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CanadianChris

2008 Stanley Cup playoffs - conference finals

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Eastern Conference

 

(2) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. (6) Philadelphia Flyers - Flyers won season series 5-3

 

Friday, May 9 -- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

Sunday, May 11 -- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

Tuesday, May 13 -- Pittsburgh at Philadelphia

Thursday, May 15 -- Pittsburgh at Philadelphia

*-Sunday, May 18 -- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

*-Tuesday, May 20 -- Pittsburgh at Philadelphia

*-Thursday, May 22 -- Philadelphia at Pittsburgh

 

 

Western Conference

 

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (5) Dallas Stars - Red Wings won season series 3-1

 

Thursday, May 8 -- Dallas at Detroit

Saturday, May 10 -- Dallas at Detroit

Monday, May 12 -- Detroit at Dallas

Wednesday, May 14 -- Detroit at Dallas

*-Saturday, May 17 -- Dallas at Detroit

*-Monday, May 19 -- Detroit at Dallas

*-Wednesday, May 21 -- Dallas at Detroit

 

* - if necessary

 

I'll go with the easy pick and say Detroit (in 5) vs. Pittsburgh (in 7).

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Detroit & Pittsburgh, both in 6 games.

 

Detroit is just better than Dallas, and I can't see them losing more than 2 games this series. And Philly's run has been impressive, but I'm not sure if Biron can keep playing at this level, and if it's a high-scoring series, I can't see Pittsburgh losing it, "7 20 goal scorers" or not.

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detroit in 6

philly in 7

 

pittsburg only showed signs of dominance against the rangers for a conbined 4 periods over a 5 game series, although they didn capitalize when they needed. i could see an upset. maybe. philly knows how to wait out a storm and pick a part a team.

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I can't believe the series doesn't start until Friday. They need a week off why exactly? I could understand if the Stars didn't finish off their series last night and they didn't want to start one conference without the other, but come on let's get this show on the road.

 

And I haven't the slightest which Flyers team (and which Biron) is going to show up. The one thing that I really like going into this series is that Umberger kills Pittsburgh and he clearly has a ton of momentum coming off the Montreal series.

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I can't believe the series doesn't start until Friday. They need a week off why exactly? I could understand if the Stars didn't finish off their series last night and they didn't want to start one conference without the other, but come on let's get this show on the road.

Quick answer: Because all the series but one finished in five games. The playoff rounds start on fairly fixed dates, because arenas need to know well in advance for which dates they might be needed. So, when ALL the series are short, you're going to have a few days between rounds.

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And while I hate the long wait between series, I prefer that method to what the NBA does. There will be some basketball match-ups in which the teams have played two games before other series' have even begun.

 

I'll take a few days wait over that debacle any day.

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More indepth review.

 

Dallas vs Detroit.

 

The Skinny: Lets face it, the winner of this series is going to win the cup. There are no two ways about it. Detroit came off a very, albiet sometimes shaky series against Colorado. This long rest between series might kill some momentum from Detroit, but I don't think so. This is the first test that Detroit has to deal with that has excellent goaltending and playoff calibur defence. Johan Franzen is going to continue his playoff tear and carry much of the offence shoulders. Dallas has been facing tough opponents so far in these playoff series. Knocking off Anaheim in five and San Jose in six sums up pretty much they are the real deal. Turco doesn't have to be stellar because of the defence infront of him, but needs to make two or three key saves.

 

How does Dallas win the series: Their defence. Their defence is their offense. Zubov, Robidas and co. can make a difference in the series. They pass the puck well and forcheck efficiently. Steve Ott is going to be a pest for Franzen and Brendan Morrow is playing some of his best hockey right now. Player to watch for is Jere Leithenen.

 

How does Detroit win the series: Not letting Osgood doing all the work. Detroit has the firepower to take a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, but they seem to play ultra conservative and reel the opposition back in. Put some pressure on the Dallas players instead of having Osgood taking care of business. Player to watch: Pavel Datsyuk.

 

Final thought: Dallas defence is the main difference, and is going to be the deciding factor for one of these games. Dallas in seven.

 

 

I'll do Phili/Pittsburgh tomorrow.

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The Skinny: Lets face it, the winner of this series is going to win the cup.

Only if it's Detroit. (or if Philly wins the East)

 

I don't see Dallas beating Pittsburgh if that's the match-up in the Cup. I've been wrong about Dallas each time, though, so should probably learn my lesson one of these times. But I don't see that happening, I'm far too old to learn a lesson.

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Guest College Party

Ah, the Dallas Stars versus the Detroit Red Wings. I'm pretty hyped for this matchup. I'm also hyped for this new Radiohead album, Amnesiac.

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First, the West.

