NHL Playoffs, Round 2!

[The Mad Viking]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
I missed the ****ing goal in OT.

Absolutely unbelievable. Stepped out to call my folks, got a busy signal, walked back into the party with my friends and there it was, they'd scored, and it was all over.

That truly sucks, but maybe it softened the hurt a little.

But can I say **** Fraser? He's the worst ref to ref Vancouver games. The Canucks have statistics to show that they play around .400 when Fraser refs.

And then they got that 4 minute penalty to Matt Cooke. Couldn't believe it was happening.

I can't stand Fraser when he refs the Leafs. And the 4 minute call to Cooke was a bad mistake. But the books were balanced when Calgary got a slashing penalty for breaking their own stick over a Vancouver stick, with about 2:30 to go in the game. You can't say they didn't give Vancouver a chance to tie it up. Then when someone slashed Iginla's stick out of his hands, which led directly to the goal, no call. (Probably the right non-call, but still, frustrating to Flame fans)

Same thing with Jovo's penalty with 30 seconds to go in the game 7. Absolutely unheard of in a playoff game. Yeah, he jostled a bit in front of the net, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Rubbish. Offensive players don't get to knock down defenders in front of the net with 3 hard crosschecks to the back. On the power play no less. That call HAD to be made.

Oh, and BTW, they did have a goal that should have counted in the FIRST period, but no one went to the video replay. You could see the puck slide into the net, just before getting knocked off it's moorings.

After the puck was frozen under Kippy's pad, and the whistle blew, you can't really count a goal...

But still, I said I'd be here win or lose, and Calgary played well.

I hope they go to the Stanley cup this year over the Commie Wings.

Calgary.
Montreal.

True sportsmanship!

Ottawa.

With some misguided allegiances...

[The Mad Viking]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Toronto will take down the Flyers, then smuck up Tampa

In the west, Calgary upsets Detroit then goes on to take down San Jose.

Then we have a classic Canadian final.

[The Mad Viking]

Here are my picks for the rest of the playoffs, from page 5 of the last thread, made before the start of the playoffs.

Just substitute Philly for NJ and carry on.

EAST: ROUND TWO

Tampa Bay(1) vs. Montreal (7) in Montreal in 7
Toronto(4) vs. New Jersey(6) vs - Toronto in 7

WEST: ROUND TWO

Detroit(1) vs. - Calgary in 6
San Jose(2) vs. - Colorado in 6


EAST: ROUND THREE

Toronto (4) vs. Montreal (7) - Toronto in 6

WEST: ROUND THREE

Colorado (4) vs. Calgary(6) - Colorado in 7


FINALS
Colorado (4) vs. Toronto(4) - Toronto in 6

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by The Mad Viking
I can't stand Fraser when he refs the Leafs.

Neither can I. It was Fraser, back in 93 when the Leafs were in game 6 against the Kings, who doesn't call a penalty when Gretzky high sticks Gilmour AND draws blood.

I hate Fraser.

[Tingkai]

By the way, I'm six for eight on my predictions. Broduer and Turco let me down.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Tingkai
And that's like saying if Vancouver had Eddie, Forsberg, St. Louis, Iginla, Domi and Nieuwendyk, you'd take Vancouver. So what.

Not at all. Vancouver's soft spot is goal, and the only reason Toronto didn't hit the golf course a week ago is because of Belfour. Only one player on the Leafs comes close to justifying the rediculous payroll the team has, and that's Belfour. Remove him, and the Leafs start to look a lot like the Rangers. Put a goalie of Belfour's calibre in Vancouver, and even without Bertuzzi they'd probably be making a serious run for the cup right now.

Bottom line - Belfour alone on Vancouver takes them from a division winning team to probably the greatest threat in the West, remove Belfour from Toronto and they'd fight to even make the playoffs.

[optimus2861]

I made 7/8 . Missed Philly/New Jersey.

My picks:

Habs in 7 (both goalies now hot, both teams play with speed, should be close matchup; Koivu/Kovalev/Zednik line plus Lightning layoff rust should get Canadiens off to good start and go from there).
Flyers in 6 (these aren't the gutless Senators; Hitchcock will outcoach Quinn; Belfour won't be facing mere perimeter shots any more; absences of Sundin & Nolan will catch up with Leafs).
Flames in 7 (big upset pick; Flames will be more intense than Wings despite talent gap, need Kiprusoff to keep games close).
Avalanche in 6 (too much talent at top of Avalanche lineup for Sharks to hold back over long series).

