NHL Playoffs Thread

[Psycho Penguin]

I am reading the previous pages and wow, EVERYONE (including me) gave up on the Penguins after Game 2. This is another reason why the Lakers should not tank Game 5, by the way.

 

[bps21]

I picked the Penguins to go to the finals at season's end. In fact I picked them to beat Vancouver. I was half right.

 

[Wario Lemieux]

 

[Matt Young]

What a great Game 7. That was easily the most excited I have been for any hockey game not involving the Kings or Ontario Reign. Sweaty palms, heart racing... I was loving it the whole way through. Detroit losing and Marian Hossa being beaten by his old team made it even better.

 

[Youth N Asia]

Kudos to the Pens, they played a hell of a game. Too bad Detroit didn't show up to play till the 3rd period. They were giving the puck away all game

 

[Psycho Penguin]

Detroit didn't seem to show up a LOT in this series. I wonder why. I was truly stunned at how awful they played at times tonight.

 

[jimmy no nose]

"Just call me Max or Superstar"
Funny Pittsburgh Penguin Car Commercial Part II

 

[kkktookmybabyaway]

Oh God. I've seen this ad at least two dozen times.

 

[stillnaive]

i fucking love this sport

 

[jimmy no nose]

Craig Adams was claimed off waivers in March and was on the ice to protect a lead at the end of game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. How does that happen?

 

[stillnaive]

my buddy and i went to game 6 and afterwards, we camped out at the players' entrance. when adams walks out, my buddy screams "DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS BABY!" and adams turns, points at him, and fistpumps.

 

[Czech]

Oh, congratulations, Pittsburgh Penguins fans. That was a really exciting third period. Can't say I'm happy to see Sidney Crosby win anything, but the best player on the team won the Smythe, so that's fair. Kinda weird since I never really felt like the Penguins had any sustained dominance this year. I mean, yeah, they got hot at the end, but there were still several teams that looked better. The Hurricanes, ironically. Though I'm always glad to see the Red Wings lose, and it's hard to root against anything Pittsburgh, kindred spirits that they are, it really does chap my ass that they won with that team. I mean, here we are scrambling like mad to further improve a deep roster wherein Ben Eager can put up ten goals on the fourth line because it's still not enough to beat the damn Swedes, and yet I just watched Crosby, Malkin, and a dump truck of horseshit phlegmatically trudge past Ovechkin and the Wings, superior outfits both. So what does it take. Oh well. Whole summer to worry about that. Soak it up, Tyler/jimmy/Penguin/kkk/whoever else.

Hey, let's all point and laugh at Marian Hossa all summer long, that vainglorious dillweed.

Haha, Craig Adams. No idea how that happened either. Here's my everlasting memory of Craig Adams, from a game against the Bolts this year:

CHI 09:45 Craig Adams : Hi stick - double minor - 4 min
TB 10:28 PPG Steven Stamkos (9) Snap Shot - Assists: V. Prospal (22) & G. Roberts (2)
TB 11:38 PPG Steven Stamkos (10) Slap Shot - Assists: S. Eminger (19) & V. Prospal (23)

I believe this was the end of Craig Adams.

 

[Chazz]

That was fucking awesome. Re: Hossa; Even though I didn't care that he left as much as some around here did,(mostly because I always felt he was overrated), still, though; HAHA!

 

[stillnaive]

bylsma put the pens over the top. it was all system. the pens had a good gameplan to neutralize the wings' puck possession, and while the wings were probably up and down a better team than the pens, the relentless forecheck at times gave them a chance to capitalize on the wings' mistakes.

 

[jimmy no nose]

Was I imagining things or did they show a graphic that said Crosby and Fleury are only the 7th and 8th #1 overall picks to win the Cup ever?

 

[Wario Lemieux]

Okay, I think I've recovered and can now discuss the game without getting too over-the

Maxime Talbot, Stanley Cup hero

 

[Psycho Penguin]

Fleury won the Cup for the Penguins last night, not Malkin or Crosby.

Stanley Cup 2009 Game 7

I still want to know how the Penguins were doing something wrong here. They did not 'tank' anything. They were a financial disaster and almost moved. They did 'luck into' getting Malkin and Crosby, but they still had to develop the guys and put a team around them. I'd like to see Phoenix in the Cup back to back years in the few years. Anyone wanna wager they don't make it?

 

[Czech]

They're not going to exist in a few years.

 

[zio]

bylsma put the pens over the top. it was all system. the pens had a good gameplan to neutralize the wings' puck possession, and while the wings were probably up and down a better team than the pens, the relentless forecheck at times gave them a chance to capitalize on the wings' mistakes.

I won't give Bylsma half the credit that should go to Sergei Gonchar. This is a completely different team with him in the lineup.

 

[jimmy no nose]

Could it be that the Red Wings were victims of the Curse of Ty Conklin? Look at the guy's last 4 seasons.