Detroit vs. Dallas

 

Detroit's Road to the Cup: The Red Wings had a stumbling block in an underrated Nashville team which, like all Central Division franchises, performed far better against the Wings than they did against other franchises. They took two games and had the fantastic play of Dan Ellis in goal to anchor them until the Red Wings went to Chris Osgood. After that, they rolled over the Colorado Avalanche, who showed some signs of life, but not enough to stop a dominating Detroit team.

 

Dallas' Road to the Cup: In the first round, Dallas faced off against the intimidating defending Stanley Cup Champions, but managed to turn around their games while the Champs played carelessly and uninspired hockey. After Dallas cleared them in 5, they moved onto the Sharks, who didn't seem to full get around the problems with offense and defense that they had in the Calgary series until down 3-0, where Dallas just managed to defeat them in an 4OT Game 6.

 

My Take: I think Dallas is not nearly as good as people think. They're contenders, obviously, but benefit from taking on 1) A team that didn't have any heart or drive in Anaheim and 2) A team that has consistently underperformed in the playoffs with San Jose. It is easy to look at the names on the series and say "Wow, they're the real deal!", but they haven't faced a playoff team that was actually performing. They haven't faced a true high-powered offense in the playoffs (Mostly due to San Jose absolutely disappearing for entire games), and I'm not sure that their defense is ready for it.

 

Meanwhile, we have the Wings, who had trouble until they put Osgood in the net and then dominated Nashville and Colorado. The only thing that saved Nashville was Dan Ellis playing out of his mind consistently. The Wings are getting everything they can out of their depth players, and they aren't a team that can just be roughed into submission (As shown by last year, where they beat two bigger teams and had Anaheim on the ropes for the better part of their series) like so many stupid analysts seem to think.

 

Critical Performances:

Marty Turco. He is the key that will decide whether this will be a competitive series or a 5-Game blowout. He's never had success against the Wings (He has yet to even get a win at the Joe, if I remember correctly), and I'm not sure that he's completely thrown off that jinx. Sure, he beat San Jose in one hell of an overtime game, but that's San Jose. This is Detroit, and for some strange reason he just has a ton of trouble against the Wings.

 

Dan Cleary. He hasn't been very visible in this playoff season, but he needs to be. As one of the Wings' critical secondary scorers, he needs to step up in this series and provide another viable threat behind the Swedish Dream Team. When he's on, he's the most energetic player on the ice and creates a lot of opportunities. He needs to show the same fire that he's shown in the regular season here.

 

My Pick: Detroit in 6. Detroit has the advantage in depth, and I'm not convinced Turco is ready to beat the Wings yet. He needs to take one at the Joe before I can possibly pick Dallas. I don't have the same doubts about the Wings in Texas. I picked the Wings to win the Cup this year, and I have little reason to doubt them now.

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Guest

Who knew that we'd have four cities in this round who actually care about hockey? Shocking, I know.

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And out of that four, Detroit is having trouble with their fanbase.

Attendance is down, but I don't think 'trouble' is all that fair. It was like when Tiger was allegdly slumping in 2003. Detroit's got a lot to cheer for right now in the Pistons and the Tigers - still, 18,000 a game is hardly trouble.

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And out of that four, Detroit is having trouble with their fanbase.

Attendance is down, but I don't think 'trouble' is all that fair. It was like when Tiger was allegdly slumping in 2003. Detroit's got a lot to cheer for right now in the Pistons and the Tigers - still, 18,000 a game is hardly trouble.

I'll admit that I didn't watch many Wings games this year, but the few that I watched had a lot of fans dressed up as empty seats.

 

Was that 18k in the building, or 18k tickets sold?

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But you figure, Detroit is "HOCKEYTOWN USA!"

 

You also figure that, being humans, we have to eat, sleep, and find shelter. You generally need money for those things, and jobs are in short supply. The "struggles" with our fanbase comes from the wrecked economy and little assistance from anyone for it. With our State Government threatening to shutdown every 6 months or so, the worst state economy in the US (It's been called a "State Depression" by multiple people), and our largest city being held hostage by a crooked mayor who won't leave office, Red Wings fans can be forgiven if they can't spare their cash at moment.

 

Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of what's going on in Michigan should know this by now.

 

nl5xsk1: I think that's in the building, but I could be wrong. It's the second largest building the NHL (only Montreal is larger), as most buildings are around the 18,500 mark while the Joe is 20,066, making it a helluva lot harder to fill the place up.

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nl5xsk1: I think that's in the building, but I could be wrong. It's the second largest building the NHL (only Montreal is larger), as most buildings are around the 18,500 mark while the Joe is 20,066, making it a helluva lot harder to fill the place up.

