2009 nhl playoff thread

[Pennypacker]

Agree with you AP5151. This is the Sharks to lose.

IF there is going to be an upset in the first round, who are you guys leaning towards?

COLUMBUS over Detroit
ST. LOUIS over Vancouver
MONTREAL over Boston
RANGERS over Capitals

I think Tortorella can get the Rangers going and use Avery and Lundqvists as HUGE factors. Tortorella has won it all before, he knows how to motivate his guys, even if theyre going up against a guy like Ovechkin. Its time for the big-money players (Drury, Gomez, especially Redden) to step up and deliver. Theodore is also another weak spot for the Caps, but they still have that young, fast-paced puck moving team that can be deadly.

Just as last year's Caps-Flyers was hyped up, with everyone writing off the Flyers (except me lol), the Rangers will use their experience to shut down the Caps.

Rangers in 6.

[Von Halen]

Hey Punypecker, thanks for keeping this thread updated! Good stuff...

[Pennypacker]

Ill try and add a better Playoff Tree, I'll probably make one.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Agree with you AP5151. This is the Sharks to lose.

So what is this now, like the 4th year in a row that is the Sharks year ???

[Romeo Delight]

Sharks do nothing...again. Well, they win one round

Two hottest teams in the league are ST Louis and Vancouver and they play each other.

I say the upset will be the Habs.

Habs, Penguins, NJ, Caps

Sharks, Chicago, Vancouver, Detroit

[Pennypacker]

Tonight is the Draft Lottery, here are the 14 Non-Playoff team, with a projected pick (courtesy TSN.ca)

New York Islanders 48.1% = C John Tavares
Tampa Bay Lightning 18.8% = D Victor Hedman
Colorado Avalanche 14.2% = C Matt Duchene
Atlanta Thrashers 10.7% = C Evander Kane
Los Angeles Kings 8.1% = C Brayden Schenn
Phoenix Coyotes = D Jared Cowen
Toronto Maple Leafs = LW Magnus Svensson-Paarjarvi
Dallas Stars = C Nazem Kadri
Ottawa Senators = C Scott Glennie
Edmonton Oilers = RW Jordan Schroeder
Nashville Predators = D Dmitri Kulikov
Minnesota Wild = D Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Buffalo Sabres = D Ryan Ellis
Florida Panthers = D Simon Despres

I'll have the 1-14 Draft Order up today around 830PM.

[Pennypacker]

[Pennypacker]

Enjoy the Playoff Tree Wallpaper..

Sorry its so damn big

[Pennypacker]

Brian Burke pulled no punches at his season-ending press conference Tuesday: The Maple Leafs want John Tavares.

"Once the lottery determines who will pick where, we will actively pursue a trade to move up," said Burke.

Asked if it was the No. 1 selection overall, Burke's reply: "Yes."

Asked if Tavares is the player he is after: "Yes."

In a candid session with the media, Burke reiterated his goal is for the club to make the playoffs next year.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Enjoy the Playoff Tree Wallpaper..

Sorry its so damn big

You realize they reseed after each round, right ??

I know, it's been so long for Leafs fans....

Kidding, just kidding !!!

[Pennypacker]

You realize they reseed after each round, right ??

I know, it's been so long for Leafs fans....

Kidding, just kidding !!!

hahahahaha. I know how the playoffs work! I will repost the tree after each round!

[Va Beach VH Fan]

By the way, if any of you homos are interested, in addition to my normal Penguins blogging duties at Kukla's Korner (KuklasKorner : The Confluence), I'm going to be the Penguins blogger for the New York Times for their "Hockey Night in Blogdom" series coming up (Hockey - Sports - Slap Shot Blog - NYTimes.com)....

[Pennypacker]

By the way, if any of you homos are interested, in addition to my normal Penguins blogging duties at Kukla's Korner (KuklasKorner : The Confluence), I'm going to be the Penguins blogger for the New York Times for their "Hockey Night in Blogdom" series coming up (Hockey - Sports - Slap Shot Blog - NYTimes.com)....

Good blogs on Kuklas Korner. Waiting to see your NY Times stuff.

Need a Leafs or general Playoff blogger??? I was blogging at hockey-bums.com just before the trade deadline but the douche who ran the site would either take credit by deleting my name and putting in his on all my posts, or re-word my blog and delete my original.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I just answered the questions that will be posted, your basic shit talking between the two teams....

