The Official 2008-2009 NHL Thread

hmm so if I calculated everything right, the blues will either get 6th or 8th depending on the game tomorrow (since an OT loss would mean that we would be tied in points with the ducks for 7th but we would lose the tiebreaker for fewer wins).

I don't know for sure who I would rather match up against, but I am starting to hope we win so we face the canucks

fucking rights!, did NOT see this coming a couple months ago.

He's 29.

~ It is the Flyers vs Penguins (home ice to be determined), too bad we didn't lose tonight and play the Devils, which I think we would have beaten easily.

Don Cherry with another foot in mouth moment tonight. Applauding the 'good old Canadian boy' Crosby for coming to Malkin's defense the other night, he criticized Illya Kovalchuk (Cherry hates Russians) claiming Kovy would never drop the gloves. Funny thing is, Kovalchuk DOES drop the gloves and a simple youtube search proves Cherry wrong yet again.

FWIW, he also claimed that Ron Wilson sucks at coaching because he's American. I'm sorry, but I don't think anyone could have been reasonably expected to get this year's Leafs into the playoffs. I hate Ron Wilson probably more than anyone I know, but give the guy a break.

EDIT: Really funny thing is Kovalchuk fought as recently as TONIGHT. In fact, he's on the front page of hockeyfights.com

Flames FINALLY get McElhinney his first NHL win. Great game against the Coilers!

Franzen is 29. He'll be 40 when the contract ends.

devils over the canes in 6.

My picks for eastern conference:

Boston over Montreal in 5
Washington over New York in 5
Carolina over New Jersey in 7
#4 over #5 in 7 (depending on who gets home ice)

Basically, I see two close series' and two blowouts.

boston over montreal in 4
washington over new york in 5
devils over canes in 6
philly over pitt in 7

Bruins > Habs in 5
Caps > Rangers in 6
Devils > Canes in 6
Philly < Pitt in 6

boston over montreal in 4
washington over new york in 6
devils over canes in 7
philly over pitt in 7

Yeah the Blues will play a good team no matter what happens. I will be extremely happy if they get 2 wins in a series, but they could surprise me either way. I do kinda think they'll play sloppy and get blown out-ish in the first game.

So how many of us are growing playoff beards this year? I just shaved after the Flames game last night, and will not shave again until the Flames are out of the playoffs, win or lose.

I am completely clean shaven right now, for the first time in 3 years. I feel cold and lifeless.

Bruins over Habs in 5
Caps over Rangers in 6
Canes over Devils in 7
Pens over Flyers in 6

Man I can't wait to play/beat the stupid Penguins, I hope Richards punches Crosby in his cry baby face.

people saying boston over montreal in 4 are totally crazy

boston over montreal in 5

fixed

What's your answer for when Timonen shuts down your only two good players? Is Pittsburgh ready for 6 25+ goal scorers? How about 5-on-5 hockey instead of bitch Crosby power plays all game?

~ Obviously, you don't know shit about the Penguins. All four of our lines can score. You say Crosby is a cry-baby? Your coach and the entire Flyer's team cried enough tears last year in the play-off match against the Penguins to fill the fucking Atlantic ocean.

First of all, Crosby isn't even the leading PPG scorer so I'm not really sure where you got this information but uhh I really have no interest in arguing with you and your biased opinion anyways. Good luck to Biron and the flyers, they're going to need it

Philadelphia is going to need to keep goons like Carcillo and Hartnell out of the box if they're going to win. In a long series, especially a rivalry, penalties and the ability to keep yourself in check are extremely important and Pittsburgh's power play is downright scary.

Pittsburgh is going to have to actually start playing some defense for once if they want to win. Crosby and Malkin are two of the three best in the league right now, but they can't outscore one of the deepest offensive teams in the league by themselves. Kunitz, Guerin, and Staal also need to be factors since Malkin and Crosby will be getting the shutdown treatment.

This might be the most exciting matchup of the 1st round.

As for Crosby's whining. I don't think anyone can deny that Crosby is a whiner. Hell, in NHLcom's last player poll 54% said he was the biggest whiner in the league. That said, people seem so caught up in the good Crosby vs bad Crosby debate that they overlook the fact that you can easily be a whiner AND a damn good hockey player and captain. The kid whines and is as wooden as Anakin Skywalker in interviews, but he plays tough hockey and isn't afraid to get hit to make plays. By all means, the kid is a whiner. But I think people overlook what he does right.

