…And unfortunately I am proved right.
Not quite. Hull has a great shot, but concrete feet. Without a center to feed him the puck(Oates, Datsyuk), Hull was a liability. Kovalchuk has a great shot, and he can skate. As for Fedorov, I think you’re right there, but not in the way you think. He was a two way player. He played the team game. If they’re missing Fedorov, it’s his defensive ability and speed.
As much as I’d love to rail against the refs for some questionable calls/non calls, I can’t. The wings should never have let them come close enough for the calls to matter. Defensive errors led to goals that Legace should not have let in. He was playing way out in the crease and couldn’t get back in time when the puck went across, something I’ve been noticing the whole series. The defense blew their coverage leading to open men by open nets. Simply put, if Detroit had played better the calls wouldn’t have been a factor.
Congratulations to the Oilers. Good luck on the next round. If you continue to play “pump it” by the Black Eyed Peas, I hope you get swept by a score of 20-0 in each game. 
Yeah, but who lead your team in playoff scoring? Steve Yzerman. Who won the Conn Smythe? Nicklas Lidstrom.
Of course, you did have Dominik Hasek in net.
Jerome…Say hello to Beaujomeins left fist.
Jerome…Say hello to the ice.
Now that is great strategy.
Well, the Ducks outplayed Calgary and survived Game 6, 2-1. Should have been 3-1 on a bad call by Koharski. Game 7 will be quite a challenge up in Calgary, but hey, if the Ducks play game 7 like they did this game, then it won’t matter which rink they will play in.
So here’s the current rundown:
EAST:
Ottawa (1) defeats Tampa Bay (8) 4-1
Carolina (2) leads Montreal (7) 3-2
New Jersey (3) defeats New York (6) 4-0
Buffalo (4) leads Philadelphia (5) 3-2
There are no major surprises here except for the extent of the Rangers’ defeat, although losing Jagr certainly didn’t help. New Jersey was too hot. Meanwhile, Ray Emery was solid for Ottawa, which bodes well for the NHL’s new #1 seed. If Carolina and Buffalo win, it’ll be Ottawa-Buffalo and Carolina-New Jersey.
WEST:
Edmonton (8) defeats Detroity (1) 4-2
Colorado (7) defeats Dallas (2) 4-1
Calgary (3) and Anaheim (6) tied 3-3
San Jose (5) defeats NAshville (4) 4-1
Oh, here are the upsets. While everyone is reeling over the Oilers beating the Wings, I personally think the Avs over Dallas might have been a bigger shock, as the gutless Stars rolled over for three games before waking up. There was just something about the Wings that screamed “weak” to me. San Jose beating Nashville is no great shock. When are people going to notice that Patrick Marleau is one of the great playoff performers of our time? When his team wins a Cup, I guess.
Not to me; I called it (in six, not five games) back up in post #60. (I missed the Wings losing, though I did mention they weren’t unbeatable (post #30); not that I’m sorry to see them go.) If you looked at Dallas’s regular season, they won an awful lot of games in overtime and shootouts–a lot of breaks went their way. That sort of luck has to run out eventually.
What’s big news is, based on last night’s results, the Sharks will get at least one round of home-ice advantage (possibly two, if Anaheim knocks off Calgary). That should scare a lot of people in the West right now.
Frankly, I don’t know what’s going to happen in the East series. It really looks like a toss up to me there, whomever advances between Carolina, Montreal, Buffalo or Philadelphia. I still think New Jersey has peaked too soon; they’ll cool off and meet a team getting hot, and that will be the end of them.
On a side note: I’d just like to comment on how good the hockey has been these playoffs. The level of play has been great, and I’m gratified to see that the refs are still willing to call a tight game, as in the regular season. I think that’s kept the quality of the play up, because more players know they need to actually play instead of getting lazy and using their sticks or holding. The other thing I’ve been noticing, which no one seems to have mentioned, is how greatly improved the game is by virtue of the fact that the refs no longer let players freeze the puck on the boards. Not having constant whistles stopping the game has improved the flow of the play. I think the refs have been doing this for a while now–possibly even before the lockout–but it’s really stood out in my mind these playoffs. It’s nice to see the NHL finally doing some things right, for a change. They really have improved the game. I hope more people learn to appreciate it.
Dammit, I hate not being able to watch the games. From what I’ve heard, Legace is having that Osgood-of-six years ago stretch. Legace has to hit the wall (which he hopefully has now) and then push said wall, much like Ozzie did.
Weird thing, traditionally, about being a Wings goalie is that becaues they see so few shots, they’ve got to keep their focus up whne nothing’s going on in their half of the ice. The new rules change this a bunch, of course.
The Wings also have had a loaded minor league for a good, long time. Let’s see if Mr. Howard can’t push Legacy for some time next year.
Harborwolf, keep the faith, brother. The Lions can turn it around! (hum that mantra 100x until you believe it or until you pass out, whichever comes first).
