Stanley Cup Playoffs

[BaconSoda]

Hey guys,

A bit curious about our American members. Hockey playoffs have begun. Wondering who thinks who will win.

So, uh, if you like hockey, feel free to vote and share your thoughts about the season.

If you don't like hockey, why are you posting? I know you're just trying to be obnoxious.

Anyway, you know my standing. Hockeytown USA is really against the wall this time, but Gary Bettman being in the stadium making the refs awful aside, I have some good confidence in the Wings. Feel free to bash away.

Oh also the order of teams may or may not be biased according to my preference and also some oaf's preference. ;)

Also I missed the Bruins when making my list because they're so forgettable.

Oh yeah and here's the matchups:

West:
Vancouver - Los Angeles
St. Louis - San Jose
Phoenix - Chicago
Nashville - Detroit

East:
New York - Ottawa
Boston - Washington
Florida - New Jersey
Pittsburgh - Philadelphia

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[8:32:45 PM] Dusty Lens: Oh no, let me get that. Hello? Oh it's my grandma. She says to be roleplay.
[12:49:19 AM] Elgatodiablo: You know its nice that you have all that proof and all, Bacon... but I just don't believe you.

[Camtheman]

Gotta go with my homies in Detroit...

[ProwlerPC]

In Canada this would be considered a political topic...........I'm locking it.











<div align="right]j/k I always vote Ottawa Sens

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[Diomedes]

Sens-Vancouver final would set Betman straight! I'd love to see it.

I'll abstain from voting in the poll due to bias, but:

Go Canucks!!!

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[BaconSoda]

If Todd Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely for sucker punching Steve Moore, then I think Shea Weber should be suspended indefintiely for grabbing Henrik Zetterberg's head and slamming it into the boards. What a classless snake that man is. And he's a captain. Do we have to wait for someone to get hurt?

If I could be more upset about the ending to a poorly officiated, yet good game, then I would probably stop watching sports entirely.

Also bias is what the NHL is all about. Where have you been?:P

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[8:32:45 PM] Dusty Lens: Oh no, let me get that. Hello? Oh it's my grandma. She says to be roleplay.
[12:49:19 AM] Elgatodiablo: You know its nice that you have all that proof and all, Bacon... but I just don't believe you.

[MB52]

West:
Vancouver - Los Angeles>>> Vancouver
St. Louis - San Jose
Phoenix - Chicago >>> San Jose
Nashville - Detroit >>> Detroit

East:
New York - Ottawa >>> Ottawa
Boston - Washington >>> Boston
Florida - New Jersey >>> New Jersey
Pittsburgh - Philadelphia >>> Pittsburgh


This is my predictions for round 1....

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I’ll carry this flag
To the grave if I must
Because it’s flag that I love
And a flag that I trust

[Diomedes]

If Todd Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely for sucker punching Steve Moore, then I think Shea Weber should be suspended indefintiely for grabbing Henrik Zetterberg's head and slamming it into the boards. What a classless snake that man is. And he's a captain. Do we have to wait for someone to get hurt?

If I could be more upset about the ending to a poorly officiated, yet good game, then I would probably stop watching sports entirely.

Also bias is what the NHL is all about. Where have you been?:P

Yes, the Shea Weber thing is just ridiculous. No way to claim that wasn't intent to injure.

And yes, I know. I've cheered for a Canadian team in the Western Conference for as long as I can remember. I know XD.

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[Patrician]

East

New York/Ottawa - New York sweeps. Nice to see Ottawa make it to the playoffs again but they are gonna get steamrolled.

Boston/Washington - Boston in five. This could be a nice series, but that would involve Ovi getting back in old form and Semin actually giving a damn. Wont happen.

Florida/New Jersey - Not sure about this one; havent watched much of either team.

Pittsburgh/Philly - This is gonna be a long one. Im guessing six, maybe even the full seven. If Philly's goaltender can hold his own, Philly might grind it out. Pittsburgh's Malkin/Cindy combo is gonna be hard to beat though.

West

Vancouver/Los Angeles - Vancouver in six. LA has good defense and Quick is a cyborg, but they cant score enough. Their offense HAS improved, but I dont think its enough. Gotta say I'd like to see LA pull an upset on this one though.

St. Louis/San Jose - St. Louis in five. The Halak/Elliot combo is probably the best goalie tandem in the NHL. Glad St. Louis is a quality team again; hope they go far. San Jose's trades this year seemed to have weakened them. I know they couldnt quite pull off a Stanley Cup with what they had so they had to change something, but Im not sure they improved.

