Pavelski and Cammalleri both under six foot. Eager to see the NY Ranger debut of Zuccarello-Aasen next year.
Yeah but I would venture a bet that Camms and Pavelski have at least 10-15 pounds on him. I'm curious too, but I just hate to see Ranger fans do the usual and expect too much of someone and then want to hang him after three games. Meanwhile, I'm officially declaring my bandwagon status to Montreal (perfect timing right ?!). What a game I just watched and PK Subban will absolutely be a staple in about two seasons. I was kinda with Boston, but Montreal is just so much more enjoyable to watch. Plus, fuck the Penguins. Nice two-hander to Plekanec, Crosby. Now watch him go score three and end the dreams of so many Quebecer's just for me doubting him on a message board.
I tried the whole rooting for Montreal thing for one day and I felt dirty. Pens take it in Game 7 and I hope it's a particularly painful game. There is just no way I'm rooting for anyone who ever wears that stupid fucking C.
You, buddy, can go to hell. You're probably a Leafs fan. I'm still not sold on the Habs, they were monsters in the second part of the game but the Pens hit 3 or so posts that would've otherwise broken their backs. Also, Lapierre is one of my favorite players. Don't let that blowhard Ray Ferraro blind you with his rants about Lapierre's "antics", he's a good player that played this entire season with an ankle injury so he didn't bring it physically as he would have. Can you believe that this was all achieved without Spacek and/or Markov?
Ticket's booked. But dear lord not as a Leafs fan. My hatred for the Habs germinated in the spring of 93 when someone whose name I forget now lambasted Alex Mogilny into the Montreal post, breaking his ankle. This was the playoffs after he'd put up a 76 goal season and we were actually allowed to be optimistic about our chances. Then the Habs proceeded to win every game 4-3 in OT. That began it, the arrogant dumbasses I encountered every time I went to a Sabres/Habs game solidified it. Great, your team won like 20 Cups when there wasn't a draft and they played in a league with 5 other teams. Not necessary to rehash at a regular season game in 2010. I will say the Montreal crowd has been great. I figured they'd take Game 6 based on that. I stand by my prediction, but really nothing surprises me anymore with these playoffs. Speaking of Canadian teams, how about all these rumors swirling about how the mighty Winnipeg Jet could be making a comeback? I'm promptly getting a Doan Jets jersey if this happens.
Shit 'Nucks! I didn't watch any of the games, who is to blame? Vigneult, the inept offensive production or Luongo?
A bit of everything. The Canucks gave up too many odd man rushes, but if you're one of the best goalies in the world, you make the saves when they matter. And Luongo didn't. There were definitely stoppable goals tonight. And while one goal from the offense simply won't cut it especially against a team like the Hawks, letting in goals in bunches like Lu-Gong-Show did tonight really deflates a team. Looks like Demitra's last play as a Canuck was a breakaway pass to Dave Bolland, then fishing the puck out of his own net. Hopes he enjoys his 8 million, he definitely earned it *mouth fart*. I was actually at tonight's game though, and I wasn't pissed off at all until after the game. Ya the Canucks lost another stinker after putting up a great effort in Game 5 in Chicago, but that just got me bummed out. There were probably 12-15,000 of the 18,000 left at the final buzzer, most of them standing up and cheering, waving their white towels. It wasn't the best performance to go out on, but damn it they're our team and we'll stick with them. So the fans stayed until the end, watched them shake hands and then ... bolt down the tunnel? ... ' The Fuck? You watch other teams that go out in the playoffs at home, like the Sens or Yotes in the first round, and what do they do after the hand shake? They stand at center, sticks raised, and salute the fans. Because they know that they're the reason they get to play hockey for a living. Every single one of those people paid hard earned money to watch them enjoy themselves, and the fans deserve a round of applause at the end of the season as much as the players do. But not the Canucks. Poor Captain Luongo is so hard on himself and so upset and the game he played that he leaves the ice without even turning back to the crowd. Maybe the average person doesn't think much of it, but that just pissed me right off. Especially after a game like that, show the fans some appreciation. Sami Salo gave his stick to someone in the crowd, and I'm pretty sure he was the only player on the team, to do anything like that. Maybe the rest of the team followed Lou because he's the Captain and he's supposed to lead the team, but that was a time when one of the A's should have stepped up and told everyone to stay on the ice and acknowledge the fans.
