NHL Playoffs thread...

[meazza]

 

Rematch of the 1973 SC Finals (Habs defeat of the 'Hawks)???

 

I laughed when my wife's friend (from Chicago... Ex-goalie and 'Hawks fan) suggested this at the start of the playoffs!

 

I love chicago ever since the early 90s.

 

Edmonton montreal are my two favorite childhood teams though.

 

I can'tbelieve they pulled this off. Darin was right.

[EndZoneCrew]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbtBqnOTKWw

[ExiledInIllinois]

I love chicago ever since the early 90s.

 

Edmonton montreal are my two favorite childhood teams though.

 

I can'tbelieve they pulled this off. Darin was right.

 

Chicago was the bomb in the early 1990's... Weren't they in the finals with PITT one time?

[Lv-Bills]

Bring on the flyers!!!

LOL. Don't root for one team over the other. It doesn't work.

[Lv-Bills]

Chicago was the bomb in the early 1990's... Weren't they in the finals with PITT one time?

Yes, Pittsburgh smoked em. Pittsburgh had a team that I think would have beaten any Olympic team today. LOL. However, they were even better the year after the back to back Cups, and lost to a horrible Islanders team at home in OT, in game 7. Although this current Pens team couldn't hold that team's jock, and Montreal is better than that Isles team, today was eerily familiar.

[meazza]

LOL. Don't root for one team over the other. It doesn't work.

 

Im not rooting. Im just sure that philly wont lose after this monumental comeback

[Heels20X6]

Heart always beats talent.

 

Nice disappearing act by Malkin and Crosby tonight. And Gonchar's performance was shameful.

 

As a Sens fan, I tip my hat to the Habs and our former coach Jacques Martin. If not for Patrick LaLAME, you'd have a couple of rings already.

 

I'm hoping for a Habs-Hawks Final!

[Andrew in CA]

Heart always beats talent.

 

Nice disappearing act by Malkin and Crosby tonight. And Gonchar's performance was shameful.

 

As a Sens fan, I tip my hat to the Habs and our former coach Jacques Martin. If not for Patrick LaLAME, you'd have a couple of rings already.

 

I'm hoping for a Habs-Hawks Final!

Agreed, Habs-Hawks, or Bruins-Hawks, would be sweet! I love seeing Original 6 (minus those !@#$ing Red Wings) play each other.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Will the NHL in its history see a 4th team come back from 3-0 in a 7 game series... Could very well happen with the Cryers against the B's in game 7.

 

??

[ExiledInIllinois]

Heart always beats talent.

 

Nice disappearing act by Malkin and Crosby tonight. And Gonchar's performance was shameful.

 

As a Sens fan, I tip my hat to the Habs and our former coach Jacques Martin. If not for Patrick LaLAME, you'd have a couple of rings already.

 

I'm hoping for a Habs-Hawks Final!

 

 

 

In certain games. IMO, basketball is more physical talent and a talented team can get away with less heart and just dominate... Most of the time...

[ExiledInIllinois]

Agreed, Habs-Hawks, or Bruins-Hawks, would be sweet! I love seeing Original 6 (minus those !@#$ing Red Wings) play each other.

 

What gets me is the whole "Original Six" BS... They weren't "original"... The league (NHL) had many more teams prior to the Great Depression... Actually, I think Seattle Metropolitans is the first US team to win the Stanley Cup.

 

This whole O-6 is just BS... What about the "Original" Ottawa Senators or Silver Seven. IMO, the NHL wants it both ways... They want to honor the 100 years of the Habs then lop off the first 40 or so years of the league. The BlackHawks played since 1926... There were more than 6 teams in the league into the 1940's. The league only saw 20 years or so of contraction to the 6 teams...

[Lv-Bills]

Heart always beats talent.

 

Nice disappearing act by Malkin and Crosby tonight. And Gonchar's performance was shameful.

 

As a Sens fan, I tip my hat to the Habs and our former coach Jacques Martin. If not for Patrick LaLAME, you'd have a couple of rings already.

 

I'm hoping for a Habs-Hawks Final!

Just because Pittsburgh lost one series, a year after they won the cup, and in a year, where they really weren't that good, does not mean that.....

 

A.) Pittsburgh has no heart. They just won the cup after losing to that same team in the Cup finals the year before. I think they have heart.

B.) You could make a pretty good point that the Pens and Wings had the most talent in their conferences the last two years, and they were in the Cup finals both years. Does that mean that no other team had any heart? Pittsburgh was on a Montreal-esque run last year when Bylsma was hired. His record was like 19-3 to finish the year, and the Pens moved from something like 11th in the conference to 4th in just over 20 games.

C.) And Malkin has been pretty bad most of the last 3/4 of this season. He's lazy when he doesn't have the puck. He's a friggin turnover machine. Gonchar and Guerin have hit the wall. They're old and have played a ton of games the last three years. Gonch has also still been the steadiest point man the Pens have. Crosby, yeah, I've never him shut down like that. He was frustrated by the Habs. Pittsburgh's powerplay was also one of the worst in the NHL this regular season. They had a few good moments in the playoffs and padded stats this postseason, but it was still inconsistent and downright awful at times.

D.) The Pens were 0-10 against Washington and NJ this year. Washington had more talent and crushed the Pens all year. NJ had a better system (does that mean they have heart?) and the Pens were clueless trying to figure it out. It's not shocking the Pens are out in round 2. It is somewhat surprising that Montreal is sending them home though. Although, Montreal, dare I say, with the team they have, had to have been underachievers all year. This team is filled with pretty good hockey players. This is NOT a team of no name players. That really surprised me. They are coached very well.

 

It was kind of fun to watch them play. If the Pens wouldn't have brought home the cup last year, I'd be pissed. However, how can I B word after the ride they've given Pittsburghers the last three years. Kudos to Montreal. They played their game very well. It's a good story now.

