2006/2007 Hockey Season Thread

[Toe]

Fucking Canucks had to screw up my predictions. If it wasn't for the pesky Trevor Linden in front of the net, then my plans would have worked perfectly!

New Jersey vs. Ottawa

I think that Ottawa has the advantage in speed and offence, they have good depth and showed a lot of grit and determination in the first round. Obviously, the Devils are great defensively and Martin Brodeur is one of the best to ever play goaltender. I like Ottawa in the end, though, because I think they can shut down the top line of New Jersey with Volchenkov and Phillips like they did in the first round to Crosby, and I think the Ottawa offence can squeeze through the trap enough to score. Plus, I have thought since day one of this season that Ray Emery is the right goaltender for the Senators, and I think he can help them advance.

Ottawa in 6

Buffalo vs. New York Rangers

The Rangers did not shock me by annihilating the Thrashers, and I think they can put up a good fight against the Sabres. They have some great offensive tools and have been playing great defensive hockey for more then a month now. And Henrik Lundqvist can be a top level goaltender. The Sabres did not impress me in their series against the Islanders, and they need to step up. They have the speed and skill, and they can win this series. It comes down to the goaltenders for me, and I like Lundqvist more then Miller.

New York Rangers in 7

Detroit vs. San Jose

San Jose showed a ton of grit and skill in the last series against Nashville, while the Red Wings showed they are capable of destroying a team that many regard as one of best defensively. Hasek and Nabokov are equal in my eyes, so thats a wash. With their deadline deals, the Red Wings can compete physically with most teams. I like Detroit though, they really impressed against Calgary and with Datsyuk out of his playoff shell, they have a lot of dynamic scoring talent and can attack the net in many different ways. As long as they play disciplined hockey, I see them winning this series.

Detroit in 5

Anaheim vs. Vancouver

I didn't think the Canucks would win against Dallas, and I don't think they will beat the Anaheim Ducks either. They couldn't score even strength or on the powerplay, they were shut out three times in the series! And while Luongo was fantastic and will most likely continue to play fantastic, I think the Ducks have a better offence then the Stars did. So, unless the Canucks can score more then a goal per game and they can get there powerplay rolling, I see this series going to the Anaheim Ducks. Luongo will keep it close in every game, and I do see it going to the wire, but I don't see the Ducks losing this series.

Anaheim in 7

[Gabriel]

The number one reason why I can't see Ottawa beating New Jersey is that while the Penguins top two didn't produce much (Crosby and Malkin), there were reasons why that had absolutely nothing to do with the Senators.

Malkin isn't used to playing such a long season, so he was tiring towards the end and the playoffs... also, you could tell he was nervous, being in the playoffs for the first time.

Crosby played incredibly well against a tough defensive unit...especially since he had a BROKEN FOOT. Nerves were a factor here as well.

Sidney broke his foot about three weeks ago now, and continued to play. With that in mind, I think he did a fantastic job against a defensively-oriented team.

The Devils will take it in six, because Ray Emery will crack under the pressure. Offensively, both teams are even. Defensively, I'd say the Sens may have a slight edge... but in the net, Emery isn't even close to Brodeur, and I think that will play a huge role in this series.

My Updated Predictions:

New Jersey over Ottawa in 6.

New York over Buffalo in 5.

Detroit over San Jose in 6.

Anaheim over Vancouver in 6.

New York over New Jersey in 7.

Anaheim over Detroit in 5.

New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup for the first time in 13 years over Anaheim in 6.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Ottawa will hopefully lose. I was rooting for Calgary, and I wanted Vancouver to win last night. The Ducks already blew their Finals try this decade. The Canucks haven't been there since the Rangers won. No?

[Hajjhowe]

No, they haven't. And screw you, the Ducks are winning

[Only In Dreams]

A perfect 8/8 in my first round predictions. Second round might be my downfall though, but I'm not jumping on the Ducks bandwagon yet. The Nucks/Ducks series will be a really hard faught series, and just because the Ducks have the regular season advantage doesn't mean anything. It's going to be another seven game series I think.

