[Lizard King]

Dude,

The hawks are drastically improved. One of the best goalies in the league and a group of young guys that will be given direction by some solid vets like Lapointe and Aucoin. Who is gonna beat them out? Detroit? Toronto? Colorado? Please. Geriatric lineups man. I'll take your action any day of the week!

Just went back and read the first few pages of this thread. Dam Cfern, you should've bet him money!

Looking back I guaranteed Montreal would make the playoffs and I was right! 8)

So we got Carolina in the first round, I dont really care who we play, its the playoffs anything can happen. But our D better show up or were screwed. The big thing in Montreal is who should start in goal, I say Huet deserves the spot based on what he's done for the team this year, but Abeischer has the playoff experience, its a tough call but I think Gainey will go with Abs. I dont care who starts as long as they play good and we win of course!

GO HABS!!

[opiated]

dallas will win the cup..although i'm cheering for the sabres, i think the stars are gonna do it...

[direwolf74]

dallas will win the cup..although i'm cheering for the sabres, i think the stars are gonna do it...

Dallas is definitely a scary team, but honestly I think any of the top teams in the West has a legitimate shot at the Cup, with the exception of maybe Colorado and Nashville (the Preds are screwed without Vokoun). If the Thornton/Cheechoo train keeps rolling like they are, the Sharks could very well surprise everybody and go all the way. And then there's Detroit, who are playing very well and seem to be on a mission this year, especially Stevie Y. And of course you can never underestimate Calgary. When the Flames are on their game, they've proven that they can beat any team in the league. In a "new NHL" where it's all about offence and finesse, the Flames remain unabashedly old-school (hit 'em hard, hit 'em early, and hit 'em often), and that's what I love about them. They were one lousy goal away from a Stanley Cup in '04, and I'm betting that they're even hungrier this time around. These playoffs are gonna be very interesting. Anything can happen.

GO FLAMES!!!

[cferneyh]

They were one lousy goal away from a Stanley Cup in '04

And Gelinas might have in fact scored that goal in Game 6.

dallas will win the cup..although i'm cheering for the sabres, i think the stars are gonna do it...

Not sure I can agree with you (SURPRISE!!!!). Mainly because Turco has melted under the pressure of the playoffs as a starter. His save % in 03/04 went from .913 in the regular season to .849 in the playoffs. But if he's managed to keep his confidence, they are as good a bet as anyone.

In the office playoff pool goaltenders are the most important position (3 pts for a win, 5 for a shutout). I simply can't believe how many goaltending question marks there out there this time:

TB: Grahame or Burke? Is there a door #3?
MTL: Huet or Abs?
PHILLY: Esche sucks.
SJ: What if Toskela craps the bed in the first game?
OTT: Emery starts.....will Hasek return?

[The Darkest Canuck]

i am not scared of Montreal having to play anybody, Carolina was the only team that scared me all year, but they've been playing shitty lately, so i'm not even scared of them anymore either...Buffalo? well, i'll admit they'll be one of the tougher opponents in the east, but Philly should be a whole different beast once the playoffs start...New Jersey should tear the Rangers a new ass...as Ottawa should do to TB as well...

i must be the only person out there who thinks that Colorado is going to beat Dallas...i just think that Colorado has the experience, i thikn Sakic's leadership and a solid performance in net by Theodore will get the job done...Jose has never made it psat the second round, but has never not made it out of the first round either...

[Lizard King]

Looks like Gary is laying down the law.. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=163208&hubname=">http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=163208&hubname=</a><!-- m -->

Make the call, or else!! :rambo:

:lol:

[ryan93]

As recently as a few days ago some of you on here were saying Montreal had a great chance simply because of Huet in goal. All i've heard since well before the Olympic break was how great Huet was and & saved their season and all that...and now it appears Aebisher is the guy Gainey is going to go with! I was surprised to hear that.

[ryan93]

My predictions:

Detroit @ Edmonton...Detroit in 5
Dallas @ Colorado...Dallas in 6
Calgary @ Anaheim...Anaheim in 7
Nashville @ San Jose...San Jose in 6
******
Ottawa @ Tampa Bay...Ottawa in 6
Carolina @ Montreal...Carolina in 7
New Jersey @ NY Rangers...NYR in 7
Buffalo @ Philadelphia...Buffalo in 6

Those are definitely my picks for the West. The only real upset i'm predicting is Anaheim over Calgary.
As for the East though, i really don't know, i think all 8 teams have a shot at moving to the 2nd round. I think TB have a shot at Ottawa, but their goaltending (especially against Alfie, Spezza, Heatley and co) will likely be their undoing. I wouldn't be surprised at all either to see Montreal, NJ, and Philly advance.

[emperor penguin]

just saw Jeremy Roenick on Off the Record, and he blamed bad skates on his terrible year. He said he lit it up the last 10 games of the season when he got his equipment situation figured out :roll: I guess it takes 6 months to figure out that your skates are making it hard for you to stickhandle as he put it. Among other things he also stood up for Steve Avery and said that he understands why he would verbally assault Brian Hayward in the dresing room, justifying the fact that Avery is not a coward because he fought 5 or 6 times this year. How many times did he cheap shot someone, like 20 or 30. When you're gonna cheapshot someone that many times and only fight 5 or 6 times I think that makes you a coward, great argument Roenick.

