Love Twitter… gives people the chance to put themselves out their like fools and then we all can see… SO… I don’t get this… a black hockey player isn’t even an anomaly to Black people anymore… When a football player blows it… or a baseball player blows it… no one goes here… and I’m a passing Hockey fan… went to a few thrashers game and could identify most of my Blackhawks as a kid… But seriously… all the grief as a huge NBA fan I get on the “Thug” issue… and then to see this when I go to Black sports online… fuckin shame…
You’re bitter. They dominated the past two games, tonight being evenly contested. I hope you and that twat Neil enjoy the off season. Say goodbye to Canada, say goodbye my baby.
DOUBLE OVERTIME COMING! Holy crap! They already tied or beat the record for most OT games in a round one playoff.
And I STILL don’t know who my team is playing! 
YEAH! (like he said) Double OT!!!
WOO!!!
Okay, okay, we’re playing the Devils. Get ready for another brawl fest from long rivals.
I feel bad for the Panthers. They were full on in the 3rd, killed a huge penalty in 1OT, and one shot later… THIS IS HOCKEY!
They dominated the last two games but one was evenly contested? Huh?
The Rangers were a better team, and deserved to win… but it doesn’t say a lot for them as compared to the more elite teams that it took them that long and that hard a series to beat a team that backed into eighth place. I don’t like the Rangers to escape the East; now I like the Flyers.
Holy shit! You’re not kidding! I wonder if this ignoramuses are aware that the first black player in the NHL was a Bruin. (Although I do find it amusing to hear him called African-American)
Well, the Devils finally got the “can’t get out of the first round” monkey off of their back, but it took longer and far more drama than it should have.
Kudos to the Panthers for making it an exciting series, but I can’t help but believe that if they’d won it would have been more a failing by the Devils than a victory by Florida. NJ dominated 5-on-5 play for the vast majority of the series, but their record-setting regular season PK unit almost single-handedly lost them the series (seriously, I know the Panthers had a good PP, but a 66.7% PK is just unacceptable. Florida had 15 non-ENG, and only 6 of them were at even strength!)
I imagine right now the Flyers are watching tape and licking their lips in anticipation. The Devils can’t hold a lead. They take gobs of stupid, preventable penalties and then struggle to kill them off. Volchenkov has been absolutely putrid, getting beat repeatedly to the outside by any scrub with a little speed. Marty has been inconsistent and has really struggled with rebound control. Their PP, which looked to have finally turned a corner toward the end of the season has reverted to being completely ineffective. Their second and third line was largely invisible against Florida (except for Game 7 when Henrique reminded everyone why he deserved some Calder consideration) and they’ve been bailed out repeatedly by other team’s throwaways like Steve Bernier, Ryan Carter and career AHLer Stephen Gionta.
They’re playing with house money now and are going to be heavy underdogs in this series. I expect Philthadelphia to win, but I hope the Devils don’t make it too easy for them.
Last year, although games were very up-and-down and there were lots of game sevens, the Bruins were perceived to have steamrolled through the playoffs to win the Cup. And yet the first round had a bunch of 1 and 2 goal games and three overtime periods against a Habs team that was missing half of it’s regular lineup and dressing AHL scrubs.
Some teams just get into each other’s heads and I think OTT-NYR is one of those matchups that seems much more even than it should. It was a great series, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that this round reflects on NYR considering where they ended up in the rankings and how they play other teams. Didn’t Ottawa win the season series against them, and yet the Rangers were first in the East?
Sometimes, you just can’t predict what will happen.
So of my first round predictions, which I’m too lazy to verify but I’m pretty sure I remember correctly, I only got NYR and NJ right. Go me?
Second that. However, the real question is whether or not they can actually learn to play some defense. All the teams succeed these playoffs are playing really tight defensively. LA, Jersey…hell, even the CAPITALS are playing a defensive system…and I thought I’ve seen everything.
I think this is deja vu of two years ago. Caps have caught a hot goalie, and if they could beat Tim Thomas and and the Bruins, I don’t see why Lundqvist and the Rags are a harder challenge for them. They could pull the upset off. Philly and Jersey is a crapshoot, IMO, even though the Flyers look poised to dominate. I say that’s a tossup series in 7.
