NHL 2006 Playoffs thread...

[Annabelle 0]

get a life. he did not lose two playoff games by himself. if you understood hockey, which you obviously do not, you'd understand that the rangers were outclassed from top to bottom. horrible goaltending. undisciplined play. atrocious penalty kill. inability to remain healthy. this happened steadily throughout four games. ozalinch is an easy scapgoat for lazy hockey fans who do not, and will never understand what it takes to win a championship. ozo the bozo. i didn't know 8 year old girls knew how to use the internet. you're horrible.

[Guest]

Ozolinsh has personal issues that go far beyond the game of hockey. Seriously, don't blame him for anything, if the Rangers had any heart whatsoever they would have won a game. Henrik sucked too.

[the max 0]

The hell with winning a game. If they had heart, they'd have not gotten punched in the neck in every game. Maybe they don't score only four goals in the series. Blame it on Ozolinsh all you want, the guy is a marginal defensive player at best. For a fan to expect Ozolinsh to be a stalwart defensive player in his own zone is someone who doesn't pay attention. Ozolinsh is a winger who happens to lineup at the blueline. He was brought in to be a warm body on the blueline who happens to have a good offensive knack, to alleviate some pressure from Jagr and help on the powerplay. Not to play stellar defense.

[Guest]

Blame Sather for having let Brian Burke fleece him twice. He got ripped for Sykora, then he got ripped for Ozolinsh. The Rangers didn't need an offensive defensman to begin with.

 

Oh, and since it's second round time after the Calgary game, I'll get two sets of picks in now.

 

(If Calgary wins)

Calgary vs Edmonton-Calgary in 6. This one could go either way.

San Jose vs Colorado-Sharks in 6. They're a well oiled machine.

 

(If Anaheim wins)

San Jose vs Edmonton-San Jose in 7

Anaheim vs Colorado-Colorado in 5

 

Ottawa vs Buffalo-Ottawa in 7, very long series on the horizon.

Carolina vs New Jersey-Devils in 6, but I honestly don't know.

 

My picks for the last round were like this.

 

EAST

(1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay-Ottawa in 4. Tampa's goaltending sucks.

 

(2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal- Carolina in 6. Gerber's solid, Huet and Aebischer won't be.

 

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) N.Y. Rangers-Jersey in 6, Brodeur will carry this team to the Finals on his back.

 

(4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia-Philadelphia in 6. Buffalo is seriously inexperienced.

 

WEST

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton-Detroit in 4. Edmonton's getting rolled over, and Roloson's not good enough to steal a game.

 

(2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado-Colorado in 6. Underrated Colorado team, and Theodore's been playing in form since his return. Colorado could go to the conference finals if they didn't have to play Detroit.

 

(3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim-Calgary in 5. They will beat Anaheim up.

 

(4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose-San Jose in 6. Pond hockey, little defense.

I left them with the comments so that everyone could make fun of me if they wanted.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Well it's abouit 1 hr and 30 mins till the puck drops.

 

I really pray to god we win tonight.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Since I've got the time, and more finger pointing is just what this thread needs, I'll keep tabs on all the predictions after tonight's game is complete.

[Guest]

Also, Carolina can still beat Montreal in 4 straight games. They just need halfway decent goaltending during regulation. Their speed would be killing Montreal if they could make a save early in the game.

.

 

Also, little news thing.

 

From Flyersphans.com

 

"Apparently, Forsberg has told Bobby Clarke and Ed Snider that he will not play for Hitchock, moving forward. He has told them that if they keep Hitch, they either have to trade Forsberg or he will retire and go back to Sweden. It sounds like he has his own coaching candidates in mind, but this has caused quite a situation as Clarke and Snider are at their wit's end as to what to do.

 

And this is not just the frustration of these playoffs. Apparently Forsberg has met privately with Clarke and Snider several times over the course of the season. He has complained that Hitchock is too set in his ways and has not adapted well to the new NHL. In addition, Forsberg has been beside himself as to how Hitchcock treats younger players on the team. He feels (and apparently that there are others on the team) that the rookies development will only be hampered with Hitchcock behind the bench."

My question is, is do you trust this, and if so, what do you think will happen?

