Stanley Cup Playoff Pick 'Em 2007

[Tuberski]

Firing the coach down 0-2 in a playoff series is pretty pointless.

ACK!

[Sparrowhawk]

I would be surprised at anyone that thought they wouldn't be down 2-0 at this point in the series. I predicted Calgary to win in 7, still think they will win in 7, and am not surprised to see them 2-0 down.

I think the first 6 games will all be won at home and game 7 will be the only game that matters. Then we will see if the Flames can win on the road.

/me

[Tingkai]

The problem isn't the Flames coach. There's a lack of leadership in the ice. Players aren't stepping up their game to the playoff level in general and to fill the void left by injuries. With Regehr injured, there's a massive gap on the blue line and Wings are exploiting it.

So the Flames problems are more about lack of leadership, heart, grit, depth and talent (compared to the Wings).

The only hope the Flames have is that their fans can give them a boost to at least give them a fighting chance against the Wings. I doubt it will be enough.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
The problem isn't the Flames coach.

It is. As someone who has watch 84 Flames games this year, it is absu-****ing-lutely the coach and his "system" that doesn't play towards the strength of the players. Do you think Sutter built this team around a Playfair-like system?

It's the coach. You're an idiot, you haven't seen many games.

So the Flames problems are more about lack of leadership, heart, grit, depth and talent

Do you even watch hockey?? Honestly, I wonder sometimes.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
I would be surprised at anyone that thought they wouldn't be down 2-0 at this point in the series.

It's not that they dropped the first 2 games, it's that they couldn't even play.

Babcock's puck possession system completely owns Playfair's "system". Coaching is a major factor in the playoffs, moreso than the regular season, and Playfair is getting smoked.

The two losses are the two worst Flames games I've seen all year. Babcock can outthink and outmanuever Playfair, and that's precisely what's done.

Tingkai's a moron that disagrees with 99% of the hockey world if he thinks the coach isn't the problem on this team. The core of this team is the same as it was in 03-04 and last year where they were MUCH more successful, the only difference is they added even more talent.

The only difference is the coach and his system. Which is all the difference in the world.

[Asher]

With Regehr injured, there's a massive gap on the blue line and Wings are exploiting it.

Let's have some more fun with your hockey stupidity.

1. Regehr played last night.
2. The Flames have quite impressive depth in their defensive lines, there is no massive gap. Look at the roster.

[Asher]

I posted your "insight' on my hockey blog, and got some good responses.

Ridiculous.

Anyone who points to "heart" as a contributing factor doesn't really have any idea of what they're talking about. Define "heart" for me and explain how it contributes to success...in some sort of measurable fashion.

In addition, the Flames do have an entire dressing room filled with leaders: Warrener, Tanguay, Conroy, Iginla, Yelle. Before this showing, Iggy was considered a premiere leader and play-off performer. Warrener, Tanguay and Yelle have all been deep in the play-offs on several occassions, the latter two having won cups in the past.

Anyone actually watching the games can see that the Team is completely rudderless - either Playfair hasn't communicated an effective strategy or the players aren't listening to him (or both). Players like the talent we have on this roster don't just suddenly start "not caring" to the tune of being humiliated by their opponents.

Ultimately, the blame for this debacle rests on the head of the man who's job it is to form a winning plan and ensure the team follows it: the coach.

In addition, anyone who thinks the Flames don't stack up talent-wise to the Red Wings doesn't know what they're talking about.

[Ninot]

I don't think the Flames stack up talent wise to the Wings. I mean, they have alot of talent, but the Wings are hard to compare to.

But even still, with a different coach, the Flames should be able to win this series. The wings are good, but they aren't THIS good.

[Tingkai]

Why is it no surprise that your hockey blog attracts people who know nothing about hockey. Birds of a feather

Your idiot blogger says the Flames has lots of leaders, and then says the team is rudderless. Maybe that's cause none of the "leaders" are leading, eh. If Playfair isn't organizing the team, then why don't the "leaders" step in and lead.

Your idiot blogger talks about Tanguay having playoff experience, but anyone who does playoff pools knows he rarely performs well in the post-season. He had one good playoff run years ago. And Yelle, he's a great checker, can lead by example, but a leader who can turn a team around... yeah, right.

What really shocks me is that you're a Flames fan, but don't know that Regehr didn't play the first game because of injuries and was playing injured in the second game. His injury was so bad that he had to sit out the last period. If you know anything about playoff hockey then you would know a guy like Regehr doesn't stop playing unless the injury was really bad.

And as a Flames fan, you should know that last year, Regehr and Leopold were the pair that shut down the other team's top lines. This year, the Flames have struggled to find a d-man who can work well with Regehr. With Leopold traded and Regehr injured, there's a massive Hole in the flames blue line corp.

How can you not know this? How can you say there is no massive gap?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Ninot
But even still, with a different coach, the Flames should be able to win this series. The wings are good, but they aren't THIS good.

Detroit is chock full of overrated players who inflate their stats against weak-ass teams 24 times a season.

There are genuine great players there, but Calgary compares very well to Detroit's aging organization talent-wise.

Kipper > Hasek
Iginla > Datsyuk
Zetterberg > Huselius
Lidstrom > Phaneuf (for now)
Hamrlik > Schneider
etc

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Your idiot blogger says the Flames has lots of leaders, and then says the team is rudderless. Maybe that's cause none of the "leaders" are leading, eh. If Playfair isn't organizing the team, then why don't the "leaders" step in and lead.

Where are the leaders leading them? The coach decides the direction and the leaders plow them ahead in that direction. Rudders are a device used to determine direction, for your edification...

