NHL Season 08-09

[Ivaden]

fuck thought we had that in the bag, stupid fight to take for Carcillo but nice come back for the pens. GL in the next round, now for the wait till October again.

At least this series was a lot more exciting than the first two last year combined. Biron and Fleury kept trading days to be amazing, today was just Fleury's day after the first two.

I'm glad it went this far in the series though, having it be a cakewalk like last year would've been boring but also it's gonna give us a reality check that it's only gonna get harder from here and we can't have those lazy games like the past few.

GG Philly, you guys are going to be beasts next year. That Giroux kid is pretty fuckin' good.

[Sepukku]

Mark Eaton...

1 G, +3, 2 Blocked shots. Thats all I'm gonna say ^_________________________^

Kimmo Timonen got on the scoreboard finally this series too, with 2 assists:
--One, his stereotypical secondary PPA.
--The other, hooking up Crosby with a nice bounce off his ugly mug.

[Brill Weave]

I do like Giroux. That kid is going to be a damn fine player once he fills out a bit more. He's already got incredible vision for someone who is so young. As to the final game, you can't even really blame Biron except on the first Crosby goal. If he doesn't bobble the puck, Crosby doesn't get to play Albert Pujols with it.

Regardless, the game could have gone either way and I'm not ashamed to say I thought it was over at the end of the first. Should be interesting to see who they end up with next round. But the real question is what does Philly do with Biron next season. I'm sure one of you will correct me if I'm wrong but isn't he an unrestricted free agent?

[Ishido]

Tortorella suspended for one game for throwing shit at fans during the last game. Have to agree with the decision, players and coaches need to know better than to do something like this. Will be interesting to see how this impacts an important game. I can't imagine Rangers fans being too happy right now.

[Palin]

"Zomg Bettman wants Ovie vs Crosby and will do anything to get it."

[Thoronas]

The Washington vs Rangers series is turning out to be highly entertaining if you're not a Rangers fan. If Washington is able to turn it around and actually make it to the second round it will be a huge storyline for the East.

It'd be total bullshit for the Rangers but probably pretty good for the League.

[Oxyminus]

Game 6...chance to clinch in our own barn. For all that is going on, I'll take it. And I'll be there cheering tomorrow until I go blue in the face, and cheer some more!!!!

LETS GO RANGERS!!!

What bothers me at this point is in the Rangers 3 wins, they have scrapped and clawed and barely pulled in the wins by any means necessary. In their 2 losses they were totally blown out and never made much a game of it. I think there is more pressure on the Caps this game. Already had a really emotional game on friday, might be hard to recover. Rangers just need to play smart, and Lundqvist needs to be flawless. Rangers NEED TO CONVERT ON THEIR POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITIES THAT IS THE END OF THE STORY! The Rangers have completely shifted back into a pure defensive style against the Caps, which they need to do. Their offense has been struggling (more than usual) because of this. JUST WIN

LETS GO RANGERS!!!

[Melena]

so anyone watch the second period of Tonighs (last nights) sharks/ducks game? I swear the ref's were doing everything they could that period to hand the game to the ducks. First the bullshit goalie interference call on the Sharks when anaheim is practically draging him past the net, then not even 2 minutes later with one of the ducks practically pinning nabokov's leg to the ice and not getting a call.

[Absolutely Virtue]

I, too, agree that the pressure is on the Caps in this game. The Caps are the better team, but I have been impressed (in their wins) with the way the Rangers have gotten maximum effort out of their guys. They've played as close to flawlessly as they can. The blowouts, on the other hand, have been ugly to watch. And it's frightening how quickly the Rangers can descend into a bunch of goons. From Avery cracking Jurcina's face open with the butt of his stick in Game 4, to Semin getting clotheslined in the 3rd period of a 4-0 game. If only the Rangers could have played with a bit more discipline, this series would already be over. Can't wait for today! Although three decades of following largely lousy DC teams means I can never be optimistic.

The Pens Flyers game was just ridiculous. I was watching it on and off at the gym. When I first got there, it was 3-0. By the time I was done it was over at 5-3. Yikes.

