2006/2007 Hockey Season Thread

[NobBe Nobbs]

Atleast its not Toronto. Another year without a cup. Happy anniversary. you guys turn 40 this year. Must be nice to get to the golf course so early every year. You guys must be good at it.

[Plubby]

twoonglue is blatantly wrong. Stastny craps on Kopitar, and rivals Malkin.

And now Montreal and Toronto really ARE like Uruguay. You dont deserve the spot if you didnt win enough games. They didnt, my avs didnt, and now we all get to go hit the links together.

Im rooting for the Islanders, Sens, Ducks and Nucks. But not Nashville. Fuck them right in their bottoms.

Edited April 9, 2007 by Plubby

[Jerichoholic23]

I am not going anywhere. Buffalo will win the cup this year. You say its all because of the rules that is the reason Buffalo is so good. They changed the rules to make the game better. The wings have still been at the top of the standings since the rules changed. Its only the Leaf fans that are complaining cause they can't fill their team with a bunch of old and slow guys and make the playoffs anymore.

[Plubby]

Oh, I almost forgot:

Buffalo vs NY Islanders - I want them to win, doesn't mean they will.

New Jersey vs Tampa Bay

Atlanta vs NY Rangers

Ottawa vs Pittsburgh

Detroit vs Calgary

Anaheim vs Minnesota

Vancouver vs Dallas - Turco is like the Ottawa of the west.

Nashville vs San Jose - Seriously. Fuck them right in their bottoms.

[Clawson]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong because I haven't looked up any stats but I'm assuming Pittsburgh was better than the Sabres during the second half, right?

I got bored, East Standings without the shootout:

1) Ottawa 103PTS

2) New Jersey 97PTS

3) Atlanta 90PTS

4) Buffalo 103PTS

5) Pittsburgh 95PTS

6) Carolina 88PTS

7) Toronto 87PTS

8) Rangers 85PTS

9) Montreal/Islanders/Panthers 84PTS

12) Tampa Bay 83PTS

Edited April 9, 2007 by Clawson

[NobBe Nobbs]

I am not going anywhere. Buffalo will win the cup this year. You say its all because of the rules that is the reason Buffalo is so good. They changed the rules to make the game better. The wings have still been at the top of the standings since the rules changed. Its only the Leaf fans that are complaining cause they can't fill their team with a bunch of old and slow guys and make the playoffs anymore.

[Ananas]

I am not going anywhere. Buffalo will win the cup this year. You say its all because of the rules that is the reason Buffalo is so good. They changed the rules to make the game better. The wings have still been at the top of the standings since the rules changed. Its only the Leaf fans that are complaining cause they can't fill their team with a bunch of old and slow guys and make the playoffs anymore.

[Jerichoholic23]

If they actually put the games on during the week in prime time like ESPN had them or they were on a station that most people actually get in the states their ratings would be higher. Not a lot of people get the Versus channel, its usually not on the basic cable packages. I hate the fact they put playoff games in the middle of of a saturday afternoon.

[oldskool]

You really have to search around for NHL games. They blacked out an Islanders game. AN ISLANDERS GAME. I'm an hour east of Buffalo and I get their games, I'm 5+ hours west of Nassau and they black it out.

As much as I hate to, I'm considering getting Center Ice next season.

[The Sultan of Swank]

I'm rooting Canucks. I think Luongo has the capability to carry the team to a cup.

Toronto needs to replace the pylons they have on Defence and get a #1 goalie. They also need a top calibre player.

Montreal looks like they need a top 2 defenceman, a First line center or a top 6 power forward.

Edit: Center Ice isn't a bad package from what I hear, but I heard that they sometimes blackout local games, I couldn't get the Leafs - Habs game up north on the satellite, and because I'm not subscribed to RDS up there, I was forced to hear two of the worst announcers ever on CBC, honestly I think they just talk to hear their own voices when they take the Maple Leafs cock out of their mouths to breathe. It made me realize why it is that RDS has outdrawed CBC for Habs Leafs games in the past.

Edited April 9, 2007 by The Sultan of Swank

[Clawson]

Isn't RDS in French? Couldn't that have something to do with it?

[Clawson]

Ottawa fans are already preparing for the upcoming choke:

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=8838425#post8838425

It's funny but sad at the same time.

[SeanDMan]

Kind of like THE LEAFS! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHOSE NINTH IN THE CONFERENCE NOW CLAWSON? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Toe]

Buffalo vs NY Islanders

Toronto would have been a better match up and made for a more competitive match up. Unless DiPietro somehow becomes healthy, I don't like the Islanders defence and goaltending when matched up with the skill at forward the Sabres can bring to the table. Ryan Miller will also be a huge factor. I am going with the Buffalo Sabres winning in 5.

