chique… the Wild weren’t supposed to have a hope in hell against Colorado and they won anyways, Vancouver looked like they had their number until the Wild decided to go and win three straight to clinch the series… their comeback tonight was pretty spectacular.
The Wild set a new playoff record by coming back from 3-1 deficits in two consecutive series.
I think the Wild believe that they have what it takes to beat the Ducks come Saturday night.
It makes for an interesting Western final doesn’t it? Two teams that didn’t have a hope in hell when the puck dropped in game one are going to be meeting each other in the final after beating the top four teams in the division.
Carmen… Seeing Minnesota win (THE CUP) would still be a nightmare… or at least a very bad dream. I enjoyed seeing them knock off Colorado and they deserved the win against Vancouver.
I would like to see a Canada vs USA Stanley Cup. I think it would be best for the game.
I have read a couple of articles on the lower than last year tv ratings for these playoff games. I am a person who likes matchups that are good for a sport , and those teams who already have a large market base winning frequently are not good for the game in the long run. Other teams need a chance to win it all so that they can build their fan base. There is currently hockey fever getting caught in Orange County. This round of playoff tickets were sold out within an hour. The television market share in the Los Angeles/Orange County area for the last round of games was impressive, especially since this market is not yet a hockey town. I am sure the same thing is happening in Ottawa and Minnesota and New Jersey.
I read that at the end of the season the television contracts will be reviewed and because this year’s playoffs are down, they probably won’t get as much money and it seems the sport is already hurting for money. This is so stupid to look temporarily at the ratings for a playoff that is increasing the fan base in markets that really need it. I look at the Angels playoff run last season. The World Series television shares were down. Yet this year, the Angels have the highest attendance of all the MLB teams and their tv shares are up. They also increase attendance at stadiums they visit this year.
I guess if we only want to make sure that television rating are good, then I guess we should only have NY Yankees/Atlanta Braves in the Worlds Series, Detroit Red Wings/Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup, Green Bay Packers/Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl, and LA Lakers/Chicago Bulls in the NBA finals. Forget the other teams. Television executives are morons when it comes to long term planning for sport events and market shares. They only want to have those 8 teams always in the playoffs so that they will have a safe guaranteed market rather than understanding that fans like to see variety in deciding a championship (well except for Yankee fans who think they are entitled to win every year ok maybe it is George who thinks that and makes me mad with the small-mindedness and not understanding what is really good for the game. Cause let me tell you just for grins and giggles I went online the day of last years first round of playoffs in baseball, and I could get a couple of great seats at Yankee stadium the day of the game. They didn’t sell out. But at Minnesota and Anaheim, tickets were gone quickly when they went on sale. And not to just get on the Yankees case, but the same problem was at Atlanta and Oakland)
Sorry for the lengthyness of this post, but this need for the teams who have won a lot in the past to win again just for ratings burns my butt. I know a person who is from Detroit so she went to The Pond to see the first round of games. She complained to me about how some people around her were having to ask questions about the rules of the game. She got upset with me when I reminded her that this is how you make fans. It was after game 4 and she accused me of lecturing her, but she hit a nerve and got me started on my pet peave.
s’only one game. and it was entertaining, although I was kinda pissed at the complete defensive breakdown on the game-winner. it was a good play and i can admit that.
Before I get inot the hunt for the Grail I just have to say…
CANADA FUCKING ROCKS!!!
WE ARE THE WORLD CHAMPIONS!!!
ANSON CARTER FOR PM!!!
Yesterdays final between Canada and Sweden in the world championships was truly awesome. The play was excellent and it was a nail biter to the end, especially during the 6 minutes it took to review the winning goal. It seemed at times that the Edmonton Oilers were taking on the world as seven members of the team were Oilers… and their contribution was immense throughout the tournament.
Now… back to the Stanley Cup.