[Soa]

And thats folks is why the Flyers will never win a Cup unless they get a real #1 goalie.

Not counting game 1 it was pretty much a dead even series except for the Goalies, which Fleury won handily over Biron. That save he made in the 3rd period yesterday was incredible, and he made several other spectacular key saves throughout the series.

Congrats to the Pens, good luck in the next round.

[Thoronas]

Rangers couldn't close the deal. The caps are starting to build some momentum. This could be really bad for the Rangers. Game seven here we come!!

[Brill Weave]

The D needs to pick it up or Henrik is going to have a long game. They hung him out to dry a couple of times.

[Sepukku]

Don't fret, the Caps blew a game 7 at home last year hahaha

Pens getting that huge rest they need. Hopefully Canes or Rangers can pull off the upset and we can avoid the Bruins til the Finals.

[Brill Weave]

Hopefully Canes or Rangers can pull off the upset

I would much rather play New Jersey personally.

[Abraxas]

you could tell from the first period that the Pens were outplaying the flyers. I knew they were gonna lose, even with a 3-0 lead.

oh well, ya cant win them all. thats the best part of the playoffs. The Pens outplayed the Flyers in 2 games out of 6, leaving the Flyers outplaying the Pens for 4 games, yet they still lost.

Sepu, i hope you realize how much better then Pens will have to play to go further. and i really hope Mark Eaton gets you that cup. (lol)

good series, good hockey

[Brill Weave]

Everytime I see Mark Eaton joining a rush or scoring I always remember that argument. Anytime I hear the name Timonen he will forever be linked to Eaton lol. I haven't put my thoughts into that particular debate out there, but I will now. I like Mark Eaton, he's a very good defensive defenseman. It took him a while to get over the injuries he sustained the last two years, and I think he mentally hadn't recovered until this year.

That being said I would take Timonen any day of the week over him. The guy can skate, he has a decent shot, but his bread and butter is distributing the puck. It always has been.

If you compare the two there really isn't a comparison at all. Kimmo Timonen will almost always end up with 40-50 points per season. Eaton's highest point total in his career was 13. Eaton is a much more gifted defensive player. But on a team that already has Brooks Orpik, Hal Gill, and Rob Scuderi, another defensive player kind of gets lost in the shuffle.

In short Timonen over Eaton. But I'm happy to have Eaton there. Plus he seems to really be mentally ok as opposed to when he came back and promptly got re-injured. He's healthy and amazingly enough he's been adding timely scoring. If he's able to continue that trend I would say then we could seriously debate this topic. But as it stands, I would rather have Timonen.

[Abraxas]

im just busting his stones. Eaton isnt a bad player. imo, not as good as Timo, but its not like Eaton is a detriment.

Sepu is also a homer. but we all are for certain players we like.

[Brill Weave]

Oh I know you're just busting his chops a bit but I wasn't sure if Sepp knew the career statistics etc.

[Sepukku]

I'm aware of the points differential between the two players, but points aren't the only thing that count. I will always remember this season's Timonen-Eaton arguments, in which I was only half serious, half antagonizing, but I already "thought of something" everytime I saw Eaton with the puck - my friend's fantasy team was named "NO BEATON MARK EATON!"

Regardless, it was a good series, certainly more entertaining than any of the Pens first 3 series last year. A game 7 would've been incredible, but I'm certainly not going to mope that it didn't come to that. I've been to the outdoor screen 3 times already, I'm getting tickets to game 5 or 6 (assuming there is one) in the next round, and I couldn't be happier with our playoff progress so far, just please no Bruins. Either the Canes or Rangers gotta pull the game 7 upset.

PS: Mark Eaton's goal made #7 best play from the weekend on sportscenter, packaged in a two-for highlight with Ray Whitney's bat-in goal from Sunday's game hahahaha

[Brill Weave]

NO BEATON MARK EATON

That's still probably the one of the more funny fantasy hockey teams. I went with Dunder Mifflin Infinity because I'm not creative.