Official 2008-2009 NHL Season Thread

[wwffan7385]

As a Wings fan, I was very nervous about Osgood hurting our chances heading into these playoffs. But with the Sharks going down 2-nil, the Caps going down 2-nil, the Wings going up 2-nil, and Osgood playing like a beast, I think the Wings have what it takes to keep the Cup.

I am worried about Boston but then again they are playing Montreal so we really can't see yet how good they are.

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Osgood just shines in the playoffs, that's what he does and he does it well. I wasn't worried about Osgood in the playoffs because he steps up and because of the team in front of him.

Last night, the Ducks defeated the Sharks to go up 2-0 and I couldn't be happier. They are taking it to the Sharks when it matters the most, which is San Jose's problem from the start. They simply choke in the playoffs. Although the series isn't over yet, if the Sharks don't pick up their play they will see an early exit in these playoffs. Here's hoping teh Sharks don't learn and pack their bags. GO DUCKS!!!

 

[BooCocky]

As a Wings fan, I was very nervous about Osgood hurting our chances heading into these playoffs. But with the Sharks going down 2-nil, the Caps going down 2-nil, the Wings going up 2-nil, and Osgood playing like a beast, I think the Wings have what it takes to keep the Cup.

I am worried about Boston but then again they are playing Montreal so we really can't see yet how good they are.

I believe it depends, Montreal can be good, they showed signs of being good this year, when they have the mind set to play. Other times they look sloppy, and uninterested. Which is never a good sign. Montreal is not as good as they are last year, but from my understanding they are practically the same team.

My Pens didn't look to good against the Flyers Sunday afternoon. The thing I took from this game is the fact that they did not give up, down two goals several times they kept fighting back, and if Jordan Staal and Sykora knew how to shoot, it could have been a different story. O well, you can't win them all. I fully expect the Pens to come out firing on all cylinders Tuesday night. I do expect us to take it, and come back to Pittsburgh with a two game advantage.

Flyers Suck

Go Pens.

 

[justinsayne]

As a Wings fan, I was very nervous about Osgood hurting our chances heading into these playoffs.

I've never understood this, how on Earth could anyone be nervous about Osgood hurting the Wings chances in the playoffs, the guy is a beat in the playoffs, 2 Stanley Cups, and tied for 4th All-time in Career playoff shut-outs with 14 proves this, they guy saved us from Hashit last year, if it wasn't for Ozzy we would've lost in the first round, once they pulled Hashit and put Ozzy in Detroit dominated the West and went on to have a great 7 game series in which they beat the Pens for the Cup, Osgood is one of the most reliable goaltenders in the NHL today and their is nobody I would rather have in net right now than him

Osgood FTW!!!

 

[a7xoff]

Barring a miracle, and Columbus wins 4 in a row, I'm thinking Detroit may have a free trip to the finals. With San Jose being down 2-0, I don't know if any team can stop the Wings. The only other team that comes to mind in the West is Chicago. Sadly since Western Conference games are on very late here and I've had school, the only games I've been able to watch from the West is Detroit.

The East on the other hand I've seen a lot of. Boston I think will keep on running over Montreal, but it wouldn't shock me if Montreal picked up a win. I'm hoping that the Caps can get into the series tonight. That team is just so damn good, there is no reason that they can't beat the New York Lundqvist or however the Hell you spell it. The Pens I suspect will as Brian said be firing on all cylinders again in their next game. Even though they seemed to be a step behind Philly all game long, they did not stop fighting. The Devils picked up a HUGE win last night and proved that they can beat the Canes in OT and can do it without our captain. Hopefully that win adds some confidence and comfort in playing in Carolina.

RANGERS SUCK

 

[RBH]

The Ducks are making headlines as they have taken a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Sharks. And for those who say the Ducks can't beat the Wings, remember our all time playoff record against them is 2-2 (lost twice in the 90s by sweeps, won in 03 by a sweep and in our 07 title year, won 4-2). So I really wanna play the Wings so we can settle finally who is the better team in all time playoff head to head because last year they didn't have to go through us. Then, they would truly be the better team IMO. The Ducks are going through the motions and seem to emulate the 03 Ducks and 06 Oilers. Even tho both those teams lost in the finals, they still were great teams. Anyways, that might be my post of the week as I have not gone on wrestlezone much....hit me up at Facebook (or yahoo) if you want to debate more.