Pittsburgh vs Montreal: I was rather disappointed with the Penguins' performance a couple nights ago. A lot of the talk has centered on Malkin and Crosby. Not to say they played well, but they didn't lose this game. First, the defensive pairings beyond Gonchar/Orpik played very poorly. Hell, Letang scored a goal and he was still -2 for the night. Then Cooke and Talbot combined for 24:30mins of even strength ice time, ZERO shots and -3. Finally, Malkin needs to start playing more aggressive towards the net. If he's behind or to the side of the cage he always swings out wide instead of cutting inside towards the goal mouth and taking it in himself. I read an article where he's actually been taking more shots and from a closer distance, but he still needs to take advantage of when the Habs' defensemen are on the move. Vancouver vs Chicago: Awful way to go out getting dominated like that. Yeah Luongo got hung out to dry a couple of times, but he still played poorly by Roberto Luongo standards. I will be surprised if he's still wearing the "C" next season. I really don't know what to make of Chicago. Right now they seem to really be in synch. I don't know how they'll fare against a San Jose team with more depth at defense though. The CBC announcers harped on this for a while. I also don't understand why Vancouver only dressed six defensemen last night. If one goes down then you're down to five, one of whom is already nursing an injury. Boston at Philadelphia: Just how many more guys can Philly lose and continue to win? Now Boucher is out for up to a month apparently. Coyotes / Jets talk: Glendale city council approved the funding necessary to keep the team in AZ. Bettman also addressed the issue on CBC last night. (Source for both) The legality of the city council's vote is also interesting. Coyotes fans have an unfortunate circumstance in that Arizona is home to the rather pro-active and influential Goldwater Institute. The GI hasn't been a big fan of public funding for the team for a while, and it has already litigated against the city of Glendale before regarding the Coyotes. In my opinion, the team is going to stay in Arizona for at least two more years. It's just one of those situations where too many people are trying their damnedest, even if it isn't going to be profitable. Even if the team does leave Arizona, I don't see Winnipeg being the de facto choice. There have also been big movements to get teams in Hamilton and Kansas City as well, which I think the NHL would seriously consider. And of course there are a bunch of other cities that we've discussed ad nauseum. Winnipeg is a nice sentimental choice, and it could probably do well economically in the modern era of the salary cap and the Loonie being almost (but not quite, you hosers!) on par with the USD. But is it a better financial decision over other places like KC, Hamilton, Quebec, Seattle, yada yada yada? And if it isn't, are we willing to let that nostalgia factor compensate for it? If so, how much?
I'm going to make a worthless post and go ahead and say I hope Halak gets hit by a truck. Rather I wish he would have gotten hit by a truck in the recent past. Seriously though I love seeing awesome net minding exhibitions, just not when the team I'm rooting for is getting robbed by amazing shit. Mind you I'm only a Penguins fan because the first time I got into it i loved watching Lemeiuex and Jaromir Jagr play (bad spelling due to iPhone). Seriously, tons of shots that for all intents and purposes should go in. Just aggravating. It's also stupid that I have a natural dislike of the Canadiens team, and a natural humorous dislike of the country of Canada, yet the 'star' of the penguins crapped on the USA gold medal chances. End of pointless rambling, carry on.
I had the Pens winning game seven with the rest of the country. BAM! HOW YOU LIKE BEING UP 3 GAMES TO 2 AND STILL LOSING CROSBY! THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT! As a Red Wings fan, this provides the smallest bit of solace. I had to watch my team go down in five games to the fucking Sharks, it would have been worse to watch the flightless birds advance while we stayed home. I really thought they would win, but man, that Halek is the real deal. If he keeps this up, a la Giguire in 2003, he will be Conn Smyth worthy and a legend in Montreal. EDIT: How classy were Pens fans? Was it really because this is the last game played at the Igloo they were clapping over the loss? Love how the first game they played there was a loss to the Canadiens as well.
