12/21/24
April 23, 2003
"This is not a hockey team, it's a cult.": Who's afraid of the Minnesota Wild? Canucks' GM Brian Burke, for starters. Second round playoff action begins tomorrow, and features a lot of unexpected teams. Four of the eight teams left have never made it past Round 2. Is one of those four teams poised to make a run at the Cup, like last year's Hurricanes? Or will they roll over, and leave us with a Dallas-New Jersey final? What are your predictions?
And now for Round 2... My crystal ball ain't so crystal clear, I guess. The Lightning is very much a one line team, and John Madden has shown how he handles a big line against the Bruins and Joe Thornton. Khabibulin will make the games close, but no cigar. Devils in 5. The Flyers and Senators both need to win to wipe off their recent post-season history. Senators have the edge in talent, but the Flyers make it up with extra "grit" (whatever that means!). Round 1 has taught us that coaching really can win or lose games, so I'm going with the Flyers in 6. The Canucks are somewhat similar to the Avalanche: huge first line, lots of offensive talent on D, and a goalie who can win and lose games by himself. Unfortunately, they're less talented than the Avs at each position, except behind the bench. Logically, the Wild should beat them. But the Sedins are finally starting to click, Linden had a great game 7, and one Canadian team has to advance, so Canucks in 7. The Stars are going to rout the Ducks in game 1 or 2, much like they did to the Oilers. The next game will be decisive. I'm betting on more Gigučre magic. And that Babcock guy knows what he's doing. Ducks in 6. I'll pass the mic, now.
posted by qbert72 at 11:22 PM on April 23, 2003
Devils in 4, Sens in 7, Canucks in 6, Stars in 6. I didnt post, but I got 5 right, losing on Leafs, Avs, Wings... dont remembver what I had for game #s...
posted by Bernreuther at 01:59 AM on April 24, 2003
Tampa in 6, Ottawa in 7, Wild in 6, Stars in 5 I'm hoping for a Wild/Stars Conference Final. Norm Green still sucks. Go Wild!
posted by emoeby at 08:38 AM on April 24, 2003
2nd round predictions from my other hockey board (teams playing: winning team; high goal scorers for each team): Eastern Conference Ottawa/Philadelphia: Ottawa in 7; Hossa/Roenick Tampa Bay/New Jersey: New Jersey in 6; St. Louis/Madden Western Conference Dallas/Anaheim: Dallas in 6; Modano/Kariya Vancouver/Minnesota: Vancouver in 6; Naslund/Gaborik
posted by NoMich at 08:47 AM on April 24, 2003
And succa may be last, but he's the only one whose team is still in it, as far as I know... I may not be active in the hockey threads (mostly for lack of Eastern Conference knowledge) but I'm rooting for the Stars pretty hard. I hate having to flip back and forth between Stars and Mavs game (like I'm going to have to do Friday night, at least for a little while). Turgeon and Arnot should be back, I'm going Stars in 6 as well. Vancouver in 7 (althought I'll be happy for either team that wins.) All I do know is that if it's Stars/Wild in the conf. finals, and Minnesota wins, there's going to be some serious vindication in the minds of the Wild fans. And I'd actually be quite happy for them. I understand.
posted by Ufez Jones at 08:59 AM on April 24, 2003
Qbert, thanks for the breakdown - Nice work. And did you mean to drop two separate Beastie Boys quotes in there, or was it just on in the background? This has been a really weird first round. I’ve been bitching about the Bruins not being willing to spend money for ever, and then 6 out of the 8 teams that advanced had a lower payroll than their opponents. I’m gonna have to shut my pie hole for a while. Anyway, my picks: Devils in 5. It hurts to write this, but the Devils and their incredibly boring system actually get the job done. I really hope I’m wrong here. I didn’t think you could make hockey suck, but Pat Burns is proving me wrong. Sens in 7. If there really is a God, the Flyers will lose. Ottawa will be rested and Philly has to be pretty beat up after their battle with the Leafs. Also, the Flyers are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked. Wild in 7. This goes against my better judgement, but I picked the Wild in 7 last time and it worked out. They’re just a really likable team, and I think it would be great for hockey to see them get to the conference finals. “This crowd has grown deadly silent, a Cinderella story outta' nowhere.” Stars in 6. Dallas knows that Anaheim is no joke now. And Giguere can’t possibly carry the Ducks through another round, can he? He’s going to fall apart or pull his groin or something.
