Stanley Cup Playoff Pick'em 2010

[Guynemer]

See, my fatal flaw was forgetting that the Red Wings currently employ Todd Bertuzzi, which means that Detroit (rightly) falls under the Hockey Gods' No Complete Douchenozzles Can Lift The Cup law.

I'm still puzzled how Chris Pronger managed to skirt the law.

[Asher]

Pronger bought himself an exemption for destroying the Oilers.

[Asher]

SJ-COL is 0-0 through regulation.

Craig frickin Anderson with 50 saves.
Nabokov with 16.

Bob McKenzie tweets:

This is the same Craig Andersen who was put on waivers by the Hawks, the Bruins and the Blues in a two-week period in 06? Just checking.

Burn

[Asher]

Colorado wins on a fluke goal just as OT starts. HAHAHAHA.

AND IT'S AN OWN GOAL. HAAHAAAAAHAHA

[notyoueither]

Holy ****! San Jose?!

[Asher]

I guess O'Reilly got his stick between a pass from Boyle, which caused the slight redirect into the net.

[notyoueither]

I don't think it hit O'Reilly's stick.

It was a Steve Smith moment.

[Ben Kenobi]

So far it's me and Mr Boo who picked Colorado.

[Asher]

Luongo gets chased. 4 goals on 16 shots.

Raycroft in net.

It's obscene how badly Jonathan ****ing Quick is outplaying Luongo.

12 more years

[Asher]

And after the no-goal on the kicked-in goal by Sedin, the Canuck fans are frothing at the mouth about a giant conspiracy yet again. Even though they lost by two goals, not one, anyway.

[Ben Kenobi]

It's obscene how badly Jonathan ****ing Quick is outplaying Luongo.

12 more years

It helps when they disallow clear goals. Bettman's working overtime this series. Daniel Sedin didn't have a clue where the puck was, and it deflected off his skate.

Not sad to see Kerry Fraser gone. Good riddance.

[Ben Kenobi]

And after the no-goal on the kicked-in goal by Sedin, the Canuck fans are frothing at the mouth about a giant conspiracy yet again. Even though they lost by two goals, not one, anyway.

Yep, although I'm surprised it's taken three games for you to post on the series. Bobby Lou is playing fine. The defense, not so much.

They need one game on the road, so Vigneault has one more game to figure out his PK, or Gillis will get rid of him. He's been soundly outcoached all series.

[Asher]

Cherry says the Canucks need a new captain...I agree. Luongo's clearly not handling the pressure well.

The pathetic whining from BC continues.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/globe-on-hockey/the-nhls-image-problem-in-bc/article1541166/

The NHL’s image problem in B.C.

First off, let’s get one thing straight: the Canucks did not lose Game 3 because of Daniel Sedin’s disallowed goal. They lost because their penalty killing was atrocious, and their goaltending was poor.

The Canucks were deserving losers. Period, full stop.

But the reason why conspiracy theories -- i.e. the league wants the Kings to win -- are floating around B.C. is because, by action if not words, the NHL commissioner has made it clear that U.S. Sunbelt markets are more important than markets in Canada.

That may be untrue and unfair, but rightfully or wrongfully, that is the impression Gary Bettman has cast in his nearly two decades as commissioner. The genie isn’t going back in the bottle at this late stage.

Canadians, and most certainly Canucks fans, who have sold out GM Place for 300-plus consecutive dates, have an insatiable appetite for hockey and aren’t going anywhere.

American fans, particularly those in big, southern cities where the game has little history and where there are plenty of other entertainment options, have shown that they can live fine and well without pucks. Look no further than the lockout.

After eight years out of the playoffs, the Kings need some sugar right now. They need to make a mark in a market where fans are blasé, at best.

The Lakers continue to roll along winning championships and the NFL will soon return to town. Even soccer is bigger down here thanks to David Beckham -- there was a full page of coverage (compared to one column on the Kings) in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, including a list of the 20 best footballers in the world.

Go to Youtube, and you can find examples of goals that were allowed, and where the “propelling” or “kicking motion” was more pronounced than Sedin’s redirection in Game 3.

There’s a Todd Bertuzzi goal earlier this month. Heck, there’s even a Daniel Sedin goal against Chicago in January. When you lay Sedin’s disallowed goal against these tallies, you get suspicious.

And when you consider the context of the Auger-Burrows feud from January, and how that embarrassed the league and its officials, you can begin building the case against Vancouver. When you consider Bettman’s chummy relationship with Kings owner Philip Anschutz and CEO Tim Leiweke, you can begin building the case for L.A.

The conspiracy is almost certainly more imagined than real, but if the NHL truly cared about its Canadian patrons, it would draw no distinction and move to appease its most loyal fans, and fix its image problem.

But the NHL won’t do that because a) Canadian hockey fans will keep coming back despite the abuse, and because b) Bettman is loath to admit failure.

There has not been a single mistake in his entire tenure. Not one. Ever. Just ask him.

I keep saying it...worst sports fans, period.

BTW, I do think perhaps they have Burrows to blame for not having the benefit of the doubt with the officiating staff. I called it when he had his rant session...he essentially declared war on the officials on behalf of the team. I wouldn't be surprised in those borderline cases that Vancouver gets shafted. It's the nature of human psychology.

That's what you get for having a Burrows on your team. Invisible playoff performances, and targets on your back by the officials. Enjoy.

[notyoueither]

Without checking, I bet that's Brunt.

[notyoueither]

*bzzt* Wrong.