2006 Edmonton Oilers lost in Stanley Cup Finals
2007 Buffalo Sabres lost in Eastern Conference Finals
2008 Pittsburgh Penguins lost in Stanley Cup Finals
2009 Detroit Red Wings lost in Stanley Cup Finals

Note to teams who think they're contenders in 2010: Don't sign the guy!

 

[Czech]

You will, however, win your outdoor game, so it's a matter of priorities.

 

[the max]

He's 2-1. The Oilers lost the Heritage Classic.

And it seems he's going to have to crack one of the Bruins or Flyers/Capitals to get in the game next year. I could see the Capitals, since he's better than Theodore.

 

[stillnaive]

gonchar was awful in the finals and, pretty much, throughout the playoffs. he wasn't even really that great in the philadelphia series (he looked somewhat lackadaisical with the puck and was a turnover machine throughout that series), started to pick it up in the washington series until the knee-on-knee hit with ovechkin, and then absolutely stunk once he came back. word is he'll probably need knee surgery in the offseason, because he had almost no jump after the injury.

it was, in large part, bylsma's system and the fact that it was better suited for the pens' personnel than therrien's. bylsma constantly made changes that allowed the pens to force turnovers and spend large portions of time in the wings' zone, as opposed to last year when the wings completely took play to the pens with the exception of the rare counterattack that would get one shot and be out of the zone. that's how you beat the wings; the ducks did it in round two, and the pens used the same plan. attack the wings' defenders, especially kronwall and stuart, and you've got a chance. let them make that first pass and get out of the zone, and it's going to be a long game.

 

[Nightwing]

Congrats to the Pens on their victory. The Wings clearly didn't have anything in the tank after Game 5, but hopefully this will lead to Detroit bringing some of their younger talent up for the regular season. And God, as much as I like Hossa I'd prefer to get rid of him to keep the cap clear.

I wish my team wold tank a few seasons to get a Crosby and a Malkin and a starting goalie and eventual championship.

I keep hearing this, since it's clearly working for the Islanders, Phoenix, Dallas, Colorado, etc.

And the team ALMOST FUCKING MOVED when they were 'tanking' these seasons.

Wow, that's absolutely retarded. Seriously, shut up.

You had two #1 picks and two #2 picks over the course of 4 years, along with a #5 (Ray Whitney). Dallas hasn't had a pick lower than #25 since 2000, and didn't have a first round pick for two years. The Islanders did have the #1 and #5 in 2000... but since, they have a #7 and a #9, and a couple #15s. Colorado had about 4 picks in the teens, but that's about it. Phoenix had a #3 and a #5, but that doesn't compare to Pittsburgh's 5 years straight at the top of the draft order.

No team outside of the late expansion teams like Minnesota, Columbus, and Atlanta, even compare to that sort of draft ranking over 5 years.

Edit: To end this post on a more positive note, the ratings for this last game were apparently amazing. It's nice to see the NHL actually getting something out of a great matchup.

 

[treble]

Hossa, Conklin, and Ericsson are the only 3 players who played in the Finals who won't have Stanley Cup rings now.

Also, since the Wings and Hossa lost, the Senators have never drafted a player who's won a Cup yet (unless you count Stan Neckar and the 2 playoff games he played for the Lightning in '04, which shouldn't count under the rules, but he somehow got his name on there, anyway). That's pretty funny.

 

[jimmy no nose]

Maybe the strangest thing that came out of the Penguins winning the Cup in Detroit is that Pittsburgh sports teams have now won 3 championships in Detroit (1909 World Series, Super Bowl XL, 2009 Stanley Cup) and only 2 in the city of Pittsburgh (1925 World Series, 1960 World Series).

 

[stillnaive]

Ray Whitney

ryan


also, re: my gonchar bashing, apparently he had a torn MCL.

 

[the max]

I always like the end of a series when you find out how many guys have injuries that would have me unable to move for a week.

After the Broons got knocked out, we found out that Recchi played games 5 and 6 with a kidney stone and a fractured rib. Kessel had a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Krejci had surgery on a hip impingement.

There's always these crazy injuries.

 

[treble]

Can we stop people (mostly seems to be the Red Wings players) from whining about Crosby not shaking everyone's hand? Everybody seems to be most upset that he missed Lidstrom, even though Lidstrom himself doesn't really seem to give a shit. If you really wanted the chance, wait around like at least half the team and coaching staff did. He just won the Stanley Cup, is celebrating, and has about 500 media members wanting to interview him. If you want to shake his hand in that situation, you need to be a little flexible.

 

[Red Baron]

Fleury won the Cup for the Penguins last night, not Malkin or Crosby.

Stanley Cup 2009 Game 7

I still want to know how the Penguins were doing something wrong here. They did not 'tank' anything. They were a financial disaster and almost moved. They did 'luck into' getting Malkin and Crosby, but they still had to develop the guys and put a team around them. I'd like to see Phoenix in the Cup back to back years in the few years. Anyone wanna wager they don't make it?

Man Penguin your a retard.

This video was in clear hatred of Bettman. The team could have been saved if Basillie bought the team instead of forcing Lemiuex to buy the team and beg the city to build them a new arena.