The hockey thread

What a shame, pens lose in the first round. Ah fuck it there's always next year, congrats to the flyer players. Kings vs Blues series will be a goaltending clinic of epic proportions!
 
Good job Philly, good job LA, now just finish the job Phoenix and this playoffs can be somewhat redeemed for me :(
 
Yes good job indeed! The only thing that would be as worse as watching the Sedin sisters hoist the Cup...is seeing Sid the chick hoist it. Not this year.

Holy heart attack game-6 OT win for the Bruins...this one was intense as ever. Nothing like your teams season hanging in the balance of OT.

Go Sens tonite!
 
Sens had thier chance at home...don't see them taking it in NY. Same for the Caps pretty much. I think both NY and Boston have better overall teams than thier opponent...but up to this point have not played nearly as well as the opponent. The Caps and more so the Sens for the most part without one of thier best players in Alfredson...both are deserving of a good fate. Of course NY and Boston have earned some status, thier home ice etc...lets see what they can do with it?
 
Caps knock off the Bruins. Great job by them, they looked like they wanted it more. B's had their chances but just never took advantage of them. Having a pathetic power play didn't help either.

Let's see what happens with NYR/OTT and FLA/NJD

Have both #8s upset both #1s in the same NHL playoff before?
 
Jeezus the upsets continue!

Yes, The Bruins problem is and has been of course the PP wether it be talent or the system or both? They can have all the best 2-way players 20-goal scorers in the world...they have a blue-collar team that kills themselves to scratch-out single goal. Sometimes you simply need a pure sniper / finisher esp come playoffs. Seguin is the closest to this as well as Horton (out w/ injury). They managed to get away with this deficiency last year but they desperately need a upcoming free agent like Semin / Parise etc. Brighter note: good core of players, management is in place...Bruins will continuously be in the hunt going forward.

Obviously these match-ups this year are closer than they appear and none of the so-called underdog(s) wins were flukes. Well earned and deserved by all the lower seeds wich is refreshing to see. The Caps level of play was simply higher than the Bruins. At the same time its a bit scary with all these talented marquee teams dropping. If its ends up like a Fla v Nashville final...the NHL Exec's will hang themselves lol.

Not sure about the no 8 seeds both advancing in the same round?
However...
Bruins v Caps series was the first time in NHL history that all 7-games were decided by 1-goal. Well played, gritty and exciting...with no ugly vicious infractions like we've unfortunately seen throughout these playoffs.
 
What a crazy first round. Unfortunately I think it is downhill from here. Just look at the Western match-ups:

LA v. St. Louis (OK, this one is interesting, but I doubt it will be much of a ratings draw)
Phoenix vs. Nashville (hahahaha. Gary Bettman can kiss those increased TV ratings from the first round goodbye)

The east is a little more promising. Especially if there is a NJ v. NY match-up. We'll see though.
 
What a crazy first round. Unfortunately I think it is downhill from here.

Optimally there wouldn't be any playoffs to start with. Look at all the high seeds that are gone now, it shows how random this stuff is. Phoenix and New Jersey aren't better teams than Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Boston, San Jose or Detroit. I would prefer if the season consisted of 82 games plus a 7 game series between the East and West champions.

Here's hoping for the Rangers though, they've been stellar all season long and deserve to win a cup. My bet for the finals is New York and St. Louis.
 
Optimally there wouldn't be any playoffs to start with. Look at all the high seeds that are gone now, it shows how random this stuff is. Phoenix and New Jersey aren't better teams than Pittsburgh, Vancouver, Boston, San Jose or Detroit. I would prefer if the season consisted of 82 games plus a 7 game series between the East and West champions.

Here's hoping for the Rangers though, they've been stellar all season long and deserve to win a cup. My bet for the finals is New York and St. Louis.

Wah? Are you saying reg season ends and the East / West overall conference leaders go to Cup and face each other?

Also- Not that it really matters now but for the piss of it. Does anyone think Knuble interfered with Thomas on the GW goal for Wash? I thought so initially and was surprised Thomas didn't flip his shit to the Refs afterwards. Atleast complain a bit and get a possible replay. Its hard to tell live...but the ensuing slow-mo replays (start at 0:30) clearly show Knuble sliding into crease bumping Thomas back (without being pushed by a defenseman btw)...as Ward then bangs home rebound.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtlgi6wkUvg&feature=related[/ame]
 
I think the OT goal is fine.

And I don't really value the standings that much. Maybe they show you what a team is capable of and how consistent they are, but by the time the playoffs start, the season is essentially irrelevant anyways. A team's performance will fluctuate for various reasons (injuries, chemistry etc) so if the playoffs began at different points in the year, you would get different results each time.
 
I agree. The season standings and how teams end up seeded come playoff time can seem meaningless. I'm all for making the regular season matter more or not allow weak teams to somehow qualify for the playoffs. But if Runks point was to allow only the conference winners to face each other for the Cup and have no other playoff contenders?...than thats just silly. No way the NHL is going to risk of null and voiding the extra revenue that comes with playoff hockey etc. The NHL Exec's might not like some "big-name" teams getting bounced early but they certainly love all these long series, all the parity and maxing out these playoff revenue runs. Parity is the key...as it is in the NFL.

However, I may be speaking out of both sides here, but I wouldn't mind say the top four teams in each division only qualify for the playoffs. Yes we lose more revenue in the 4 instead of 8 qualify, but you could also gain or atleast equal out in having the elite big market well earned would be division winners. Sorry small market teams and I love the underdog on occasion...but the playoffs on a more regular basis consisting of teams like Detroit, Chicago, Boston, Vancouver, Philly, Rangers etc...thats the goods! IMO and to my liking, if the Hockey Gods had any say in who should be in the hunt? Only teams / cities in wich if you built a rink out-doors...the ice would actually freeze there. Nash, Pheonix, Fla can keep and have thier Nascar stuff.
 
I like the playoffs the way they are with 8 qualifiers in each conference, except I hate the division leader rule. Seeing a team like Florida get 3rd and home ice advantage is just silly, especially when you consider how many SO/OT losses they had. They didn't even deserve to make the playoffs in my book, they were 38-44 as far as I'm concerned.

But I think 16 total qualifiers is great because it's enough to keep people interested and enough to make the season mean something with a competitive playoff race.
 
Kings are just raping it. This is too good to be true. If they win the the Stanley Cup I will post nudes of myself and my social security number, ktxhbye.
 
So on the NHL facebook page there was a poll posted asking

Which remaining goalie has impressed you the most in these Playoffs?

178 people voted for Bryzgalov ... and I just :guh: