The Thread Where We've All Got Playoff Beards

[Plubby]

I don't think LA can rumble with the Blues. They would need to beat them at their own game, and no one is better than St. Louis at that.

[thatshortguy]

The Kings have a huge wave of momentum, however, which is arguably the most important thing in the playoffs. If the Blues can come out in games one and two and squish these upstart Kings, it's over in five, tops. If the Kings can split the first two, or dare I even ponder if they take the first two, it may be the eighth-seeded Kings going on in six or seven.

[Plubby]

If I can dart back to Ruki for a sec...these playoffs must be TORTUROUS for you as a Canadian leafs fan. To know that it's OTTAWA carrying the hopes of a nation...meanwhile over in the west, one of these four teams constantly bagged for being "not a hockey market" is GUARANTEED to go to the Stanley Cup Finals: St. Louis, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles.

Gogo super team Southern Expansion!!!

[thatshortguy]

If I can dart back to Ruki for a sec...these playoffs must be TORTUROUS for you as a Canadian leafs fan. To know that it's OTTAWA carrying the hopes of a nation...meanwhile over in the west, one of these four teams constantly bagged for being "not a hockey market" is GUARANTEED to go to the Stanley Cup Finals: St. Louis, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles.

Gogo super team Southern Expansion!!!

It's the mid-00s all over again, baby! Southern team wins this year, then a lockout, then another southern team wins!

[caucasianheat]

If I can dart back to Ruki for a sec...these playoffs must be TORTUROUS for you as a Canadian leafs fan. To know that it's OTTAWA carrying the hopes of a nation...meanwhile over in the west, one of these four teams constantly bagged for being "not a hockey market" is GUARANTEED to go to the Stanley Cup Finals: St. Louis, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles.

Gogo super team Southern Expansion!!!

Ottawa carries nothing. I think the "hopes of a nation" thing is overstated - I wanted nothing more than to see Vancouver fail last year and ditto this year with Ottawa. I don't think most Canadians are desperate enough to see one our teams win that they would back a club they otherwise hate.

This year's WCF is hereby renamed the Bettman Bowl.

[Ruki]

Torturous for me? Not really. If we were close and missed it, or were knocked out by Ottawa, then I'd be pissed...but I am indifferent.

[Mountainous Cleavage]

I hoped for Vancouver to lose last year, ended up happy. Rooted for them to lose again this year, still happy.

Fuck Ottawa though, they need to lose. I'd rather have no Canadian teams in the playoffs than only have Ottawa

Go Philly!

Edited April 24, 2012 by Mountainous Cleavage

[Guest mr. potato head]

If I can dart back to Ruki for a sec...these playoffs must be TORTUROUS for you as a Canadian leafs fan. To know that it's OTTAWA carrying the hopes of a nation...meanwhile over in the west, one of these four teams constantly bagged for being "not a hockey market" is GUARANTEED to go to the Stanley Cup Finals: St. Louis, Phoenix, Nashville, Los Angeles.

Gogo super team Southern Expansion!!!

I don't recall St. Louis getting bagged for not being a hockey market.

[DMN in the House]

And the Kings don't really fit in the 'southern expansion' thing. They've been in the league longer than the sun belt teams, and are pretty well supported in LA.

[Guest mr. potato head]

People do at least complain about LA not being a hockey market. But those people are dumb.

[Plubby]

There were a couple stories/blog posts about the blues shortly before the coaching change.

[Guest mr. potato head]

Well, that's the end of Kitchener's season. Swept by London.

It was a great run though. I've never been this into any team in any sport before - I attended somewhere north of 20 games this year. They were expected to probably make the playoffs (as 80% of OHL teams do) but get bounced pretty quickly, but instead they took us on a wild ride. From Ben Fanelli's miraculous comeback (how I wish I was there the night he scored his first goal) to the team somehow spending the entire year third in the conference despite an unfathomable injury crisis to the best goalie we've ever had in John Gibson and a surprisingly capable backup in Franky Palazzese to Cody Sol somehow turning into first a competent and then a talented defenceman to Ryan Murphy stickhandling through entire teams to Michael Catenacci looking like he aged about three years (physically) since September to Zach Lorentz's shootout move to Ben Thomson and Eric Ming's smart play Radek Faksa's amazing rookie season to Josh Sterk and Brent Pedersen giving hope for the future to that time Jack Moylan backstopped us to a victory in Plymouth, it was just an amazing year.

Luckily this team was built for next year (or even the year after), so there's still a lot to cheer. It's a weird quirk of junior hockey that we can be losing our captain/top playmaker, our top-of-the-league physical defenceman and our hired gun power forward, and yet still looking forward to next year, but everybody's a year older and every other team's dealing with similar losses. We've got three vacant overage spots (two if Crescenzi somehow doesn't land with the Marlies) which can be filled with the cheap big bruisers we desperately need, great goaltending even if we lose Gibson to the pros (apparently he can play in the AHL at 19 for some reason), and a 19-year-old Tobias Rieder who will be an absolute beast playing with Faksa and probably Thomson. Plus Marcantuoni and McEneny will be back after spending most of the year hurt.

Ah well. It was fun.

In other junior news, wait a minute, Justin Paulic is the starting goalie for playoff games in Moose Jaw? That's awesome. He was playing midget hockey in Thompson last year when I worked out there. I knew his parents a bit.

[Ruki]

And the cup champs are out in the first round......

So that's Boston, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, and Vancouver all out in the first round.

....what the fuck, playoffs?

[Hewey]

Boston's out. Did not see that coming. Ugh, it's looking more and more that Flyers will go to the finals. Hopefully the Ranger don't get knocked out, cause they're the only team in the east who I see beating Philly.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Baby Hewey

[Hewey]

oops, screwed up. Damn phone.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Baby Hewey

[Guest mr. potato head]

In fact, Ruki, those five teams have NEVER all been eliminated in the first round before this year!

Closest was in 1984, when four of the five were kicked out in the first round and Pittsburgh got Mario Lemieux.

Along the same lines, was it in here somebody was asking when Detroit was last bounced in the first round? Turns out they lost to Edmonton in 2006 as part of the Oilers' near-Cup run.

[gunnar hendershow]

And here comes the Capitals bandwagon up and down I-95.

Don't mind though, nice to see them actually win a series. DC hasn't won a pro sports title since 1991.

[Ruki]

I think I also read that no team in the west has ever won a cup?

[gunnar hendershow]

Anaheim won the Cup in 2007. They're the only west coast team to ever do it.

[Hewey]

I think I also read that no team in the west has ever won a cup?

Yep, none of those teams that are left in the West have won it before. I think this will be St. Louis or as much as I hate to say it, Philly's turn with the cup.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Baby Hewey