NHL

[mkreku]

WOOHOO!!

 

Bye bye, Montreal! See you next season!

 

(Please Devils, I know you hate us but please win against the Islanders tomorrow, ok?)

[Volourn]

Congrats Toronto.

 

NY loses; but thanks to Atlanta's victory over TB; the Rangers finish 6th. They'll play Atlanta.

 

Part of me wishes for a rematch with NJ; but ah well.

 

'Tis life.

[Kor Qel Droma]

That was quite the battle. Higgins' first goal was probably my favorite.

 

And thanks for nothing, Colorado. You could have really done us a solid last night by beating Nashville and then the Flames today. It would take away a lot of the hurt from this season if Calgary didn't make it either. Ah well.

 

To close out the season with a win will be good for the Oil. Of course we just screwed ourselves out of the first overall lottery, but beating Calgary was worth it.

[astr0creep]

Montreal played like peewee amateurs, as usual.

 

B

[Volourn]

A habs fan with a chip on their shoudler. Heh.

 

Don't worry. They'll be back next season. They gave a valiant effort.

[Deraldin]

With the regular season all but wrapped up (with the Islanders beating the Devils!) it's time to start talking playoffs. Who are your picks? Whose going all the way? Who's getting upset in the first round? Who I ask, who?!

[Kor Qel Droma]

Jesus Christ Islanders!! With a ninth of a second left Jersey ties the game? Don't you know you have to ruin Mkreku's playoff dreams?

[mkreku]

 

See you next season, guys.

[Deraldin]

Jesus Christ Islanders!! With a ninth of a second left Jersey ties the game? Don't you know you have to ruin Mkreku's playoff dreams?

 

They still managed to do it in the shootout.

 

Mkreku: Looks like my Canadiens will be seeing you on the golf course sooner rather than later.

[Oerwinde]

Watched the last Canucks game and the announcers were talking about how bad of a game it was the whole time. Memorable quotes:

 

"Aren't you glad they didn't clinch the division title weeks ago?"

"This game doesn't deserve overtime"

"Looks like someone threw a stick, but no one cares because its game 82."

[Kor Qel Droma]

Yeah, I watched Jersey tie and then overtime, but then I had to go to work just before the shootout started.

 

I wonder what will happen in TO now that teh mighty Leafs have missed the post season for the second straight year. It would have been moot anyway, as Buffalo will probably run away with the Eastern title, although I'd really like to see Pittsburgh or Tampa take the east, then lose to either the Sharks, Nucks or Wild in teh finals. The Cup is coming west this year, I can feel it.

[Kor Qel Droma]

Allright so here's a look at our playoff brackets.

 

The East:

(1)Sabres vs (8)Islanders

(2)Devils vs (7)Lightning

(3)Thrashers vs (6)Rangers

(4)Senators vs (5)Penguins

 

The West;

(1)Red Wings vs ( Flames

(2)Ducks vs (7)Wild

(3)Canucks vs (6)Stars

(4)Nashville vs (5)Sharks

 

 

 

Buf/NYI : unless Dipietro comes back, Sabres in five four

NJD/TAM: Tampa in six. Le-cav-al-ier leads teh way.

ATL/NYR :if Lundqvist is sharp, Rangers in five, otherwise Atlanta in seven.

Sens/Pens : I'll go with Pens in seven, although I could see this series going either way.

DET/CAL : The Oiler fan in me wants to pick Detroit, but the Flames can beat the Wings. Unless Datsyuk can finally learn to turn it up for the postseason. Regrettably the flames only need five games.

ANA/MIN : I really want Minny to win this one. May Wronger and Weinermeyer collide on the first shift of the first game and break each others' legs. Wild in seven.

VAN/DAL: Nucks in five. Sedin sisters shine, and Modano retires after going pointless and minus 9 in four games.

NAS/SJS : Classic speed against size matchup here. Sharks in seven, although Nashville could pull off the upset.

[Volourn]

The East:

----------

 

(1)Sabres vs (8)Islanders - Sabres in 5. No contest.

 

(2)Devils vs (7)Lightning - TB in 7. Brodeur can't score goals.

 

(3)Thrashers vs (6)Rangers - Ranger sin 6. Atlanta will have a couple of games where they can solve Lundqvist espicially as he finds his play off legs after last years' disaster. In the end, however, Rangers even as the 6th seed is too strong to fall to Atlanta.

 

(4)Senators vs (5)Penguins - Senators in 7. The new guns take the old guns to the brink. Experience wins out... this season. Beware the Pens next season.

 

 

The West:

-----------

 

(1)Red Wings vs ( Flames - Wings in 6. Flames only hang around due to their goaltending.

 

(2)Ducks vs (7)Wild - Ducks in 5. Total mismatch.

 

(3)Canucks vs (6)Stars - Canucks in 6. Stars hang tough; but Canucks have a good balance of offense, defense, and goaltending as Luongo makes his first move to embarass me.

 

(4)Nashville vs (5)Sharks - Ooo... Toughest series to call. I'll go with the Sharks. No Nashville. Ooo crap. Too tough... Thornton, and Cheechoo are hot going in, I'll take Sharks in 7.

[Deraldin]

I'm hoping that I can beat my showing last year in the Future Shop pool. I managed to come in around 2000th, which isn't as bad as it sounds considering there were around 30,000 people entered.

