NHL Playoff Thread-Mania...

[Hot Mustard]

East:

Ottawa leads Philadelphia 3-2
New Jersey beats Tampa 4-1

West:

Anaheim leads Dallas 3-2
Vancouver leads Minnesota 3-1

[Tingkai]

Now we'll see what Giguere is made of. Can he come back after being chased from the net? Dallas should have the experience to make a run for it.

[Bearcat]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Always overlooked are the Devs . They'll show the Senators who's boss .

The Devs aren't the team they were when they had the A Line intact or in '94 when they won the cup over the Wings. Granted they still have players like Elias, Stevens, and Brodeur, but they still have a lot of up and comers, not proven talent. The only A Liner they have left is Elias.

Best defensive team in the NHL.

Please, the trap may be effective, but snore......

[cinch]

Goddamn Stars!!! They foil me at every turn!

Now we'll see what Giguere is made of. Can he come back after being chased from the net? Dallas should have the experience to make a run for it.

We shall indeed see... I think he'll be able to bounce back, though. He never really lost his composure, and he's got a very calm demeanor. I think he's mature enough to come back from this.

Well.. Dallas took victory.. Kapanen scored 3rd and 4th. Finn POWAH!

What a classy guy he is. Both goals, he didn't hot-dog. Didn't even put his hands in the air. Just kept himself composed and determined. For a young guy like himself, that's an impressive trait.

He's probably the Star I hate least.

****************

MY STARS HATE-LIST:

1. Derian Hatcher/Jason Arnott (tie)
2. Claude Lemieux
3. Sergei Zubov (wife-beater!)
4. Darryl Sydor
5. Rob DiMaio
6. David Oliver
7. Scott Young
8. Phillipe Boucher

STARS I RESPECT, BUT WILL NEVER CHEER FOR AS LONG AS THEY WEAR THE GREEN AND GOLD:
1. Kapanen
2. Jere Lehtinen
3. Ron Tugnutt, baby!!!
4. Bill Guerin

STARS I WANT TO HATE BUT CAN'T:

1: Mike Modano (just too damn likeable)
2. Marty Turco (maybe if he was American)
3. Richard Matvichuk (he's from Edmonton... Yeah, I know, Sydor is, too... but screw Sydor!)
4. Brenden Morrow (just too damn talented)
5. Stu Barnes (like pyrogies)

[Imran Siddiqui]

Please, the trap may be effective, but snore......

The Devils haven't played the trap since ~1999. I don't see how you can have 4 coaches with different philosophy's (Lemaire, Ftorek, Robinson, Burns) and end up playing the same style through all of them (even under Robinson, the Devs played more aggressively in the Lemaire days).

And you deride the Devs, but root for the Wild? Wierd.

The Devs aren't the team they were when they had the A Line intact or in '94 when they won the cup over the Wings. Granted they still have players like Elias, Stevens, and Brodeur, but they still have a lot of up and comers, not proven talent. The only A Liner they have left is Elias.

Um... what?

The A Line dismantling was another genius Lou Lamerillo move. The line was getting stale and they got real talent from the deals (Langenbrunner.. who leads NJ in playoff scoring... Nwuendyck [sp?]... Freisen). Saying this team doesn't have the talent of the '95 team is ludicrous at best.

And the Devs have ALWAYS been built on young up and comers. What do you think Elias and Sykora were in 2000? What do you think Guerin and Niedermeyer were in '95?

This team has just as much talent as those teams. Niedermeyer, Stevens, Elias, Langenbrunner, Gomez, Friesen, Madden, and Brodeur. They got more talent than the '95 team and not too far behind the 2000 and 2001 teams.

[cinch]

The Devils haven't played the trap since ~1999. I don't see how you can have 4 coaches with different philosophy's (Lemaire, Ftorek, Robinson, Burns) and end up playing the same style through all of them (even under Robinson, the Devs played more aggressively in the Lemaire days).

Don't forget Kevin Constantine!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Oh right! Damn, I keep forgetting him .

Poor guy, didn't have a chance. After getting bumped by Carolina, you KNEW he was gone. Burns may last, thankfully... lookes like Lou isn't getting lessons in ownership from George Stienbrenner .

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
The A Line dismantling was another genius Lou Lamerillo move. The line was getting stale and they got real talent from the deals (Langenbrunner.. who leads NJ in playoff scoring... Nwuendyck [sp?]... Freisen). Saying this team doesn't have the talent of the '95 team is ludicrous at best.

Genius move? The Devils got rid of Sykora and Mogilny. Losing Mogilny cost them big time last year. And look at what he is still doing. Sykora is still great.

Meanwhile, Gomez has struggled for two years after one great year when he was playing with Mogilny.

Friesen? He's got potential, but four pts in 10 games ain't nothing to write home about, particularly when the Devils have played against teams with lousy goalies. The same for Nieuwendyk.

What else have the Devils got? Not much other than Madden and Langenbrunner.

[Hot Mustard]

Any predictions for tonight?

Three games with clubs able to win series - I'm guessing at least 2 will be decided - Vancouver and Anaheim.

[Kontiki]

The one prediction I've been making is that the Vancouver-Minnesota game will be much more of a blow-out than any of the others were. I'll say the final score will be 4-1 or 5-1, but I'm not sure for who. I can just as easily see Vancouver having a rough home game as I can Minnesota just folding.

[Sava]

Anaheim and Minnesota? That screaming sound coming from Chicago will be me.

[Imran Siddiqui]

The Devils got rid of Sykora and Mogilny. Losing Mogilny cost them big time last year. And look at what he is still doing. Sykora is still great.

A. Mogilny was not a member of the A line.

B. Mogilny cost too much for the Devs bottom line. They simply couldn't afford him. Unfortunetly they couldn't spring a deal. Nevertheless, Mogilny is home and the Devs are still going strong.

C. Sykora for Freisen is a decent deal. Pretty equal. Tverdovsky is good enough for a few extra regular season wins.

What else have the Devils got? Not much other than Madden and Langenbrunner.

Stevens, Brodeur, Elias, Niedermeyer, Rafalski

The strength of the Devils has always been defense, any offensive production is just a bonus.

[Hot Mustard]

Senators 5-1 over Flyers, win series 4-2.

[Sava]

Dammit...

[Bearcat]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
And you deride the Devs, but root for the Wild? Wierd.

I am not particularly fond of the trap, and I'm not particularly fond of the Devils. But I am keen to see hockey succeed where it was always meant to be here in the States and that is Minnesota. It's just a pity that Lemaire does employ the trap. Hopefully one day he'll be able to discard it for a more open system.

The A Line dismantling was another genius Lou Lamerillo move. The line was getting stale and they got real talent from the deals (Langenbrunner.. who leads NJ in playoff scoring... Nwuendyck [sp?]... Freisen).

We'll see just how genius of a move that was.