2010-11 NHL Playoff Thread: HOUSE RULES: ENGAGED

[bluefan]

Man, the amount of points Cammalleri has generated in this years playoffs and last...jebus.

Vancouver in 5
Detroit in 7
Tampa in 6
Philly in 4 (yes, I'm still sore from the loss tonight)

[NynJa]

Washington 6
Philly 6
Detroit 5
Van 5

[bender1077]

Tampa in 4
Boston in 4
Preds in 4
Wings in 3 - SJ just gives up

[Makaveli]

Caps in 6
Flyers in 6
Nucks in 7
Wings in 5

[vagus]

VAN/NSH : Vancouver in 6
SJS/DET : Detroit in 7
WSH/TBL : Washington in 6
PHI/BOS : Phil : 5

[Kirin]

Vaughncouver in 7
Detroit in 6
Washington in 6
Philly in 7

Tampa and Nashville are just as easily dangerous on their series however. Glad to see Steve Y do some good down south.

[Palin]

Late to the party, but fuck ya Tampa!!

[Thoronas]

I'm actually really excited to see how the Washington/Tampa series turns out. Philly/Boston will be a goon fest, hopefully they concuss themselves out of contention.

Van in 5
Detroit in 6
Washington in 5
Philly in 6

[aurik]

Wash in 6
Phi in 5

Really sad to see that goonery in the boston game went well rewarded. A 5 minute major + game misconduct + suspension and 2+ for spearing missed in the span of 3 minutes leads to Boston's 3rd goal.

[Ace-o-fire]

Tampa in 7
Boston in 6
Preds in 6
Wings in 5

[Palin]

The teams that won the game 7s tonight...Bolts and Bruins...do we even have any fans here???

Lived in Orlando for 5 years, during which I got into hockey. Stars were my #1 team as I was born in Dallas, but I went to quite a few Bolts games during college and have become a fan. When I moved to NYC the Rangers became my defacto #2, but I still hold Tampa in my heart as my #3.

Tampa/Preds Final with Tampa winning would be my preference.

[Ace-o-fire]

Anyone else think this is bullshit???

http://detroit.sbnation.com/detroit-...-octopus-throw

[Brill Weave]

So here's my shitacular day. The power goes out in our neighborhood at 4pm. By 7:30 I'm leaving the house to watch the Pens game at her house. But what's this? Why is my engine sputtering. Why is the Service Traction light coming on? The wife is out of town tonight so I don't have her car to use. As I sit pondering what my next move will be the lovely check engine light comes on and the car cuts out. I just had it inspected on Monday. I am extremely angry. Not only did I miss the entire game(the power didn't come back on until 10:49) but the Pens lose and my car is fucked up. I am not happy. I seriously want to fucking punch someone(not so much about the Pens you can't go 1 for 35 on the powerplay and expect to win a series.)

[Alderaan]

/sigh.

Pens overachieved the last 4 months i guess. Injuries are a part of the game. I guess i was just hoping Crosby would be ok and swoop in and carry us to another cup. Wasn't meant to be.

[Callisto]

And with a final blaring of the horn in Pittsburgh, the first round of the NHL playoffs is in the books! Both conferences shall be sending forth into the second round their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th seeds, and let me tell you if there's anything I love more than playoff hockey, it's symmetry!

This year's first round was one to remember forever, the type of thing you tell your grandkids about in 50 years when the Leafs finally make another Stanley Cup Finals. About 11 of the 8 opening-round matchups went to a Game 7, and for all we know the league may declare that both Boston and Montreal are just a tad too crappy to be in the second round and make them play a Game 8.

The Canucks rushed out to a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks, then nearly had one of the most epic meltdowns in the history of professional sports. The Sharks also almost had an epic meltd-wait, no, they were just almost being the Sharks. The Wings and Capitals both made short work of their respective series, and will be heading into the second round well-rested, with the extra time off being especially helpful to the Wings, who needed the extra time to shore up some of their AARP paperwork. The Flyers, Lightning, and Bruins all squeezed out Game 7 wins, which noone really noticed due to the Vancouver/Chicago series.

And away we go...


EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

[1]Washington Capitals vs. [5]Tampa Bay Lightning

Bettman & Co. are likely pretty psyched at the way this one turned out. Ovechkin, Semin, & Backstrom against Stamkos, St. Louis, and Lecavelier delivers all of the star power that Capitals vs. Penguins would have failed to deliver this year, with Evgeni Malkin learning the wonders of Segway transportation and Sidney Crosby spending the first rounds in the pressbox wearing a headset, presumably on the phone calling Penguins season ticket holders to assure them he will be back next year so they can go ahead and renew.

For all their talk about being born-again defensive specialist, the Capitals came out in the first round and in fact walked the walk. While their series wasn't quite as big of a trouncing as the 4-1 tally indicated, they did play extremely solid defense with strong penalty killing. However, their own offensive output was pretty low, and they're likely going to need to score more goals to overcome the Bolts than they did against the Rangers.

Or are they? Tampa Bay just barely managed to eek past the Penguins, with only two of their games showing the high-powered offense that they're capable of. Their top line was oftentimes held of the board completely, and Game 7 was only won by a 1-0 score.

Players to watch:

John Carlson/Karl Alzner(D, WAS): The top defensive pairing for the Capitals will be put to the test in this series against the high-octane top line of the Lightning, and at ages 16 and 17, respectively, the Capitals hope they'll keep their maturity and composure with the tough assignment.

Nate Thompson(C, TBL): A relatively unknown 4th-line grinder for the Bolts, anyone who watched the first-round series likely noticed that he's a tough-nosed penalty killer who isn't afraid to get down in front of a shot, which just happens to be the Capitals' kryptonite.


[2]Philadelphia Flyers vs [3]Boston Bruins

The Eastern consolation series pits a team who barely squeaked past an average team with a high-end goalie against a team who...barely squeaked past an average team with a high-end goalie.

The Flyers undoubtedly have the upper hand in talent and depth, however their first round series showed them spending much of it playing down to the level of a team they should not have had such a hard time with. They closed out the regular season playing terrible hockey, and haven't really picked things up much since then.

Boston comes in as one of the few teams that can actually match the physicality, and at times the flat-out dirty play, of the Flyers. The Montreal series did not end up as nasty as many people expected, but sparks and/or fists could definitely fly in this matchup.

Players to watch:

Ville Leino(LW, PHI): Over the last two postseasons Leino has gained quite the reputation as being one of the real clutch scorers on the team during the playoffs. He also has a bit of a reputation for being one of the main people on the team whose name sounds like 'Philly'.

Gregory Campbell(LW, BOS): In a series with great potential for penalties, including those of the suspendable type, Campbell is the one who makes his father Colin unable to play a part in dishing out supplemental discipline. This leaves the job in the hands of Mike Murphy, the only person who manages to be even less consistent with supplemental discipline than Colin Campbell.


WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

[1]Vancouver Canucks vs. [5] Nashville Predators

[kirk]BUURRROOOWWWWSSS[/kirk]-ahem, where was I...

In a matchup that I have absolutely no idea what to make of, the star-studded, league-leading team featuring more twin brothers than the rest of the league combined take on the most blue collar, hard-nosed team with less household-name players than the Latvian national team.

The Canucks are fresh off of exorcising their playoff demons, after causing an entire province to spend 48 hours on suicide watch while they nearly choked away a 3-0 series lead over the Blackhawks. Different games seemed to show two totally different Vancouver teams, some games a timid, undisciplined, frustrated team with a mentally unstable goaltender, and other games a physical, perfectly-positioned, dominant puck-possession team with a mentally unstable goaltender.

The Predators on the other hand, were the model of consistency and stability. They've already proven that their grinding style can take down a team with heavy offensive firepower, but the Canucks are still a decent step up in talent compared to the Ducks.

Players to watch:

Roberto Luongo(G, VAN): After once again proving that the Blackhawks own him so hard he might count against their salary cap next year, Luongo was just barely steady enough in Game 7 to be bailed out, then nearly thrown under the bus, then bailed out again by Alex Burrows.

However, despite his well-documented troubles with the Blackhawks the last three years, Luongo historically actually has very good stats against non-Chicago teams in the playoffs. Most eyes will still be on him, to see if finally getting past his tormentors will return him to his solid regular-season form.

Nick Spaling(C, NSH): Like most of the Nashville Predators, I've never fucking heard of this guy. Like seriously, I watch a ton of hockey, I always pick a random team in NHL11, and never, not once, have I heard of Nick Spaling. I mean, I even knew who Bobby fucking Butler was when I saw him score a goal for Ottawa, but Nick Spaling? Nope.