We’ve still got the Pistons and the up-and-coming Tigers. The Wings are still damned good and the Lions are…um…there. (they can’t suck forever, can they? wait, don’t answer that…please)
By the way, Shibb, call me a “realist” or “honest” 
Has it ever happened where every top seed has lost in a conference? If the Ducks win Game 7 it’ll happen. How crazy is that? I think the shootout wins artificially inflate teams’ records, but don’t expect to see any changes next year.
Go Ducks! (only so I can see more playoff hockey here in SoCal)
Honestly, it was much worse. He didn’t even look like an NHL caliber goalie. He spent most of the series way out in the paint and just generally out of position. Made Osgood look like Kiprussof. It was a huge step down from the regular season.
Both Osgood and Legace are going to be free agents this summer. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wings make a trade for a goaltender to share duties with Howard.
I actually had a friend try to convince me that the Lions were going to improve this season. I wish I’d sold him the Mackinac Bridge. Given the Lions last few seasons, I think I’d be scared shirtless if they did improve. End of the world and all
The tigers may have been the problem. Maybe Illitch can only have one good team at a time.
Funny, I’ve been saying that same thing for years. It’s like he has enough scouts for only one team.
As an aside, I used to manage a couple of Little Caesar restaurants. They’d send us employee discounts on ticket packages and playoff tickets and such. We poor managers still couldn’t afford it. It makes me wonder why they even offered it and how much response they thought they’d get.
Check out those East picks. Not only did I call every winner, I nailed the number of games in 3 of them.
The West, well, I was seduced by the inflated records of the top seeds. I still might pull off 2/4 there.
Whoooo Doggy. Buffalo takes it on a 7-1 whupping. Makes my day.
They can’t win game 6. If they do, I get earfuls of crap. Nothing more annoying than a Buffalo bandwagon in any sport, I tells ya.
- Game 7. I’m an idiot.
All hail King Idiot!
You may now bow before your new lord and master, subjects and salute me with a hearty, resounding :smack:
well, for round 2, the east is set:
ott / buf: this should be a fast paced and high scoring series. both teams have solid (but not outstanding) goaltending, though i give the edge in defensive play to the sens - anchored by chara & redden. both teams have the ability to transition quickly into the odd man rush, and to put the puck in the net in bunches. but again, i give the advantage to ottawa. their firepower is just overwhelming. sens, five games.
car / nj: almost the opposite of the other east semi, these two teams are going to be relying on standout goaltending and solid positional play. if ward continues, as darren pang put it, “standing on his head and spitting out wooden nickels,” this could be a long and tight series. and the devils are becoming due for a loss or two. but with brodeur on top of his game, and with his experience, i give the advantage to jersey. devils in six.
Called it.
I would just like to state, here and for the record, that the Flyers are a disgrace. A bunch of sissies. It was already 5-0 when I tuned in; thankfully, I immediately tuned out. Here’s hoping they finally figure out they need a real goaltender, not the frauds they’ve been trotting out there the last several years.
Why stop there? Bobby Clarke needs to go for certain. He hasn’t backed a goalie in years. They only last until they lose a game. Then they become disposable. He also went bigger and meaner on the defense at a time the NHL was trying to become faster and more entertaining. He’s stuck to much on his glory days. Get a GM in there that understands what the NHL is rather than was.
It’s a grim reality, but I have to say that I might agree with you there. It’s terribly difficult, because Clarke meant so much to the team back in the Cup years; for most Philly fans of a certain age, he’s up there on the mountain with Parent, Barber, MacLeish, Leach, Shero, etc. But it’s fair to say the team has underperformed during his tenure. I don’t necessarily object to the team being bigger and stronger rather than faster and skilled–a team that’s different from the rest of the league can cause major matchup problems and win a lot of games. But the real issue has been goaltending.
They–and specifically Clarke, I suppose–have been either neglectful or impatient or misguided with the goaltenders they’ve had for the past decade. I’d say they should develop a goaltender from within the system and stick with him, but it doesn’t seem like that can work for them, for various reasons. I think the only choice is to go out and trade for or sign a proven goaltender as a free agent–someone who has already taken a team to the finals, or at least had major success in the playoffs in his career. Without a goalie with a proven track record, there will always be the question, “Can this guy get it done?”
The other question is, who’s available? (As usual, it certainly won’t be a question of money. Hardly any team spends like the Flyers.) If they could get, say, Khabibulin from Chicago, then OK, there’s a guy who won the Cup. No “Can he?” question there. But Khabibulin just signed with the Hawks last year, and they’re not likely to move him. And I can’t think of anyone else out there who has that pedigree who will be available. It looks like the Sharks might field offers for Nabakov (or even Toskala, if they still feel Evgeni should be #1), and he’s a quality goalie, but he’s only taken a team to the conference finals; there’d still be the question with him. I hope they figure it out, because I’m tired of seeing them fall short year after year.