Edit: and as far as picks go, I’m batting .500 so far in this series with all the flukes. I picked the Blues, Caps, Kings, and Flyers right.
Close enough.
Whoops. I would’ve gotten this if it weren’t for those meddling kids and their pesky rookie goalie!!
Not bad at all.
No way I could’ve predicted that the Flyers would be smarter than the Penguins. Not a chance.
A shits and giggles pick works out. Makes me smile.
Another close one.
We’ll see if those lousy Coyotes make it through the next round without…that guy they lost for twenty five games…think his name was Pete? Pete or Phil?
And we have a ringer! Aw raspberries. 
Kept my head above the water. Got a dark horse and watched my home team regrettably prove me right. Now things get a bit harder.
Eastern Conference:
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals: Yeesh. The Caps were crap in the regular season and the Rangers struggled against the Sens. Not particularly enthused about either team. I guess it’ll be funnier if the Caps get closer to the cup before getting slapped down. I’ll take Washington in six.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. New Jersey Devils: The Devils struggled against the Florida Panthers. The Flyers demonstrated newly discovered brains against the Penguins. The Flyers lack defense, but the Devils lack offense. Get the brooms.
Flyers in four.
Western Conference:
St. Louis Blues vs. LA Kings: Can my dark horse come through a second time? I honestly kinda doubt it, but why the hell not. LA Kings in five.
Nashville Predators vs. Phoenix Coyotes: The Predators have the advantage because their goon is apparently unsuspendable. Shane Doan will have to step up and hope that he is strong enough in the force to headshot someone, or the Coyotes won’t stand a chance. Not that I’m bitter at all. Heavens no. Preds in six.
My 2nd round picks:
Yotes over the Preds in 6
Kings over the Blues in 7.
Rangers over the Caps in 5.
Flyers over Devils in 6
Devils in 6
Rangers in 6 (I would rather see the Caps win, but I don’t see that happening.)
Coyotes take it in game 7
LA Kings in 5 games.
I’m not going to quote ever reply about my earlier post about the Rangers and Lundquist but I will add to it.
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I stand by my contention that the goalie has to carry the team through the playoffs. It’s like baseball. Hitting can get you to the playoffs but pitching is what wins it when you are in a playoff series.
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The Rangers defense may be suspect but that’s not where the goals are scored. You have to beat the goalie to get the red light. Can Lundquist carry the team? That is the whole question.
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The Rangers play as a team. Attribute that to coaching. There is no single player on offense that the opposition can key upon. That is huge in low scoring playoff games.
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Don’t discount the Senators. There are many, many instances where #1 seeds have been taken down. Sometimes team jell at the playoffs and rise up. It’s a long season, there is really a small difference between the top teams and the lower teams so the playoffs can be a grind for any team. It’s not like the NCAA basketball tournament where the #1 seed is playing a #16 seed.
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Match-ups. Some teams match-up better with one team better than others. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a less talented team will match-up better with a better team but can beat them at their own game. Yet, that lesser team can’t beat a team that has similar talent. I think we saw with that the Ranger and Senators. The Senator were a tough match-up for the Rangers.
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As to goalies, I thought the most amazing series was when Vernon went against Roy. Talk about goalies standing on their head. The series was all about goalies and who was going to get the last bad break.
It should be an interesting playoff. I’m not making predictions just trying to offer perspective.
He doesn’t have to carry the team, but it doesn’t hurt. There are many ways to win and in short series where talent can sometimes be overcome by dumb luck, every edge a team has helps.
The Flyers made it to the Finals a couple of years ago in spite of carrying two mediocre goalies. Chris Osgood has his name on the Cup, more than once, despite not really ever being all that good. The list of goalies who’ve won just by being good enough to not lose it for the team goes on and on.
You could amend your statement to say that Lundqvist has to carry this Rangers team through the playoffs and I’d agree entirely, but as a blanket statement about all teams it’s demonstrably untrue.