 

I'm still not over the Kings passing up Forsberg to get Roenick, and never will be.

[mike546 0]

How in the hell did Sather get fleeced for Sykora? He traded him for Drats who hasn't played again this season and might be headed back to Russia.

[Guest]

I take it that you haven't seen Drats' stats in the A or any film of him in Portland, and that he'll probably be on the Ducks blueline next year.

 

Actually, he will be in the Ducks lineup on opening night.

[mike546 0]

I heard that he was homesick right after the trade and wanted to go back to Russia.

[Guest]

At this current time, that's not the case. Maybe it's because he's playing with the team who's affiliate is going to win the Calder Cup and has a great future, I don't know.

 

Plus, Sykora was a rental. They traded a really good offensive defenseman for a rental. Unless that rental can help you get deep, it's a bad trade. Roloson and Samsonov were good trades for rentals, as they helped get their team deep. Parrish and Sopel were not good rentals. It happens, but remember, the Rangers have a history of trading prospects that pan out in a big way. If they sign Sykora, it's a good thing, as they need to justify the trade.

[Annabelle 0]

I take it that you haven't seen Drats' stats in the A or any film of him in Portland, and that he'll probably be on the Ducks blueline next year.

 

Actually, he will be in the Ducks lineup on opening night.

 

Sykora wasn't a bad addition to the rangers at all. both he & ozolinch were great acquisitons & did superb in the regular season. sayign these were bad trades because of the playoffs would be like saying drafting lundqvisk in the 6th round was a mistake. or the deal for jagr was a mistake. the team was decimated. but dont be silly enough to denounce these trades because the entire team turned in an awful performance. hopefully both will be back next year. i don't think they were the problem with the team. ozolinch was depended upon too much to do things we doesn't excel at. using him effectively, like as a jason wooley pp specialist, would be smarter than using him for penalty kills. sykora was stunted, like the rest of the rangers & soon to be hurricanes, by a remarkable team.

 

and about hitchcock. he should be fired. to even think of placing a team's chances on robert esche's shoulders is silly. he failed to motivated his team. they looked horrible from january on. he was unable to adapt & make the changes necessary to do anything. it was embarrassing to watch them against the sabres last night. a far worse performance than anything the rangers shitted out. heck, then any rangers game combined.

[Guest]

Sykora wasn't a bad addition to the rangers at all. both he & ozolinch were great acquisitons & did superb in the regular season.

If they re-sign Sykora, it's a good deal. Ozolinsh's will be a good deal whether they sign him or not, as this is a weak draft.

 

sayign these were bad trades because of the playoffs would be like saying drafting lundqvisk in the 6th round was a mistake.

No, great scouting, which every team should take note of.

or the deal for jagr was a mistake.

Of course not, they gave nothing.

 

the team was decimated. but dont be silly enough to denounce these trades because the entire team turned in an awful performance. hopefully both will be back next year. i don't think they were the problem with the team. ozolinch was depended upon too much to do things we doesn't excel at. using him effectively, like as a jason wooley pp specialist, would be smarter than using him for penalty kills.

Yes, true. Tom Poti also falls into the category of being depended on too much. The Rangers must get a shutdown defenseman, like a Kubina or Mitchell in the offseason. Their defensive corps was their downfall, coupled with the awesomeness of Brodeur.

[CanadianChris 0]

I know the only one I've missed so far is Edmonton over Detroit. Hopefully Calgary can make it a nice 7 for 8.

 

If Hitchcock gets fired, I really believe Pat Quinn's coming to coach the team.

[mike546 0]

Drats was a "good offensive defenseman"?

 

Thats why he had 3 points with us and was like the only negative player on the team? Drats was expendible because we have Tyutin, Baranka, STAAL, and Pock all down in the minors ready to play. No doubt in my mind both Staal and Pock are on the Rangers blueline to start the season.

 

and before Ozo came to the Rangers, their "terrible" D had allowed the 3rd least amount of goals in the NHL. Sure Henrik had a lot to do with it but they were very very good until Ozo came over. If he were putting up points every game in the playoffs fine, but he did cost us game 3 and four. He pinched for some stupid reason in game 3 to allow them to score first, then scored an own goal. with MSG going INSANE at the start of game 3, he for no reason at all tries to pinch in which leads to a goal a minute into the game which kills the crowd. I'm sorry he sucks he sucks he sucks and he better not be on this team next year.

