NHL Playoffs, who will win? - DPChallenge Forums

04/14/2007 06:02:02 PM · #60

So the Penguins even their series today with a gutsy determined win..

Atlanta goes down 2 games to none because they just couldn't score.. even though Hedberg stood on his ever-lovin' head.

Predators even the series with the sharks by being dirty and goony. That series is just a blood-fest.. but what do you expect with two teams named "Predators" and "Sharks"

Dallas evens the series by taking advantage of Vancouver's lack of depth, and a very, very, very tired Luongo.

Anaheim goes up 2 games to none, which is no real surprise.. but the lack of scoring by Minnesota is surprising to me.

Lightning-Devils and Buffalo-NYIslanders yet to come today. Detroit-Calgary tomorrow.

And now we're all caught up!

04/14/2007 06:22:37 PM · #61

Originally posted by Artyste:

Dallas evens the series by taking advantage of Vancouver's lack of depth, and a very, very, very tired Luongo.

Cooke and Burrows should be back for Sunday, and hopefully Hansen sticks with the big team while Kesler's finger heals. You could really see the negative effect of Vancouver's three best forecheckers all out of the lineup at once. Not that Smith was disappointing, but Cooke and Burrows bring intangibles [read: agitation] that an AHLer cant really provide.

I don't think fatigue was a factor on either of Dallas' goals, both were redirects that even a fresh Luongo would be hard pressed to stop.

Alot of Canuck fans were expecting a division win to equate to a walk to the cup. Despite finishing third, the Canucks are very much underdogs in this series, especially since Turco seems to be playing the best playoff hockey of his career. If the Canucks are going to win this series, its going to 7, but if last night was any indication, I can see this being over in 5. Dallas is alot better than Canuck Nation expected...

My biggest concern going into dallas is having our groin injury prone players (mitchell, salo, cooke) playing on the slushbowl Dallas ice. If Mitchell or Salo go down, this series is as good as done.

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

04/14/2007 10:07:23 PM · #62

One last update for today:

The Lightning come back with a strong performance, especially by Holmqvist, to tie this series up. If it wasn't for a bad game by Holmqvist in Game 1, they'd be up 2 - 0. I don't think the Devils have what it takes to get out of round 1.

The Islanders surprise the hell out of everyone and take game 2 to tie their series.. Everyone on all the expert hockey panels pretty much gave Buffalo this one in 4.. but who saw Rick DiPietro coming? Not Buffalo. Damn. What a goaltending performance.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/15/2007 12:11:50 AM · #63

Originally posted by option:

Alot of Canuck fans were expecting a division win to equate to a walk to the cup. Despite finishing third, the Canucks are very much underdogs in this series, especially since Turco seems to be playing the best playoff hockey of his career. If the Canucks are going to win this series, its going to 7, but if last night was any indication, I can see this being over in 5. Dallas is alot better than Canuck Nation expected...

I can't imagine the word "cakewalk" entering anybody's mind especially when you're talking about the NHL playoffs. Besides the Canucks played more like a 6th seed at best and an 8th seed at worst this year. They were 6th in points, 5th in goals against and 8th in goals scored (just western conference). True they are hurting now but even healthy Luongo has to play at a level far above Turco for the Canucks to have a chance and so far that hasn't happened.

Message edited by author 2007-04-15 00:13:54.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

04/15/2007 12:47:08 AM · #64

Originally posted by yanko:

I can't imagine the word "cakewalk" entering anybody's mind especially when you're talking about the NHL playoffs.

You don't know anything about Canuck fans, do you?

Pixlmaker

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

04/15/2007 09:12:44 AM · #65

Originally posted by Artyste:

One last update for today:
The Islanders surprise the hell out of everyone and take game 2 to tie their series.. Everyone on all the expert hockey panels pretty much gave Buffalo this one in 4.. but who saw Rick DiPietro coming? Not Buffalo. Damn. What a goaltending performance.