 

[a7xoff]

Finally some of these playoff series are getting interesting. Up until a couple days ago the Devils-Hurricanes series was the only one to have each team winning at least one game. Now we've got a few more. Philly as we all know by now won a game against the Penguins the other day, and last night the Caps finally put on a good show and burried the Rangers by a score of 4-0. Had the Caps lost that game I would have probably have had an anurasim, but since they won... We have a series again. The Flames also finally picked up a win against the Blackhawks. Making that series 2-1 as well. I'm expecting that the Chanucks will pick up a sweep tonight as the Blues just could never really get it going in any of the previous three games. Kinda dissapointed in that series, with the way the Blues were playin towards the end of the series I expected more. Tomorrow Boston looks to sweep the long time rival Bruins. The Habs I'm sure at this point will be beyond desperate for a win, and if they don't want to be swept they're going to need to play like we all know they can play. Speaking of must win... San Jose is down 2-0 against the Ducks. I for one did not see this coming and I am not in the least bit upset about it. The Ducks young goalie has been very impressive and now the Sharks have the hard task of winning at the pond of Anaheim. In other news... The Devils looks to take a 3-1 series lead tonight... LET'S GO DEVILS!

RANGERS SUCK

 

[wwffan7385]

My opinion on last night:

BOS 4-2 MTL: Wasn't on Versus so I didn't see this game. But this is going the way we all expected it to go. Montreal doesn't care, Boston is looking on fire, and that pretty much means the Habs can start making tee times Wednesday night.
WSH 4-0 NYR: All Alexander Semin jokes aside, this is the Cap team we expected to see back in Washington. They get back in the series and now Game 4 is gigantic on Wednesday.
CHI 2-4 CGY: This series became a lot more exciting after Calgary's early 3rd period goals turned the rest of the game into a bloodbath, with over 70 PIM between the two teams in the 3rd. If you can stand the Calgary fan horns, I think we're in for a physical, exciting Games 4-7 (yes, 7) here.

 

[a7xoff]

So some of the first round matches have already come to a close. We have Vancouver, Detroit, and Boston all sweeping their series. The series that are still remaining are all heating up. The Caps have gotten themselves in quite a hole. However if there is one team that can come back from a 3-1 hole, right now I'd say it's the Caps. Ovechkin has had a quiet round so far, but I'm thinkin he may step up cause from here on out it's do or die for the Caps. The Devils have taken a 3-2 series lead over the Hurricanes in which is really shaping up to be one Hell of a series. Kudos to both Broduer and Ward for their performances over the last few games. They have been nothing short of stellar espically tonight with both teams getting a combined total of over 80 shots. Ward gave up just 1 and Brodeur gave up 0. Again hats off to both goalies for puttinon a Hell of a good show. The Flyers are still alive as they shut out the Pens tonight. The Hawks and Flames are all tied up at 2 as it seems that the Flames have finally gotten Khabibulan figured out. Then we have the Sharks trying to knot things up with the Ducks out west. I realy wish I could see more of this series, but alas due to school and work I cannot afford to miss out on that much sleep. So to the Bluejackets, Blues, and Canadiens, here's to a better year next year, but congrats once again to Columbus for Finally! making it into the playoffs, and to the Blues for Finally! getting back into the big show.

RANGERS SUCK

 

[a7xoff]

So after yesterday... The Devils, Rangers, and Ducks all failed to clinch their series. Kinda sucks for the Ducks and Devils, but it seems that Lundquist isn't as unpenatrable as the Rangers thought and since that is the case they may actually have to play some hockey and not rely on their goalie who is the sole reason that they are still even in the playoffs. Ducks lost in OT which sucks, but they were the closest of the three. If you are allowed to have one bad game in a playoff series, the Devils used theirs last night as they played piss poor and payed for it big time with a 4-0 shutout. The team just didn't show up to play with the exception of Brodeur, Parise, and Clarkson. The rest of the team just flat out didn't play half as good as we all know they can. Oh well game 7 is tuesday and fortunatly it's not in Carolina. GO DEVILS!!!

