Nhl 2008-2009 - Page 3

Beamer · #51 April 27, 2009, 01:46 PM

Jagr is a hall of famer and a great playoff player. I know all about it. Naslund has been down the hill for a while and not sure why Rangers signed him. But, then again, Rangers always sign those great players before retirement. I think Rangers will pull it out somehow tomorrow and Avery should just play hockey. He is a pretty good player, you know. Also, rooting for Carolina tomorrow.

Ishtylish cricketer · #52 April 27, 2009, 04:41 PM

Cheering for the Caps and Devils. Ovichken hasn't scored too many this series and I have feeling he'll break out of the slump with a couple. I can't go against Brodeur at home in game 7. Love watching Parise play. He is one of the best hockey players right now and can't believe so many GMs passed him in the draft because of his small size. Avery is the dirtiest players alive and someone's going to punch him in the head from behind ala Bertuzzi style. He's got way too many enemies on the ice. He's a P***** and won't fight any of the top goons of the NHL. I don't care much for his hockey skills.

Sohel · #53 April 28, 2009, 04:55 AM

Sad to see the Sharks get grilled like that. The LA area tends to redeem its general lack of culture with excellent restaurants and creative chefs, so the green mango salsa went well this time. Being an Iginla fan, also kinda sad to see the Flames extinguished by our old nemesis (not the Leafs, obviously!) ...

My Wings are doing well as expected, easily blowing past the BJs and moving on as usual. But the Ohio boys showed a lot of guts so ... respect! Low draft pick Jonathan Ericsson has been a great surprise in the tradition of great surprises to the typically Toronto-based Hockey pundits still wallowing in their bitter punditry. Years of failure makes you delusional like that. Kudos to our scouts for another steal. That said, I hope Justin Abdelkader earns some ice time next season. Still have high hopes for him.

Nice to see the Bruins doing well after all this time and the Caps still fighting. Maybe game 7 will be the game Ovechkin has kept us waiting for. Expected the Pens to have an easier time with Malkin and company. What a great player he is! It's downright to scary the ponder how great he's likely to become in, say, 5 years. A pleasure to watch him play.

Beamer · #54 April 28, 2009, 10:11 AM

Sohel on board just in time. I am paying particular attention to the Wings and it is abundantly clear that they are even better than last year. Who wouldn't be if you can add an Hossa? I expect them to repeat. Wings toughest task will be to get past Ducks, whom they have drawn, and after that it should be smooth sailing all the way to the end.

I anticipated a tougher series between Pens and Flyers this year and it came true. Flyers are better than last year and we are worse. Pens are operating without any contribution from wingers. Sykora has been a healthy scratch, Guerin just has two goals, Kunitz none. Never really replaced Malone and Hossa. Off season priority is to let go Sykora and his salary and pursue Gaborik at any cost. I do not want Boston. They are firing on all cylinders. They might beat us in five.

IC : No doubt about Avery's dirty plays, but when he chooses to use his brain, he is a pretty decent player. Parise is amazing. Hart winner as far as I am concerned. Is there a bigger fraud in NHL than the Sharks? The moment they drew Ducks ( how did they fall to no.8 ? ), I knew it was over. As expected, Thornton-Marleau didn't show up in playoffs. Wings-Ducks is SCF! I think Chicago is building something great. Pens-Chicago will battle for a few Stanley Cups in future.

Sohel · #55 April 29, 2009, 04:35 AM

For the Wingnuts of the world, anything less the Grail itself is disappointing. But we also know how impossibly hard it is to repeat in the most difficult championship in all of professional sports. We did it back in '97 and '98 taking "one shift at a time". Let's see what happens ...

Beamer · #56 April 29, 2009, 09:50 AM

Second round all set. I was watching last nights games and couldn't believe how Carolina came back and won that series. "Gone in 80 seconds" - what an appropriate title. Brodeaur let in the Staal goal from the top of the circle, without a screen, something a goalie of his caliber should stop especially the series on the line ! That was his second soft goal of the night. Bruins-Hurricanes all set.

cricman: I wanted you guys to win and take on Boston. Carolina did their part and if you guys won, we would have faced the Hurricanes with home ice. Not to be. Is this Verlamov cat that good? Most astonishing stat of the night was Rangers producing 15 shots on goal, and 1 in the third! Other than that, Lundquist was stellar, but once again shooting high on his gloves paid divideds. They were targetting that area. Either he is hurt or it is a chink in his armour that he needs to address. One other observation: Refs are biased beyond reasoning against Avery. Some of it are his own calling, but I think refs should be unbiased once they step on the ice, if they are professionals.

Bettman is creaming in his pants over Pens-Caps series. So much so, the most moronic schedule has been laid out, only to accomodate prime time tv scheduling. The series don't even start till this Sat, and would you believe, he has back to back games scheduled for next weekend.

West
2 Red Wings 8 Ducks
3 Canucks 4 Blackhawks

East
1 Bruins 6 Hurricanes
2 Caps 4 Pens

Beamer · #57 April 29, 2009, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sohel NR
For the Wingnuts of the world, anything less the Grail itself is disappointing. But we also know how impossibly hard it is to repeat in the most difficult championship in all of professional sports. We did it back in '97 and '98 taking "one shift at a time". Let's see what happens ...