Crosby and Malkin play on two separate lines. If Timonen can play 40 minutes a night and shut down two of the top 3 scorers in the league they should give him the cup all to himself.

The Pens have torched the Flyers this season; although the playoffs are certainly a different situation, that fact shouldn't be forgotten. Both are mediocre on D and brilliant on offence. The Flyers are more physical and get into penalty trouble, but are deadly on the shorthanded situation, while the Pens clearly have the edge in goaltending. It'll be an interesting series, no doubt.

Bruins > Habs in 6
Caps > Rags in 4
Flyers > Pens in 6
Canes > Devils in 5 (hopeful pick)

oh shi-

STL win today = 6th place
STL loss or tie = 8th place

EC is pretty much settled though I think Philly is the dark horse in the whole conference.

by the way, if anyone wants Capitals playoff tickets (either this round, or for future rounds), send me a PM -- I'll be selling the tickets at face value (maybe a bit under for you guys).

I need the money

by the way, if anyone wants Capitals playoff tickets (either this round, or for future rounds), send me a PM -- I'll be selling the tickets at face value (maybe a bit under for you guys).

I need the money

nice

~ The Flyers lost home ice advantage because of the Rangers!

There is no hotter team going into the playoffs than the St. Louis Blues. wOOt.

Hmmm so the blues are playing the canucks now. I am really excited about every playoff matchup, its gonna be a fun month of hockey

Well, now that the regular season is over and the playoffs are beginning again, it's time for my playoff sig!

Fuckin Flyers. All they had to do was get one point. Oh well, they'll just have to beat the Penguins in their own building

~ Alone, that won't do it for your team.

Serious problem for the Flyers I think. This loss is going to come back to bite them, hard.

I'm pissed about losing home-ice, but I still think the Flyers will take the first round. It obviously won't be a sweep with a 6-goal margin each game, but I think they can do it in 6.

San Jose > Anaheim 7
Detroit > Columbus 6
St. Louis > Vancouver 7
Calgary > Chicago 6

From a discussion with a buddy on Facebook:

Anaheim would probably have been hosed if they'd had to play Detroit or Chicago, but their games against SJ down the stretch have been tight, teeth-kicking affairs. Yes Rob Blake and Dan Boyle are a nightmarish top pair, but what do you call Pronger and Neidermeyer? Both teams have potentially dominating offence (Getzlaf-Perry-Ryan has been about as effective as any line in the league). However, the Sharks are recovering from a spate of injuries, so we'll see how well they reintegrate. If the Ducks get their usual playoff goaltending from either netminder, this'll be a tough series. Sharks in 6, anyway.

I think Detroit will handle the largely inexperienced Columbus squad in 6. Yes there is precedent for Detroit choking early, but I think the relief of actually making the playoffs will take the urgency out of the Jackets' game.

The Blues have had to make due with a ton of injuries over the year. Kariya is supposed to be back soon, possibly McDonald as well. If either come back hot, and don't throw off the team's chemistry, they could have some firepower. That's pretty up in the air though, and if Vancouver come with any kind of urgency they should take it with relative ease. 'Nucks in 5.

Flames success will depend entirely on how many players return from injury by game 3. This could be either a sweep or a seven game war for the 'Hawks. I'll be conservative and take the Hawks in 6.

Habs have played the Bruins reasonably tight over the year in spite of having an appalling record against them, but I don't see a repeat of last year. The Bruins almost beat us on sheer grit and character; these are not characteristics for which Montreal is known. Bruins in 5.

Unless Lundqvist stands on his head and Avery gets Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom and Green to spend the entire series in the box, this could be a slaughter. The Rangers must be severely regretting letting Jagr walk, because his presence would have given them a chance. Caps in 5, at a stretch.