The Ducks Wild tilt resumes tonight and I am going to bet that it’s going to be another close one. The Wild would have won the first game if it hadn’t been for Giguere standing on his head and making stop after stop after stop. Giguere is also less than 5 minutes away from breaking Roys overtime shutout record.
The Senators are going to polish the ice with the crushed bodies of the Jersey Devils who just aren’t going to be able to handle the Sens offense. Stevens may be a god to some but he’s only one man and can’t play every shift.
Wyld… I’d be expecting more defensive breakdowns tomorrow. The Sens came off a long layoff and came out pretty flat in game one. Their wheels are spinning now and they haven’t even got warmed up.
Minnesoda is playing good hockey, they are just being stopped by that brick wall in front of the net. Wow can Jiggy get any better. Plus on one of the power plays they had, they only had one shot on goal, tsk, tsk. I can’t wait to see how well the Ducks play at home.
I do like both of the coaches. They both handle the press really well and honestly.
deb - In regard to television, attendance, and ratings…
In Canada, most teams sell out nearly every seat on every night they play and viewership on the tele is also very high. I would bet that a high percentage of the population skipped church yesterday to watch the world championships and that many mothers were ok with their sons and daughters not calling until after ther game was over. Many of those moms would have been watching the game too and would have been royally pissed off if they had to run and answer the phone.
Hockey runs in our veins and it should really be the the national sport instead of lacrosse, which is a great game in itself but it doesn’t ignite the same passion in us like hockey does.
If the Oilers were still in the hunt for the Cup I’d have to sell one or possibly two of my children to get a ticket and that would be a ticket for a seat in the rafters. Regular season games are hard enough to get tickets for and your best chances were when teams like the Ducks or Minnesota are in town.
That will probably change next year too with people wanting to see the teams that are presently battling it out to win the Western championship.
I’m having a great time reading your reviews, Feynn, aside from an obviously drug-induced allegiance to the Oilers earlier in the thread… Seeing as how I only get to see about 1/3 of the East Coast games, it’s giving me a good idea how the first two periods have played out. Keep it up!
Well yeah… hockey is the national winter sport but when is it not winter here?
I am pleased that you enjoy my astute commentary, perhaps when Don Cherry retires they can put me in his seat. I have to say that I do look good in plaid…
Anyways.
Giguere hasn’t allowed a goal in 153 minutes and 17 seconds of regulation play and his overtime shutout record is 160:49. Should the Ducks and Wild play more overtime I am sure that Jiggy will demolish Patrick Roy’s overtime shutout record of 162:56 minutes.
For some reason, the French have a knack for goaltending excellence. Roy, Brodeur, and now… Giguere.
How the hell does any team have a hope if they can’t solve Jiggy?
Detroit and Dallas were ( heh heh ) two of the most offensively skilled teams in the league and Jiggy shut them down. Minnesota is going to have to figure out how to beat this phenom without the firepower Dallas and Detroit posess.
Tonight at 8et we’ll get to kick back and watch the Sens continue their exorcism of the Jersey Devils.
Can I have an “Amen” on that?
For the record… the postseason shutout record (in minutes) belongs to Detroit’s Normie Smith who played between the pipes for 248 minutes, 32 seconds in 1936 without allowing a goal.
Hee. My mom and I were busting on Cherry bigtime about a month ago. Neither of us can stand the guy at all, and this prompted my lovely, American born and bred wife to innocently ask who he was and how he had managed to incur such ire. No matter what we said, we could not portray what it was about Don Cherry that drives us up the wall.
Then we were watching one of the Canucks/Wild games last week (she’ll watch just to ask me stupid questions to make me feel all smart an’ stuff) when Coach’s Corner came on during the period break. After about 5 minutes of Senor Cherry’s mewling, she sat up and asked “Just who the hell is this jackass?” “That, my love, is Don Cherry,” I responded, “and now you know why I can’t stand the guy.”
She no longer questions my aesthetic judgement of hockey commentators.
Okay, I gotta post this one thing every time I join any hockey thread in any BBS:
Anyone who says that “Americans don’t know hockey” or are “ruining the game” can kiss my can. As if the sheer existence of Minnesota wasn’t proof enough, take a look at what Brian Burke build in Vancouver.
Hokay, that’s out of my system.
I was wondering how well Minnie was going to do after the abuse Vancouver dished out on them. The Canucks were a physical team, and seven games is a long series, and I think we found out. Normally, I cheer for the team that beats my beloved 'Nucks, but this year I’m going with Ottawa in the East and Anahiem (Paul Kariya’s bunch) in the West.
And you gotta love Giguere. When a goaltender isn’t a freak with rampant superstitions and a reluctance to speak with ANYONE on the day of the game, then he knows why he’s winning. And that’s gonna be real, real tough to beat.
Feynn: Roy made the Goalie position one of the most coveted in Quebec, so naturally some of the best atheletes who might otherwise want to play forward went there instead. Oh, and look up Anaheim’s goaltending coach, and check out his history. The guy virtually created the “butterfly” style of goaltending, and he’s got “legendary” written all over him.
Of course, playing in the QMJHL is a bit of a baptism by fire: it’s as wide open a junior league as you’ll find anywhere in the world. It’s not unusual to find goalies who face an average of 40 shots in a game! The Q factory tends to produce goalies and Artists; the OHL turns out Power Forwards; and from the West come team captains and defencemen.
What the hell happened to the despicable Senawhores last night? They basically got a 10-minute power play to start the game, and not only didn’t capitalize, but couldn’t get a damn thing going at all. I mean, the Devils are sweet (like Ninjas), but come on. How about Jay Pandolfo as a multi-point scorer? It’s good to see guys like him and Wes Walz find success.
John Madden is my dad.
Apparently, Gaylime needs to work on his stick side coverage.
Off to the swamp for 2 games, then the Devils will let the 'whores win game 5 so that we can take the series back in Dirty Jersey.
Tonight the bizarre Western Finals spectacle continues. Deb2world, are you going to the game? I’m so torn as to who to root for. I want to cheer on the Ducks since they’re the local guys, and they put out my Wings. Somehow if they win it all then it doesn’t make me feel so bad for losing to them. But on the other hand I’d love to see the Wild at least show up for a few games. Any team that takes out Colorado in the first round should have my full support.
Oh well, my prediction is the Wild will win game 3 tonight, the Ducks will win game 4. The Wild will then try to make NHL history by coming back in games 5 and 6, only to lose to Anaheim in game 7.
The Cup finals? Anaheim and Ottawa (unless they keep playing like the did last night).
Thursday - Francois Allaire is an incredible goal tending coach but he cannot claim credit for inventing the butterfly style of goal tending. That happened 50 years ago and the man who is credited with virtually inventing then popularizing the butterfly style would be Glenn Hall, who played from 1952 until 1971 with Detroit, Chicago, and St. Louis.
He actually lives about half an hour from me.
Besides winning the Stanley cup with Chicago (1960-61) he was a 3 time winner of the Vezina Trophy. Realize too, that he won the Vezina when the legendary Jacques Plante was backstopping the Montreal Canadiens, the most dominant team of his playing era.
They don’t refer to him as “Mr Goalie” for no reason.
Enough with this history of the game…
Okay Wyld… the Devils got one but that’s not going to matter a whit. The Sens are going to run rampant and rain carnage upon those spawn of Satan and send them back the hell from whence they were spawned.
I agree and would predict that we’re going to see a Sens - Ducks final as Minnesote won’t be able to solve Giguere and the Devils are going to be simply outgunned and outplayed over the course of their series.
That would make for a very interesting final… the team with the most offensive skill (the Sens) facing off against the team with the best goalie and a stifling defense (the Ducks).
Seeing as how I only get to see about 1/3 of the East Coast games, it’s giving me a good idea how the first two periods have played out. Keep it up!