NHL Playoffs: The Finals: Calgary Flames versus Tampa Bay Lightning

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Ruslan Fedetenko!!!

Goooo!!! Rusty!!!!

I remember him when he played for the Philadelphia Phantoms AHL before he got his shot in the bigs with the Flyers. I thought he had promise back then and was thrilled to see him do so well in the playoffs. He was a Flyer killer in their series and proved to be the trigger man in game 7.

Maybe one of these years the cup will go back to the great north but this is now what 11 or 12 seasons?

[Asher]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
20% of all Canadians vist Florida each year.

That's bull****...

[KrazyHorse]

Last one was 93. Montreal took it against the Kings in 5 games.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Okay, sure, be proud that your American dollars paid for the roster of 15 Canadians, 3 Russians, 3 Czechs, 1 Swede and 3 Americans. Not to mention the MVP being Canadian.

We pride ourselves on being a country of immigrants! I'm very proud of this fact.

[JohnT]

And a rich country of immigrants at that.

[Tingkai]

Congrats to Jon for winning the hockey pool.

[joncha]

Sweet! I was worried after I started tanking in the final round.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

and a warm country of rich immigrants.

[Guest]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
20% of all Canadians vist Florida each year. One out of thirteen lives here year round. I'm sure someone cared Florida won.

I hope this was an exageration..
Probably, not even 20% of Canadians leave the country every year...

[optimus2861]

Setting aside the whole "goal" / "no goal" huff (that new evidence still isn't conclusive, Asher -- all you've proven is that the puck was in fact off the ice, which only confirms the problem of locating the puck in 3D space off the 2D image in the infamous replay photo and its relation to the plane of the goal line), Calgary's odds of getting back to the final any time soon aren't very good. Since 1990, only three teams that have lost in the Stanley Cup finals have managed to get back there -- the North Stars (lost 1991, won 1999), Red Wings (lost 1995, won 1997, 1998, 2002) and the Devils (lost 2001, won 2003). A lot of the others haven't even come close (Blackhawks, Kings, Canucks, Panthers, Capitals, Sabres, Hurricanes, Ducks).

It's such a psychological blow to the team, to have spent so long working so hard and then have it all be for naught -- very, very hard to rise back up to that level for the full 82-game schedule and playoffs again.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by joncha
Sweet! I was worried after I started tanking in the final round.

Congratulations, ya hoser!

[The Mad Monk]

Originally posted by optimus2861
Setting aside the whole "goal" / "no goal" huff (that new evidence still isn't conclusive, Asher -- all you've proven is that the puck was in fact off the ice, which only confirms the problem of locating the puck in 3D space off the 2D image in the infamous replay photo and its relation to the plane of the goal line), Calgary's odds of getting back to the final any time soon aren't very good. Since 1990, only three teams that have lost in the Stanley Cup finals have managed to get back there -- the North Stars (lost 1991, won 1999), Red Wings (lost 1995, won 1997, 1998, 2002) and the Devils (lost 2001, won 2003). A lot of the others haven't even come close (Blackhawks, Kings, Canucks, Panthers, Capitals, Sabres, Hurricanes, Ducks).

It's such a psychological blow to the team, to have spent so long working so hard and then have it all be for naught -- very, very hard to rise back up to that level for the full 82-game schedule and playoffs again.

How do they manage it in baseball?

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by optimus2861
It's such a psychological blow to the team, to have spent so long working so hard and then have it all be for naught -- very, very hard to rise back up to that level for the full 82-game schedule and playoffs again.

I think it's more about the level of competition.

And what happened in the past may not mean anything. We just witnessed a generation shift. The new stars like Iginla, Richards and St Louis are taking over. Tampa's win and Calgary's great run will change how other teams are coached. And of course the new CBA, whatever it is, will change things.