NHL Playoffs '08

[ManNamedTruth]

I know it's kind of late but I thought someone would've started this already. I'm really excited for this next series, Philly and Pittsburgh is a great rivalry. I predict Pens in 6 games. I'll also predict a Detroit-Pittsburgh Stanley Cup Finals, Detroit will be a tough match-up.

[Jaimoe]

All the Conference semi-final series weren't very exciting (with a couple of exceptions), and I can't remember it ever being this way in my nearly four decades of watching the NHL playoffs. That being said, the upcoming East Conference finals is the only series that's remotely interesting. I think Pitt will win in 5, but if Philly can steal one of the first two games in Pittsburgh, I think it'll go 6 or 7... and if the refs let Philly play their style, well, they could pull off an upset.

Detroit is the most boring team in the NHL and they are matched up with the second most boring team. Look for a light-hitting, power-play filled series with no intensity. Dallas in 7 since Brendan Morrow and goalie Marty Turco are playing their best hockey of their careers and are the best players in this entire playoffs.  

[ManNamedTruth]

All the Conference semi-final series weren't very exciting (with a couple of exceptions), and I can't remember it ever being this way in my nearly four decades of watching the NHL playoffs. That being said, the upcoming East Conference finals is the only series that's remotely interesting. I think Pitt will win in 5, but if Philly can steal one of the first two games in Pittsburgh, I think it'll go 6 or 7... and if the refs let Philly play their style, well, they could pull off an upset.

Detroit is the most boring team in the NHL and they are matched up with the second most boring team. Look for a light-hitting, power-play filled series with no intensity. Dallas in 7 since Brendan Morrow and goalie Marty Turco are playing their best hockey of their careers and are the best players in this entire playoffs.  

Obviously its more exciting when your team is doing well. It does seem like most of the match-ups weren't that even, I don't think any of the series have even gone to a game 7 yet. Pens-Flyers should be THE series of the playoffs so far.
Despite the past, Hossa has a had a great post-season thus far. He's scoring goals and making great defensive plays.

[Jaimoe]

Hossa has been playing well. I can't forgive Malkin for his two slew-foots in one shift in the last game. Dirty and cowardly is putting it mildly. I think Pittsburgh's best all-round player this playoffs is young Jordan Staal. He kills all the penalties, wins the draws, stands in front of the net, hits and is the best defensive forward on the Pens, plus he's good offensively too. BTW, I want Philly to win the Cup (since my Bruins and Flames are out). Many of my fellow Torontonians hate the Flyers (due to old rivalries, the Broad Street Bullies legacy, Steve Downey and more specifcally Bobby Clark), but this team is loaded with tough and talented Canadians (minus the injured star Simon Gagne - people seem to forget that he's out); I even like the Euros on the Flyers and American R.J. Umberger is playing really well. I like his game.

I don't agree that this upcoming series will be THE SERIES. I think that one already played out in Round One: Calgary-San Jose. That series was a war and extremely exciting. The Habs-Bruins series was very entertaining.

[ManNamedTruth]

Hossa has been playing well. I can't forgive Malkin for his two slew-foots in one shift in the last game. Dirty and cowardly is putting it mildly.

I have no idea what you're talking about, i did have to miss the 3rd period and OT due to work. Dirty plays are made all around, its easy to point it out when it's the other team.

[Jaimoe]

Hossa has been playing well. I can't forgive Malkin for his two slew-foots in one shift in the last game. Dirty and cowardly is putting it mildly.

I have no idea what you're talking about, i did have to miss the 3rd period and OT due to work. Dirty plays are made all around, its easy to point it out when it's the other team.

It was in the 3rd period of Game 4 - I got it wrong. Malkin's slew-foots (don't forget that they were on the same shift) made Hockey Night in Canada's Coach's Corner (the #1 segment of the #1 show in Canada). Slew-footing a player is just as dirty and dangerous as running someone from behind, and it's also far more sneaky and it's normally unprovoked. I don't have anything against the Pens. I hate dirty no matter what teams' players are doing it. Fucking Hatcher is playing well, but he's been really stupid dirty in the last series.

Hey, do you know anything about the IIHF World Hockey Championships? The tournament is being held in North America this year for the first time ever: Halifax and Quebec City. Anyway, Canadians call this the "unofficial" consolation prize championship since the tournament takes place annually during the NHL playoffs and the teams (the good ones) are made up mostly of NHL players from teams that aren't in the playoffs or get beat out early. NOTE: Europeans consider this to be the most important tournament including the Stanley Cup. The Russians just got Ovechkin, Semin and Fedorov, the Finns added Koivu and the Czechs added Jagr. Canada and the US are in the same division and play each other tomorrow at 3:20pm. TSN is carrying the game in Canada live. You can stream the game live on their website too. It should be a dandy tilt.  


