2007/2008 Hockey Thread

[Gabriel]

..that doesn't make sense.

A montreal team that was playing really badly almost beat a Philadelphia team that was plaing really well?

Come on now, you can't have it both ways.

Huh? That makes perfect sense. The Habs played like shit, the Flyers played tremendously for the most part, and it was hardly what a 4-1 series win would have you believe it was. All of the games could have gone either way, which says great things about Montreal. They didn't play near to even half their capability, and they still made a very competitive series against a team that was playing some of its' best hockey in years.

[Plubby]

Its kind of very frustrating to watch a clearly superior team lose this series. Montreal has outplayed the Flyers in every game cept for game 1. And it's not that the Habs have played marginally better. They have completely out classed the Flyers.

Oh, I have no doubt that the LINE makes sense, but as you can see, it's a direct clash with what he's said before. You can't say that your team is outplaying the other (just to make your team look good) and then say that your team playing badly nearly beat a team that's playing well (again, just to make your team look good)

[Gabriel]

I have no idea what the fuck you're on about. I read what you're saying, but it doesn't make sense.

So to clear up the situation... what Swank meant to say was probably just that a Montreal team at say, 40%... proved to be a tough challenge for a Philly team at 95%. So technically, Philadelphia played better, but even though they were playing better, it was easily visible that the Canadiens are the superior team. They just couldn't get their shit in gear.

[Clawson]

Grand.....fuck that puck over the glass penalty. Team wins Gold because of it and I wouldn't be surprised if a team wins the Cup one day because of it.

[The Sultan of Swank]

So the Pens advance to get beat in 5 by Detroit or 6 by Dallas?

[Evil Chase K]

LOL, Flyers.

I bet the Flyers fan (read: asshole) that tried to start a fight with a Penguins fan for saying "We're still up 3 games to 1." at the end of the game on Thursday feels like an ass right now.

On second thought...he probably doesn't.

Edited May 18, 2008 by Evil Chase K

[Gabriel]

Pittsburgh completely and utterly dominated Philadelphia today.

If they maintain even half of that momentum, they'll walk out as Stanley Cup Champions.

Detroit would give them a good run, 6 or 7 games, and may even beat them... but Dallas would be a more exciting series to watch, and would probably go to Pittsburgh in 5. 6, if Turco can steal one or two by himself.

[Guest Dr. Potato Head]

Spokane beats Kitchener 2-1.

However, their fans sucked. They didn't seem to care that every time they came out with a "Let's Go Chiefs" chant, the remaining 90% of the fans would overpower it with "Let's Go Rangers".

[jase12881]

Well, I've been rooting for the Pens to win the East throughout the season and playoffs. With that said, it's time for me to turn against them as they play my Red Wings. I don't care -that- much who wins this series, just as long as it's a good series...preferrably 7 games. I'm in the enviable (or unenviable) position of having my favorite team and second favorite team playing in the finals, so either way it will be bittersweet. Less bitter and more sweet if the Wings win (although I'll be disliked here in Pittsburgh if that's the case), and More bitter, less sweet if the Pens win.

But either way, what I really want is a spectacular display of hockey that will go 7 games. I'm really hoping this is the best finals in a long time.

[Clawson]

Detroit over Pittsburgh

[The Sultan of Swank]

Detroit. Pittsburgh maybe... maybe lasts 6. But there's no stopping Detroit. And Pittsburgh got a free pass in the ECF... no offense to Philly.

[jase12881]

As someone who has closely followed both teams, I can tell you that Pittsburgh is much better than a lot of people picking Detroit think they are. They're a tough defensive team and their forwards are unmatched in the league in terms of talent. That said, I also believe a lot of people here in Pittsburgh are underestimating the Wings a bit. While the first line has been carrying them lately, they're deeper than a lot of people here think.

Even as a Detroit fan though, I can see them fighting hard, but it's Pittsburgh's series to lose.

[Clawson]

Zetterburg and Datsyuk may be the best defensive forwards in the game and they can burn you. I think that will work against Crosby and Malkin. The two will still get a point per game but they won't do much more damage than that I believe.

[jase12881]

You know, looking back at the predictions made in this thread throughout the playoffs, and then seeing everyone pick Detroit...I'm very worried now. If Detroit is the favorite in this forum, that pretty much means they have no chance apparently.

Also I think a lot of you are severely underestimating the Pens. The Wings might pull it off, but I see Pittsburgh as the favorite. Also, although Datsyuk and Zetterberg are fantastic, and probably better defensive forwards than Crosby/Malkin...Pittsburgh's duo is more talented overall, and still do a great job of playing two-way hockey. That said, Datsyuk and Zetterberg are miles better than anyone else on the Pens, including Hossa. As someone who follows both teams, I'd rank the top 5 forwards in this series like this:

1. Crosby

2. Malkin

3. Zetterberg

4. Datsyuk

5. Hossa

Defensively I do think Detroit is a lot better, but Sergei Gonchar will be the second best defenseman on the ice...and Pittsburgh plays a very strong game defensively as well. They're nothing to sneeze at

Pittsburgh has tremendous depth though, and I think when the top line is off the ice, Detroit loses the other matchups.

The real question though is HOW will Detroit possibly stop Laraque?

(Actually someone asked that very question on one of the other boards I was reading...they actually listed players they felt Detroit didn't have an answer for and Laraque was one of them...much to my amusement)

[Plubby]

Is there any stopping Detroit? Pittsburgh can pretend, but game one may just have proven what everyone outside Penn already knew. I hope not, cos i'd love this series to go the distance...just cant see the Pens doing it

[Clawson]

All my friends were cheering for Pittsburgh last night. Good times going against them all.

[Enter Blue Guy]

All my friends were cheering for Pittsburgh last night. Good times going against them all.

See, I told everybody it was fun to cheer for Detroit against your friends.

[Guest Dr. Potato Head]

3 hours or so until the Mem Cup final, Kitchener vs. Spokane. We can do this.

[Clawson]

All my friends were cheering for Pittsburgh last night. Good times going against them all.

See, I told everybody it was fun to cheer for Detroit against your friends.

The best part is that two of them are former Leaf fans who jumped ship to Pittsburgh. They said something about not being able to cheer for a losing team. Thus it was even sweeter watching Detroit just dominate the game.

[Gabriel]

Pittsburgh showed their age and experience last night. They played their worst game of the playoffs thus far, and really didn't look overly horrible.

Gary Roberts needs to be in the lineup, and they need to shift things around. The forecheck wasn't working well, so they need to put Talbot, Roberts and Laraque on separate lines. That way, Crosby or Hossa can dump the puck in and Talbot can play hard in the corners... Malkin and Sykora have Malone... Roberts can play with Dupuis and Jordan Staal... and Laraque can be your big banger on the fourth line.

Finesse isn't going to win this series for Pittsburgh unless they can rattle Detroit (Osgood especially). They need to play tight, hard and heavy in the corners, and they can't do that with all their muscle riding the fourth line. If they can put a bad one in behind Osgood, he's got a tendency to unravel big time when he loses focus. Get a bad one in there, and things will really open up.

Marc-Andre Fleury was awesome last night, and the mistakes he made could have been prevented by better communication from his defense.

Game two should be a lot different... should... and if it isn't, then Therrien will have failed to get the message across to his team as to what they need to do, and the series will be over in five.