New Jersey vs Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay has no depth, no goaltending and weak defence. The Devils play a strong defensive game, have some scoring depth and one of the best goaltenders ever. I give this series to the Devils in 4. Unless St. Louis and Lecavalier score twice each game, they won't last long.

Atlanta vs NY Rangers

At this point, I think Lundqvist is the better goaltender then Lehtonen. Also, I think the Rangers bring more experience and can match up well physically with the Atlanta Thrashers. I think the Thrashers can take the series if there defence can contain Jaromir Jagr and Brenden Shanahan. I say the Rangers in 7 games, with Atlanta keeping it close.

Ottawa vs Pittsburgh

This should be an exciting series to watch, but I do think Ottawa has the right people on defence to contain Sidney Crosby, and they have enough scoring talent to outscore the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury will gain some valuable experience, but I give the edge to Ray Emery right now. The guy to watch on the Pens is Gary Roberts. He can be a dominant force, and will make his presence felt in the playoffs. Senators in 6.

Detroit vs Calgary

This actually looks like a close match up for me. Detroit has more scoring talent and speed, and with the additions of Bertuzzi and Calder to go along with Draper and Maltby, they should be able to play a good physical game to match the Flames. However, the Flames do know how to play tight defensively and, except for Lidstrom, the defensive edge in my mind goes to Calgary. Goaltending in very close, as Hasek hasn't seemed to slow down yet while Kiprusoff can be dominant. I give this to the Red Wings in 7 solely based upon there ability to score. Pavel Datsyuk needs to finally step up in the playoffs.

Anaheim vs Minnesota

I like Giguere, he has shown his skill in the playoffs before. I think this comes down to depth, and in that department the Ducks are pretty strong. I would love to see Marian Gaborik to dominate, but I think the Ducks will prevail in 5 games.

Vancouver vs Dallas

Roberto Luongo is one of the best goalies in the league today, but Marty Turco is no slouch and is going to get the playoff curse off of his back. The Canucks will have to play some great defence to contain the Stars, and I am not sure if they can do it over a seven game series. The Stars have more scoring depth, and more experience. I don't see this as Luongo's year in the playoffs. Stars in 6, but I think Luongo could steal it. You never know.

Nashville vs San Jose

They both have explosive offence and they both have good goaltending. The difference in my mind is defence, and I think that goes to the unsung heroes of Nashville. I see the Predators winning in 7 in a very exciting series. If the crowds don't come out for the playoffs, then this team needs to move.

In the East, the two teams I see going to the finals possibly are the New Jersey Devils and the Ottawa Senators. In the West, I think all the teams except for Minnesota have a chance to be in the finals, and I can see a lot of game sevens occuring on the way.

It would have been great to see the Leafs get in, but they controlled there fate and lost the game to the Islanders before the Montreal game. They lost horribly to the Islanders, it did not even look like they tried. Toronto are the ones to blame for not making it in, not the Islanders or the Devils or anyone else. The team improved a bunch as the season went on. As Paul Maurice said today as the players cleared out there stuff "We are finally healthy now".

O'Neill, Aubin and Perreault are pretty much locks for leaving the team. I would like to see Peca brought back, but I don't think he is. Antropov will get a bigger contract after a good year, and will probably break his ankle in the first game of pre-season and miss twenty games.

Edited April 10, 2007 by desiredtoe

[Guest Grapehead]

It's funny that you think it'll be NJ vs Sens in the East finals... since by your first round picks that matchup would be for the East Semi-Finals (Y)

[oldskool]

I'd be surprised if they brought Peca back; he's good and all but he gets hurt all the time and keeps missing huge spans of time.

Goaltending is an issue...where the fuck is this Pogge prodigy? Call his ass up. It'd be a shame to see Aubin go because he hasn't exactly been a Cujo or a Belfour, but he does well in small stints (end of the year last year and coming in for Raycroft in a handful of games this year)

[Plubby]

Every time I see Clawson's avatar, it amuses me that RJ Hamburglar lands in the "Thank You, Fans" paint.

[Ananas]

Not Really News: Gary Bettman is a Scumbag.

Even Less News: Ed Belfour is a Drunk.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Habs inked Price for 3 years today.

[Guest Grapehead]

If CBC thought it was SOOO important to have a Canadian team on their network, maybe they should broadcast the Sens atleast ONCE through a season on Saturday nights to draw some extra interest, instead of giving top priority to Toronto(even when it's Montreal AND Ottawa playing). Either way, that's a huge loss for CBC, and just further proof that the NHL wants Ottawa to lose this series.

NOTE: I'm not saying the NHL is going to screw Ottawa over, if Ottawa loses, it'll be their own fault. I'm merely saying the league clearly wants Pittsburgh... er... Crosby to win.