Phoenix/Chicago - Chicago in six. This one ought to be entertaining. Both are quick, physical teams. I think Phoenix has the better goalie in Smith, but whoever wins this one is gonna limp for a while. I personally believe having to grind past Phoenix has been hurting Detroit the last few years. Glad to see someone else get to feel the love.

Nashville/Detroit - Been a Red Wing fan since Stevie Y, but I think Nashville's gonna win in six. They made out like thieves in trades this year and the addition of Radulov is just icing on the cake. But its Rinne thats gonna be the breaker here. Still, I'd love to see Lidstrom skate with the Cup one more time... If Detroit can pull this off, I think their only challenge in the West would be St. Louis. Vancouver is good (obviously), but I think they would break Luongo into little girly-bits. He's always struck me as fragile.

[BaconSoda]

East

New York/Ottawa - New York sweeps. Nice to see Ottawa make it to the playoffs again but they are gonna get steamrolled.

Boston/Washington - Boston in five. This could be a nice series, but that would involve Ovi getting back in old form and Semin actually giving a damn. Wont happen.

Florida/New Jersey - Not sure about this one; havent watched much of either team.

Pittsburgh/Philly - This is gonna be a long one. Im guessing six, maybe even the full seven. If Philly's goaltender can hold his own, Philly might grind it out. Pittsburgh's Malkin/Cindy combo is gonna be hard to beat though.

West

Vancouver/Los Angeles - Vancouver in six. LA has good defense and Quick is a cyborg, but they cant score enough. Their offense HAS improved, but I dont think its enough. Gotta say I'd like to see LA pull an upset on this one though.

St. Louis/San Jose - St. Louis in five. The Halak/Elliot combo is probably the best goalie tandem in the NHL. Glad St. Louis is a quality team again; hope they go far. San Jose's trades this year seemed to have weakened them. I know they couldnt quite pull off a Stanley Cup with what they had so they had to change something, but Im not sure they improved.

Phoenix/Chicago - Chicago in six. This one ought to be entertaining. Both are quick, physical teams. I think Phoenix has the better goalie in Smith, but whoever wins this one is gonna limp for a while. I personally believe having to grind past Phoenix has been hurting Detroit the last few years. Glad to see someone else get to feel the love.

Nashville/Detroit - Been a Red Wing fan since Stevie Y, but I think Nashville's gonna win in six. They made out like thieves in trades this year and the addition of Radulov is just icing on the cake. But its Rinne thats gonna be the breaker here. Still, I'd love to see Lidstrom skate with the Cup one more time... If Detroit can pull this off, I think their only challenge in the West would be St. Louis. Vancouver is good (obviously), but I think they would break Luongo into little girly-bits. He's always struck me as fragile.

LA is leading 2 games to 0 right now. Or at least they're like 5 minutes from 2 games to 0 in a 3-1 game. I would love this upset as well. :D

And that said, Weber did us such a favor, thinking about it. The biggest question for the Wings was whether or not they'd show up to play. I think Weber answered that question for us. We outplayed them last game and were robbed by Rinne. This game we beat them while being outshot. Perhaps they were robbed by Howard. Either way, we've shown up to play and I don't think we're going to drop anything else to them.

PS: Rangers/Wings would be my favorite matchup for the final.

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[8:32:45 PM] Dusty Lens: Oh no, let me get that. Hello? Oh it's my grandma. She says to be roleplay.
[12:49:19 AM] Elgatodiablo: You know its nice that you have all that proof and all, Bacon... but I just don't believe you.

[Patrician]

I cant believe that the team with the best record in the league is as good as done to a team that barely made the playoffs. Vancouver just doesnt seem to know what to do now. LA up by THREE.

Never would have guessed that Pittsburgh's defense would collapse like this either. Lost three games in a row while giving up TWENTY goals. Unbelievable.

Preds/Wings is going as expected. Detroit is peppering Rinne with shots but the man is 6' 5" and FILLS the net. Losing Helm in the first game lost us our fastest guy and someone who made opposing power plays nervous. Unfortunate. Still, they can win so long as they keep up the intensity. Third period in the last game Detroit was IN it. They checked hard, skated hard and Franzen was mad so he played well. Detroit needs to keep up the intensity and not sit back. They doubled the Nashville shots; keep to the plan and eventually the goals will come.

Im curious to see how St. Louis plays tonight. They are (in my opinion) the better team, but San Jose is used to playoff hockey and came to play. I think St. Louis wasnt expecting the intensity San Jose brought and will need to ratchet up their play if they want to go deep this year. Playoff hockey is different from the regular season and you need to play hard every game. Hope to see them step it up.