[Plubby]

I changed my Rangers/Thrashers pick when I picked else where, and went 8/8 with 4 (Detroit, Buffalo, Vancouver, Anaheim) series in the correct number of games.

BUFFALO-NY

Sabres in Six.

OTTAWA-NEW JERSEY

Ottawa in Six - Brodeur is giving me pause.

DUCKS-CANUCKS

Anaheim in Six. They've A LOT more in front of their goalie than Vancouver do, which is a real shame for Luongo.

DETROIT-SAN JOSE

Sharks in Seven. This team is well poised to go even as far as the cup finals.

[Guest Grapehead]

WM wins for being the first Penguins fan to blame Crosby's playoff woes on his injury. Boohoo. Crosby himself said after the first two weeks he felt nothing, and said it didn't affect his play.

[NobBe Nobbs]

He had a broken foot. How could it NOT affect his play?

[Clawson]

Crosby didn't even play that bad. I hate him and even I thought he did well.

[Gabriel]

Crosby didn't even play that bad. I hate him and even I thought he did well.

[CKN]

Crosby didn't even play that bad. I hate him and even I thought he did well.

I don't think he played that bad either. In fact, I think he was one of the better forwards in the first round. What I said was, everyone's praising Ottawa's defense for shutting down the Penguins, when in fact, most of the praise should go to injuries and nervousness shutting down the Penguins.

Pittsburgh will come back stronger next year though, and Ottawa will get theirs courtesy of the New Jersey Devils and a goalie who will put Ray Emery to shame.

[SeanDMan]

Machismo is just making excuses. You can't blame him, he's just following the example set by Leafs fans.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Yeah players play injured in the playoffs all the time, that's not what stopped him. Hell if anything he should have been trying even harder because his foot is apparently broke.

We can't even trust what Crosby says, he's taken what, 19 dives this year, he's been treated with kid gloves and has had a geat cast of players around him to help him out. He's a whiner and a bitch. I mean come on, the kid took what 8 dives in the back to back games against Montreal. For all we know he's on steriods and the fact that he didn't advance to the second round is weighing so heavily on his fragile ego that he broke it himself and then said aha! it was broke all along. Christ, he's far too much of a bitch to even play with a broken foot for a month. I mean, when Gretz came into the league, he was a whiner, but while players in other sports like Bosh and Halladay lead teams and gets chants of MVP, Crosby should forever be showered with a chorus of Faker and Baby until the lungs of the fans start are horse and they can no longer use their collective voices.

[Hajjhowe]

Bitter?

[Gabriel]

Machismo is just making excuses. You can't blame him, he's just following the example set by Leafs fans.

[NobBe Nobbs]

Machismo is just making excuses. You can't blame him, he's just following the example set by Leafs fans.

With that said... Iginla was playing with temporary blindness... Conroy had the Asian Flu... Kiprusoff was battling a case of Small Pox... and the entire defensive end was sick with food poisoning, from food sent to them by Chris Chelios, that motherfucker.

[Gabriel]

Machismo is just making excuses. You can't blame him, he's just following the example set by Leafs fans.

With that said... Iginla was playing with temporary blindness... Conroy had the Asian Flu... Kiprusoff was battling a case of Small Pox... and the entire defensive end was sick with food poisoning, from food sent to them by Chris Chelios, that motherfucker.

[Clawson]

Only Ottawa could nearly blow a 4-0 lead against New Jersey. Jesus, they can't even choke properly, atleast we did it in style earlier this year.

[Toe]

This is more important hockey news then your pathetic playoffs.

Devereaux resigns for two years!

Woo! Devereaux was a great third line player for the Leafs, playing with a lot of energy and putting up some much needed points. He was one of the better signings by Ferguson (which tells you a lot of JFJ), and his play during the season this year showed everyone that he still deserved to play in the NHL and deserved his spot with the Maple Leafs.

[Plubby]

At least Basha is handling this with dignity