 

LMAO @ Versus for losing Crosby and Ovechkin to a Canadian team seeded 8th. Ummmm, that's gonna hurt in the ratings department.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Just because Pittsburgh lost one series, a year after they won the cup, and in a year, where they really weren't that good, does not mean that.....

 

A.) Pittsburgh has no heart. They just won the cup after losing to that same team in the Cup finals the year before. I think they have heart.

B.) You could make a pretty good point that the Pens and Wings had the most talent in their conferences the last two years, and they were in the Cup finals both years. Does that mean that no other team had any heart? Pittsburgh was on a Montreal-esque run last year when Bylsma was hired. His record was like 19-3 to finish the year, and the Pens moved from something like 11th in the conference to 4th in just over 20 games.

C.) And Malkin has been pretty bad most of the last 3/4 of this season. He's lazy when he doesn't have the puck. He's a friggin turnover machine. Gonchar and Guerin have hit the wall. They're old and have played a ton of games the last three years. Gonch has also still been the steadiest point man the Pens have. Crosby, yeah, I've never him shut down like that. He was frustrated by the Habs.

D.) The Pens were 0-10 against Washington and NJ this year. Washington had more talent and crushed the Pens all year. NJ had a better system (does that mean they have heart?) and the Pens were clueless trying to figure it out. It's not shocking the Pens are out in round 2. It is somewhat surprising that Montreal is sending them home though. Although, Montreal, dare I say, with the team they have, had to have been underachievers all year. This team is filled with pretty good hockey players. This is NOT a team of no name players. That really surprised me. They are coached very well.

 

It was kind of fun to watch them play. If the Pens wouldn't have brought home the cup last year, I'd be pissed. However, how can I B word after the ride they've given Pittsburghers the last three years. Kudos to Montreal. They played their game very well. It's a good story now.

 

LMAO @ Versus for losing Crosby and Ovechkin to a Canadian team seeded 8th. Ummmm, that's gonna hurt in the ratings department.

 

Maybe. Just that the Habs had more heart and PITT less. It is a fine line in this league.

[Lv-Bills]

Maybe. Just that the Habs had more heart and PITT less. It is a fine line in this league.

I could be wrong about this, but I know I'm close. Didn't Montreal back into the playoffs because the Rangers lost on the final day of the season? Where was their heart when they were backing in to the playoffs? Did they just develop it? Washington and Pittsburgh both peppered Halak with shots, sometimes frantically. Without heart, how did Pittsburgh and Washington muster up the strength to throw everything at Halak (crazily outshooting Montreal most of both series), only to be beaten back by a smokin goaltender?

 

Hypothetically speaking, if Halak wasn't so hot, and Fluery wasn't so awful in most games, would Pittsburgh all of a sudden have heart again? It's not out of the question to think if Fluery was anything even approaching average (his save pct was in the 80's and he didn't face a lot of shots), the Pens would have won one more game in this series. Would that mean that the Pens then, had all the heart?

 

Cmon. Jeez. Montreal's system and goalie totally confused Pitt and Washington.

[meazza]

Wow with the celebrations here, you'd think they just won it all lol

[Lv-Bills]

Wow with the celebrations here, you'd think they just won it all lol

When you are 8th, and you take out Pitt and Wash, is there really anything any better than that? I can't imagine. What a ride.

[meazza]

I could be wrong about this, but I know I'm close. Didn't Montreal back into the playoffs because the Rangers lost on the final day of the season? Where was their heart when they were backing in to the playoffs? Did they just develop it? Washington and Pittsburgh both peppered Halak with shots, sometimes frantically. Without heart, how did Pittsburgh and Washington muster up the strength to throw everything at Halak (crazily outshooting Montreal most of both series), only to be beaten back by a smokin goaltender?

 

Hypothetically speaking, if Halak wasn't so hot, and Fluery wasn't so awful in most games, would Pittsburgh all of a sudden have heart again? It's not out of the question to think if Fluery was anything even approaching average (his save pct was in the 80's and he didn't face a lot of shots), the Pens would have won one more game in this series. Would that mean that the Pens then, had all the heart?

 

Cmon. Jeez. Montreal's system and goalie totally confused Pitt and Washington.

 

Nothing to do with heart. Hot goaltender and good defensive system.

 

Remember that Jacques Martin lost in the semi-finals two years in a row to the Leafs. It was well agreed that the goaltending was the main issue (lalime was terrible). Let's see how he could go with a team who's doing well and a hot goalie.

 

By the way, Cammallari is sick. Sick I tell you.

[Lv-Bills]

Nothing to do with heart. Hot goaltender and good defensive system.

 

Remember that Jacques Martin lost in the semi-finals two years in a row to the Leafs. It was well agreed that the goaltending was the main issue (lalime was terrible). Let's see how he could go with a team who's doing well and a hot goalie.

 

By the way, Cammallari is sick. Sick I tell you.

Very sick. So sick, he's flu like. I'd trade Malkin and his salary somewhere anyday of the week, to get two Cammelleri type players.

[meazza]

Very sick. So sick, he's flu like. I'd trade Malkin and his salary somewhere anyday of the week, to get two Cammelleri type players.

 

What shocks me is how Subban is playing. The guy has 3 NHL games on his belt, and get's thrown in a game #6 vs the Presidents trophy winners and looks like he's been doing it for years.

 

He's now logging the most ice time. Insane.

[Buftex]

Congrats Lori and meazza...I am glad someone is getting some joy out this playoff season. I have to pull for the Canadians over the Flyers...assuming they knock out the Bruins...just hate all Philly teams. Only thing I like about the Flyers is Briere.

San Jose/Montreal would be a great final...