NHL Season 08-09

[Palin]

Holy shit Canes!

[Ratatapa]

Brodeur got owned in the last 3min of the game lol

[Bregor]

The conspiracy of Caps/Pens is complete...

[Ratatapa]

i wouldve prefered Caps/pen as East final but meh


Imo Canes can't beat Bruins, So i sense Bruis Vs caps or pen but mmmmm hard to choose


On West i hope that Anaheim Destroy Red Wings, and Chicago Vs Canucks should be a good series

[Vedder]

Brodeur got owned in the last 80secs of the game lol

Fixed that for you!

And yes, the series vs. the Bruins will be tough... but the Canes have been rolling for the last 4 games now. If not for Brodeur standing on his head in Game 5, the series would have been over in 6 like I thought.

The last 2 times the Canes have made it out of the first round they went to the finals, so we shall see ...

[Ivaden]

Fuck, I really hate the Capitals. I honestly would've rather played against the Bruins now, Thomas is a wimp. Haven't had a chance to watch much of any Cap-Rangers games but... I dunno. I'd rather play the Bruins. The two losses the Penguins had to them came when we were going through our shitty period and they were back to back games. I have a lot more faith in Pens vs. Bruins than I do Pens vs. Caps, but it's gonna be another exciting series for sure.

[Thoronas]

Some good match ups.

The Pittsburgh vs Washington series is going to be a wet dream for NHL marketing.

That asides I'm picking......
Pittsburgh in 7. Fleury could really shine here.

Boston in 6. If Boston can't beat the Canes in less than 7 games I don't think they can win the cup.

Second Round Schedule
SERIES I #1 Boston vs. #6 Carolina
Friday, May 1, 2009 Carolina at Boston
Sunday, May 3, 2009 Carolina at Boston
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Boston at Carolina
Friday, May 8, 2009 Boston at Carolina
*Sunday, May 10, 2009 Carolina at Boston
*Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Boston at Carolina
*Thursday, May 14, 2009 Carolina at Boston

SERIES J #2 Washington vs. #4 Pittsburgh
Saturday, May 2, 2009 Pittsburgh at Washington
Monday, May 4, 2009 Pittsburgh at Washington
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Washington at Pittsburgh
Friday, May 8, 2009 Washington at Pittsburgh
*Saturday, May 9, 2009 Pittsburgh at Washington
*Monday, May 11, 2009 Washington at Pittsburgh
*Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Pittsburgh at Washington

SERIES K #2 Detroit vs. #8 Anaheim
Friday, May 1, 2009 Anaheim at Detroit
Sunday, May 3, 2009 Anaheim at Detroit
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Detroit at Anaheim
Thursday, May 7, 2009 Detroit at Anaheim
*Sunday, May 10, 2009 Anaheim at Detroit
*Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Detroit at Anaheim
*Thursday, May 14, 2009 Anaheim at Detroit

SERIES L #3 Vancouver vs. #4 Chicago
Thursday, April 30, 2009 Chicago at Vancouver
Saturday, May 2, 2009 Chicago at Vancouver
Tuesday, May 5, 2009 Vancouver at Chicago
Thursday, May 7, 2009 Vancouver at Chicago
*Saturday, May 9, 2009 Chicago at Vancouver
*Monday, May 11, 2009 Vancouver at Chicago
*Thursday, May 14, 2009 Chicago at Vancouver

Stolen from Puck Daddy

[KoalaTrap]

Both east series gonna be awesome. Don't bet against the 'canes. Eric Staal is playing like a monster right now (5 goals in 1st round) and Cam Ward outplayed Brodeur. Both series could go 7 easily. Will be interesting to see how Varlamov is against Pens shooters because the Rangers offense is awful.

[BarthelloSylph]

hahahaha FUCK NEW JERSEY. Fucking Yankees. Go Canes!

[Ishido]

Holy shit more than 1 Wings game on national television.