IRT the blogging, I have nothing to do with that, sorry...

[Pennypacker]

Draft Order
1 New York Islanders
2 Tampa Bay Lightning
3 Colorado Avalanche
4 Atlanta Thrashers
5 Los Angeles Kings

[Pennypacker]

6 Phoenix Coyotes
7 Toronto Maple Leafs
8 Dallas Stars
9 Ottawa Senators
10 Edmonton Oilers
11 Nashville Predators
12 Minnesota Wild
13 Buffalo Sabres
14 Florida Panthers

15-30 will be known after the playoffs.

[atomicpunk5151]

By the way, if any of you homos are interested, in addition to my normal Penguins blogging duties at Kukla's Korner (KuklasKorner : The Confluence), I'm going to be the Penguins blogger for the New York Times for their "Hockey Night in Blogdom" series coming up (Hockey - Sports - Slap Shot Blog - NYTimes.com)....

I didn't know you blogged over at KK. I don't stop by there very often, But I always enjoyed it when Kukla would expose Eklund for the Fraud he was.

++++++++++++

Regarding the Pens & Flyers......

I have been pretty dissapointed with the Flyers play the last week or so. They really had a chance to wrap up the 4 seed to get home ice for at least this first round.

Like I mentioned earlier, I can see this going 7....but the wrong team (Pens)could likely win........

I know Richards & Carter are going to show up big, hell even Giroux has really helped the 3rd line. Tough part will be if the Flyers D shows up enough to stop Crosby & Malkins lines. Kimmo is solid, but Coburn, Parent, Jones and Alberts are all either battling injury or slumps in play.

Times like these I wish Keith Primeau was still around. Having a big Center that could wear down Malkin or Crosby over a 7 game series would be huge.

I would say the Goaltending battle is a toss-up. both goalies played well for most of the playoffs last year. Biron and MAF both battled rough spots early, but have played well lately. Slight edge to MAF.

What do you Pens fans think about Guerin? I remember him coming up way short in his playoff run with the Sharks a few years back.

[Pennypacker]

The Flyers can score pretty much goal-for-goal with the best teams in the league, so goals shouldn't be a problem in the post-season. Jeff Carter has emerged as one of the most consistent snipers in the league while Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, Mike Knuble and youngster Claude Giroux represent a solid supporting cast. A healthy Danny Briere could be the man to push the team over the top.

Based on their statistics, there really isn't much separating Martin Biron, who'll likely be the playoff starter, from Antero Niitymaki. The truth of the matter is neither offers up a whole lot of confidence. Biron played quite well for spurts last season in the playoffs, but ultimately wasn't up to the task.

After Crosby and Malkin there is a significant drop in bona fide scoring, although the addition of Chris Kunitz at the trade deadline has been a godsend. Jordan Staal can also contribute, but in the playoffs he'll probably be more of a defensive presence. A lack of production from the blueline is a concern.

The big problem with the Penguins is they allow nearly as many goals as they score. Having Sergei Gonchar back in the lineup has helped give the defence an identity that it lacked for most of the year. It will be interesting to see if the playoff experience the likes of Hal Gil, Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang gained last season pays off this year.

[Pennypacker]

Flyers-Pens has begun

The Playoffs have started!!!

[al3d]

WEll...the Habs are in the playoff...that's the Montreal Canadians...but i doubt they'll go pass Boston with that Moron of a coach they got right now, Gainey as NO BALLS for been a coach realy.

[Pennypacker]

the Habs are in the playoff...that's the Montreal Canadians...but i doubt they'll go pass Boston with that Moron of a coach they got right now, Gainey as NO BALLS for been a coach realy.

wow, thats very insightful . Can't really write off Montreal yet, wait for them to play a couple games first then make assumptions.

[al3d]

wow, thats very insightful . Can't really write off Montreal yet, wait for them to play a couple games first then make assumptions.

well..Gainey can do a haft decent job as a suppleant coach..but not in the playoff. he's just not the man for the job.

[Pennypacker]

well..Gainey can do a haft decent job as a suppleant coach..but not in the playoff. he's just not the man for the job.

If Carey Price can stand on his head and steal games, and the D can fill in while Markov's on the shelf, it should be an interesting series.

If anything, Gainey should've been fired, not Carbonneau.

[al3d]

If Carey Price can stand on his head and steal games, and the D can fill in while Markov's on the shelf, it should be an interesting series.