RANGERS SUCK

 

[a7xoff]

The Quaterfinals are now over and the Semi Final Brackets are all set up... Tonight both the Devils and Rangers were eliminated in their respective game 7's. There were two very distinct differences on how the two teams went out. The Rangers had just 1 shot in the entire 3rd period and lost 2-1... The Devils... Allowed two goals in the final 1:23 in the game to loose 4-3 to the Hurricanes. As a Devils fan I can honestly say that though I am obviously very upset about the loss I can say that the Devils had by far surpassed all of expectations for this season. When Brodeur got injured and the team was really struggling I had hopes that we could possibly hang onto 8th place or so, but somehow we dug down deep and finished 3rd in the East and won yet another Atlantic Division title. We face are seemingly arch playoff rivals the Hurricanes and fought to a game 7 where two breakdowns cost us the series with just over a minute left in the game. I'm planning on going into a more in depth season review for the Devils sometime during the off season, I'll also include in that some changes that I would like to see happen for next season... Now though let's take a look at the set up for the Semi Finals...

Eastern Conference
1.) Boston Bruins vs 6.) Carolina Hurricanes
Boston won all 4 meetings between these two during the regular season. Much like Paul Maurice said at the end of game 7 against New Jersey, that's a regular season stat. The Hurricanes are NOT the team that they were early this season, they're hungry, and on top of that they have a goalie who seems even hungrier. Boston has had quite a bit of time off and that could bite them in the end. I still do think that Boston will win the series, but it could go 7.

2.) Washington Capitals vs 4.) Pittsburgh Penguins
The series that is always talked about, that everyone wants to see is here. The ultimate series between the Penguins and Caps. should be nothing short of spectacular. I'm not even going to try and guess how many games this series will go, but I'm thinking that they will all be high scoring, fast paced, and simply fun to watch. This series could come down to goaltending, and if that's the case I'm going to have to pick the Pens. *sigh* I was really hoping to see the Caps in NJ... Oh well...

Western Conference
2.) Detroit Red Wings vs 8.) Anaheim Ducks
The Wings have had some time off. That may bite them a little bit as the Ducks are probably running on their biggest high of the season after knocking out the number one team in the league, the San Jose Sharks is 6 games. Detroit is going to need to play harder then they did against the Jackets if they hope to beat the Ducks. The showdown the Hayek and myself for that matter in the west is going to be a good one. I'm going to say that the Ducks win this series in 6. The way they shut down the Sharks plus this unknown goalie who is off to a ridiculous start is my reasoning.

4.) Vancouver Chanucks vs 5.) Chicago Blackhawks
I don't know all that much about either of these two teams as far as the first round is concerned. Based on seeing some highlights and what not, I'm going to say that the Blackhawks have a pretty good chance to move on. Yes Vancouver has Luongo, but the Hawks are young, fast, hungry, and have a pretty decent goalie themselves. Hawks in 6 I think.

Well there ya have it... Those are my predictions for the second round of the playoffs... Since the Devils can no longer win the cup... I'd like to see either the Ducks, Pens, Blackhawks, or Bruins win the whole thing...

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Unbelieveable finish to the Devils game. I really did not see that coming and I do feel for you a7xoff.

Bruins vs. Hurricanes
Should be a decent series, but I do not see Carolina winning this one. Boston is just too balanced a team to lose this series. Boston in 5 or 6.

Capitals vs. Penguins
This is the series everyone wants to see and it is going to be fantastic. Anyone who is a fan of the game of hockey will watch this series. I really hope Washington wins and hopefully Varlamov keeps up the great play as of late. I say Washington in 7.

Red Wings vs. Ducks
The Ducks pulled out a win against the choke artists, I mean Sharks, and I couldn't be happier. The Red Wings had an easy time against the Blue Jackets so I hope they are ready to face this Ducks team. I picked Detroit to win the cup at the beginning of the season, but I can really see them losing to the Ducks. This is a hard series to call, but I believe it will take 6 or 7 games to decide the winner.

Canucks vs. Blackhawks
Roberto Luongo won the first round for the Canucks as he stole every game from the Blues. The Blackhawks are a very young and skilled team who can beat the Canucks, but the challenge is can they beat Luongo. If Luongo faulters just a little bit, Vancouver will lose the series. Again I see 6 games to decide this series. Vancouver better hope Luongo plays like he did in the first round or they will be eliminated.

 

[RBH]

Time for my predictions. One thing is for damn sure....Red Wings-Ducks and Capitals-Penguins are gonna be the most watched series in the playoffs. I could see both series reaching 7 games. Here are my picks.