I'm taking a break from my usual "fuck the Penguins" mentality until October. Their elimination pleases me. To give credit where it's due, however, I will say that the Penguins' fans are definitely classier than your typical Habs fan. Not that that's a huge accomplishment. "Our team won an important game! Something GOOD has happened to our team! Let's celebrate! Let's riot and start some fires!" Classless, idiotic jackasses.
Thank you Montreal. Took you fuckers at +375 for the series and you pulled it off. Fucking Bruins. At least they scored (yes I know it took taking the goalie out to make it happen) in the closing minute of the game. Philly looks like they're playing in fast forward. Every Bruins breakaway gets chased down immediately. Every time theres a loose puck there seems to be three Flyers there. I'm happy I'll be sitting at the Sox-Tigers game on Friday because I don't think my stomach can take anymore edge of the seat hockey right now.
On the Moen goal, all four Penguins (Gonchar, Letang, Kunitz, Fleury) looked pathetic. Gonchar had to let him skate by and didn't want to interfere (I guess...) but Kunitz and Letang were in la la land and Fleury couldn't handle the knucklepuck. Gonchar looked terrible all night. I hope I don't have to watch anymore of these shitty comedy movies that for some reason involve the Penguins. Nothing funny happens in Pittsburgh. The Flyers have played much better with Gagne and the Bruins much worse without Krejci. I hope this is the year the Sharks finally put it all together.The Blackhawks are probably the toughest team left for the Sharks. If they can beat 'em, whoever wins the east shouldn't too much of a problem for the Sharks. Sharks have typically had good numbers against teams from the east.
I'd be much more accepting of the Penguins' loss last night if they actually played well. Each of the team's shortcomings were exploited by Montreal in this series. - Fleury playing inconsistently. One night he's the goat, the next night he's a superstar. Unlike last year, he was more goat than star this series. That first goal in particular was weak. It was very portentous for how the rest of the night was to go. - The Penguins lack of depth in the winger positions. Having Crosby, Malkin and Staal is great, but Montreal took away the center of the ice. Ponikarovsky was supposed to be that added scoring threat but he was a bust. - A soft defense. Aside from Brooks Orpik (who unfortunately chose to play grabass behind the net during one goal) the Penguins lacked anyone adept at playing in the defensive zone. Again, they brought in Jordan Leopold who wound up being mediocre and overpaid. - Poor trade decisions. I normally give Ray Shero's decisions extreme deference but his two major deals this year weren't so certain. I actually liked the acquisition of Ponikarovsky but he just didn't pan out. I always viewed Leopold with confusion and skepticism. There was nothing about him that indicated he'd actually be an improvement. I had hoped the managers brought him in feeling he'd thrive in the Penguins' system, but he just never caught on. - Gonchar looked done out there. I don't know if he was just lazy, tired or apathetic. Part of me wonders if the knowledge he won't be in Pittsburgh next season and already has his Cup ring played a part. His chicken-wing attempt at slowing down Moen was pitiful and laughable. I am already seeing the kind of reactionary fervor I had witnessed in DC just a few weeks ago. Ridiculous demands from fans (and even journalists) abound with things like trading Malkin. This guy won the Art Ross and the Conn Smyth trophy last year! Yeah he came up short this year, but he's proven he can compete in the post-season before. Trading away talent like that only leads to regret. The better tactic is to tweak the system on offense to work better for him and get better defensemen. They don't know a superstar on the blue line, just adequate guys who can stay at home and take care of the puck. The offense is always going to be the marquee for this Penguins team. With my team out of the race I am switching my allegiance over to San Jose. Philadelphia can absolutely, positively not win this. I was actually ok with Montreal winning the Cup until I saw the reports about looting and rioting. Seriously? After a semifinal series win? The team and fans in Pittsburgh impressed me after the loss at least. The team stayed and saluted the crowd and the fans stayed to cheer them. Oh well, onto the new home at Consol Energy.