Nightwing, I didn't mean to disrepect the Detroit fanbase or anything, I was just wondering where the number came from. Boston routinely announced their attendance at 12,000+ even on nights where there were obviously no more than 7k or 8k in the building. And I was at a game in Washington in December of 06 that had an announced crowd of like 13,000 even though I'd say the actual attendance was approximately 3k.

 

I lived with some Wings fans when I was in college, and remember seeing how full that barn was every night, even against a nothing team on a Tuesday night in January, so seeing so many empty seats at the JLA was surprising.

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No, it's cool. I understand what you're asking for. Having watched the Wings all year, it'd look a lot more empty if were the other way (Unless the vast, vast majority were turning out).

 

Edit: Actually, the start of the season was more empty, but it's picked up throughout the year. I have to admit, it hasn't been something steady. But I've heard that tickets have picked up a little bit.

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Are prices at the JLA expensive?

 

 

 

Also how many Canadians are attending games in Detroit? I'm not looking for any actual statistics, but I know when I go to Buffalo, there are a good chunk of Canadians in the stands.

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Flyers in 7. If we can stop the hottest team in the NHL (which was more of a team other than Ovechkin, everybody was playing great), and the best team in the conference, I have a good feeling playing a division rival. Biron's stepped up to the test against division opponents this season, and I expect him to steal this series again.

 

Stars in 6. Underdogs win out in the 2008 Conference Finals. I hate the Red Wings and I love Mike Modano. I wish it was the Sharks and Flyers so I could see either my team or Jeremy Roenick get a Cup, but I'd like to see Turco lead the Stars if the Flyers can't win it.

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Are prices at the JLA expensive?

 

Regular season, they are relatively close to the league average. Unfortunately, that's relatively expensive in comparison to other sports, and the Joe (As much as I love it) really needs to be replaced. Being between Ford Field and Comerica Park doesn't help that perception. Playoff prices are, from what I read, somewhere in the range of $40-$50 higher than the league average, which also blows hard. With the Pistons coming close to GIVING away their tickets (Seriously, I can pick up a ticket for like, $10 without much problem gameday for them) and baseball tickets relatively cheaper for a better facility, it's not hard to see why money-strapped people will watch the Wings on T.V. and catch a Basketball game. It's just economics.

 

Also how many Canadians are attending games in Detroit? I'm not looking for any actual statistics, but I know when I go to Buffalo, there are a good chunk of Canadians in the stands.

 

Much fewer than Buffalo, but there are a lot of fans in Windsor. Off the top of my head, I'd say maybe 10%? And that's probably on the high end.

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Things are setting up for the Flyers to get destroyed in the finals again by Detroit. That was fun last time.

 

Except last time the Flyers were favorites. Last time I remember them being underdogs in every playoff series in one playoff season was back in 2004, because I think they might have been underdogs against the Devils (given their past experience in the playoffs against them), and I know everyone was picking the Leafs and Lightning to win. As long as they're underdogs, I don't mind.

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Guest College Party

How viable would it be for the Red Wings to build a new place at the site of Tiger Stadium? How bad of a neighborhood is Corktown? Could it be salvaged into a hockey version of Wrigleyville?

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Philadelphia vs Pittsburgh.

 

2000 was the last time these two teams played in the playoffs, and I believe it is the first time these two face in the Conference Finals. I really hope this series goes all out. Scoring, hitting, making saves. Both teams have the talent and calibur to show off all the assets that I mentioned and with the right marketing help from NBC, Hockey can somewhat be meaningful in the USA. You have the good guys in Pittsburgh with Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fleury, Letang and Hossa. The new version of the NHL packaged right here led by a great hockey ambassador in Mario Lemeiux against the bad guys of the Flyers. The Broad Street Bullies are back, but equipped with speed and skill. Daniel Briere leads the new version of the Flyers along with Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger, Kimmo Timmonen, Jason Smith and a rejuvenated Martin Biron. I didn't think these two teams would meet each other in the playoffs, but this could be the best series so far.

 

 

How Phili will win. Their powerplay will carry them far as well as their strength. Biron is playing exceptionally well to carry the team and Phili has a pretty solid offence with Briere, Richards and

. They will need some more production from the defence to make this series go the distance. Key players are Steve Downie and Martin Biron.

 

How Pittsburgh will win. Roll all four lines. They have the talent and skill to get production off of every line and almost every player. The addition of Hossa made Pittsburgh that much deeper of a team. Phili has a weakness against speed which showed against Montreal, but unlike the Habs, Pittsburgh offence is ten times stronger than Montreal. Biron needs to be sharp, otherwise this could be a sweep. Key players are Jordan Staal and Ryan Malone.

 

Phili in seven as Biron is going to keep this real close for Phili to win almost every game.

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