Official 2007-08 NHL Thread

[Fran]

It's TOO close, IMO...

 

[Victor Creed]

Not to me. The Stars are always underrated every single year, but they're right up there with the talent of the Red Wings. The real difference is that the Stars get scoring all up and down their roster so it's hard to defend against them.

I'm surprised they aren't getting more credit since the Stars have done it without their top 2 defensemen essentially all season, having to use 3 rookie defensemen, and Robidas becoming the #1 when the other two were out (which I am sure nobody expected, lol).

I never liked the Wings, and it had nothing to do with their level of talent, but rather the whole commentator ass-kissing fest that happened every time you mentioned the Wings.......but damn is Datsyuk one of the fugliest players I have ever seen, lol.

 

[Fran]

I can understand that, just don't hate me for it.

They do worship the Wings a little too much... I'm incredibly grounded, not really getting my expectations up until I see the silver cup hoisted at the Joe again.

 

[Victor Creed]

I can understand that, just don't hate me for it.

They do worship the Wings a little too much... I'm incredibly grounded, not really getting my expectations up until I see the silver cup hoisted at the Joe again.

Yea, hopefully that'd get things more stable up there because I have been seeing things about attendance and stuff being kind of shaky this season for some reason.....is that true? Also heard stuff in passing about moving from the Joe?.

 

[Fran]

Yeah, seats are going for cheap because of our state's crap economy.

And I've also heard about Ilitch wanting to build a new arena in the area.

 

[Themanofbat]

Thank God the Wings won last night... Dallas is only 5 points behind.

Don't the Red Wings have about 3 games in hand though....

 

[Shifty]

Dallas just has to worry about not getting knocked out of the 1st round.

Louie and the Canucks could be their opponent again.

 

[Fran]

^ Same with Detroit.

 

[Shifty]

Don't the Red Wings have about 3 games in hand though....

2 more games in hand and 1 more OT loss.

But 14 of the 15 next Red Wings games are against division opponents. Detroit's record against their division rivals is 7-9-2

The other game is vs. Dallas.

Dallas has 9 division rival games remaining.

 

[Victor Creed]

Dallas just has to worry about not getting knocked out of the 1st round.

Louie and the Canucks could be their opponent again.

I don't think that's going to be an issue at all. We're actually scoring goals this year, which was the issue last year the entire time. Not to mention Zubov is gonna be fresh and rested and we have deep defense now and scoring coming from more than one line.

Canucks have 1 good line and then Luongo.

 

[TLH]

Too many europeans on Detroit and Dallas. That's a cause for concern.

 

[QueerMike]

The Western Conference playoffs are going to be dogfight. Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose, Calgary, and Vancouver are ALL fully capable of reaching the finals un an unsurprising manner. Even Colorado wouldn't be a huge surprise.

A month ago I would have picked Detroit, hands down. Now, I'm not sure. I think Detroit, Dallas, and Anaheim are definitely the top three choices. San Jose has been helter-skelter all year so I can eliminate them. Calgary is coached by Keenan so odds are they won't win. Luongo could pull off a Brodeur-like feat and carry the Canucks to the finals but I don't like the rest of their team.

Like I said, it will be Detroit, Dallas, or Anaheim. I can eliminate Anaheim because I don't see teams that have key players sit out more than half the season winning championships very often.

Between Detroit and Dallas I still have to take Detroit. The Red Wings just seem to have Dallas' number each and every year.

So, somehow, I think Detroit reaches the finals. As for their opponnent from the East...

Ottawa, Montreal, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey have emerged as the favorites. I wouldn't be surprised if all these teams won in 4 or 5 games in round one. Carolina, Boston, Rangers, and Philly aren't anywhere near Cup ready.

After starting 16-2 Ottawa has really benn a below average team. And now, they changes coaches with less than 20 games left?? No way they do it again.

The emergence of Malkin and the addition of Hossa to Pittsburgh is definitely scarey for eastern teams. In the end, I think they are still to young and inexperienced. The 1980's Oilers they are not.

New Jersey and Montreal are the two I think it comes down to. Up until the trade deadline I may have been starting to lean towards Montreal, they got real ******ed though and traded their #1 goalie and will go into the playoffs with a rookie netminder. That won't get it done. New Jersey wins the East.

There's my Finals prediction: New Jersey Devils vs. Detroit Red Wings. a rematch of the 1995 Stanley Cup Finals that saw New Jersey sweep Detroit for it's first Stanley Cup. Since then, the Devils have won two more and Detroit has won three. In the end, I think Detroits team defense is to strong for the Devils and their offense markably better. New Jersey's edge in goal is slight if the ancient Dominik Hasek is on top of his game.

The Detroit Red Wings win the 2008 Stanley Cup.

 

[TLH]

Call me a homer, but I don't see how you can eliminate Calgary because they're coached by Keenan. He has changed his style considerably and is far more mellow and relaxed then his former self. If anything, Calgary has been the Helter-Skelter team all year old; we are the poster boys for inconsistency, not San Jose.

Other then that it's hard to disagree with much of what you've said.

 

[QueerMike]

Call me a homer, but I don't see how you can eliminate Calgary because they're coached by Keenan. He has changed his style considerably and is far more mellow and relaxed then his former self. If anything, Calgary has been the Helter-Skelter team all year old; we are the poster boys for inconsistency, not San Jose.

Other then that it's hard to disagree with much of what you've said.

