That would be cool, since we took them 5-3 in the regular season (strange, huh?) but I think we might move up to seventh and face Dallas if we win tonight, depending on how Montreal does. We’re on 92 points and they have 93.
Yep, the Lightning got in when Alanta lost last night.
My mighty Ottawa Senators are lookin’ good. They’re a point behind Carolina, which is fine; I prefer the matchup against Montreal as opposed to Tampa. IMHO, Ottawa is actually a much better team than Carolina and the Hurricanes’ record is a touch flukey, not to say that they’re not a really good team.
The issue is whether Dominik Hasek will be back and healthy, which would make the Sens a huge favourite to win the Cup, or whether they have to go with Ray Emery, which would make them a slight favourite. The loss of Hasek is really not as huge a deal as some Sens fans are making it out to be; Emery’s a perfectly good goaltender, and with sufficient firepower many teams have won Cups without great goaltending.
Ottawa, assuming they play Montreal, will destroy them; I like the Habs and I wish they coulod play someone else in the first round but they’re going to get clobbered. And that’s good for Ottawa, who need an easy first round to either get Hasek ready or let Emery works the butterflies out.
Of course, my mistake. Not sure what happens if the two tie at 93 or 94 points.
:smack:
We get Ottawa, obviously not Dallas if we move up. I don’t like to play the Senators, they seem to have our number. I’d rather we stayed 8th.
On a side note, I was just checking and it looks like we averaged over 20,000 in attendance this year, with no game below 19,000. And we really showed poorly this year. Not too shabby at all.
Islander fan here. All I have to say is “Go Yankees!”
My AHL Cleveland Barons not only failed to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs they’re closing up shop and moving to Worchester Mass. 
Sorry about that. Wasn’t there an NHL version of the Barons for a while? I seem to recall seeing them play my old Atlanta Flames once upon a time. Where’d they get to?
Except that they might be the Kansas City Pengiuns in two years. I am very excited about the Penguins future…I just am not sure that I’ll be a fan when it hits. I will be staunchly loyal if they remain the Pittsburgh Penguins (my whole family is from Pittsburgh, so I was raised on Pittsburgh sports). However, if the team gets moved, I’ll become a Columbus BlueJackets fan. I’m moving to Columbus in two weeks, and I grew up in Ohio, so I’d feel more connection there than to the Penguins if they’re in another city.
I’m just hoping they get an arena deal and stick in the 'burgh.
39 years and counting…
Not much else to say.
Yeah, kinda forgot about that. If they move, it darn well better be to Winnipeg!
I just wanted to drop in and say that I’ll be at the Rangers/Senators game tonight. Because I live here I’m a Rangers fan but from what I’ve read in this thread, they might not be able to stand against Ottawa…
The recently deceased version of the Cleveland Barons was their third incarnation. The first one was in the AHL from the 30s’ to the early 1970s. They moved out when the first WHA moved in with the Cleveland Crusaders, who made a big splash by sigining the Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers. The Crusaders folded in 1976 when the NHL California Golden Seals (nee Oakland Seals) moved to Cleveland and became the new Barons. The NHL Barons lasted two seasons and then merged with the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars moved to Dallas in the 1990s and dropped “North” from their nickname.
Maybe. Maybe not. The Rangers weren’t supposed to be half the team that they’ve turned out to be. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rangers pulled it off.
Detroit’s got Nashville again. :rolleyes: I’m loathing this unbalanced schedule thing. I know the plan was to get rivalries going, but it’s just tiresome. I’ve seen way too much of the Preds this season. Seems like we’ve been playing them once a week since the season started.
If Nashville wins the cup, I hope they reward Barry Trotz with a neck. He looks like a basketball on the center of a two by four.
Hasek healthy for the playoffs? Don’t make me laugh. He is one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen when he was here in Buffalo, but he punked out in the post season more than once.
Not in Detroit. He’s one of the reasons we won the last cup. Also, he took Buffalo all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals only to lose on what was at the time an iffy goal. Hasek prefers to punk out in the regular season.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he bowed out to a “groin injury” if the Sens lose a couple of games though. The dudes work ethic takes a dive when he gets moody.
