The Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Playoff Hockey

[klayman]

Originally posted by bbor
Did Cross play?...i never heard if he got suspended or not

Cross played. He only got a $1000 fine by the NHL. Which is ok, cause I think the Hatcher hit on Staios was worse, and Hatcher didn't get any time for it (cept a one game suspension for picking up two game misconducts).

[MizzouRah]

The atmostphere in Edmonton was unreal, the emotion was high, and was that not the loudest crowd heard on a TV? Wow!

Would have been a great game to be at, that is for sure.


Hoperfully we can be half as loud tonight here in St. Louis.


Todd

[Karim]

Good to see the Oilers make a series of this thing. Turco has looked shaky which is something I did not foresee.

The last Blues/Canucks game was among the hardest hitting games I've seen in a while. MacInnis is already down and whoever comes out of that one will be so beat up I don't see how they'll handle the next round.

Glad to see Anaheim make the series interesting. We need new faces and a changing of the guard.

[sachmo71]

Originally posted by klayman
Cross played. He only got a $1000 fine by the NHL. Which is ok, cause I think the Hatcher hit on Staios was worse, and Hatcher didn't get any time for it (cept a one game suspension for picking up two game misconducts).

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I'm curious...how can you say one of these plays was "worse" then the other? Both were reprehensible and could have caused major damage.

[MizzouRah]

Did anyone see Dallas Drake take off Linden's head? That was one heck of a hit!

That sucks Mac is hurt, but we should be ok. I liked watching Jackman punk out Bertuzzi.


Todd

[klayman]

Originally posted by sachmo71
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I'm curious...how can you say one of these plays was "worse" then the other? Both were reprehensible and could have caused major damage.

I believe that these actions can be classified in different categories. There isn't a black and white interpretation of the NHL rule book, especially when it comes to suspensions, so I think it's fair to classify one infraction greater or "worse" than the other. That doesn't mean I condone any of the infractions, but I would have been very disappointed if Cross had been given a suspension, where Hatcher's elbow went unpunished (other than the match penalty he received).

That doesn't make what Cross did right. But let's put things in a different perspective. Was Wayne Maki almost killing Ted Green with his stick any worse? How about Dave Brown almost decapitating Tomas Sandstrom? McSorely's spear on Mike Bullard? Domi's hit on Neidermayer? Dale Hunter's elbow? Ron Hextall's slash on Kent Nilsson? Would you think I was sane if I classified all these infractions as equal to the Hatcher elbow?

So the point is not that I think that Cross shouldn't have been punished, but the fact that if they suspend Cross for his cross check, then they surely should have suspended Hatcher for that elbow. And although I hate Hatcher, the reverse holds true. If Hatcher was suspended, then I would fully expect Cross to be suspended as well.

You are absolutely right though. Both these plays are reprehensible, and have no business being in this great game. You could probably make the same case about both players

[sachmo71]

I see you point now. Thanks!


In related news...THE STARS WIN!! Well, at least they do here. That's gotta count for something!

[Cards4ever]

Originally posted by Travis
Did you watch the game? My buddies and I were sitting in his living room staring at the television with dropped jaws from about 8 minutes in on. To call that hockey, let alone playoff hockey is a travesty.

It was 3-1 at the end of the 1st with 2 Stars goals coming on very questionable calls, as did ours, so make that score 1-0 for Dallas. It was 4-1 after 2, again, after we spent half the period short handed. We had 3 or 4 quality chances early that Turco stopped or this game would have been totally different. I refuse to count any of the 3rd period towards anything as no hockey as was actually played in that period. Even had we scored 1 or 2 early in the second to make it 3-2, 3-3 or whatnot and had it close going into the 3rd, the way it was being called pretty much meant we would have had to score a shorthanded goal or two in the 3rd to have any shot of winning, and Dallas isn't a team to give up short handed goals in back to back games.