[Guest]

Like I said, have you seen Drats stats in the playoffs?

 

I'll show you, and even because players are expendable, does not make it ok. If teams traded players because they were expendable, Datsyuk and Zetterberg wouldn't be Red Wings.

 

He has 8 points in 4 games. 4 goals, 4 assists. He's 10th in scoring in the AHL playoffs. I don't see how that's not good. Besides that, he was brought up to the NHL far too early.

 

and before Ozo came to the Rangers, their "terrible" D had allowed the 3rd least amount of goals in the NHL. Sure Henrik had a lot to do with it but they were very very good until Ozo came over. If he were putting up points every game in the playoffs fine, but he did cost us game 3 and four. He pinched for some stupid reason in game 3 to allow them to score first, then scored an own goal. with MSG going INSANE at the start of game 3, he for no reason at all tries to pinch in which leads to a goal a minute into the game which kills the crowd. I'm sorry he sucks he sucks he sucks and he better not be on this team next year.

HE DOES NOT SUCK. He has personal issues and was forced to come back far too soon by Burke, because Burke obviously wanted to get something out of him. It's unfair to him, not to you. Ozolinsh has never been anything more than decent in his defensive zone. The Rangers knew this. They traded for him. That's their fault, and he's not coming back to the league. He has other things that he needs to deal with, just like Theo Fleury apparently still does.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

I know the only one I've missed so far is Edmonton over Detroit. Hopefully Calgary can make it a nice 7 for 8.

 

If Hitchcock gets fired, I really believe Pat Quinn's coming to coach the team.

 

I'd have called you a bevy of names until Clarke stood up for Quinn last week. On paper, that's a pretty fuckin tough choice, isn't it? Forsberg or Hitchcock?

 

Bryzagalov is starting in a bit of a surpise. But I'm looking for Iginla to have, without exagerating, somewhere around ten shots.

 

Fun fact just displayed on screen. The last time the Flames won a game 7 at home was 1989.

[mike546 0]

Like I said, have you seen Drats stats in the playoffs?

 

I'll show you, and even because players are expendable, does not make it ok. If teams traded players because they were expendable, Datsyuk and Zetterberg wouldn't be Red Wings.

 

He has 8 points in 4 games. 4 goals, 4 assists. He's 10th in scoring in the AHL playoffs. I don't see how that's not good. Besides that, he was brought up to the NHL far too early.

 

and before Ozo came to the Rangers, their "terrible" D had allowed the 3rd least amount of goals in the NHL. Sure Henrik had a lot to do with it but they were very very good until Ozo came over. If he were putting up points every game in the playoffs fine, but he did cost us game 3 and four. He pinched for some stupid reason in game 3 to allow them to score first, then scored an own goal. with MSG going INSANE at the start of game 3, he for no reason at all tries to pinch in which leads to a goal a minute into the game which kills the crowd. I'm sorry he sucks he sucks he sucks and he better not be on this team next year.

HE DOES NOT SUCK. He has personal issues and was forced to come back far too soon by Burke, because Burke obviously wanted to get something out of him. It's unfair to him, not to you. Ozolinsh has never been anything more than decent in his defensive zone. The Rangers knew this. They traded for him. That's their fault, and he's not coming back to the league. He has other things that he needs to deal with, just like Theo Fleury apparently still does.

 

 

But he wasn't "decent" in his own zone, he was fucking terrible. He singlehandidly made this team worse when he joined the Rangers. Watch the D before and after he joined and theres just a HUGE difference. If he had given us two points every night, I can look past the D, but near the end of the season he was so shitty the offensive zone its ridiculous.

[CanadianChris 0]

Bryzagalov is starting in a bit of a surpise.

 

I was a bit surprised, until I saw the GAA around 1.00 and the save% over .950 displayed on the screen.

[Urban Warfare 0]

The 'Dome sounds pretty quiet considering the situation... could just be me but it seems pretty quiet in comparison to previous games.

 

Edit: Ducks up 1-0 on a nice shot from Selanne.