Calgary's biggest problem is disipline. Iginla takes stupid penalties in key games. Also, Kiprusoff is a very, very solid goalie but I still don't think of him as a playoff goalie.

PLAYOFF GOALIES:
Brodeur
Hasek(if healthy)
Giguere

Luongo could get into that group this year. If I had to pick a surprise team it would be Vancouver, solely on the netminding of Luongo.

 

[Victor Creed]

Calgary's biggest problem is disipline. Iginla takes stupid penalties in key games. Also, Kiprusoff is a very, very solid goalie but I still don't think of him as a playoff goalie.

PLAYOFF GOALIES:
Brodeur
Hasek(if healthy)
Giguere

Luongo could get into that group this year. If I had to pick a surprise team it would be Vancouver, solely on the netminding of Luongo.

Kiprusoff has just had a season that hasn't been as good as it usually is and I don't think Calgary will be one to beat because they always seem like they're one piece short; just missing some presence that they haven't had.

Luongo will not move onto the great playoff goalies until he's had more than a couple of performances under his belt. He did well his first time in, but you can't just base his value as a playoff goaltender off of 1 or 2 years of playoffs.

Giguere and Brodeur worked to show why they are the best playoff goaltenders. Hasek would be the #3 on that list for me. Nobody else has proven themselves like those three.

 

[Dark Donnie]

Ovechkin had a Hat Trick in the 1st period, and 5 points. It's 9-2 against Boston

P.S. Backstrom's passes are amazing

 

[QueerMike]

Kiprusoff has just had a season that hasn't been as good as it usually is and I don't think Calgary will be one to beat because they always seem like they're one piece short; just missing some presence that they haven't had.

Luongo will not move onto the great playoff goalies until he's had more than a couple of performances under his belt. He did well his first time in, but you can't just base his value as a playoff goaltender off of 1 or 2 years of playoffs.

Giguere and Brodeur worked to show why they are the best playoff goaltenders. Hasek would be the #3 on that list for me. Nobody else has proven themselves like those three.

You sound like a knowledgeable Flames fan. What is the contract situation with Daymond Langkow? I see he's scheduled to be a free agent and alot of teams will definitely be seeking his services.

 

[TLH]

Calgary's biggest problem is disipline. Iginla takes stupid penalties in key games. Also, Kiprusoff is a very, very solid goalie but I still don't think of him as a playoff goalie.

PLAYOFF GOALIES:
Brodeur
Hasek(if healthy)
Giguere

Luongo could get into that group this year. If I had to pick a surprise team it would be Vancouver, solely on the netminding of Luongo.

Kipper is a playoff goalie if there ever was one. He faced 255 shots in 6 games (thats an average of 40+ shots a game) last year against Detroit and still posted a .928 save percentage. He scares the hell out of people who know they have to face him, like the ones you have listed. And let's not forget that Calgary played horribly the entire series. We were lucky it lasted 6.

But as one person above said, Calgary is always one piece short. That's pretty much it. Not sure if we are this year, but we can't seem to play all facets of the game every night -- if the offense is there, the defense isn't. If the defense is, the work ethic isnt etc...etc...

 

[TLH]

You sound like a knowledgeable Flames fan. What is the contract situation with Daymond Langkow? I see he's scheduled to be a free agent and alot of teams will definitely be seeking his services.

I'll answer this, seeing as how I'm the Flames fan

Sutter is currently negotiating a deal rumored to be four years in length at about $4 million a year. This deal is relative to the deals Dumont and Boyes recently got earlier this season. Word is that Langkow is looking for long term security at this point of his career and that he would like to wind it down here in Calgary.

Also, Sutter will either trade Tanguay or let Huselius walk at the end of the season.

Yup, this is the knowledge nearly 2000 posts on the Flames board gets you

 

[Immortalfire]

Holy crap, Ovechkin...

 

[NewYorkSpider]

Alexander Ovechkin is unbelievable.

The race for the best record in the east is getting intresting.

 

[Victor Creed]

I'll answer this, seeing as how I'm the Flames fan

Sutter is currently negotiating a deal rumored to be four years in length at about $4 million a year. This deal is relative to the deals Dumont and Boyes recently got earlier this season. Word is that Langkow is looking for long term security at this point of his career and that he would like to wind it down here in Calgary.

Also, Sutter will either trade Tanguay or let Huselius walk at the end of the season.

Yup, this is the knowledge nearly 2000 posts on the Flames board gets you

Thanks for answering that for me, especially since I'm not a Flames fan. I'm just not like a lot of other homers who only knows about his own team, heh.

I still prefer Edmonton over Calgary though. They may suck right now, but I just remember those amazing playoff rounds against them in the 90s.

 

[TLH]

Thanks for answering that for me, especially since I'm not a Flames fan. I'm just not like a lot of other homers who only knows about his own team, heh.

I still prefer Edmonton over Calgary though. They may suck right now, but I just remember those amazing playoff rounds against them in the 90s.

Hockey team, sure. But if you compared cities you'd immediately choose us.

 

[TLH]

1-0 Shutout for Kipper. Tied for the division now.

 

[War Party]

Could someone tell me why the refs didn't call this too many men on the ice. It's suppose to be 4-on-4 and Derek Roy is the 5th man on the ice and the one who scores on the breakaway. Even though the Flyers played like crap for most of the game, I still don't see how this gets overlooked:

http://www.nhl.tv/team/console?hlp=8469485