Hurricanes-Bruins: Bruins in 5. The Bruins have too many weapons going for them right now. The best thing for the Hurricanes to do would be get ahead early and they need Cam Ward to be super sharp. If not, the Bruins take this series easily. I do expect Carolina to win one at least.

Penguins-Capitals: Penguins in 7 games. This is going to be an iconic series but I see it going to the Pens simply because of experience. While I am gonna enjoy the battle between these two young stars, I am gonna enjoy the matchup even more. The Pens will advance.

Hawks-Canucks: Canucks in 6: Roberto Luongo is the key in this series. What he does will determine how good the Canucks can be. Expect some low scores and I fully believe the Canucks to win this series despite the talent at the hands of Chicago.

Red Wings-Ducks: This is the 5th meeting between the teams in the last 12 years. I see it going either way. If Hiller is as good as he was in the Sharks series, the Ducks are unbeatable. The all time series is tied at 2 so we will see just how good the Ducks can be..

<My Pick: Ducks in 6 if they score early and do not commit many penalties
or Wings in 7 if the Wings get off to great starts.

 

[a7xoff]

Interestingly enough the semi's this year have one big match up in each conference. In the East you got the Caps and Pens facing off in what will probably be a very entertaining series. Then we have the Western duel between the Ducks and Wings. Both of these series look like they could possibly be the biggest match ups of the playoff season. Literally the only plus of the Devils being eliminated is that we get to see the Caps and Pens play... I'm pullin for the Ducks in the West and the Pens in the East. Should be two great series that are definatly going to be worth watching. One series (East) Im thinking is going to be very high scoring with a lot of comebacks and the other (West) could boil down to Detroit's offense vs the Duck's defense and goalie. Should be good stuff here.

 

[wwffan7385]

So let me get this straight...

We had 62 shots in 5+ periods...and lost. What the hell man.

Reminded me of Game 5 of the Final last year.

 

[a7xoff]

I didn't have much time to watch hockey this past weekend, but as far as the triple OT was concerned. I did see the second half on the second OT and into the third. From what I saw, granted I could be wrong was the always offensive Detroit against a more defensive Anaheim. That's the making of a great series, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that the Ducks/Wings are the only teams to go into triple OT this playoff season. Good stuff from what I was seeing, I just hate that Anaheim plays in Cali... Can't watch much of the games out there...

 

[RBH]

It the only game to go to triple OT. Yes the Ducks won an amazing game. We played 2 great periods and still won. The Ducks need to thank their lucky stars for Hiller because he is amazing. I mean, if there was such thing as non-homo man love, then I have man love for Hiller. The Ducks now realize the mistakes they need to correct without being down 2-0 and they can avoid the letdown they suffered in 07 when they lost game 3. I believe that the Ducks can win both games at home and need to because Detroit is not going to lose twice at the Joe this time around. The Ducks need to take care of business at home.

 

[a7xoff]

Hiller IMO if he keeps playin the way he has been so far this post season should be considered for the MVP of the playoffs. Cause so far him coming in out of nowhere, knocking out the sharks in the first round, and so far has played very well against Detroit. It's pretty damn impressive and much more impressive than either Crosby or Ovechkin this postseason so far. Well... almost... both guys did get that hat trick thing earlier today... that's not really impressive... Seriously though hats off to those guys for that feat, but overall I still would rate Hiller's performance so far higher than both Crosby and Ovie... We'll see how much longer that lasts due to the fact that well... they did both get hat tricks in the same game...

 

[wwffan7385]

RBH: All we gotta watch out for is that we don't give Anaheim a chance to win the series on their ice: The Ducks are undefeated at home in series-clinching games since the lockout.

 

[RBH]

The game tonight is not on Versus. But anyways, the Ducks have played better on the road lately so that is what worries me. The Ducks and Red Wings are tied all time in playoff series play 2-2 with the fifth series currently being played so I as a Duck fan am hoping we win so I can say we own the Wings just like the Angels own the Yankees, Yankees own Red Sox and Red Sox own Angels.....It should be a great finish to this series.