If anything, Gainey should've been fired, not Carbonneau.

Amen to that Brotha..

[Pennypacker]

Good to see a fellow Canadian in here talking hockey!!

We wont let our Leafs-Habs rivalry get in the way.......yet

[al3d]

Good to see a fellow Canadian in here talking hockey!!

We wont let our Leafs-Habs rivalry get in the way.......yet

Ahaha...yeah..

[Pennypacker]

4-1

*Penguins lead series 1-0

Game 2 Friday April 17

[Pennypacker]

3-4

*Rangers lead series 1-0

Game 2 Saturday April 18

[Pennypacker]

1-4

*Devils lead series 1-0

Game 2 Friday April 17

[Va Beach VH Fan]

4-1

*Penguins lead series 1-0

Game 2 Friday April 17

Still time for you to change your prediction....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

I didn't know you blogged over at KK. I don't stop by there very often, But I always enjoyed it when Kukla would expose Eklund for the Fraud he was.

++++++++++++

Regarding the Pens & Flyers......

I have been pretty dissapointed with the Flyers play the last week or so. They really had a chance to wrap up the 4 seed to get home ice for at least this first round.

Like I mentioned earlier, I can see this going 7....but the wrong team (Pens)could likely win........

I know Richards & Carter are going to show up big, hell even Giroux has really helped the 3rd line. Tough part will be if the Flyers D shows up enough to stop Crosby & Malkins lines. Kimmo is solid, but Coburn, Parent, Jones and Alberts are all either battling injury or slumps in play.

Times like these I wish Keith Primeau was still around. Having a big Center that could wear down Malkin or Crosby over a 7 game series would be huge.

I would say the Goaltending battle is a toss-up. both goalies played well for most of the playoffs last year. Biron and MAF both battled rough spots early, but have played well lately. Slight edge to MAF.

What do you Pens fans think about Guerin? I remember him coming up way short in his playoff run with the Sharks a few years back.

Yeah, if you go to KK and search for the tag "Dwayne", he's got several great articles there...

IRT Guerin, both he and Kunitz have been great for Crosby on that line.... They've both got good hands and throw their body around at will, giving more open ice for Sid.... He's been great so far...

[Pennypacker]

Still time for you to change your prediction....

Wow, did the Flyers look sloppy in both ends of the ice! My prediction stays the same, as well as the Rangers. Why does everyone have a hard on for the Caps-Ovechkin come playoff time?

Im really anticipating tonights Habs-Bruins to be a bloodfest. Laraque calling out Thornton, I fuckin love it!

[atomicpunk5151]

Alright we finally get to head out WEST for the Battle of California.

Suprisingly the Sharks & Ducks have never met in the playoffs so this heated rivalry is about to go to the next level.

The Sharks lines from practice are what we will probably see on the opening faceoff.

Marleau-Thornton-Setoguchi
Michalek-Pavelski-Clowe
Moen-Goc-Cheechoo
Shelley-Roenick-Grier

Nabokov in net for the Sharks. Probably Hiller in net for the Ducks.

If the Sharks can shut down the Ducks top line of Getzlaf, Perry & Ryan this could be a short series. The Ducks don't have much secondary scoring anymore.

The Sharks problem in the past has been timely scoring in the playoffs, they will need to right that ship as there will probably be far less penalties in the Playoffs and you can't count on your PP.

Go Sharks!

[atomicpunk5151]

Why does everyone have a hard on for the Caps-Ovechkin come playoff time?

Did you watch much of that game? Ovechkin was the best player on the ice. Scoring, shooting, hitting.

Only problem was Jose Theodore played like ASS. He fucking sucked. Not sure why he even wore a glove as he didn't even hardly use it. Even a halfway decent performance in net would have got the Caps a win or at least got it to OT.

Caps have serious problems in net right now.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Only problem was Jose Theodore played like ASS.

Which is why the Caps will go nowhere....

[Pennypacker]

Which is why the Caps will go nowhere....

FINALLY we agree on something

[Pennypacker]

Carcillo suspended one game for butt-ending Maxime Talbot in the face. Flyers coach John Stevens was fined $10k.

[Pennypacker]

4-2

*Bruins lead series 1-0

Game 2 Saturday April 18

[Pennypacker]

1-4

*Red Wings lead series 1-0

Game 2 April 18

[Matt White]

let's go red wings!!!

and in case you forgot....