2008 Stanley Cup playoffs - first round

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Colorado's has MORE than enough talent that coaching them to barely making the playoffs is not a coach of the year accomplishment.

 

Boudreau is hurt by Ovechkin taking the Hart. Same argument is going on in the NBA right with Chris Paul/Byron Scott: how do you give the same team MVP and coach of the year? It's a contradiction in some way. I think Carbonneau should and will win it.

 

I don't know for sure if this happened but I'd assume Phil Jackson has won COTY when Michael Jordan won the MVP?

Oh no it's happened before, in both leagues. The debate going on in NBA circles though is whether it's contradictory when both awards are generally regarded as going to the one person most important to their teams success.

[Nightwing 0]

Well, the big feather in Boudreau's cap is that they were 6-14-1 w/Ovechkin but w/o him. I mean, to me it seems that he was the real catalyst for the change in fortunes there, and Ovechkin was the real beneficiary.

[Red Baron 0]

Anyone else here that George Gillet wants an outdoor game in Montreal before the All-Star weekend?

 

I'd say do it. 100 Years of Hockey Tradition in the greatest hockey city.

[Red Baron 0]

If Tampa wins the number 1 seed for the draft, and draft Steven Stamkos I'm going to laugh. Tampa doesn't need a forward (well they do) but passing up Drew Doughty and Alex Pieterlangelo makes me wonder what the management at TB are doing.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

I'm going to be pissed if they only show the first two/NBC games of the Wings series here. I have Center Ice but so far I haven't been able to find out if they'll be showing it. I can not understand why every series doesn't get complete TV coverage, especially here.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Anyone else here that George Gillet wants an outdoor game in Montreal before the All-Star weekend?

 

I'd say do it. 100 Years of Hockey Tradition in the greatest hockey city.

 

Yeah, they mentioned that on.......one of the 50 or so preview shows I've watched since yesterday. I'm torn on that one - they were in the Heritage Classic, and New York is an Original Six and a bonafide hockey town; it's not like a game in the Georgia Dome or anything.

[Guest]

If we wind up with the third pick, I'm getting drunk.

[CanadianChris 0]

Nope, second. Tampa Bay won the lottery. I wouldn't be surprised to see them swap picks with the Kings, though.

[Red Baron 0]

Ya, the Kings need Steven Stamkos. Tampa doesn't.

 

 

[Red Baron 0]

TSN is really wants a San Jose/Pittsburgh final.

 

Frankly, I don't see San Jose going past round two.

[treble 0]

The Leafs have the 7th pick. I'd hope they could package one of the no-trade clause guys with it and trade up, but I'm not hopeful.

 

At least I know they won't trade it for a goalie!

[Red Baron 0]

The Leafs have the 7th pick. I'd hope they could package one of the no-trade clause guys with it and trade up, but I'm not hopeful.

 

At least I know they won't trade it for a goalie!

 

No, he would wind up in the minors for three years while Pavel Kubina eats up more ice time.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

TSN is really wants a San Jose/Pittsburgh final.

 

Frankly, I don't see San Jose going past round two.

 

I don't see them beating Calgary.

[CanadianChris 0]

That's a little optimistic, I think. Calgary doesn't have the firepower to beat San Jose on offence, and Kiprusoff hasn't been good enough this season to beat them in a goaltending battle.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

There's a bit of a Boston-Montreal vibe to it, though. There is, or should be, a tonne of pressure on San Jose, playoff underachivers since 1998. Still, there's no doubt I'm playing the odds by picking the Flames.

[Red Baron 0]

That's a little optimistic, I think. Calgary doesn't have the firepower to beat San Jose on offence, and Kiprusoff hasn't been good enough this season to beat them in a goaltending battle.

 

Thats if Joe Thorton actually plays. I don't think he's played a playoff game yet in his career.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Only about 0.5 ppg in the playoffs.

[Smartly Pretty 0]

Back to the Vezina really quick, I think it's a little closer than it appears. Henrik Lundqvist has a better save percentage than Nabakov (it's only .02 percentage points, so you could call them even if you'd like). Lundqvist has 4 more shutouts. Lundqvist actually faced more shots on the season, despite playing in 5 less games. Nabakov has the edge in GAA and wins, but you could argue that those have more to do with the team Nabakov plays for and not his goaltending.

 

We're all entitled to a little homerism once in a while right?