posted by Samsonov14 at 09:11 AM on April 24, 2003
Ducks seeing Stars-If you aren't a believer yet, this series should help you along. Dallas knows what they're in for, and smart money goes to the taleneted veteran team. Flashback to last year: smaller swifter team defeats larger more powerful foe. Repeat Performance. Ducks in 7. Cancuks go Wild-Cheers to the Wild for knocking off the scary Avs. And nobody is more grateful than the 'Nucks. Jovo will bottle up Gaborik, and Morrison/Naslund/Bertuzzi dominate 3 games. Lemaire had his team playing with nothing to lose. Well, the 'Nucks already lost the NW division title, have lost and found their game and have everything to prove, as the winningest team since Jan 02. Vancouver in 6. Lightning struck by Devils-Good job beating Jarg, see ya in October. As a team that regularly wins without scoring much, the Devils are primed to dismantle this team of up-and-comers. Habby is good, but Brodeur is Brodeur + bruising D. St.Louis and Vinnie will give them hope for a game, but it should be all over in 5. Philly vs. Ottawa-Let me be blunt, Philly must not make it out of round 2. Millions of lives will be shattered by undermining the tenets of the 'Hate Philly' cult. Seriously, the Senators won the president's trophy, or should I say prime minister's trophy(welcome back), for a reason. Now that they've figured out you still have to win games beyond the first 82, I give them the edge here. Chara and Redden run a tight ship, and their gameplan is always heady. The Flyers offence is improving and the line of Primeau/Gagne/Williams is awesome, but it won't be as dominate against Chara & Co. It'll go 7, but the Sens prevail.
posted by garfield at 11:38 AM on April 24, 2003
Hey, I'm batting .500! Woo-hoo. The first round this year was awesome, but I'm looking at the teams remaining and I really don't want anyone to win. Maybe the 'Ning will pull something out or the Ducks ride in the pumpkin will continue, but if I'm pinning my hopes on something like that I know it means trouble. Anyway, here we go. Devils in 4. This hurts me more than it hurts you, Sammy. Those Jersey bastards have been doing this for years though, so we should be used to it. (I'm going with the sweep in the hopes of gaining bonus points with everyone else picking five or six.) Flyers in 6. Maybe if I predict a Flyers win, they'll lose. Canucks in 5. The Wild ride comes to the end just when people started to learn their names. Oh well, they'll be back. Anaheim in 7. You've got to pick one upset and since Disney rules the world, so why not.
posted by 86 at 11:39 AM on April 24, 2003
My Devils in five (May they roast in Hell) Flyers in seven Who cares but Canucks in six Ana... no f'ing way, Giguere or not, Stars in 6
posted by billsaysthis at 01:34 PM on April 24, 2003
Jersey in 6. (They should shut down the top line better than Washington ever could.) Flyers in 7. (I hope they lose, but I can't get the image of the Ottawa choke out of my head. Sure, the Sens might be rested; but the Flyers are hungrier, as they just came out of a long series. Sens might be rusty at first. If they start off slow, Flyers will pounce). Canucks in 6 (need some Canadian representation in the top 4!) Stars in 6. (I like Anaheim, and I regret not picking them in the first round *that's what they ALL say*, but I can't see them going much further).
posted by mkn at 06:51 PM on April 24, 2003
oh yeah, and I forgot to add, and I did think of this before the game started, but I think Tampa will score 4 goals or less in being swept.
posted by Bernreuther at 08:27 PM on April 24, 2003
Dallas in 5 - return of turgeon, arnott should be too much for the ducks to handle. Jersey in 6 - brodeur > khabibulin. 'nuff said. Ottawa in 7 - a lackluster leafs showing took philly to 7, but ottawa's not lackluster. Vancouver in 5 - minny's even surprised they're still around; clearly, all other things being equal, vancouver's hungrier. that'll be key.
posted by juv3nal at 09:57 PM on April 24, 2003
This is crazy… The Dallas Stars need smelling salts, a video replay ref with big oil connections, and Marty Turco… The Mighty Ducks need Giggy, a Stu Barnes crossbar, and all the magic Emilo Estevez can conjure…Steve Levy and the Panger need sleep… I need more beer… It’s now the fifth longest gamein longest game in playoff history and it ain’t over. Hockey rules.
posted by 86 at 12:03 AM on April 25, 2003
Ok, this is getting crazy. Here are some things I've wondered though the course of the last overtime: 1) Why does God love the Dallas Stars? 2) Is there any other sport that can go twice (+) times as long as planned? 3) When people look back, will they remember that both goalies have had at least one shut-out already tonight? 4) Since OT plays without commercial break, what kind of money does ESPN lose out on during a four (+) overtime game? 5) Do lineman ever get IV drips between perioids? 6) Will this ever end?