Any time you give hand a team like Dallas that many powerplays, yes, they're going to demolish you, and had the Oiler's been taking stupid penalties in the first two periods, I'd be the first one to announce that they were stupid and handed the Stars game two instead of pouncing on them hard enough to knock them out of the series before we came back to Edmonton. Fact was, the ref's gave Dallas more than every opportunity to win this game and they did. There was no way our penalty killers could kill off repeated 5 on 3's after killing 5 on 4's.

If the tables were reversed, I'd say the same thing, the ref'ing last night was a joke, and I sincerely hope they don't officiate another game in the playoffs in any series.

Want some cheese with that whine? Blaming officials for losses is weak, if you have a good enough team you overcome that stuff.

[Cards4ever]

Dola, Twin Cities, the REAL Hockey town!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playof...ory?id=1538604

[klayman]

Originally posted by sachmo71
I see you point now. Thanks!

No problem. Thanks for the soapbox

[Travis]

Originally posted by Cards4ever
Want some cheese with that whine? Blaming officials for losses is weak, if you have a good enough team you overcome that stuff.

Dude, honestly, if you didn't watch the game, then don't say anything about it. I've played sports for a lot of years and watched them for more, and I'm one of the last that will blame officiating for a loss. Usually 2 or 3 blown calls can cost a team a game, but there's usually something they could have done to make up for it at another point, or a makeup call made to even it out that, in the end, makes it conceivable for them to win.

In game 2, that wasn't the case. The Oiler's were shorthanded for just under 28 minutes in a 60 minute game, with I believe nearly 10 minutes of that being 2 men shorthanded. Those numbers would have been worse had the referee's not called the Stars for some cheap penatlies in the 3rd, negating a few 5 on 3's, instead making it 4 on 3's in their favor.

I would call the officiating in that game worse than Luckett messing up the coin toss it was that bad. Sad part is, had the Oiler's put 1 or 2 in at the start of the second when they were playing well (virtually the only time of the game there was prolonged 5 on 5 action), the 3rd period could have been hockey instead of a waste of 20 minutes. As it stood though, as I said earlier, it would have taken a shorthanded goal or two in the third for them to win it as the ref's seemed quite content in keeping them in the box all game long.

So as much as you'd like to believe I'm whining, don't. I would have been just as outraged had we won that game with the Stars having calls like that go against them because it degrades the game of hockey. Especially in the playoffs. Had we lost last night's game by 1, it would have hurt, but it would have been because Dallas outplayed us, not because the ref's decided they wanted to be the biggest factors.

[Cards4ever]

I don't see anything here, the players aren't whining, just seems to be your opinion. If it was that messed up, I think there would be more than you crying out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=230411009

[bbor]

O.T in Toronto.

I heart playoff hockey

[Qwikshot]

Originally posted by bbor
O.T in Toronto.

I heart playoff hockey

Quite a series, of course, working 2nd shift...I don't get to see the games live Go Flyers!

[Travis]

Originally posted by Cards4ever
I don't see anything here, the players aren't whining, just seems to be your opinion. If it was that messed up, I think there would be more than you crying out.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=230411009

Okay, my last 2 cents on the subject. We obviously have differing opinions on this game, but I'm still curious, did you watch the game? When's the last time you saw a team shorthanded for half a game? All I'm getting at is that it's the playoffs, and the officiating made the game crap. Had we won the game 6-1 with Dallas getting all those penalties, I would have felt the same way. If that was the first game of hockey I'd ever watched, I probably wouldn't watch again because it was so bad.

And if you think I'm the only one that thought it was crap, remember, you're on a football board with a group of hockey fans. There was quite the uproar here of course because it's Edmonton, and Kevin Lowe had a few words to say about the officiating while MacT ignored it and ended up starting a controversy of his own, or should I say, got the Dallas GM to put his foot in his mouth. You have to remember, most of pro sports is getting too politically correct now and nobody has anything bad to say about anybody. So just because it's not screaming THE REFS SUCKED across every headline doesn't mean it's not the truth.