Yeah, I was there last night. For watching the Sabres lose, it was an awesome game to watch. Buffalo would have definitely won if DiPietro had not been in goal. My hat's off to him--he was unbelievable. So now we go into NY with the momentum against us. I'm still confident we'll win the series, but things just got a whole lot more interesting. That's one thing I love about NHL hockey--there's NEVER a sure deal. And being a Buffalo sports fan, I'm painfully reminded of that fact every few years. :)

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

04/16/2007 02:20:01 AM · #66

Another Night, another set of games:

Detroit/Calgary - Didn't watch it, but the Flames dropped another one in Detroit and go home looking a 3-0 deficit in the face. They need to find some passion and energy, and they need to find it fast.

Ottawa/Pittsburgh - Shaky goaltending, and a lack of any true urgency cost the Penguins this game. Malkin looks.. well, to be honest, like a Russian player. So many before him have come into the game promising to be superstars, and fizzled out. It's too early to say if he will do this in his career, but in this series, he has almost disappeared. In his defence, so have a lot of other Penguin players.

Anaheim/Minnesota - Minnesota continues to disappoint the hell out of me. Granted, Bryzgalov is a man possessed.. but there's still a huge lack of something from the Wild. If it wasn't for Backstrom, they'd have lost by 3 or 4 goals every game. Anaheim is a great team, no doubt about it, but I was expecting more from Minnesota.

Vancouver/Dallas - One of the better series so far. Vancouver pulls out *another* overtime win, albeit without having to have 4 overtimes this time around. Dallas didn't outplay them as badly in this game. Vancouver seems to have gotten a little confidence back. Also, they just keep doing what they've been doing all season... finding a way to win.

I'll be back tomorrow night!

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

04/16/2007 02:22:58 AM · #67

Originally posted by option:

Originally posted by yanko:
I can't imagine the word "cakewalk" entering anybody's mind especially when you're talking about the NHL playoffs.

You don't know anything about Canuck fans, do you?

So I guess the fans are thinking the Canucks are headed to the Finals again. :P

Geez, Stars are snake bitten in the OT.

04/16/2007 02:38:35 AM · #68

Originally posted by yanko:

Originally posted by option:

Originally posted by yanko:
I can't imagine the word "cakewalk" entering anybody's mind especially when you're talking about the NHL playoffs.

You don't know anything about Canuck fans, do you?

So I guess the fans are thinking the Canucks are headed to the Finals again. :P

Geez, Stars are snake bitten in the OT.

Actually, anything less than a Stanley Cup in Vancouver will have the fans screaming for the heads of the players. Trust me on that one.

I'm not a Canucks fan though. Thankfully.

Sigma 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical HF for Pentax

04/16/2007 02:40:04 AM · #69

Originally posted by yanko:

So I guess the fans are thinking the Canucks are headed to the Finals again. :P

Geez, Stars are snake bitten in the OT.

Jannik the Sniping Viking Hansen will lead us to Stanley Cup glory!

Jewellian

Pentax *ist DL

04/16/2007 05:34:42 AM · #70

Personally I was hoping for more of a challenge from Calgary.....

Pedro

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

04/16/2007 01:44:13 PM · #71

Originally posted by Jewellian:

Personally I was hoping for more of a challenge from Calgary.....

Calgary won more home games than any other team this season. I'll be in the stands for this one, and when the sea of red starts roaring the Flames better step up. If THAT can't get them going, nothing can.

then look for some heads to roll this summer.

I wasn't expecting the Flames to win this series, but dropping 4 straight will make me sad. The parties when they win are too good to miss out on.

pamelasue

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/16/2007 02:06:46 PM · #72

Go Wings!!!!!

Strikeslip

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

04/16/2007 02:18:50 PM · #73

Originally posted by Fibre Optix:

Now that my leafs are out, My pick is New Jersey Devils.

I'm not watching hockey any more, until the Leafs buckle down and put together a decent team. >:-(