[CanadianChris 0]

The natives are getting restless. That'll happen when you go nearly an entire quarter of the game without getting a shot on goal.

[Urban Warfare 0]

Rocket from Salei, 2-0 Ducks. Not looking good for the Flames.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

And that's that.

 

Flames out, Ducks move on.

[Urban Warfare 0]

And there is the reason I hate the Flames. About three quarters of the building left after the empty net goal without even acknowledging the season the Flames had. At least the Canadiens fans stuck around after their team choked.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

EAST

(1) Ottawa vs. (8) Tampa Bay - Ottawa in 4

(2) Carolina vs. (7) Montreal - Carolina in 5

(3) New Jersey vs. (6) N.Y. Rangers - New York in 7

(4) Buffalo vs. (5) Philadelphia - Buffalo in 6

 

WEST

(1) Detroit vs. (8) Edmonton - Detroit in 4

(2) Dallas vs. (7) Colorado - Colorado in 5

(3) Calgary vs. (6) Anaheim - Anaheim in 7

(4) Nashville vs. (5) San Jose - Nashville in 7

 

Ottawa won in five. No suprise in that series,

Carolina won in six. I was expecting Gerber to make it through the series.

New Jersey won in four. It had been so long since the Rangers had been in the post season. I expected them to make an impact. Too bad Jagr got hurt.

Buffalo won in 6.

 

Edmonton won in six. Who saw that coming?

Colorado won in five. Turco, good regular season goalie, bad playoff goalie.

Anaheim won in seven. Well, I'm suprised. Seriously, Calgary is/was a good team and they went to Finals last season. Wow.

San Jose won in five. Well, I thought Nashville would overcome the loss of Vokoun. Oh well.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Ok, since my playoff pool fizzled, with no less than HALF the participants leaving the area, I decided to tally our picks up. Going on the basis of 1 point for correctly picking the team and a bonus half-point for picking the required # of games:

 

T1) BPS21 - 7

T1) TakerHart - 7

T3) Nskie -6.5

T3) Red Baron - 6.5

T5) CanadianGuitarist -5.5

T5) CanadianChris -5.5

T5) EHME- 5.5

T5) Kingofthe909- 5.5

T9) Treble - 5

T9) max- 5 (a compromised 1.5 point, having mixed up two matchups in the east)

11) Mike546 - 4

12) HockeyFan - 2

 

Not one person picked Edmonton. Undertaker Hart had Anaheim in 7, and BPS took 5.5/6 in his east picks.

 

Discuss.

[mike546 0]

And there is the reason I hate the Flames. About three quarters of the building left after the empty net goal without even acknowledging the season the Flames had. At least the Canadiens fans stuck around after their team choked.

 

Yea, even after being humiliated in four straight games the NY crowd gave the Rangers a long standing ovation, and the whole team did their center ice salute to the crowd after the game.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

Can't believe I'm tied for second.

I will do the second round tomorrow.

 

By the way, it is:

 

Western Conference Semi-Finals:

(5) San Jose vs. (8) Edmonton

(6) Anaheim vs. (7) Colorado

 

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals:

(1) Ottawa vs. (4) Buffalo

(2) Carolina vs. (3) New Jersey

[Guest Smues]

Can't believe I'm tied for second.

I will do the second round tomorrow.

 

By the way, it is:

 

Western Conference Semi-Finals:

(5) San Jose vs. (8) Edmonton

(6) Anaheim vs. (7) Colorado

 

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals:

(1) Ottawa vs. (4) Buffalo

(2) Carolina vs. (3) New Jersey

 

That's hilarious to see. 5,6,7,8 in one conference and 1,2,3,4 in another. I can't imagine that's happened before.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Can't believe I'm tied for second.

I will do the second round tomorrow.

 

By the way, it is:

 

Western Conference Semi-Finals:

(5) San Jose vs. (8) Edmonton

(6) Anaheim vs. (7) Colorado

 

Eastern Conference Semi-Finals:

(1) Ottawa vs. (4) Buffalo

(2) Carolina vs. (3) New Jersey

 

I'll get the ball rolling:

 

Edmonton in six.

Colorado in five.

(Curtis Joseph may be waiting by the phone for 1997 to call).

 

Ottawa in five.

New Jersey in 4.