[Cards4ever]

Originally posted by Travis
Okay, my last 2 cents on the subject. We obviously have differing opinions on this game, but I'm still curious, did you watch the game? When's the last time you saw a team shorthanded for half a game? All I'm getting at is that it's the playoffs, and the officiating made the game crap. Had we won the game 6-1 with Dallas getting all those penalties, I would have felt the same way. If that was the first game of hockey I'd ever watched, I probably wouldn't watch again because it was so bad.

And if you think I'm the only one that thought it was crap, remember, you're on a football board with a group of hockey fans. There was quite the uproar here of course because it's Edmonton, and Kevin Lowe had a few words to say about the officiating while MacT ignored it and ended up starting a controversy of his own, or should I say, got the Dallas GM to put his foot in his mouth. You have to remember, most of pro sports is getting too politically correct now and nobody has anything bad to say about anybody. So just because it's not screaming THE REFS SUCKED across every headline doesn't mean it's not the truth.

You know, you're absolutely right, there is a conspiracy against Edmonton by the referees, they do not want Edmonton to win, so they are going to make sure they lose.

[Travis]

Originally posted by Cards4ever
You know, you're absolutely right, there is a conspiracy against Edmonton by the referees, they do not want Edmonton to win, so they are going to make sure they lose.

Was one of the ref's related to you or something? Not sure I've ever seen somebody defend an official so vehemently while probably not even having seen the game.

And on a side note, it really sucks that the only game we're getting here tonight so far is the Canucks game. Two OT games on the go and nary a one to be seen on TV. Anybody fill a man in on how they're going? Any Giguere clones going on tonight?

[Cards4ever]

Originally posted by Travis
Was one of the ref's related to you or something? Not sure I've ever seen somebody defend an official so vehemently while probably not even having seen the game.

And on a side note, it really sucks that the only game we're getting here tonight so far is the Canucks game. Two OT games on the go and nary a one to be seen on TV. Anybody fill a man in on how they're going? Any Giguere clones going on tonight?

Nope, but I do know referees. Calls usually work both ways, sometimes you get the benefit, sometimes you don't. I've never liked people using ref's as a excuse for losing. Do we really need to break down every single game to the nth degree and bitch about how this call was made, this one wasn't? Cause that is exactly what you open it up to when you complain like that. The game is played and reffed by humans, complain all you want when the game is going on, but once it's over, don't sit there and cry about the refs.

[Cards4ever]

Dola-Philly and Toronto headed to 2nd OT

[Cards4ever]

Kaberle scores in double OT, Toronto wins!

[Travis]

Heh, it doesn't get better than a dola post where you quote yourself We may have to come up with a new term for that one.

[Cards4ever]

Originally posted by Travis
Heh, it doesn't get better than a dola post where you quote yourself We may have to come up with a new term for that one.

I've got skillz Travis, skillz I tell you! I heard Ottawa won too.

[bbor]

Damn....Whoever comes out of the Flyers/Leafs series is out in the 2nd round.These guys are beating the shit out of each other.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by bbor
Damn....Whoever comes out of the Flyers/Leafs series is out in the 2nd round.These guys are beating the shit out of each other.

aren't you a Leaf's fan? short memory -
I said the same thing last year in round one during that nasty NYI/Tor series. I figured whichever team won would be meat in the next round. which shows, I'm clueless.

[bbor]

I am a Leaf fan...But a Hockey fan more so than anything else.I could watch girls hockey...does'nt matter to me as long as it is hockey.

I go at least once a week to the local arena and watch kids minor league hockey.That is on top of coaching my own team 4 days a week in the winter

My wife is a hockey widow.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Ok.. What the hell is it about French-Canadian goalies and the Detroit Red Wings? Screw the Quebecois!!!