[Red Baron 0]

No, I agree that Lunqvist should win the Vezina by all accounts. He was the best goalie this year and the stats prove it.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

Back to the Vezina really quick, I think it's a little closer than it appears. Henrik Lundqvist has a better save percentage than Nabakov (it's only .02 percentage points, so you could call them even if you'd like). Lundqvist has 4 more shutouts. Lundqvist actually faced more shots on the season, despite playing in 5 less games. Nabakov has the edge in GAA and wins, but you could argue that those have more to do with the team Nabakov plays for and not his goaltending.

 

We're all entitled to a little homerism once in a while right?

 

Even though I agree with Lundqvist, can I reserve my homerism for a controversial call in a few weeks?

[Red Baron 0]

This is Mike Keenan's first post season series since 1996 with the Blues.

[Red Baron 0]

So does anyone dig the new ESPN TSN website? It blows. Blows badly.

 

And they should get rid of that grey they are using.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

So does anyone dig the new ESPN TSN website? It blows. Blows badly.

 

And they should get rid of that grey they are using.

 

I'm not sure what I think of it yet. With a new layout it takes a while to figure out where everything is to, so I'll give it a bit of time. I do, however, like the embeded video on the home page. The goddamn player they have never works in firefox, but the one of the homepage does. Figure that out.

[nl5xsk1 0]

That's a little optimistic, I think. Calgary doesn't have the firepower to beat San Jose on offence, and Kiprusoff hasn't been good enough this season to beat them in a goaltending battle.

 

Thats if Joe Thorton actually plays. I don't think he's played a playoff game yet in his career.

 

Only about 0.5 ppg in the playoffs.

He had 11 points in 11 games last year, and 9 points in 11 games the year before. His playoff career points-per-game stats are skewed by his rookie year (zero points in six games, but with 4th line numbers) and the brutal 0-fer he had against the Canadiens when he had broken ribs. The "Thornton sucks in the playoffs" meme is relatively inaccurate IMHO.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

That's a little optimistic, I think. Calgary doesn't have the firepower to beat San Jose on offence, and Kiprusoff hasn't been good enough this season to beat them in a goaltending battle.

 

Thats if Joe Thorton actually plays. I don't think he's played a playoff game yet in his career.

 

Only about 0.5 ppg in the playoffs.

He had 11 points in 11 games last year, and 9 points in 11 games the year before. His playoff career points-per-game stats are skewed by his rookie year (zero points in six games, but with 4th line numbers) and the brutal 0-fer he had against the Canadiens when he had broken ribs. The "Thornton sucks in the playoffs" meme is relatively inaccurate IMHO.

I think the "Thornton sucks in the playoffs" is more about his teams choking than his point totals.

[CanadianChris 0]

So, I was listening to the pre-game tonight, and hearing about how the Penguins still didn't have much playoff experience, and everyone was counting the Senators out, and how this was like the start of the playoff run when they were huge underdogs and still managed to take Buffalo to a seventh game in 1997 and then beat New Jersey the following year, made me think the Sens could still pull off an upset.

 

Then the game started.

[Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0]

So, I was listening to the pre-game tonight, and hearing about how the Penguins still didn't have much playoff experience, and everyone was counting the Senators out, and how this was like the start of the playoff run when they were huge underdogs and still managed to take Buffalo to a seventh game in 1997 and then beat New Jersey the following year, made me think the Sens could still pull off an upset.

 

Then the game started.

 

This is an honest question. For the playoffs, who would you rather have in net, Gerber or Emery?

[CanadianChris 0]

So, I was listening to the pre-game tonight, and hearing about how the Penguins still didn't have much playoff experience, and everyone was counting the Senators out, and how this was like the start of the playoff run when they were huge underdogs and still managed to take Buffalo to a seventh game in 1997 and then beat New Jersey the following year, made me think the Sens could still pull off an upset.

 

Then the game started.

 

This is an honest question. For the playoffs, who would you rather have in net, Gerber or Emery?

My honest answer: I don't think it matters at all.

[CanadianChris 0]

Now Volchenkov is out after taking a puck IN THE FACE. That looked awful, blood everywhere.

 

Pittsburgh is pretty much facing the Binghampton Senators at this point.

[treble 0]

So, I was listening to the pre-game tonight, and hearing about how the Penguins still didn't have much playoff experience, and everyone was counting the Senators out, and how this was like the start of the playoff run when they were huge underdogs and still managed to take Buffalo to a seventh game in 1997 and then beat New Jersey the following year, made me think the Sens could still pull off an upset.

 

Then the game started.

 

This is an honest question. For the playoffs, who would you rather have in net, Gerber or Emery?

Ron Tugnutt.