[cinch]

(Revised ) 2nd Round Picks:

PRINCE OF WALES (yes!) SEMIFINALS

Tampa Bay (1) vs. Montreal (7)... Montreal in 7. The Bulin Wall will crack before Theo... The KKZ line is just too hot to touch right now, and role-players like Perreault and Komisarek are stepping up to fill voids. St. Louis & Co. will keep it interesting, playing their run-and-gun game to the end, but Les Habs will take it in the long run.

Philadelphia (3) vs. Toronto (4)... Toronto in 7. I've learned my lesson: don't bet against Eddie (often). If Belfour avoids injury, they will squeak by Philly. Sundin should be returning relatively soon, and Nolan will pop in at the end of this series. Francis has really stepped up his play in Sundin's absence, and Nieuwendyk is looking strong, as well. Even the much-maligned (by Grapes) fur'ners like Ponikarovksy & Antropov are playing responsible hockey. Philly, however, is not to be underestimated. The only reason I don't pick them is that I think Ottawa played an awesome series, but still weren't able to overcome the Eagle. Philly isn't THAT much better than the Sens, if you ask me. And if Esche cracks, this series may not even go 7. It should, though, and it'll be a close one, down to the wire.

CAMPBELL SEMIFINALS

Detroit (1) vs. Calgary (6)... Calgary in 7... A popular upset to call, to be sure, but it's hard to bet against the fire and grit of the Flames, and the fine play of Iginla and Kiprusoff. Detroit impressed me with the way they bounced back in games 5 and 6 of Round 1, absolutely destroying Nashville. I have noticed, though, that their best players are usually Draper & Maltby, who are great, but they'll need contributions from the Shanahans, Yzermans, and Hulls (not to mention a consistent Cujo) of the team if they want to take down the upstart Flames. Should be an awesome series, though. Both teams play fun hockey, most of the time.

San Jose (2) vs. Colorado (4)... Colorado in 7. This could go either way. I pick Colorado because of the Forsberg Principle: Peter Forsberg is the best forward in the league. Add to that Joe Sakic, a Roy-tutored Aebischer, Rob Blake, role-players galore (Barnaby, Konowalchuk, Sauer)... I like their chances. But I also like San Jose's, with their amazing young talent. Marleau & Cheechoo are the real deals... But, in the end, I will go with the Avs, as I want to see Tommy Salo rewarded for his years of suffering here in Edmo.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

im 1/1, soon to be 2/2.

[Guynemer]

Originally posted by Zylka


uh, no

historically enough; the combined player names on that team make for what could easily be mistake as instructions to launch an ICBM from the outskirts of Vladivostok

the Wings are and have always been Soviet central. it's time for big Alberta business to put that s* DOWN

The Wings currently have one, and only one, player from the former USSR: Pavel Datsyuk.

[notyoueither]

Team colour is red, right? The prosecution rests.

[joncha]

NYE

[Zylka]

Originally posted by Guynemer


The Wings currently have one, and only one, player from the former USSR: Pavel Datsyuk.

shut up.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Kontiki


Not at all. Vancouver's soft spot is goal, and the only reason Toronto didn't hit the golf course a week ago is because of Belfour. Only one player on the Leafs comes close to justifying the rediculous payroll the team has, and that's Belfour. Remove him, and the Leafs start to look a lot like the Rangers.

The Tor-Ott game 6 shows that ain't true. Belfour is the Leaf's MVP, but any team needs more than that to win. Leetch and McCabe had a great series. While the Sens had a lot of shots, they didn't get many quality chances.

Neiuwendyk stepped up with his sniper shots. Domi, Tucker, Kilger showed true grit. Sundin was playing great until he got injured.

In the regular season, all of the Leafs earn their money. They play with heart and grit.

[Tingkai]

We're all looking pretty good on our predictions compared to the folks at The Hockey News.

The publisher and a senior writer were five for eight. The chief editor and the other senior writer were a lowly three for eight!

See:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/thn-picks.html