Here are the Canada and US rosters:

Goalies: Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes), Pascal Leclaire (Columbus Blue Jackets), Mathieu Garon (Edmonton Oilers).

Defenders: Dan Hamhuis (Nashville Predators), Logan Pyett (Regina Pats/WHL), Jay Bouwmeester (Florida Panthers), Mark Giordano (Moscow Dynamo/RUS), Brent Burns (Minnesota Wild), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks), Steve Staios (Edmonton Oilers), Mike Green (Washington Capitals), Ed Jovanovski (Phoenix Coyotes).

Forwards: Derek Roy (Buffalo Sabres), Patrick Sharp (Chicago Blackhawks), Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes), Chris Kunitz (Anaheim Ducks), Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators), Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Kyle Turris (Wisconsin /WCHA), Shane Doan (Phoenix Coyotes), Jamal Mayers (St. Louis Blues), Cory Emmerton (Brampton Battalion/OHL), Jason Chimera (Columbus Blue Jackets), Martin St-Louis (Tampa Bay Lightning), Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks), Rick Nash (Columbus Blue Jackets), Sam Gagner (Edmonton Oilers), Jason Spezza (Ottawa Senators).

Head coach: Ken Hitchcock (Columbus Blue Jackets). Assistant coaches: Craig MacTavish (Edmonton Oilers), Mike Johnston (Los Angeles Kings), Pat Burns (Hockey Canada).


Team USA:

Goalies (3): Craig Anderson (Florida Panthers), Robert Esche (Ak Bars Kazan/RUS), Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins).

Defenders (7): Keith Ballard (Phoenix Coyotes), Tom Gilbert (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Gleason (Carolina Hurricanes), Matt Greene (Edmonton Oilers), Paul Martin (New Jersey Devils), Mark Stuart (Boston Bruins), James Wisniewski (Chicago Blackhawks).

Forwards (13): David Backes (St. Louis Blues), David Booth (Florida Panthers), Dustin Brown (Los Angeles Kings), Adam Burish (Chicago Blackhawks), Jeff Halpern (Tampa Bay Lightning), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins), Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes), Patrick O'Sullivan (Los Angeles Kings), Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), Jason Pominville (Buffalo Sabres), Drew Stafford (Buffalo Sabres), Lee Stempniak (St. Louis Blues).

Head coach: John Tortorella (Tampa Bay Lightning). Assistant coaches: Mike Sullivan (Tampa Bay Lightning), Kurt Kleinendorst (Lowell Devils/AHL).


Here's TSN's tournament page: http://www.tsn.ca/canadian_hockey/

[.Walt]

i'm going with philly. this is a big rivalry series, so it should be really fun to watch. i pretty much like any philly team. so it works out when i hate the pens. i pretty much hate any team that the media drools over. (although the pens have a really good team, don't get me wrong but that's why i hate'em)

if you're in the city of brotherly love, you may win the series, but you could lose your life.

[pawpaw]

You guys obviously know your hockey...I don't. BUT, I did watch some of San Jose's games in the first two rounds, and most of their last one. It's kind of frustrating watching a sport that I don't know all the rules to, but those were some great games. Nabokov is a stud.

I'd like to see the Penguins play some games now.

[fitzcarraldo]

The pens look real good. They obliterated my Rangers.  :'(

[fitzcarraldo]

watching a sport that I don't know all the rules to {/quote]

it's pretty quick to pick up. look for off sides, two line pass and icing for starters...along with pretty obvious penalties

Off sides:

Offsides:

A player may not skate into his offensive zone ahead of the puck. If that happens, a whistle is blown, and a face-off is held just outside the zone where the breach-offside- occurred. What matters in an offside is the position of the skates: Both skates must be all the way over the blue line for a player to be potentially off-side. The location of the stick does not matter. Offside is also called if a player makes what is called a two-line pass.

Offside is called to keep players from hanging around the red line at center ice, or all the way down in their offensive zone, and waiting for a pass that will give them a breakaway (skating toward the goal with no defenders around except for the goalie) and an easy chance at a goal.


Two Line Pass:

An offside pass is also called a two-line pass. A defenseman with the puck in front of his own net, for example, cannot snap it to a teammate beyond the red line at center ice because it would have to go over two lines, first the blue and then the red, to get there. For that play to work, the player at center ice would have to skate inside the red line, closer to his own net, to receive the pass.