Here is a look at the past 11 years of Red Wing Play-off history and the goalies:

1993 - Wings lose to the Maple Leafs in the first round. Seven games. Goalie: Felix Potvin (Quebecois)

1994 - Wings lose to the Shars in the first round. Seven games. Goalie: Arturs Irbe (Latvian)

1995 - Wings lose to the Devils in the finals. Four game sweep. Goalie: Martin Brodeur (Quebecois)

1996 - Wings lose to the Avalanche in conference finals. Six games. Goalie: Patrick Roy (Quebecois)

1997-1998 - Stanley Cups

1999 - Wings lose in the second round to the Avalanche. Six games. Goalie: Patrick Roy (Quebecois)

2000 - Wings lose in the second round. Five games. Goalie: Patrick Roy (Quebecois)

2001 - Wings lose to the L.A. kings in the first round. Six games. Goalie: Felix Potvin (Quebecois)

2002 - Stanley Cup

2003 - Goalie: Giguere (Quebecois).

So, the Wings have been knocked out of the playoffs 8 times in the past 11 years. 7 out of 8 have been at the hands of French-Canadian goaltenders.

Hrmmm...

Dark days indeed, when a team named after a crappy Disney movie (that spawned two, even more-crappier sequels) sweeps an original six team.

[Draft Dodger]

it's just that all goalies are Quebecois.

[sachmo71]

Wow at the Wings on the ropes. Didn't see that one coming at all.

[primelord]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
Ok.. What the hell is it about French-Canadian goalies and the Detroit Red Wings?

Perhaps the Red Wings just suck?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by primelord
Perhaps the Red Wings just suck?

[Cards4ever]

Been a tough week for Michigan Hockey, first the Wolverines, now the Red Wings!

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by Cards4ever
Been a tough week for Michigan Hockey, first the Wolverines, now the Red Wings!

Now, watch the Detroit Lions utterly blow their draft, which could make April 2003 one of the Worst Months of Sport Ever. Did I mention that to get over the Wings' loss on Saturday I fired up Madden 2003 on the ole PS2 just to crush someone and relieve some of the rage? What happens? I end up losing to the Eagles with 1 second left. So... very... angry...

[primelord]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue

Aww c'mon now. I had to watch the Blues go down to the damn wings in 96,97,98, and last year. You can't blame me for taking some joy in watching them lose.

The icing on the cake of course being the fact that the Blues are winning with Osgood in goal. Who would have thought that?

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by primelord
Who would have thought that?

me, for one.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally posted by primelord
Aww c'mon now. I had to watch the Blues go down to the damn wings in 96,97,98, and last year. You can't blame me for taking some joy in watching them lose.

The icing on the cake of course being the fact that the Blues are winning with Osgood in goal. Who would have thought that?

I certainly can't blame you for taking joy in watching the beloved Wings lose. I can't blame you at all. Wings have played a most villianous role for the Blues over the past few years.

It is good to see Ozzie be successful. I never thought he was the greatest goalie ever, but I always liked him and certainly didn't think he was to blame for their losses in 1999 and 2000. I remember watching his first game in goal in the NHL. Was pretty exciting at the time.

Dan Cloutier, and your mythical meltdowns... A sad hockey team turns its lonely eyes to you!

[primelord]

Originally posted by Draft Dodger
me, for one.

You're the only one. I don;t even think Ozzie thought he would win.

I must admit I have been pleasently surprised by Osgoods play. Luckily I didn't go through with my threat to light myself on fire after they made that deal. I am not ready to say he will be the savior of the Blues. They still have a very long way to go. But he has been much better than I expected and without question gives the Blues a better shot to win then Johnny did.

[bbor]

All things being equal..Cujo went to Detroit to win a cup...he thought Toronto would not win a cup while he was here......perhaps he was right....perhaps we needed him to leave to win a cup in Toronto?

Sweet justice for him to get his ass kicked in the 1st round of the play-offs...a pity for the Wings team...because they really are the cream of the NHL...but as far as Cujo goes...it could'nt have happened to a nicer rat fleeing a supposedly sinking ship.

Yes i am bitter

[MizzouRah]

Johnny has 0 confidence and Osgood is playing steady playoff hockey.. the blues only allowed 14 shots on goal last night and Osgood made the normal saves, not to mention a few great saves.

Very enjoyable game to watch, although the crowd wasn't as loud as I would have liked.


Todd

[Maple Leafs]

I'd just like to throw in a random pet peeve: the mocking goalie chant. You know... taunting the other team's goalie with "Cuuu-jo" or "Ooooo-laf" or whatever.