But apparently this guy's scored some pretty big goals this year, including the two that sent Anaheim packing for the summer, so hey, maybe someone to keep an eye on.


[2]San Jose Sharks vs. [3]Detroit Red Wings

Like round 2 of the Detroit/Phoenix battle, for some reason the rematch of last year's semis doesn't seem quite like deja vu, despite the similar setup. Unlike last year, Detroit is firing on all 40-year old cylinders this time around, and they look pretty damn dangerous. Or at least they did a few weeks ago after they swept the Coyotes, who knows how they look now that they've been sitting around waiting for all these Game 7's to wrap up?

San Jose looked a lot like the Sharks of old during the first round, only to be out-Shark'd by the Kings. 6 games in and we've already had Thornton, Marleau, and Heatley sightings, during clutch moments. If they're actually present, anything can happen. One note of concern for the Sharks has to be their goaltending, though. Despite a very strong finish to the regular season, Antti Niemi had a pretty rough opening round, but in typical Niemi fashion, managed to make a flurry of tough saves near the end of the game to keep his team in a position to win.

Players to watch:

Johan Franzen(RW, DET): Prior to the first round, I had thought to myself, "Man, Franzen couldn't get any uglier...". Lo and behold, Franzen took it upon himself to prove me wrong, and had Shane Doan run his head through the ice, exploding his face into the terrifying Franzenstein mask that he carried throughout the rest of the series.

A word of advice to the San Jose Sharks: Don't issue Johan Franzen any challenges.

Devin Setoguchi(RW, SJS): Seriously, could their possibly be a more fun name in the NHL to say? Say it with me! Seeehhhtooohhhhgooooooocheeeeee...SETOGUCHI!! Goddammit I love that name.

------------------------------------------------------------

Someone post the second round schedule when it's up, and, as always:




DREAM BIG

[isladar]

Goddamnit, Ryan, you need to get paid for this shit.

[Brill Weave]

Heh he gets +10 points for a Mike Murphy reference.

[friedfunk]

So much for the west being upsets....

2nd round predictions-

WSH in 5
PHI in 7

VAN in 5
DET in 6

[Judai]

I've seen Spaling in NHL11, he's not too bad for a prospect

great write-ups again!

[Thoronas]

Good shit Callisto. The Luongo line made me lol.

Someone post the second round schedule when it's up, and, as always:

Done!

2011 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

#1 Washingotn vs. Tampa Bay#5

Friday, April 29 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Sunday, May 1 at Washington, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
Tuesday, May 3 at Tampa Bay, TBD VERSUS, TSN
Wednesday, May 4 at Tampa Bay, 7:00 p.m. TSN
*Saturday, May 7 at Washington, 12:30 p.m. NBC, TSN
*Monday, May 9 at Tampa Bay, TBD VERSUS, TSN
*Wednesday, May 11 at Washington, TBD VERSUS, TSN


#2 Philadelphia vs. Boston#3

Saturday, April 30 at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
Monday, May 2 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Wednesday, May 4 at Boston, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, CBC
Friday, May 6 at Boston, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), CBC
*Sunday, May 8 at Philadelphia, 3:00 p.m. NBC, CBC
*Tuesday, May 10 at Boston, TBD VERSUS, CBC
*Thursday, May 12 at Philadelphia, TBD VERSUS, CBC

2011 WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

#1 Vancouver vs. Nashville #5

Thursday, April 28 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Saturday, April 30 at Vancouver, 9:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
Tuesday, May 3 at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
Thursday, May 5 at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
*Saturday, May 7 at Vancouver, 8:00 p.m. CBC, VERSUS
*Monday, May 9 at Nashville, TBD CBC, VERSUS
*Wednesday, May 11 at Vancouver, TBD CBC, VERSUS

#2 San Jose vs. #3 Detroit

Friday, April 29 at San Jose, 10:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
Sunday, May 1 at San Jose, 3:00 p.m. NBC, TSN
Wednesday, May 4 at Detroit, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS (JIP), TSN
Friday, May 6 at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Sunday, May 8 at San Jose, 8:00 p.m. VERSUS, TSN
*Tuesday, May 10 at Detroit, TBD VERSUS, TSN
*Thursday, May 12 at San Jose, TBD VERSUS, TSN