 

I like your predictions for who wins each series, but only a couple changes.

 

Eastern Conference

Buf/NYI : There is going to be at least one game when the Islanders come out flying, but it won't change the outcome of the series. Sabres in five.

NJD/TBL : Sorry, but I've gotta go with the Devils here. The Lightning goaltending is the weak spot and I don't think they'll be able to power enough past Brodeur to make up for it. Devils in six.

ATL/NRY : I like the Rangers and I think they'll be able to down Atlanta. Rangers in six.

Sens/Pens : Likely going to be one of the best match-ups in the first round. Senators in seven.

 

Western Conference

DET/CAL : Calgary has been pretty bad lately, but I do think they will be able to take the Wings in the end. They'll need a couple games to get going and Hasek will go down in game 4 with a groin injury. Flames in six.

ANA/MIN : Anaheim has been pretty bad lately while Minny has been hot and I think that momentum will carry over into the first round. Minnesota in seven.

VAN/DAL : I predict another choke job by the Stars and another first round exit. Vancouver in five.

NAS/SJS : This is a tough one to call, but I think the Sharks can do it. Sharks in seven.

Edited April 9, 2007 by Deraldin

[Deraldin]

Seems the NHL has selected the refs for the playoffs. Kerry Fraser is missing from the list.

[Volourn]

Bah. He should be there.

[Kor Qel Droma]

I heard Fraser is having difficulty reffing with a helmet on. It damages his hair.

[Kor Qel Droma]

I wonder if Ed Belfour offered the cops a million bucks to let him go. Again.

[mkreku]

I heard Fraser is having difficulty reffing with a helmet on. It damages his hair.

Actually, I think it's the other way around: they have problems finding helmets that can contain the immense power that is Kerry Fraser's hair without breaking.

[Deraldin]

I don't see why they require that he wears a helmet anyway. His hair can survive a lot more than any mere helmet can.

 

Kerry Fraser's Helmet Hair

[Hurlshort]

I'm afraid to make predictions this year. But I'll do it anyway for the points.

 

East:

Sabres over NYI in 4. Not a real tough call. Third string goalie.

Devils over Tampa in 5. Brodeur will have a GAA of .8.

Rangers over Atlanta in 6. Lundqvist needs to be decent, but the Rangers are grittier.

Penguins over Senators in 6. Senators have choked against worse teams.

 

West:

Calgary over Detroit in 6. Detroit may be the weakest team in the West. They lack depth. Hasek is old.

Anaheim over Minnesota in 6. I don't see this team beating the Ducks.

Vancouver over Dallas in 5. Turco has yet to show he can play in April. Vancouver has the best goalie in the league.

San Jose over Nashville in 6. Of course I pick my home team, but I'm pretty scared. I want it in 6 because a game 7 scares the crud out of me.

[Volourn]

"Vancouver has the best goalie in the league."

 

No. That's Broduer. Luongo is top 5.

[Hurlshort]

"Vancouver has the best goalie in the league."

 

No. That's Broduer. Luongo is top 5.

 

Hmm, ok I'm willing to split the conferences and give Brodeur the best in the East and Luongo the best in the West, with Brodeur getting a nod overall due to all his shiny rings. But Brodeur also has always had a defensively responsible team in front, whereas the Canucks aren't even close to the Devils.

[Deraldin]

Here's my fantasy team. I think this team will do better than last years. Half of the people I chose last year were great in the first round, but they were still eliminated. Last year I had a bunch of Montreal players (including Koivu. Damn you Williams!), my only Carolina player was Brind'Amor and 9/10th of my starting players were gone by the end of the second round. I've got another couple days to make changes. There are some people on there that I'm not sure about, but managed to find a spot based on the rest of the picks in that round.

 

Rnd   Team   Player
1	 Ott	Dany Heatley
2	 SJ	 Joe Thornton
3	 Ott	Jason Spezza
4	 NJ	 Patrik Elias
5	 Buf	Chris Drury
6	 Buf	Maxim Afinogenov
7	 SJ	 Jonathan Cheechoo
8	 Ana	Ryan Getzlaf
9	 Van	Brendan Morrison
10	NJ	 Brian Gionta
11	Ott	Peter Schaefer
12	Ott	Mike Comrie
13	NJ	 Travis Zajac
14	Pit	Gary Roberts
15	Ana	Scott Niedermayer
16	Nsh	Kimmo Timonen
17	NJ	 Brian Rafalski
18	SJ	 Matt Carle
19	Van	Sami Salo
20	NJ	 Martin Brodeur

Edited April 10, 2007 by Deraldin

[mkreku]

Gaah! Not only do we miss the playoffs year after year, we get **** all from the draft lottery too.

 

1. Chicago Blackhawks

2. Philadelphia Flyers

3. Phoenix Coyotes

4. Los Angeles Kings

5. Washington Capitals

6. Edmonton Oilers

7. Columbus Blue Jackets

8. Boston Bruins

9. St. Louis Blues

10. Florida Panthers

11. Carolina Hurricanes

12. Montreal Canadiens

13. Toronto Maple Leafs

14. Colorado Avalanche

 

Source: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&a...rticleid=298754

 

I mean, even though Edmonton ended up with 20 points less than the Leafs, the effect is the same: no playoffs. Except.. now the Oilers will get some serious future talent while the Leafs will be scraping the bottom of the barrel again.