[tigerthelion]

just saw Jeremy Roenick on Off the Record, and he blamed bad skates on his terrible year. He said he lit it up the last 10 games of the season when he got his equipment situation figured out :roll: I guess it takes 6 months to figure out that your skates are making it hard for you to stickhandle as he put it. Among other things he also stood up for Steve Avery and said that he understands why he would verbally assault Brian Hayward in the dresing room, justifying the fact that Avery is not a coward because he fought 5 or 6 times this year. How many times did he cheap shot someone, like 20 or 30. When you're gonna cheapshot someone that many times and only fight 5 or 6 times I think that makes you a coward, great argument Roenick.

Roenick is a complete hack. He gives the NHL a bad name. Skates? :roll: I think the reason he sucked it up is because he is washed up. What a sad case.

[ryan93]

I just saw the end of it with JR, but he's been bitching about the skate situation all year. The Hockey News mentioned something about it a few months back, saying that he finally found skates comparable to the ones he had in Philly. That's gotta be the worst excuse i've ever heard.

Michael asked JR if can still play the game, and he said he "dominated" the last 10 games.

[tommygunn]

just saw Jeremy Roenick on Off the Record, and he blamed bad skates on his terrible year. He said he lit it up the last 10 games of the season when he got his equipment situation figured out :roll: I guess it takes 6 months to figure out that your skates are making it hard for you to stickhandle as he put it.

It's a good thing he didn't try on a visor! :lol:

:twisted:

[direwolf74]

My predictions: Calgary @ Anaheim...Anaheim in 7

Do you really think the Ducks will be able to withstand Calgary's forecheck over a 7-game series? The Flames are absolutely relentless with their puck pursuit, and they're gonna make the Ducks pay for every inch of ice. Guys like Selanne and McDonald won't have any room to skate because they'll be too busy getting pounded everytime they touch the puck. The only way Ahaheim gets out of this series is if the refs suddenly get generous and hand them a bunch of 5 on 3 PPs. And even then Kipper will still shut the door.

Flames in 6.

[ryan93]

Every year there are upsets, most of which just don't make sense when comparing the two teams in the regular season. I don't know, for me i just have a feeling Anaheim will take this one. The Flames have the best goaltender & defense in the league, and they've shown they can get it down in the post season in the past. The one thing which really worries me about them though is their offense. If they are to go deep again, Jarome Iginla is going to have to take this team on his back. The Ducks are one of the best teams in the league the last few months, and no i don't think they are as good a team as the Flames, but they are certainly no pushovers. Scott Niedermayer is playing IMO the best hockey of his career right now, and he's the leader of this team. JS Giguere is playing like the JS of a few years ago, and Teemu Selanne is playing like a 25 year old. He's been dominant since the Olympics, and with Scott is their leader. Rob Niedermayer is playing well right now and is always a great defensive forward, as is Todd Marchant. Andy McDonald is playing very well right now (85 points), and Lupul has developed into a good goal scorer. They also have some great youngsters in the likes of Perry, Getzlaf and bring a lot of speed & energy to the line-up. It should be a good series, and yeah, i'm going with the Ducks.

And hey, Roenick picks the Ducks too He actually picked them to win the West, but lose to the Sens in the final.

[direwolf74]

Every year there are upsets, most of which just don't make sense when comparing the two teams in the regular season. I don't know, for me i just have a feeling Anaheim will take this one. The Flames have the best goaltender & defense in the league, and they've shown they can get it down in the post season in the past. The one thing which really worries me about them though is their offense. If they are to go deep again, Jarome Iginla is going to have to take this team on his back. The Ducks are one of the best teams in the league the last few months, and no i don't think they are as good a team as the Flames, but they are certainly no pushovers. Scott Niedermayer is playing IMO the best hockey of his career right now, and he's the leader of this team. JS Giguere is playing like the JS of a few years ago, and Teemu Selanne is playing like a 25 year old. He's been dominant since the Olympics, and with Scott is their leader. Rob Niedermayer is playing well right now and is always a great defensive forward, as is Todd Marchant. Andy McDonald is playing very well right now (85 points), and Lupul has developed into a good goal scorer. They also have some great youngsters in the likes of Perry, Getzlaf and bring a lot of speed & energy to the line-up. It should be a good series, and yeah, i'm going with the Ducks.

I agree the Flames aren't as offensively talented as Anaheim, and if you give the Ducks too much room to skate, they'll burn ya. But while the majority of the Ducks' offence comes mainly from three or four players, the Flames are currently getting scoring from everywhere. If you were playing the Flames in '04, it was all about shutting down Iggy and Gelinas, but the Flames have a lot more depth this year, and Iginla doesn't have to score every night for the Flames to win. And like I said in a previous post, Calgary has proven all year long that when they're on their game, they can shut down any top offensive line in the NHL. I'm not worried about the Flames at all.