friendly jab. I've got a friend we call Bucky because he has the biggest buck teeth. We even call him that in front of women he's trying to pick up.

The touchiness of some people :shocked:

[Sirius]

It's not that Lapierre'ss really dirty, it's that he's a little bitch.

Pacioretty's tweet was funny I thought? Marchand is ugly yet I'm sure he can still get the girls. Friendly jab. I've got a friend we call Bucky because he has the biggest buck teeth. We even call him that in front of women he's trying to pick up.

The touchiness of some people :shocked:

Yeah and I think it was basically just fans that were giving Pacioretty heat about it. I'm sure it wasn't anything Marchand hasn't heard since the kids around him learned how to talk and what the normal size of a nose looked like.

[Swordfish]

Little late with these picks, but....

EAST

(1)Capitals vs (5)Lightning

I'm going to take the Caps in 6 here but only because I think the lightning just aren't a very good team.

And I'm taking the caps even though I've seen the pictures of Ovechkins beer belly. How a professional hockey player gets that fat during the season i have no idea. (And I'll refrain from mentioning that his drop in production and increase in waistline corresponds not just with a so called change in the caps style, but with the arrest of their alleged juice dealer, because I'm sure that's like, totally cooincidence.... and stuff) ;)

(2)Flyers vs (3) Bruins

Flyers in 5.

WEST

(1)Canucks vs (5)Preds

Hard to call this one. The canucks will either step up and dominate everyone they face after that series, or fold like a cheap billfold.

But I'll go with Vancouver in 4.

(2)Sharks vs (3)Detroit

Sharks in 7.