DET/ANA 4-2
VAN/CHI 4-2
BOS/CAR 4-1
WSH/PIT 4-3

[Brill Weave]

I have to say the last 90 seconds of the Rangers game was absolutely pathetic for the Rangers. They couldn't even gain the neutral zone, let alone attempt to pull Henrik for the extra man. Extremely sloppy play that basically took any chance they had and chucked it out the window. I do not like Washington against Pittsburgh. As physical as the Pens/Flyers series was, I think this one is going to be much worse when it comes down to sheer physical toll on the players. They beat the piss out of each other.

But it should be some amazing hockey to watch.

[Sepukku]

AO is a headhunter, pre-all star game all he ever tried to do against the Pens is hurt Malkin.

[Absolutely Virtue]

lol at OV as a headhunter.

i wept like a child last night in those last few minutes. that game was so tense, and the caps were playing SO poorly. i spent most of the game watching with my hands over my eyes. but you're right, the rangers just couldn't get a thing going at the end. my hat is off to them, though. they were overmatched, talent-wise, but when they were able to stick to their gameplan they gave the caps all they could handle. they basically owned the 2nd period last night.

not sure what to think about caps v pens. the point about varlamov withstanding the pens offense is a very good one. and ovechkin usually tries to score four goals every time he plays the pens, and ends up playing lousy.

i'm fucked though- i have tickets for the nats v cards (and my bff pujols) on saturday afternoon at 1, so i'll miss game 1. and i'm flying out of dc on wednesday night, so i'll miss game 3. ugh.

[Brill Weave]

Yeah I must admit I am interested in seeing how well Varlamov handles a team that has players that can score from just about anywhere.

[Abraxas]

Excuse me but didnt the Canadiens get positively raped? Don't talk if your team go their shit kicked worse then the team your talking about.

Anyway I'm Proud of What the Rangers (I.E Henrik) did this year. Lundqvist proved why he is one of the top 2 goalies in the league this year, noone can doubt him after he carried an entire team.

Ratata is one of the most level-headed people in this thread. you cant get mad at him your team lost lol. he points out every teams flops

and at times, Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the league. but consistency is his problem. he plays great in the middle of the series, but cant close it out with a 3-1 lead? ouch

[Absolutely Virtue]

and at times, Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the league. but consistency is his problem. he plays great in the middle of the series, but cant close it out with a 3-1 lead? ouch

Interesting tidbit-

Much of the coverage of the game last night mentions that Boudreau was hammering on the team to shoot high, glove side. Could be something to that, or just that Lundqvist was overcompensating. Here's a quote from the Caps blog on the Post:

That was Boudreau's message to his players during their pregame meetings yesterday. Boudreau said 12 of the first 17 goals this season on Henrik Lundqvist went high to the glove side, including the first two on Sunday and, of course, Sergei Fedorov's winner last night

"We all watched that this morning, where we were beating him," Boudreau said. "I don't know if Sergei did that on purpose or if that's what was given. But that's where we seemed to be beating him."

(sic) That post says "goals this season" but he meant "goals this series."

Capitals Insider - Boudreau: 'Welcome to the Circus'

[Brill Weave]

Somone a little butthurt over their team losing? I agree wholeheartedly that Ratatapa is one of the most level headed people in this thread. So calm the shit down and relax. Yes Montreal got their asses beat. Least they didn't build up the hope in their fans and city before choking and dying. They had the decency to collapse right at the first whistle

[Ivaden]

lol at OV as a headhunter.

To an extent, what Sepukku said is true. I went to the first game this season against the Caps and any time Ovechkin and Malkin were on the ice at the same time, Ovechkin would completely forget about the puck and just watch and wait on Malkin to get near it.

This series is gonna be fun, though. So much talent on both teams, if this doesn't go to game seven I'll be surprised. Wouldn't like it to, though lol. Hopefully our boys have some momentum and another adrenaline surge from Bylsma getting named head coach officially, because if we don't come out swinging, I'm scared of this match-up. Need to get to Varlamov quick.

[Brill Weave]

I can't really say he's a headhunter because he only seems to do it against the Penguins. You know when they play Washington that Ovie is going to take a run at either Crosby or Malkin. It's just a fact. But otherwise he's just looking for a big hit to get some momentum. I can respect that.

[Ishido]

No one else giving their predictions before the first game tonight?