NHL Playoffs Thread

[White Raven]

Alright, so here were the results of the first round:
EAST
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins - 4-3
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators - 4-0
(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers - 4-3
(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers - 4-1

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators - 4-2
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames - 4-3
(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche - 4-2
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars - 4-2

I was pretty surprised on New Jersey's early exit, along with the Ducks collapse against Dallas. Anywho, here is the second round match ups:

EAST
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) New York Rangers

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

I predict Montreal and Pittsburgh continuing their winning ways, and Colorado and Dallas, coming out on top as underdogs in the West.

[Kirobaito]

Alright, so here were the results of the first round:
EAST
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (8) Boston Bruins - 4-3
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (7) Ottawa Senators - 4-0
(3) Washington Capitals vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers - 4-3
(4) New Jersey Devils vs. (5) New York Rangers - 4-1

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (8) Nashville Predators - 4-2
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (7) Calgary Flames - 4-3
(3) Minnesota Wild vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche - 4-2
(4) Anaheim Ducks vs. (5) Dallas Stars - 4-2

I was pretty surprised on New Jersey's early exit, along with the Ducks collapse against Dallas. Anywho, here is the second round match ups:

EAST
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) New York Rangers

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Dallas Stars

I predict Montreal and Pittsburgh continuing their winning ways, and Colorado and Dallas, coming out on top as underdogs in the West.

As awesome as that would be, I honestly don't see anybody beating Detroit this year. I think Dallas can take San Jose, but it will be quite hotly contested. Either better or worse, Dallas just beat the most physical team in the playoffs in Anaheim, and should be the more physical team against San Jose. It won't be little Eastern Conference fairy skating like Pitt/Washington, that's for sure.

[White Raven]

Yeah the East's most physical team is definitely the Flyers, but I really don't see them coming out of the East. Depending if Osgood can remain good (), yeah I agree, Detroit looks like the heavy favourites right now.

[Yar]

Call me crazy, but I don't think Detroit will take the cup. I see Montréal or San José winning.

[Chunk]

Cast's lvl 4 resurrect ...

Been a hockey fan for years but this past season was boring. But I digress.

Anyways I'm hoping for a Pens/Sharks final. Although the Stars are looking like too good of a team.

With the way the 2nd round has gone it's looking like an All Pennsylvania match up for the east and the Stars/Redwings for the west.

[Kirobaito]

No goal? That's one of the most awful calls I've ever seen. Morrow didn't kick it at all, and any rational objective human being would have been able to see that. That's absolute BS.

[Yar]

Well, the cup isn't going back to Canada this year.

Canada sucks. ;>

[Kirobaito]

SSSTTTTTAAARRRSSS WWWWIIIIINNNNNNN!

Greatest. Game. Ever.

This was the best battle of goalies I've ever seen. Turco and Nabokov were absolutely spectacular.

[Chunk]

Great game... too bad I fell asleep before it was done. What was it, 4 overtimes?


1. Now we have Detroit vs. Dallas
Should be good, have had some interesting playoff match ups in the past


2. Penguins vs. Flyers
All PA. match up, what more can I say.



I'll predict Stars vs. Penguins for Cup final

[White Raven]

Sorry for the delay in the conference finals, but I've been out of the country and busy moving.

Anywho, here are the results of the last round:

EAST
(1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers - 4-1
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (5) New York Rangers - 4-1

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (6) Colorado Avalanche - 4-0
(2) San Jose Sharks vs. (5) Dallas Stars - 4-2

I was pretty surprised when I got home from Florida (Where hockey doesn't seem to exist even with 2 teams ) to see that Montreal had been so easily taken care of. Perhaps they were too overrated, but probably the young goal tending didn't help.

Here are the conference finals (Already in progress):

EAST
(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers (Penguins leading series 2-0)

WEST
(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Dallas Stars (Red Wings leading series 2-0)

Looking pretty bad for Philly and Dallas so far. Seems that the young ones in Pittsburgh have it going and Detroit seems unbeatable.

[Kirobaito]

Man, it's too bad that a) The Stars couldn't have started playing this intensely earlier, or b) Holmstrom would have gotten called for his interference in the early games that led to half of Detroit's goals.

Anything can happen, though. Back to the AAC now. We can DO this, boys. We can DO THIS.

EDIT: Effin' incredible that there's no peep out of the NHL for Draper's bush league crosscheck to Morrow in the face. *sigh*

[White Raven]

Yep, isn't looking that good for your team. Maybe it's all a desperate plot by the NHL to make hockey popular in Detroit again.

[CimminyCricket]

I can see it.

[Yar]

Omfg, they're CRYING?!?!

[Kirobaito]

Yep, isn't looking that good for your team. Maybe it's all a desperate plot by the NHL to make hockey popular in Detroit again.

Oh, I'm not sad. This month by the Stars has done more for this Metroplex than you could probably imagine.

Since the Dallas Mavericks "lost" the 2006 NBA Finals after leading 2-0 (losing four straight, the third in most controversial fashion), here's what we've witnessed as Dallas sports fans:

2006 Rangers - make a trade deadline deal, miss playoffs
2007 Cowboys - make playoffs, lose on a botched snap from a field goal with a minute left that would have given them the lead in their first playoff game
2007 Mavericks - finish 67-15, best record in the NBA, before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the 8th seed
2007 Stars - lose in first round of the playoffs
2007 Desperados (Arena Football) - finish 15-1, best record in AFL history, lose in their first playoff game on freak play after freak play
2007 Rangers - finish 75-87
2008 Cowboys - finish 13-3, best record in NFC, lose in their first playoff game to a team they'd already beaten twice
2008 Mavericks - make a huge deadline deal, fade down the stretch, lose in 5 games in the first round of the playoffs

We really, really, really needed a run like this from one of our teams after the above torture of the last two years. They showed plenty of heart, plenty of grit, and we're very, very proud of our Stars. Detroit was just better, and we knew that before the series started.

I'm happy.