Your idiot blogger talks about Tanguay having playoff experience, but anyone who does playoff pools knows he rarely performs well in the post-season.

Excluding a cup-winning goal?

You also consider 0.6 points/game "not playing well" in post-season hockey?

What really shocks me is that you're a Flames fan, but don't know that Regehr didn't play the first game because of injuries and was playing injured in the second game. His injury was so bad that he had to sit out the last period.

I did know he didn't play the first game. He played periods 1 and 2 of the second, and he left in the 3rd due to a new injury -- a leg injury. I was at the game, Tingkai...

If you know anything about playoff hockey then you would know a guy like Regehr doesn't stop playing unless the injury was really bad.

If you know anything about playoff hockey, you know that if the game is already hopelessly lost and one of your better players may be injured, you don't want to aggravate that injury...

And as a Flames fan, you should know that last year, Regehr and Leopold were the pair that shut down the other team's top lines. This year, the Flames have struggled to find a d-man who can work well with Regehr. With Leopold traded and Regehr injured, there's a massive Hole in the flames blue line corp.

Holy hell, I think that's word for word from the 100 pre-game commentaries I've heard on TV. You are so insightful.

Look at Regehr's numbers with his new partners in the past 10 regular season games.

If you think there is a massive hole in the Flames blueline, you are unequivocally retarded. The Flames have 4 pairings that could all be Top 2 pairings in many cities.

And I really don't think a Leafs fan is qualified to talk about defensive play, given you're a huge McCabe fan.

[Asher]

And since when was Yelle a checker, BTW?

He throws about 1 hit per game. But his role isn't really to check...You are probably thrown off by his presence on the poorly-named "checking line"...

I think, as usual, you display a profound ignorance of the team. Keep in mind you are arguing with a group of people who religiously watch each Flames game and analyze them after. How many Flames games have you watched this year?

You're out of your league.

[Tingkai]

Jesus, Asher. I thought you understood hockey.

The score was 2-1 when Regehr left the game. You might call that "hopelessly lost," but nobody else would. If it's 10-0 in the third, it's hopeless. Being a goal behind is not hopeless.

As for "new injury", he had a knee injury and now he has another knee injury. Do I need to draw a picture for you.

And yes, Regehr and Stuart were working well together, but Regehr got injured, eh. Can you say giant gap on the blue line?

And I shouldn't have to explain that the great hockey players step in and control the game. Playfield is not cramping any of their styles. You're suggesting that the players don't know what to do because Playfield is not communicating with them. That's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. These guys are pros. If there is a void, then real leaders step up.

And 0.6 points a game ain't that great. Iginla got more than a point a game last year against Anaheim while Tanguay scored 0.5 per game.

And dude, checking doesn't mean you have to hit the guy. It means stripping the guy of the puck, disrupting their play, pressuring the player so he makes bad passes and battling along the boards.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you actually know a lot about hockey and you're just trying to defend a hopeless argument. Please don't say anything
more to make you look even more stupid. Please.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Jesus, Asher. I thought you understood hockey.

The score was 2-1 when Regehr left the game. You might call that "hopelessly lost," but nobody else would. If it's 10-0 in the third, it's hopeless. Being a goal behind is not hopeless.

Did you watch this game at all?

As for "new injury", he had a knee injury and now he has another knee injury. Do I need to draw a picture for you.

Regehr, like most hockey players, has two legs. Notice which leg he favoured when he went to the locker room?

And yes, Regehr and Stuart were working well together, but Regehr got injured, eh. Can you say giant gap on the blue line?

No, because in order for there to be a giant gap there needs to be no one who could step in to fill it. Which is the point you refuse to address.

And I shouldn't have to explain that the great hockey players step in and control the game. Playfield is not cramping any of their styles. You're suggesting that the players don't know what to do because Playfield is not communicating with them. That's got to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard. These guys are pros. If there is a void, then real leaders step up.

You don't even know the guy's NAME. That's how little you know.

Unreal.

Judging by your posts this season, you seem to think the coach has virtually no input on what happens on the ice. You refused to recognize that coaches have a say in whether shots get blocked, and you refuse to recognize the correct problem with the Flames right now. Maybe this is because all you know is recreational hockey in Hong Kong.

Welcome to the NHL, Tingkai.

[Asher]

The Flames are being outshot 51-15. He actually thinks that Regehr's absence explains this?

The Flames were terrible on the road all yearand pretty garbage down the stretch - and Regehr played all year. "Blueline gap"??

How does Regehr's absence explain the total lack of execution by the forwards?

I said they were rudderless, because the man who is supposed to come up with the plan, ie; the primary leader of the team (the coach), has failed in that regard.

Ask him to explain leadership to me if he doesn't consider Yelle, Iginla, Warrener et al. Leaders - is Bertuzzi the guy igniting the Red Wings? Calder? Datsyuk, the biggest play-off choker in the league (till now).

"Leadership": the amorphous, undefinable quality in the lockerrom that everyone loves to point to and yet know one understands. Who was the leader for the Flames in 04? Gelinas? Notice the teams that were filled with "leaders" that the Flames dispatched on their way to the finals that year?

Garbage.

Tanguay not a play-off peformer? He has 51 points in 83 games, including 21 points in 23 games in 01. Does your friend even look stuff up or just go by fuzzy, half-baked recollections he has in the back of his mind?

Tell the Leafs fan that 1.) I probably know more about hockey than him in general and 2.) I most assuredly know more about Flames hockey than him. Especially since, I, you know actually watch the games.

Calgary gets outshot by more than 60 shots in 2 games and his brilliant, long-distance conclusion is "leadership and Regehr's injured". And he has the gall to call other people "idiots".