Carolina, like the two New York teams, is well suited to play the Devils. The last time the 'Canes made the playoffs, with almost the same roster, they made short work of a Devils team which had racked up ten consecutive wins, including a first-round sweep of the Rangers. This year the 'Canes are 3-1 against the Devils, and have been playing incredibly good hockey since reacquiring Erik Cole. The Devils seem to have halted an embarrassing skid, and have a well-rested Martin Brodeur. I have absolutely no idea what will happen here. Devils in 7?

Pittsburgh have had Philly's number this season, and home ice is a crippling loss for the Flyers. Both teams have terrific offence, mediocre defence and inconsistent goaltending. This may come down to which of the Pens murderous powerplay and the Flyers dangerous shorthanded game can win out, because with Philly's style and Crosby/Malkin on the ice, expect plenty of penalties. Momentum, home ice and goaltending (Fleury is simply more talented than Biron, IMO) will swing this Pittsburgh's way. Pens in 6.

The Blues have been hot lately, but the Canucks will have their number in the playoffs. A huge portion of the Blues' best players have zero playoff experience, as illustrated here:

we're playing wednesday night. finally i don't have to wait till the second night for a change, it's nerve wrecking to see the first two games and wait for my games. i'm excited and honestly don't have any solid idea of what will happen, the canes series during the season have been close but it's usually no indication when it comes to non division series.

The Blues have best record of any team in the entire second half (meaning they are not just hot lately), and are on a 9-1-1 run heading into the playoffs, but the Canucks are gonna dispatch of them with relative ease? Um, okay.

Also, playoff experience is often overrated. I could name you a bunch of teams in recent years that won the Cup or went on deep playoff runs, despite having a roster with little playoff experience.

In fact, I would submit that, given how both teams are playing, the Canucks are gonna need Luongo to stand on his head to beat the Blues in this 7-game series.

Pierre Turgeon should come back and play for the Blues

Wtf. McDonald has been back for like 2 months and has averaged about a point per game

That's why this year they are playing with house money, basically. Nobody expected the franchise to turn around this quickly. It will just help with player development for the next years. I am worried it'll make them tight for the first couple games, but as long as they win 1 or 2 I'll be happy. But the way this team has played, I am not counting them out for winning the series, and it would be awesome if we won.

Also, it's funny the Canucks (or their fan base) is releasing this propaganda to convince their fans that a win is guaranteed.

Haha, yeah, that would be like Blues fan acting like Roberto Luongo and his whopping 5 playoffs wins in 10 NHL seasons is somehow relevant.

what?!? mcdonald has been back for at least a month or so and has been scoring points consistently since he has returned. Other than EJ and kariya, the key injuries have all returned. They are saying that kariya may be ready to play when the series comes back to st louis. EJ will be a great defenseman eventually but come on, he's a sophomore in the NHL and they have done a great job of finding other young guys in the system to fill that spot while he is out, and the veteran Dmen like mckee and jackman have stepped up in a huge way -- playing some of the best D of their careers. I'm thinking this series is going to go into at least 6 games considering how close all of the regular season meetings were (tied 2-2, 1 goal differential, both hot/solid goalies, potent offense with decent defense). I feel like each team is going to win most of their home games at the least. The blues arena is going to be a madhouse since its the first playoff action since we had a good team (pre-lockout)

My predictions.

West:

San Jose over Anaheim in 6
Detroit over Columbus in 6
St. Louis over Vancouver in 7
Chicago over Calgary in 6

East:

Boston over Montreal in 6
Washington over New York in 5
New Jersey over Carolina in 6
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in 7

Heh, I guess McDonald slipped under my radar. I reckon Blues fans are probably the only ones who noticed his return, as that particular mistake hasn't drawn any attention elsewhere.

If you look at the Blues schedule to finish, with a few exceptions, they beat some pretty weak and struggling teams. That 9-1-1 record coming in wasn't against top quality competition.

Their wins were against:

Flames (struggling at 4-6-0 coming into the playoffs),
Kings,
Canucks,
Blue Jackets X 3 (coming in 3-3-4),
Red Wings (coming in 3-6-1),
Coyotes, and
Avalanche.

So sure they have the CBJ's number, but the only stiff competition they beat coming in was us once. Now I'm not saying that we didn't have an easy schedule nearing the end as well, I'm just saying that the Blues' "hotness" might be a little exaggerated by their 9-1-1 stat.