My team is Ottawa, and as RickJay said, things are looking good. Best offence in the league. Led the league in goals against until our top 3 defencemen all missed a two-week period this month. Top 5 in both the power play and the penalty kill. Scored an incredible 25 short-handed goals. We had 20 goal scorers on the third and fourth lines. This team can score in bunches, shut down the opposition, and if we get Hasek back, we could supply a starting lineup for the East All-Star team.
You finished 8th and got the Sens. Oops.
The playoff matchups are set. My picks in bold.
Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs 8. Tampa (5 games)
- Carolina vs 7. Montreal (6 games)
- New Jersey vs 6. NY Rangers (7 games)
- Buffalo vs 5. Philadelphia (6 games)
Western Conference
- Detroit vs 8. Edmonton (6 games)
- Dallas vs 7. Colorado (5 games)
- Calgary vs 6. Anaheim (7 games)
- Nashville vs 5. San Jose (6 games)
Ah. I love me some playoffs. I did so well with tonights Rangers/Ottawa game, I may as well put my picks in writing.
Western Conference
Detroit v. Edmonton: I’ll admit my bias first. I’m a wings fan. Series is a split. Edmonton is fast and talented, but I’m just not convinced on the depth and their goaltending. Detroit in five.
Dallas v. Colorado: There’s just something about the way Dallas plays. They don’t look to me as if they have meshed as a team. Turco’s a hell of a goalie, but he can go cold. I’ll stick with Dallas in six.
Calgary v. Anaheim: If they keep Gigueres pads measured to what’s allowed, Calgary in four
Nashville v. San Jose: I think this will be the first round battle of the west. Nashville is a good team. They’re well coached and fast. They’re also clutchy and grabby. San Jose has all the momentum and is imho the cinderella story this year. I’ll pick the Sharks in seven.
Eastern Conference
Ottawa v. Tampa Bay: Barring a truly massive flameout on the part of the Sens, this one should be a walk. Sens in four
Carolina v. Montreal: I think this Carolina team is better than the one that made it to the finals a few years ago. Montreal is fast and talented though. I’ll say Hurricanes in six.
New Jersey v. NY Rangers: The Devils have Brodeur. That could be enough alone to take them to the next round. I’m just not sold on their offense. Rangers in six.
Buffalo v. Philadelphia: The Flyers should be a powerhouse, but they aren’t. Buffalo will take them down in five.
Stupid Hurricanes! This does not bode well.
I was pissed last night when the Devils came back to win the game–and the division–but then my good sense prevailed, because that meant the Flyers will play Buffalo instead of New Jersey, and New Jersey has been spanking everyone lately. I’m fine with throwing the Rangers in as sacrificial lambs against the Devils; I despise both franchises, so I win either way. That also means there’s more time for New Jersey to cool off before one of the other teams has to play them.
Nevertheless, I still fear for the Flyers’ immediate future. Buffalo will be a load, no doubt about that. It all depends on Forsberg: he’s amazing, when he decides to show up. If he doesn’t make it on the ice, the Sabres probably take it in five or six.
Ottawa showed some huevos last night, going out and taking the top spot in the conference away from Carolina. I still have doubts, but I think they’ll handle Tampa Bay.
I’m not worried about Carolina stinking it up last night against Buffalo. It didn’t look good, but I still think they’re plenty good. And Montreal laid down like dogs against New Jersey; how the hell do you let a team score four goals in the third period? Carolina, probably in five.
I think Detroit will handle Edmonton. The Oilers still have that “little team that could” feel to them–that’s not enough against the Red Wings.
I don’t know about Dallas. They’re record is better than the team, in my opinion. They won a ton of games in shootouts this year–a benefit they won’t get in the playoffs. If there’s a first round upset lurking out there, I think this might be the series. What the hell: Colorado in six.
Calgary is good, and they still have Darryl Sutter, who knows how to get a team deep in the playoffs. The Ducks have been hot, but not that hot. Calgary in five.
Nashville and San Jose played a number of really good games this year, all tight one goal games. This should be a hell of a series. I think Vokoun’s injury should be the decider–the Sharks will get one game out of that that they shouldn’t win. San Jose, probably in seven.
After all that, who the hell knows?