# The 2008 NHL Hockey Playoffs - Steppin' It Up for the Stanley Cup **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 7, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362 "2008-04-07T18:50:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/41 "2008-04-12T01:58:50Z")
Fucking Martin Gerber. Ottawa roars back from a 3-0 deficit, Gerber’s actually made some saves and then he allows that in the last minute? Good sweet Christ. That’s torn it. We’re out in four. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/42 "2008-04-12T04:12:20Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Fucking Martin Gerber. Ottawa roars back from a 3-0 deficit, Gerber’s actually made some saves and then he allows that in the last minute? Good sweet Christ. That’s torn it. We’re out in four. [/QUOTE] Had Ottawa somehow won the game it would have been pure theft. They deserved to lose. Outshot 54-30. Their defense is disgraceful. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/43 "2008-04-12T15:11:36Z")
I really do put a lot of blame on Gerber for the state of our defence. If they play strong positional hockey, the opposition gets gimmes like the fourth goal. If they try to cover for Gerber’s weaknesses, the opposition gets gimmes like the first three. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/44 "2008-04-12T18:01:53Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Had Ottawa somehow won the game it would have been pure theft. They deserved to lose. Outshot 54-30. Their defense is disgraceful. [/QUOTE] Letting Chara go was a huge mistake on their part, that and not addressing their goalie issues earlier in the season. The Sens outplayed the Pens for all of about 7 minutes in game 2 - not enough to win. I like the Stars against the Ducks. The Ducks will pay if they continue to take stupid penalties and they will pay if they play as passively as they did in the third period of game one. Everyone wondered why the Wild added Fedoruk and Simon - it was to counter the Ducks goon mentality. Team toughness is good and won the Cup for the Ducks last year, now it seems to be a problem. Game 2 will probably go to the Ducks, but the Stars have to be happy with a split. I also think that the Sharks are going to get more than they want with the Flames. I know I would hate having to come down the ice and see Phaneuf or Regehr waiting to line me up. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/45 "2008-04-12T19:10:22Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Team toughness is good and won the Cup for the Ducks last year, now it seems to be a problem. [/QUOTE] Part of that could be the players that they added in the offseason. Schneider plays with an edge and Bertuzzi…yeah. I think they’ve got too many players trying to play with that edge and it’s getting them caught at bad times. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/46 "2008-04-13T02:21:59Z")
Boy, I sure am glad Ottawa added all that “Veteran presence” in Stillman and Lapointe. Lapointe with a retarded penalty to lose Game 2, Stillman is -4. Yep, that worked so well. [QUOTE=adam yax] Letting Chara go was a huge mistake on their part, [/QUOTE] Bear in mind that 1. The decision to allow Chara to leave was purely a salary cap decision. The cap’s the cap. You can’t stock high priced players. 2. Chara left before LAST season, and the team made the Finals with a defence that impressed everyone. The problem isn’t the absence of Chara, it’s a lack of overall team defensive play. Thier forwards have been terrible defensively, and even guys who’re normally excellent on the blueline, like Volchenkov and Phillips, have been less effective. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/47 "2008-04-13T03:08:50Z")
Lapointe’s penalty was bad luck. Lapointe’s actually going out there and hitting people and forcing turnovers, which is more than I can say for most of our guys. Stillman’s playing hurt, and Vermette, his centreman, has seemingly forgotten how to play defence. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/48 "2008-04-13T03:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=Rysto] Lapointe’s penalty was bad luck. [/QUOTE] He lifted his stick towards the man’s head, and it hit him in the face. You cannot call it “Bad luck” to hold your stick five feet off the ice, _while you are using the stick to impede another player’s progress_, and be surprised that that’s where the other man’s face is. What else do you think is going to be five feet off the ice? His ass? It wasn’t bad luck, it was bad stickwork and a stupid penalty. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/49 "2008-04-13T04:10:45Z")
He tried to lift Ruutu’s stick and missed. Happens all the time. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/50 "2008-04-13T05:13:13Z")