Disagree. Two words: Marian Gaborik. Take him away and the offensive output of the team is largely castrated. They’ve got other guys who can score (Callahan is no slouch and Boyle had a terrific first series) but Gaborik is a HUGE part of their offense–he was one of only three players on the team to break 20 goals and the only one to break 30.
Ottawa did a pretty good job of eliminating him (1g-2a-3p) and the rest of the team managed 13 goals in 7 games (1.86 G/G).
As an aside, while looking at the G/G for the first round I noticed something: the Rangers outscored 4 teams (and tied a fifth) in the first round who all have something in common… they’ve all been eliminated from the playoffs.
Small sample size and all, but I think that perfectly highlights the importance of Lundqvist to their success.
I’m going with:
FLYERS in 5 games. Marty Brodeur is approaching the 4x6 size and is still great IN net, once he steps forward, in goes the puck. Once he goes down, he’s down. And a bigger rivalry than Flyers/Pens.
Kings in 7. The Blues have been hot all season, but so has Jonathan Quick, Doughty, Richards. Long shot, but I think it will happen.
**Coyotes in 6. **This is gonna be a bloodbath. They hate each other. Penalties galore!
Capitals in 7. Oh, Lunqvist, Lunqvist, Lunqvist. Whatever. They could hardly score against the shitty Ottawa defense.
Let’s face it though. Picking a winner of a hockey series is almost entirely luck. Whatever kind of game a teams brings is usually a complete surprise.
GO FLYERS!!!
IMHO, the Ranger’s dominated every Ottawa player on the ice in game 5 except Anderson, I don’t think that can be argued. I watched game 6 in a bar so my attention was divided, but I remeber them having the puck in Ottawa’s zone for a large part of the game. They may not have lead in shots, but that’s not too surprising. Game 7 was more even. Ranger’s had the edge the first 10, then Ottawa for the next 10 and a pretty even split for the next 30+ minutes (slight edge to Ottawa), Sens dominated the ice the last 5+ minutes and Lundqvist saved their ass.
I don’t know what you’re talking about. The Ranger’s are THE elite team left in the playoffs. They’re not the sexiest team, but they win, consistently. The first 82 games were not meaningless. To be honest, it kind of pisses me off that the NHL and media outlets pretty much ignored them all year long. It was like they don’t know how to sell the story, knew nothing about the team aside from Lundqvist, and refused to learn.
Good win today. A Ranger style win. 3 goals on 14 shots with the puck below the hash marks for a large part of the game.
And Kreider! Damn! This kid getting paid yet?
However, one of the best stories of the year was the HBO Special on the Flyers and the Rangers leading up to the Winter Classic. That was worth watching.
I’ve heard it’s great, but I don’t have HBO and, I feel like a broken record, I don’t have a computer at present so I haven’t been able to see it by means that will not be spoken.
The point I was trying to make was that (and don’t misconstrue this as whining, I understand the media prints what sells) the Rangers were, de facto, the best team in hockey for the majority of the season (points wise, if nothing else). Yet pretty much the only times I saw them on the front page of ESPN NHL was when they lost. I understand I view it from the perspective of a fan, but I feel like there was a great story to be told about this team, especially in this economic climate: they’re a blue collar team, every player willing to do whatever it takes to get by. Lundqvist is the star, and deserved the Hart nom, but the soul of the team are players like Callahan who, I believe, lead forwards and many d men in blocked shots and Prust, a guy who enters beast mode on the PK.
I don’t have any disagreement with you. Maybe ESPN steered away from the Rangers because they got such good publicity from the HBO special. HBO is the competition on many fronts. Who knows? As for the NY press, when the circus is in town (the Knicks) who grabs your attention? After Sean Avery got sent down the Rangers became a very good methodical team that stayed away from controversy. The press couldn’t trash the coach or the players, especially the goalie. It’s not fair but where’s the story?
BTW, one interesting part of the HBO special was Tort’s carefully chosen words about sending Avery down. The message I got was, “He’s a walking PITA and I don’t want to have to spend my limited time worrying about him becoming a cancer to the team. This is addition by subtraction.”
Also, now that you look at it, Kreider adds more to the team than Avery ever could have given it.