NHL Playoffs (Yes Americans, it's time to watch hockey again)

[ScottyGrayskull]

[quote author=ScottyGrayskull link=topic=57.msg1328#msg1328 date=1207536344]
I'm embarrassed to say it, but one hockey game I really liked was NHL Stanley Cup for the SNES. Just because I could regularly get 60+ minutes of penalties and still win. ^_^

if you do a wrist shot from center ice , it will go over the goalies head every time
[/quote]

Yep, and you could turn a breakaway by the opposing team into an offside by bodychecking one of their guys across the line.

[Vandamguy]

lul no accounting for penalties

[Black Aspen]

But with the new owner lets hope im wrong.

New managment is a big thing.  And much like the Leafs, the Hawks NEEDED new managment.  Toronto is pretty much in one of the worst managment situations in the league right now, and I'd DREAM to be in the Hawks' situation right now.

BLADES OF STEEL

<3 Blades of Steel.

One of the best 8-bit soundtracks around.  Case-in-point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zfn_ape5Qw (Song at 1:19 is one of my favs in VG history)

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I'm going to make a post about the playoff matchups soon, with some predictions and breakdowns.  Now that the pairings are finalized, it's time for me to start spouting.  Be warned.

[Black Aspen]

East:

( 1 ) MONTREAL CANADIENS
( 8 ) BOSTON BRUINS
Winner: Montreal
I'm sorry, but this is almost a gimme.  Montreal is 8-0 against Boston this season alone. 
Sure, Montreal is missing their captain in Koivu, but he's not really a go-to guy anyways.
Montreal also has the #1 Powerplay in the league, while Boston's Penalty Kill is 28th.


( 2 ) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
( 7 ) OTTAWA SENATORS
Winner: Pittsburgh
Ottawa has completely crumbled since their amazing start.  While having one of the best season openings
in league history, they've been terrible since January, playing below .500.  It's easy to say that the
goalie controversy is the root of the problem, but it has to go much deeper than that to explain what
this team has become.  Pittsburgh on the otherhand, has triumphed despite losing their captain and
last-year's MVP in Crosby.  Now with him back, and Hossa on his wing after being acquired at the trade
deadline, Pittsburgh has 2 solid lines of attack being headed by Crosby on the top, and Malkin on their
second (Malkin's gotten the most points in the league since the All-Star break).  Fleury's back from a
high-ankle sprain as well, and has been absolutely incredible in the last month.  Watch for Gary Roberts
too, as a strong playoff performer that has been injured for most of the year, and therefore under the
radar.  Ottawa would need one hell of a miracle to win this one, as Alfredsson and Fischer coming back
still wouldn't be enough for this broken team.


( 3 ) WASHINGTON CAPITALS
( 6 ) PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Winner: Washington
Washington     has had a really interesting season, surprising most people by even getting into the playoffs.
After the start they had, and after a coaching change, they've really turned it up though, and a late
season charge has thrown them from being out of the playoffs, and into their division title.  Enough
can't be said about Ovechkin's play, but he's not the only one worth mentioning in Washington.  Huet has
gone 11-2 in net since being dealt by Montreal, and the Capitals have world-class talent sitting in
Semin, Backstrom and Green.  The Flyers have had a decent season too, coming back from a league-worst finish
last year.  However, they lack the momentum that Washington possesses.  Philadelphia is tough though.
Damn tough.  This factor alone is what worries me the most about my prediction for this series.  Watch
for the Flyers to beat the tar out of the Capitals as often as they can.  Though Ovechkin isn't the
only wheel in Washington, he's by far the most important, and if Philadelphia can contain him (in his
first ever playoff series), Washington is in a lot of trouble.  They're a young team that's relying heavily
on it's youth, and that inexperience could hurt them versus a very intimidating team.  Washington DOES have
Brashear to watch over them though...