I am very happy to say that I was wrong. I was thinking there was going to be a split in the Stars-Ducks series and there wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/51 "2008-04-13T20:02:54Z")
I didn’t watch the Ottawa/Pittsburgh game, but having watched Marty Lapointe play for Detroit, I’d be willing to bet it was stupidity and not an accident. I watched that dope blow games with stupid penalties all the time. And what the hell is going on with Anaheim? With the defense they have and Giguere in net, there is no way they should be losing games 4-0 and 5-2. ---
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/52 "2008-04-13T21:39:03Z")
The Ducks’ real problem is team speed. They traded Andy McDonald (why!?!) and are missing Corey Perry. Since last year they added Bertuzzi, Weight, and Schneider (all S…L…O…W…) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/53 "2008-04-13T21:43:23Z")
Andy MacDonald was trading to get tagging room. Tagging room is cap space in future seasons. Neidermeyer’s contract has another year on it, so for him to join the team they needed tagging room in 2008-2009. Now personally, I think that trading MacDonald for a proven playoff choker like Weight was lunacy, but that was the reason. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/54 "2008-04-14T02:19:23Z")
Jesus Christ, we’re three minutes into the San Jose - Calgary game, and it’s over. Kiprusoff is already gone. The last two goals were 14 seconds apart. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/55 "2008-04-14T04:42:27Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Jesus Christ, we’re three minutes into the San Jose - Calgary game, and it’s over. Kiprusoff is already gone. The last two goals were 14 seconds apart. [/QUOTE] NOT IN OUR HOUSE, BABY! **GO FLAMES!** ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/56 "2008-04-14T13:43:37Z")
Dear Sharks Players, Please start playing every shift like your lives depend on it. You know that wierd thing that keeps happening? You know, where the Flames players always seem about a foot closer to you than you thought they’d be? Yeah. That thing. They’re hustling. And you’re not. Start hustling. Thank you. Sincerely, **garygnu** ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/57 "2008-04-14T17:29:10Z")
Dear Ducks players, Please read **garygnu** ’s previous post…or it will be a Flames-Stars series instead of a Ducks-Sharks series that everyone else was hoping for. Sincerly, **Yeticus Rex** ---
**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/58 "2008-04-14T21:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=Yeticus Rex] Dear Ducks players, Please read **garygnu** ’s previous post…or it will be a Flames-Stars series instead of a Ducks-Sharks series that everyone else was hoping for. Sincerly, **Yeticus Rex** [/QUOTE] I am so pissed at the guys right now. Dagnabbit, why did not Carlyle pull Giggy and put in Hiller when he saw Giggy not playing right in the power play. ---
**Author:** ![deb2world](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@deb2world](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deb2world)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/59 "2008-04-14T21:22:29Z")
I just read this rule change during a playoff. > [@](#): > > Holding his stick upward, Avery waved it side to side to block Brodeur’s vision in a newfangled method of screening. Brodeur gave him a whack, but that was hardly a deterrent. > > “I’ve played for 15 years in this league. I’ve been watching games for 33 years. I had never seen that in my life,” Brodeur said. “I don’t think that kind of behavior should be done in front of the net, but there is no rule for it.” > > That was true Sunday, but not Monday. The NHL moved quickly to eliminate this activity by making an on-the-fly rule interpretation. > > “An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender’s face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play,” Colin Campbell, the NHL director of hockey operations said in a statement. [from Yahoo! sports](http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AiK7pOafo1YmR1ott3Pj52V7vLYF?slug=ap-rangers-averysantics&prov=ap&type=lgns) ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362/60 "2008-04-15T01:44:52Z")
God, but I hate Martin Gerber. Ottawa was finally playing a good game, and then a minute in to the third period he lets a weak snapshot goal from Crosby. Game over, series over. Oh, and the refereeing was terrible, but that’s nothing new for Ottawa this year. Had we gotten a fair shake from the refs this season it would have meant going out in 6 games instead of 4. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2008-nhl-hockey-playoffs-steppin-it-up-for-the-stanley-cup/444362.md?page=4)