None of you want to give the Canadiens ANY credit? For God's sake they beat the two cup favorites without their number-one dman and a rookie with 2 regular season games of experience playing over 20min a night. Give 'em some credit! The way I see it is that Jacques Martin suddenly realized how to coach this team - the new system being used by the Canadiens is unlike what they used all season. Where before it'd be the softest, most penetrable neutral-zone trap now it's a four-man collapse in the d-end that usually forces a low-percentage shot (hence the high shots against) or a turnover (Pens had 14, Habs 0 last game). After the turnover the offense breaks out with two to three passes and then dump-and-chases it behind the net if the D is flat or sets up a shot if it's an odd-man rush. It's pretty fun to watch as a Habs fan, I won't even deny it. Halak is STILL not selling me over. He was penetrable the last two games but the team played tremendously and compensated for it. Against Washington I think the ridiculous play of Halak, the crazy-efficient PK and some leadership overtook the Capital's free-spirit game. Against Pittsburgh I think Crosby was injured, Gonchar and Letang choked hard, Bylsma got out-coached and Fleury was a sieve. Anything but a finals berth would be a disappointment now though, the Bruins can't score much, Philly doesn't have a goaltender (but does have the scariest depth in the league, offense and defense) and both are worse than Washington and Pittsburgh. San Jose and Chicago are scary good though, Chicago a bit more I think. Regarding the "riots": I was right in the thick of things and it was safe and fun and enjoyable until, I kid you not, a bunch of THUGS (70 or so) came out of the east end of St-Catherine and just started shit with everyone and everything. It's stupid and classless and puts a bad name on the rest of the fans who didn't do anything bad at all. And by 'looting' they literally mean a Liquor store and a Footlocker. That's it. I don't mean to sound racist but I swear it was the ghettoest "hockey fans" that ever existed.
Montreal is such a great story but it is soooooo bad for Hockey. No Ovechkin, no Crosby no ratings. In Philadelphia people are still talking about the Phillies more than the Flyers. With all the injuries on both Boston and Philly It's hard to believe that even if either team made it to the finals they would not get swept by the monster from the West. The Flyers have been playing so much better than they are without Gagne, it's just crazy. However in the history of the NHL, NBA, and MLB, only THREE teams have EVER come back from a 3-0 deficit to win game 7. It looks like the Bruins have the odds here. However does it really matter? Can Montreal, Philly or Boston seriously beat the Western giant? The whole playoff's have been insane so who the fuck knows?
That's just it. No NHL team has overcome a 3-0 deficit in 35 years and that could happen tonight...and it's not the biggest story of the second round because no team has beaten the President's Trophy winner (or best record in the NHL before the award was given out) and then the defending champs in the next round in the 1-8 seed format. Just a shocking round altogether and it actually works out for the hockey fan who just wants good games. A 6-8 or 7-8 matchup will be even and the 1-2 matchup in the West will be a great series. So I'm not worried about the markets or whatever because I really don't care what the ratings are for hockey. If I can watch the games, that's good enough for me. Let's hope tonight's is a classic to make up for all the anti-climactic Game 7s we've had (Wings over Yotes, Habs over Pens, etc.)
Ask and ye shall receive. Does the nature of the Game 7 comeback trump Montreal's Cinderella role? It's like something from a John Donne poem where the macro and the micro line up in such a way that the beauty of the feat almost eclipses the significance of the accomplishment itself. With the pressure of the opening 20 minutes set to swallow Philly up, van Riemsdyk's goal gave the Flyers an almost false hope. More importantly, it kept Boston from going into the intermission with every ounce of momentum. You can't help but compare that to Gagne's Game 4 OT winner. Both van Riemsdyk's and Gagne's goals, when taken as isolated incidents, seemed to be little more than speed-bumps on Boston's path to the Conference Finals, but obviously history has made them much more significant. You think Cherry was suffering from any flashbacks or PTSD after the too-many-men call?
No we have a 7 versus 8 seed in the eastern finals, and 1 versus 2 in the western finals. I wonder who will be favorites in the Cup? ******If you get a chance watch HBO's "Broad Street Bullies" documentary it's really good" LET'S GO FLYERS...............