Ducks are the only team that can give Wings a run for the money. No one in the East can, perhaps Boston, but if you can get past Ducks, I see no reason why you can't repeat.

Beamer · #58 April 29, 2009, 12:50 PM

Hart finalists are out. As expected : Malkin, Datsyuk, Ovechkin.

Don Cherry and IC must be sick in their stomach !

cricman · #59 April 29, 2009, 02:42 PM

1 Shot on Goal, couldn't even pull the goalie ... thats how pathetic the Rangers Offense is.

One Goal that Deflects off 2 Rangers and Federov decided to play like it's 1998 again, Idiot Redden let him skate all the way up to the point and than was screens Lundy (Who Made some Sick Saves, one on Semin on the glove and Skate Save on a Power Play) and were out.

Get rid rid of Redden, Gomez, Drury ... Resign Antropov. Make a Trade for Kovy. Make sure Jagr resigns with us and not with Oilers.

Akib · #60 April 29, 2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cricman
1 Shot on Goal, couldn't even pull the goalie ... thats how pathetic the Rangers Offense is.

One Goal that Deflects off 2 Rangers and Federov decided to play like it's 1998 again, Idiot Redden let him skate all the way up to the point and than was screens Lundy (Who Made some Sick Saves, one on Semin on the glove and Skate Save on a Power Play) and were out.

Get rid rid of Redden, Gomez, Drury ... Resign Antropov. Make a Trade for Kovy. Make sure Jagr resigns with us and not with Oilers.

Rangers are lucky to get past 5th game. Lundqvist was only reason.

Anyways, you guys have an amazingly large amounts of bad contracts. I'd say its close to impossible to get rid of redden, gomez OR drury unless you give up a few first rounders (contracts are that bad).

cricman · #61 April 29, 2009, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akib
Rangers are lucky to get past 5th game. Lundqvist was only reason.

Anyways, you guys have an amazingly large amounts of bad contracts. I'd say its close to impossible to get rid of redden, gomez OR drury unless you give up a few first rounders (contracts are that bad).

Were gonna waste Lundvists Prime, Just Like We Wasted Richters.

Team is so slow, Gomez Skates by 3 Guys and the other forwards are 15 feet behind the blue line.

Beamer · #62 April 30, 2009, 10:54 AM

Akib is dead right. Rangers have an astonishing amount of bad contracts for players who are not going to get any better. Apart from Staal, Dubinsky and Callahan, ironically the groomed Rangers, the rest are old and on the downside. Besides, Rangers have given away younger players at trade deadlines each year. Getting rid of players is not easy in NHL. Either you have to eat the bad contracts ( such as Redden ) or trade them away, which can happen if you guys miss the playoffs a few times, and other teams will come calling to add veteran presence around the trade deadlines. Sorry to say it, but Rangers are years away now behind Pens, Caps, Bruins etc in terms of core young players in the East.

Sohel · #63 May 1, 2009, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beamer
Ducks are the only team that can give Wings a run for the money. No one in the East can, perhaps Boston, but if you can get past Ducks, I see no reason why you can't repeat.

You're right about the Ducks. I'm pretty confident about winning it all ONCE we reach the SCF. Until then, anything can happen no matter how unlikely it seems on paper ...

My predictions:

1. WEST- Wings 4 Ducks 3 <> Canucks 4 Chicago 3

Wings 4 Canucks 1 > Wings

2. EAST- Pens 4 Caps 3 <> Bruins 4 Canes 2

Pens 2 Bruins 4 > Bruins

SCF: Wings 4 Bruins 2 > Detroit Red Wings

Awards:

1. Hart- Datsyuk
2. Pearson- Datsyuk
3. Norris- Lidstrom
4. Selke- Datsyuk
5. Lady Bing- Datsyuk

Conn Smythe- LIdstrom/Frazen/Datsyuk

Beamer · #64 May 1, 2009, 11:14 AM

Your predictions might come true for SCF.

My Awards : Art Ross- Malkin , Rocket Richards -Ovechkin ( already done )

Hart : Ovechkin
Pearson : Datsyuk
Norris : Chara
Selke : Richards

Conn Smythe : Evgeni Malkin !!

Ishtylish cricketer · #65 May 1, 2009, 02:07 PM

Ducks will beat the Wings in the race to the penalty box so the actual games will be won by the Wings just because their PP is so dangerous. As long as the refs let the players decide series instead of their whistles it could be the best series of this year's playoffs. Couple of the guys in the Ducks team (Getzlaf and Perry) may play themselves onto the Canadian team if they have a good series.

Boston has lot of depth in forwards and in my opinion the best defenceman in the NHL. Tim Thomas is very reliable in close games though I can never figure out how he manages to stop puck with such an unorthodox (out of position, poor rebound control) style. He seems to get hit by the puck and makes the saves look accidental. I guess he learned it from the goaltending school of Dominic Hasek. No disrespect to Hasek, he was one of the greatest ever but he was very unorthodox. Cam Ward's goaltending is much more refined and more pleasing to the eye but Tim Thomas has a better team so he'll come out victorious. Pittsburg vs. Washington on paper seems like the most entertaining series to watch.