 

[a7xoff]

I'm just going to say that the Ducks are going to have to play a lot better than they did the other night if they hope to win the series. I watched the first period. Was happy that the Ducks scored not even 2 minutes in, but then by the end of the first it was 2-1 Detroit and I had a horrible feeling as to where the game was going so I went to bed. I woke up and sure enough 6-3 final in favor of Detroit. That's neither here nor there as this post is mainly going to be about tonight's Eastern Conference games. The Penguins and Caps series continues to be a great one. The Pen's evened up the series at 2 games a piece after tonight's 5-3 win over the Caps. Pretty back and forth game with the Pens dominating, then the Caps, then Pens again. Fleury had the better of the goaltending tonight as the Penguins came out on top. The really big shock to I think a lot of people is the fact that Boston now sits on the brink of being eliminated. From seeing the third period of that game, Boston is just not playing good at all. Passing nowhere near their marks, shots screaming wide, and emotions getting the better of players were all things that I noticed in just one period. Boston has to, and I mean has to fix all of those problems otherwise Carolina is going to pull off a huge upset. The way the Canes have been playing this playoff season, and the end of the regular season, I don't know if there is anyone in the East who can slow them and I think only Detroit or Anaheim can either match their offense (Detroit) or slow them with Defense (Anaheim)

 

[a7xoff]

So this round of the playoffs has 3 game 7's. How awesome is that. The Bruins have rallied from a 3-1 hole to even their series with Carolina at 3 games a piece. Boston has to keep playing the way that they've played over the last two games. Chara seems to have broken out of his little funk he was in, and Boston suddenly has 8 goals on Cam Ward in two games. It helps that Savard will be in the lineup for game 7/ Carolina is reeling a bit, Boston can capatilize or crumble to the storm that has been Carolina over the past couple months.

The Penguins and Capitals are playing game 7 tonight which should not be a dissapointment. This series has been nothing short of amazing and a game 7 should make it that much better. Both of these teams want to win it and are probably willing to do anything to get it. Will it be Malkin, Crosby, Semin, Ovechkin, or some unsung hero that wins the game. Or will the goaltenders prove to be the deciding factor of this series. All Hell breaks loose tonight in game 7 for these two teams and I cannot wait.

After 2 losses, the Ducks looked like they were going to fall out of the playoffs. Hiller looked like he lost some of the magic he had through the first 4 games. Then last night he was back and the Ducks held on to force a game 7. I think a lot of people figured that the Ducks would be fodder to the Wings, but that has not been the case as the Duck's D has met up very well with the Wings O. Game 7 is in Detroit which means I can actually watch the whole thing and I can't wait to see the big showdown in the West draw to a dramatic end.

Congrats Chicago for moving on!

 

[a7xoff]

Okay so now we know all but one contest for the Conference Finals. Last night the Penguins opened a can on Washington en route to a 6-2 win in their game 7. The game itself was a bit of a letdown as I personally was expecting a much closer game. Oh well I was glad to see the Penguins win. Then tonight's games.

Anaheim has fallen to the Detroit Red Wings, whom I now think have a clear shot at a repeat. The Ducks just did not have enough to outplay the Red Wings. One thing that I think hurt the Ducks is the same thing that plagued them all year and if I recall last year as well, and that would be that they played very undisciplined. Sure they only took 5 penalties. That's still way too many to give to the Red Wings of all people. Detroit I feel played a solid series as did the Ducks, but the Ducks played with their emotions on their sleeves, or the ends of their fists a couple of times and I think that hurt them in the end. The game 6 fighting towards the end I didn't think was the best of ideas as Detroit is not a team to be intimadated. One final thought on this series.... Duck's fans, myself included really have no reason to be upset over the fact that the game winning goal was not blown dead or waved off... Just remember game 3 with less than a minute to go, Hossa scored, but the play was blown dead... What goes around comes around I guess. Detroit now sets sights on a young Chicago team, whom I don't know if they will be able to handle the Wings. My pick to win the cup now shifts to the Detroit Red Wings as the only team left that I think can even stand a slight chance is probably Boston, but I am thinking that Carolina will finish them off tonight. Wouldn't shock me if we saw Wings vs Penguins round 2

 

[simpsons_fanatic742]

Kinda pissed off that Anaheim lost, but that means by pick for the cup is still available in the Red Wings. Right now I am watching the overtime of Bruins/Hurricanes. Game 7 in overtime, can't get any better than that.

 

[wwffan7385]

a7xoff: I think we are going to see Wings vs Pens Round 2.

Wings in 6 over Chicago
Pittsburgh in 5 over Carolina