( 4 ) NEW JERSEY DEVILS
( 5 ) NEW YORK RANGERS
Winner: New York
This one should be really close.  These are 2 defensive stalwarts, so expect some very close, low-scoring
games.  The goaltending in this matchup is pretty much the best you'll find in the East, with NJ's Brodeur
facing NYR's Lundqvist.  A lot of experts are saying that it'll come down to this goaltending to decide
the series, but I'd have to disagree.  They're both so good that I think they'll actually just cancel
each other out.  That's why this series is going to come down to offense, and that's where the Rangers have
the advantage.  NJ is too inconsistent on goalscoring to really pose a threat to the Rangers in the long
run.  Oh, and there's also that fact that the Rangers won the season series 7-0-1.




West:

( 1 ) DETROIT RED WINGS
( 8 ) NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Winner: Detroit
To be honest, this series doesn't interest me, and I'm not going to watch it.  I figure Detroit will win
this one however, because they're a really, really solid team.  Injuries will be their biggest weakness,
but if they can fire on all cylinders, they're one of the most skillful teams of the last few seasons.
If Nashville can play physical however, this one could go long, and even end in an upset, though it's
unlikely.  Even if Detroit does make it through the first round though, they're not favourites of mine in
the later rounds.


( 2 ) SAN JOSE SHARKS
( 7 ) CALGARY FLAMES
Winner: San Jose
This is going to be a really good series to watch.  San Jose, as a team, has played the best in the league
since grabbing Campbell at the trade deadline.  He seems to be exactly what they needed in a mobile D-man
with some offensive potential.  Not to mention he played with Joe Thornton in the minors for years, so
they should have some good chemistry.  What makes this series interesting is not that the Sharks are so
good, but that the Flames are misleadingly seeded.  They're in at 7th, but this Calgary team has potential
in the bucket-loads.  They're a team that's built for the playoffs, and should be a real challenge for
anyone they face.  They're physical, and have a team full of hard-working veterans and some elite talent
in Iginla, Regehr and Phaneuf.  This one should come down to goaltending, with 2 of the game's best in
SJ's Nabokov and CGY's Kiprusoff.  If one of these goalies manage to stand on their head, and the other
falters, it'll change the entire series.  I have to give this one to San Jose though, because it's about
damn time they went somewhere in the playoffs.  Watch for an upset in this one however.


( 3 ) MINNESOTA WILD
( 6 ) COLORADO AVALANCHE
Winner: Colorado
To me, this is the easiest upset to predict.  Minnesota isn't a bad team by and standard, but Colorado is
an entirely different team than what their seeding ranks them as.  Despite the crippling injuries they've
faced this season, they managed to squeeze into the playoffs, carrying lots of momentum on the way in.
This team has yet to really be seen as a healthy roster, and while their main players were down, Colorado's
roleplayers stepped up big time, keeping them in the race.  This is going to be huge in the playoffs where
depth becomes all the more important, where the Avalance can feel safe no matter who's on the ice, or for
when they're worn down by playoff's end.  They also have key playoff ingredients in Sakic, Forsberg and
newcomer Smyth.  Watchout for this team in later rounds, as long as they aren't hammered by more injuries,
and most importantly if their shaky goaltending can solidify itself.


( 4 ) ANAHEIM DUCKS
( 5 ) DALLAS STARS
Winner: Anaheim
Real short and simple here.  Anaheim is pretty much the same team as last year, only with a few
improvements.  Since they won the cup last year, that spells good things for them this year too.
Anaheim is the full-package, with an even better defensive core than last time.  As long as they can score
a few goals (they ARE missing Perry for a while still) to stay in it, they can go all the way again.
Playing Dallas in the first round (Dallas has been a troubled team of late, not getting the jumpstart they
were hoping to get after the trade deadline, and with Turco's lack of pizazz in the playoffs) should probably
be an easy quest for the Ducks to tackle.

[Kor]

Looks solid Aspen, I have to say though that everything here is essentially what Scotty Bowman said the other night on HNIC. Either you've have the same hockey sense(and you should go drop everything and become an analyst) or you've somehow robbed him of his own mind.

[Tragic Hero]

LOL@Mentok The Mind Reader

I really don't know who I would want to win the Stanley Cup this year.  What I do know though is I want the Redwings to blow it badly...

[Black Aspen]

What I do know though is I want the Redwings to blow it badly...

You and me both.

[Kor]

Currently, LOL@The Sens.