Sohel · #66 May 2, 2009, 07:08 AM

Wings 3 Ducks 2

Winning the first game is always critical. Good to see Cheli back but it'd be great to have Rafalski back for the next series ...

Beamer · #67 May 2, 2009, 10:46 AM

Every time Ducks took a penalty, it seemed like the momentum turned towards Wings, and it did. I thought Ducks played well 5 on 5. Hiller looks like the real deal. Getzslaf is a force to be reckoned with. This series will go the distance if Ducks manage to stay out of the sin bin. If not, they will lose in five or six. Simple as that.

Boston rolled as expected. They have four lines churning all time. How about Ryder ? I bet Habs fans are gutted right now. And , Carey Price? He is going to be Theodore 2.0. He is overrated. I rank him below top fifteen goalie in this league..

We want to win at least one game in D.C. Oh..I wish Theodore was there!

Sohel · #68 May 3, 2009, 04:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beamer
Every time Ducks took a penalty, it seemed like the momentum turned towards Wings, and it did. I thought Ducks played well 5 on 5. Hiller looks like the real deal. Getzslaf is a force to be reckoned with. This series will go the distance if Ducks manage to stay out of the sin bin. If not, they will lose in five or six. Simple as that.

Boston rolled as expected. They have four lines churning all time. How about Ryder ? I bet Habs fans are gutted right now. And , Carey Price? He is going to be Theodore 2.0. He is overrated. I rank him below top fifteen goalie in this league..

We want to win at least one game in D.C. Oh..I wish Theodore was there!

Spot on Beamer. This will be a tough series but after the first game, I don't think we'll have issues. Our first two lines may match up once the Ducks give their 120% but the other two lines give us the decisive edge. As do our PP units. Our PK units have guys with the knack for SHGs and that puts unnecessary but sustained psychological pressure tough to handle. We'll see how they hold up at the Pond. Even at their best, they can neither stifle nor get past the Saint, Pav and Hank and our playoff performers can handle the rest without too much difficulty. Complacency is not in our vocabulary and we don't mind losing a game or two if they deserve the win ...

Pens will have a really tough time but I'm still rooting for them to beat the Caps.

cricman · #69 May 3, 2009, 11:04 AM

All Sid the Kid Had to do was slift the puck, and they would have won.

So Many wasted Odd-Man Rushes wasted, Pens tried to make one pass to many instead of shooting on good scoring opportunites, Varlamov will let in the softie and give east rebounds

Beamer · #70 May 3, 2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cricman
All Sid the Kid Had to do was slift the puck, and they would have won.

So Many wasted Odd-Man Rushes wasted, Pens tried to make one pass to many instead of shooting on good scoring opportunites, Varlamov will let in the softie and give east rebounds

Tell me about it bro. We would have won had he scored. Sid is not the best goal scorer. I have seen him miss many many easy goals over the last four years. What is worrisome is lack of production from the so called wingers. Our centers ( Malkin, Sid, Staal ) keep providing quality chances, but wingers are not putting it in. Same thing happened in the Philly series. Again, no Malone or Hossa, sigh ! I just don't see us doing much this year. PP is a dud as well.

Watch out for Chicago. They remind me of the Pens last year. Young team first time on the scene. Don't really know anything about playoffs. Just plain playing.

Hiller is the real deal. Stellar performance today though I missed the game.

Sohel · #71 May 4, 2009, 08:02 AM

Oh well. Gotta win one at the Pond ...

Ducks were relentless throughout triple OT and hats off to them. The Canes are never easy to dispose of. Shaping up to be quite a second round here. Can be the best in years.

Here's a good read on Malkin.

Beamer · #72 May 4, 2009, 10:43 AM

All the road teams won their respective second games. Its our turn tonight. We have to earn a split somehow. Going down 0-2 against Caps will be it for us.

Bancan · #73 May 4, 2009, 08:57 PM

wow both Crosby and Ovie score 3.

Sohel · #74 May 5, 2009, 09:48 AM

Uphill battle for the Pens now. Great test of character and grit for Malkin and company. No matter what the outcome may be, this will benefit the team in the years to come. Ovechkin is beginning to deliver with the type of intensity expected from him. He's definitely the dark horse this post season.

Beamer · #75 May 5, 2009, 10:25 AM

Indeed a deep hole. Caps are overall a better team than us this year. One area where I thought we had the edge was goaltending, but no longer the case after watching Verlamov downright outplaying Fleury, who btw is overrated IMO. Ovechkin's shots are like missiles. I don't think I have ever seen anyone fire the puck away with such ferocity with surgical precision. Sid is battling like a champion player that he is. Problem is Malkin has gone cold. I don't blame him entirely since he is playing on a line with a complete liability called Sykora and non-scoring Fedotenko. Finally, it has caught up to him. That second line gets scored on all the time and negativity is palpable in his game right now. Again, Caps are a better team than us this year..