Wings deserved it.
Yeesh. You’re right, Rysto. I just checked his career playoff stats on nhl.com; he’s been a minus in +/- every year since he was on the Devils’ first cup winning team. Maybe he and his bloody face should sit out a game or two…
I just get a kick out of seeing two ex-Duck coaches going head to head to see who’s going up against the current Duck coach in the conference finals. Both are good coaches in their own right and I hated to see both of them leave Anaheim when they did, but the next coach they get each time usually is an improvement on the former.
Just ruminating folks, that’s all.
But the Northwest had Calgary win 96. Really, you’re kind of basing this argument on half-sided logic; you’re saying LA and Phoenix had low point totals because they had to play Anaheim, San Jose and Dallas a lot, but that it’s not because they got to play LA and Phoenix that those three teams had high point totals.
If the division was legitimately a really strong one then they should be pulling points from the other divisions. The average NHL team had 90 points. The average Southwest team had 92. Really, one win per team in an 82-game season doesn’t constitute being a significantly stronger division, does it?
Yeah, actually, I am saying that, sort of in reverse. Anaheim, San Jose and Dallas had to play each other more often than other conference teams; they only had two patsies on their schedule eight times a year. Detroit and Nashville had two patsies filling their schedule, plus another also ran team in St. Louis. They had more easy points available to them, thus their point totals were inflated over what the Pacific division troika was able to muster.
(I’m not in favor of such an unbalanced schedule, precisely because it makes these comparisons that much more difficult. And besides, who the hell wants to see the Kings eight times a year? Six or even five would be more than enough. Meanwhile the Sharks didn’t see a damn thing of Ottawa or Buffalo all year. Argh!)
But I’m not basing my evaluation entirely on the statistics. See my last point above. It’s also a “by my eyeballs” evaluation of the teams. And Calgary? Dusted, in relatively short order by Detroit. Minnesota? Toasted. I would have called the Pacific division the best in the conference before the playoffs started, based on the strength of its three strongest teams. I think the results have borne that out. Even if Detroit beats SJ–which I think will take 7 games, if it happens–I’d still consider the Pacific teams to have shown more combined strength than the other playoff teams.
Of course, it’s all just opinion; the best team often does not win in a playoff format, however you judge it. Nevertheless, I still think you’ll be seeing San Jose and Anaheim on the same ice sometime next weekend.
But iirc, Detroit alone had winning records against Dallas (3-1) and Anaheim (3-1) and a winning record against a Nashville team that led the NHL and the western conference for the better part of the NHL season. They also beat Buffalo in their one game against them and (again iirc) beat Ottawa. Being in a “weaker division” didn’t stop them from winning games league wide.
That’s what’s so silly about trying to eyeball or guess which division is strongest in a conference by mere points or number of teams wading deep into the playoffs. It assumes that total points alone are the measure of a teams ability without factoring the actual victories a team picked up against individual teams.
Ugh…Luongo is definitely MVP of the series no matter who wins tonight.
Shots after 1st overtime:
Ducks - 61
Vancouver - 25
Score…tied, 1-1
…and the Ducks advance with the 1-2 punch of the Neidermayor brothers!
Never seen a team in the playoffs outplayed that badly and still in it. Ugh indeed!
Wow. What a hit by Rob N.
It looks like the hit distracted Luongo just enough to delay his reaction to the shot. Too bad it was a softie goal after he almost single-handedly stole this one for the 'Nucks.
The Ducks will roll over the survivor of the Wings and the Sharks. (I still say the Wings will make it)
Pronger will win this year’s Conn Smythe Trophy. You heard it here first.
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Ottawa won that one. I believe that it was 3-2 on the strength of an awesome game by Emery.
Nobody care about the Rangers Sabres game tonight at 7? I’m still pulling for Buffalo, but they completely killed their momentum. What scared me more is I just found this stat: “No active NHL player has scored more career points against the Sabres than the Rangers’ Jaromir Jagr, who has tallied 92 (39 goals, 53 assists) in 69 career games with Pittsburgh, Washington and the Rangers.” At least their back in Buffalo tonight. Hopefully they’re not any goal controversies again…
Thanks for the correction. To be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure that they even played Ottawa this season.
No surprise Anaheim rolled the Canucks. They looked like crap in the Dallas series and only looked marginally better against the Ducks. At least we know how good a playoff goaltender Luongo is. He’s the only thing that kept the games close.
You seem to have misspelled “Daniel Alfredsson,” who is playing the best two-way playoff hockey I’ve seen since Al MacInnis in 1989.
I know Ottawa is just a little town in Canada nobody notices, but surely it hasn’t entirely escaped notice that they demolished Pittsburgh and have way, way outplayed New Jersey? I mean, this is a team that doesn’t look like they have any golfing plans right now.
Not to mention that the Northwest had Colorado with 95 points who also finished 7-2-1 which was the best last 10 games in the conference. The Ducks and Sharks are two excellent teams, but to call the Pacific the best division when it included LA and Phoenix is laughable.
Tells ya what… If Alfredsson wins the Conn Smythe I’ll buy your SDMB membership when the NHL playoffs start next year.
If Pronger wins it - you buy mine.
So my friend…
Deal or NO deal? 
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One data point to consider:
LA was 10-18-4 against the Pacific, and 17-23-10 against others (including 4-2-3 against the Eastern Conf.)
The Sharks goalie just did a horrible boneheaded play-puck was skittering into his zone with a Red Wing hot on its heels. Instead of immediately coming out and shooting the thing out of the zone (icing it if necessary), he hesitated for a second and Murphy’s Law came into play as his clearing pass hit the Red Wing’s stick who then got in behind the goalie and scored into the empty net. 2-1 Wings going into the 3rd.
…eventually. :rolleyes:
Using your data, LA was 10-18-4 v the Pacific and 13-21-7 v the rest of their conference. I fail to see how this makes a compelling case for the dominance of the Pacific.