NHL Playoffs

[Asher]

Projections were surprisingly accurate.

[Agathon]

Well?

Ready to turtle on your "old men" comments?

GO OILERS!!!!

[joncha]

Originally posted by Asher
Canucks vs Flames, first round.

Who will win, and by how much?

Vancouver in (at most) 6.

[Asher]

Nope. It just so happens that the "old" players in your examples tend to be better. There's no correlation between experience in the playoffs and doing better. Better players will do better.

In fact, I would expect the few people who've won a cup more than once to be less motivated than, say, the Flames, which is full of young talent that have never won a cup, but have tried for seven years...

[Agathon]

The Leafs are currently 5-0 up on the Sens, and the latter are rapidly losing their composure due to the shellacking they're taking.

I guess the Leafs have wrapped up home ice.


**** THE SENS!!!!

[Agathon]

Originally posted by Asher
Nope. It just so happens that the "old" players in your examples tend to be better. There's no correlation between experience in the playoffs and doing better. Better players will do better.

Yes, they are better because they have more experience, especially in the playoffs.

Teams trade for people who are proven playoff performers. That makes them more likely to produce a winning team.

As I've shown you, no team without a signficant number of playoff veterans has won the Cup in the last five years. In fact it goes back further than that.

Rookie teams may do well, but they basically cannot win.

In fact, I would expect the few people who've won a cup more than once to be less motivated than, say, the Flames, which is full of young talent that have never won a cup, but have tried for seven years...

Uh...no... the kind of people that win multiple cups are like Nieuwendyk who gives it everything for every game. Messier is a good example, too.

[joncha]

Originally posted by Agathon
Uh...no... the kind of people that win multiple cups are like Nieuwendyk who gives it everything for every game. Messier is a good example, too.

Yeah, or people like Ray Bourque or Trevor Linden...

[Agathon]

Players who have played in high pressure environments can handle it better than those who haven't. Experience matters.

That is why a team like Anaheim might made the final. But they were never going to win, the Devils were simply too savvy and knew that they couldn't be beat on home ice.

The playoffs are a hell of a lot different than the regular season. The standard of refereeing is different, tactics are more defensive, there's almost no fighting and special teams are to the fore. The pressure ratchets way up too. A cool, experienced head is necessary. That is what players like Joe Nieuwendyk bring to a team.

The record proves that it is almost impossible for a team with little playoff experience to win the Stanley Cup, no matter how well organized and how motivated. Eventually, they will come up against a smart team that will find them out.

[Agathon]

Originally posted by joncha


Yeah, or people like Ray Bourque or Trevor Linden...

Bourque is an excellent example. He personally carried that Colorado team through games six and seven of their winning series. Scott Stevens was outstanding in the Devils' 2000 win, even though he didn't score much. And the "grumpy old men" line served Dallas well the year before.

Linden deserves to play for a better team.

[optimus2861]

Originally posted by Agathon
I guess the Leafs have wrapped up home ice.

And the best that I can figure, they've got a Canadian opponent. Everything rides on the Boston/New Jersey game tomorrow; both the Atlantic & Northeast titles are up for grabs (though NJ can still win the Atlantic if they lose, providing Philadelphia also loses tomorrow).

If Boston wins:
Boston leapfrogs Toronto and wins the Northeast with 104 points to 103. Boston gets #2 and plays #7 Montreal (classic!). Toronto drops to #4 and plays #5 Ottawa (yet another Battle of Ontario). New Jersey and Philadelpha meet up, with Philly getting #3 by beating New York, otherwise New Jersey gets #3.

If New Jersey wins:
Toronto takes the Northeast with 103 points and more wins than Boston. They get #2 and draw #7 Montreal (the match-up CBC is dying for). Boston falls all the way down to #6 and plays #3 New Jersey. Ottawa hangs on to #4 and gets #5 Philadelphia.

A NJ/Boston tie also produces scenario #2, though Philadelphia can still take #3 seed with a win and drop New Jersey to #5 instead (which would doom the Senators).

#1 Tampa Bay (that just looks weird, don't it? ) gets #8 New York no matter what.

[Agathon]

Excellent post, Optimus. Thanks for the info.

I'd love to see the Leafs face Montreal.

Philly must be ****ting themselves at the prospect of Ottawa, who have dumped them twice now at my count.

Anyway, 6-0 is better than I dreamed of for today's result. And my soccer team won too, so it's been a productive day.

[Imran Siddiqui]

#1 Tampa Bay (that just looks weird, don't it? )

God yes!

It's like the NY Giants going 15-1 in the NFL next year.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by optimus2861
If Boston wins:
Boston leapfrogs Toronto and wins the Northeast with 104 points to 103. Boston gets #2 and plays #7 Montreal (classic!). Toronto drops to #4 and plays #5 Ottawa (yet another Battle of Ontario).

Go Bruins.

6-0 drubbing of the Sens. Belfour is hot. Two shutouts in the last two games! Good night Sens.

The Leafs are going to the Cup.

[Agathon]

I want to see the Leafs play the Habs.

[joncha]

It's 4-1 Vancouver at the end of the second... so it looks like the Oilers are out and the Vancouver-Calgary series in on.

edit: I guess Calgary still has a good chance to finish ahead of Dallas... I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.