posted by 86 at 12:22 AM on April 25, 2003
It's over! Wow, that was a game for the memory banks.
posted by mkn at 12:37 AM on April 25, 2003
All I have to say is this: I was listening to the game on my AM clock radio, totally static-ridden, but how cool. Even though the Stars lost 55 seconds in to the 5th OT, the fans that were there applauded their asses off, and that's just great. I still have confidence in the Stars, but what a great game. New records for time for both franchises. Yeah, hockey playoffs can be much better than NBA playoffs. At the same time, last night's Mavs game was fucking great. What a ulcer-wrenching time to live here.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:21 AM on April 25, 2003
That said, I'd still like to see Sykora strung up. 5:52 minutes of hockey. Beautiful.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:24 AM on April 25, 2003
BTW, 4th longest game in NHL history, 2nd longest in "modern" history according to the post-game commentator. And they play again in less than 48 hours.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:26 AM on April 25, 2003
Devils in 4, Sens in 7, Canucks in 5, Ducks in 7. Must. Back. Canadian. Teams.
posted by etagloh at 02:29 AM on April 25, 2003
No fair. You picked Ducks in 7 AFTER they won ;)
posted by mkn at 03:15 AM on April 25, 2003
Probably the funniest thing last night was watching the TSN (one of Canada's sports stations) intermissions during the broadcast of the quintuple overtime game. The analysis team had pretty much run out of things to say and seemed to be getting a little silly.
- "Here we are in the...oh, I don't know what intermission this any more. 5th? 6th? Who cares?"
- "Is there anything left to talk about guys?"
- "The morning crew is here already and they are laughing at us."
- While talking about the need for players to replenish energy in between periods, they two analysts were munching on some Bits'n'Bites on camera. After finishing the discussion, one of the announcers grabs the bowl and walks towards the camera. "Does anyone out there want some? Go ahead, take a handful."
- Just before going to commercial, the camera feed shows a couple of people sleeping in the stands. The host of the broadcast is heard yelling off-camera "Hey! Wake up!"
posted by grum@work at 07:19 AM on April 25, 2003
Look how tired I am this morning! It made me want the game to go into a couple more overtimes...
posted by grum@work at 07:32 AM on April 25, 2003
I was really taxing the picture-in-picture feature on my tube last night. Holy smokes what a brilliant couple of games were on. Come on Paul Allen - bring hockey to Seattle!!!
posted by vito90 at 08:32 AM on April 25, 2003
Stars in 7 Nucks in 5 Sens in 6 Devils in 4 not fair since the second round started last night, but I was having internet problems yesterday.
posted by Succa at 02:12 PM on April 25, 2003
Heh. I'm with your grum. For most part of the season I didn't like the NHL on TSN format, and Duthie annoyed me often. But yesterdays's second overtime intermission and later made it all worthwhile. Even Dave Hodge was funny! He picked Sykora as the player of the game? The reason: "Damnit... he scored." Also the constant jokes about the game going the distance, along with the fake Game 6 NJ/TB scores. All in all, it was one of the more entertaining games in a while (including intermissions!).
posted by mkn at 04:10 PM on April 25, 2003
Okay, now it's getting kind of scary. The Ducks win AGAIN in overtime. They have now beaten the #1 and #2 seeds in 6 straight games, all by only one goal. Oh, and raise your hand if you just KNEW that Vancouver was going to win that game in overtime after scoring with 1.2 seconds left to tie it up. /raises hand high
posted by grum@work at 08:24 PM on April 26, 2003
Grum, we actually discussed playing Fifa on the X-box instead of watching because we were so sure. Okay, so we watched, but the thought was there.
posted by Samsonov14 at 11:53 AM on April 27, 2003
Err... That was supposed to read "Who's afraid..." Administrator, please hope me! Grum has already committed his predictions here, and Spofiers' Round 1 picks are here. For the record (and my not-so-humble bragging rights), here's how many each of us got right for round 1. 6 correct winners predicted by: - qbert72 (+4 exact match numbers) - garfield (+2) 5 correct winners predicted by: - Samsonov14 (+3) - grum@work (+2) - billsaysthis - andrewraff 4 correct winners predicted by: - mkn (+2) - jmd82 (+2) - 86 3 correct winners predicted by: - succa (+2) garfield and I were the only ones to pick Anaheim, while Samsonov14 and jmd82 showed their balls by choosing the Wild. Strangely enough, I was the only one to pick the Flyers. And succa may be last, but he's the only one whose team is still in it, as far as I know...