Icing and penalties:

Jim Carr (play by play broadcaster) : Hi, Jim Carr again. Denis, I know that some in our audience don't know the finer points of hockey. Could you tell them, for example, what is icing?

Denis Lemieux (goalie): Well, um, icing happen when the puck come down, bang you know, before the other guys you know. Nobody there, you know. My arm go comes up then the game stop then start up.

Jim Carr: I see. What is high-sticking?

Denis Lemieux: High-sticking happen when the guy take the stick, you know, and he go like that

[high-sticks Jim Carr]
Denis Lemieux: you know. You don't do that.

Jim Carr: You don't do that?

Denis Lemieux: Oh no, never, never.

Jim Carr: Why not?

Denis Lemieux: Against the rules. You know, you're stupid when you do that. Just some English pig with no brains, you know.

Jim Carr: Uh, what is slashing?

Denis Lemieux: Slashing is um, like that
[demonstrates on Jim Carr]

Denis Lemieux: you know.

Jim Carr: Mm-hmm. And there's a penalty for that?

Denis Lemieux: Yeah and for the trip also, you know like that
[demonstrates]

Denis Lemieux: . And for hook like this
[demonstrates]

Denis Lemieux: . And for spear, you know, like that.
[demonstrates]

Denis Lemieux: You do that, you go to the box, you know. Two minutes, by yourself, you know and you feel shame, you know. And then you get free.

[Jaimoe]

Offsides:

Two Line Pass:

An offside pass is also called a two-line pass. A defenseman with the puck in front of his own net, for example, cannot snap it to a teammate beyond the red line at center ice because it would have to go over two lines, first the blue and then the red, to get there. For that play to work, the player at center ice would have to skate inside the red line, closer to his own net, to receive the pass.

As of two years ago, two-line passes are allowed and are no longer called off-side.

[Jaimoe]

You guys obviously know your hockey...I don't. BUT, I did watch some of San Jose's games in the first two rounds, and most of their last one. It's kind of frustrating watching a sport that I don't know all the rules to, but those were some great games. Nabokov is a stud.

I'd like to see the Penguins play some games now.

You really need to see Slap Shot. Not only is it one of the funniest sports movies ever made - directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy) - it also is a fairly accurate representation of 1970's era minor league pro hockey. Slap Shot is also one of Paul Newman's most underrated and funniest film roles. Here's the hilarious "rules" opening scene that driven_to_distraction transcribed, but this is the complete scene/clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w4MV_LwMw

[pawpaw]

You guys obviously know your hockey...I don't. BUT, I did watch some of San Jose's games in the first two rounds, and most of their last one. It's kind of frustrating watching a sport that I don't know all the rules to, but those were some great games. Nabokov is a stud.

I'd like to see the Penguins play some games now.

You really need to see Slap Shot. Not only is it one of the funniest sports movies ever made - directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy) - it also is a fairly accurate representation of 1970's era minor league pro hockey. Slap Shot is also one of Paul Newman's most underrated and funniest film roles. Here's the hilarious "rules" opening scene that driven_to_distraction transcribed, but this is the complete scene/clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w4MV_LwMw

;D Thanks guys, I've got it all figured out now. I'll have to check out this movie - I've heard good things...

[Jellyfish]

Let's Go Flyers!!!!

[red]

I'm not a fan of any of the four teams left, that being said I think the Flyers will take the Pens and the Stars will take the Wings.  

[ManNamedTruth]

[size=72]LETS GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b][/size]


^So Badass!^

[Jaimoe]

[size=72]LETS GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b][/size]


^So Badass!^

He came out of retirement after almost two years after breaking his neck back in the mid 90's when he played for Calgary. Not overly big, but he fights anyone and everyone when he needs to and is a born leader and is a bonifide power-forward and a possible Hall of Famer. You bet Gary is a badass.

[brkndwnbus]

Tonight's game was awesome. Let's go for a sweep.

[Jaimoe]

I thought the game was sloppy and Philly played kinda dopey. It's a damn shame that the Flyers have to deal with yet another key injury with their best defenseman Kimmo Timonen out of the rest of the playoffs with a blood clot in his ankle. I'd love to see this match-up with a healthy Flyers (which includes their best winger Simon Gagne and the aforementioned Timmonen), but I bet the next game is more competetive and entertaining; and realistically, Gagne hasn't been in the picture for three months or more. At least this was a better game than the no-hitter Dallas-Detroit game.

[ManNamedTruth]