It's a cool chant, a hockey tradition right up there with the fake cheer when the goalie stops the long shoot-in. But you're supposed to use it when the other goal is playing badly. Now, fans do it even when the other guys is in the middle of a 42-save shutout. Toronto fans were giving it to Cechmanek last night during the second period, when he was standing on his head.

And one more thing... if you're going to do the goalie taunt to Ed Belfour, it's "Edddd-die", not "Beeeelll-four".

Kids today.

[primelord]

Yea the Vancouver fans started the chants of Osgood right out of the gate in game 1. They weren't quite as vocal after he shut them out and Cloutier gave up 6 goals.

[sachmo71]

Originally posted by Maple Leafs
I'd just like to throw in a random pet peeve: the mocking goalie chant. You know... taunting the other team's goalie with "Cuuu-jo" or "Ooooo-laf" or whatever.

It's a cool chant, a hockey tradition right up there with the fake cheer when the goalie stops the long shoot-in. But you're supposed to use it when the other goal is playing badly. Now, fans do it even when the other guys is in the middle of a 42-save shutout. Toronto fans were giving it to Cechmanek last night during the second period, when he was standing on his head.

And one more thing... if you're going to do the goalie taunt to Ed Belfour, it's "Edddd-die", not "Beeeelll-four".

Kids today.

Oilers fans were doing it to Turco after he made a good (see lucky) save. Maybe they know something about how it's supposed to work?

[bbor]

Shayne Corson has left the Maple Leafs.....cause he has'nt done shit all season so he thinks he should be playing in the play-offs,so he has chosen to take his net and go home.

Seeya, ya over paid press box warmer.

[klayman]

Originally posted by sachmo71
Oilers fans were doing it to Turco after he made a good (see lucky) save. Maybe they know something about how it's supposed to work?

Didn't us Oiler fans start the chanting with Hextall in the 87 playoffs?

I agree, however. You don't do it when a goalie is making saves, you do it when he lets in soft ones.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally posted by bbor
Shayne Corson has left the Maple Leafs.....cause he has'nt done shit all season so he thinks he should be playing in the play-offs,so he has chosen to take his net and go home.

Seeya, ya over paid press box warmer.

too bad for him - just a matter of supply and demand. the Leafs had enough other players able to play dirty without him.

[Karim]

J.S. Giguere.

Thanks, Button.

[Chief Rum]

Originally posted by Honolulu_Blue
Hmmm...

Dark days indeed, when a team named after a crappy Disney movie (that spawned two, even more-crappier sequels) sweeps an original six team.

If it makes you feel any better, diehard fans of Anaheim still hate that name, too. You ever notice I never refer to the team as the Mighty Ducks (present sentence excluded)? I can't stand it. So I just go with Ducks.

It's nice to see us playing so well, especially since the Wings have been the guys that knocked us out of the playoffs in both of our trips (and they swept us each time, too).

That said, I'm not breathing easy until a fourth win is in the books. Call me crazy, but this Wings team is generally so good, that I'm not taking anything for granted.

Chief Rum

[ice4277]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
That said, I'm not breathing easy until a fourth win is in the books. Call me crazy, but this Wings team is generally so good, that I'm not taking anything for granted.

Chief Rum

Not saying its going to happen as I don't think it will, but if anybody ever wanted to bet money on a team coming back from a 3-0 deficit to win, this would be the team that could do it.

Kudos to Anaheim for doing a good job of getting the Wings off their game, if Guigere manages to stay hot the Ducks can do some damage next round too.

And that Flyers/Leafs series is what good hockey is all about.

[Draft Dodger]

the thing that bugs me the most about the Ducks is that it isn't even the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. it's the freaking Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.

well, la di da.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I reckon there is a better chance of Anaheim sweeping this series than there is of the Wings coming back to win it. I really do. We'll just have to wait and see tonight. Ugh.

Shayne Corson. What a knob-head. I used to like the guy.

[Schmidty]

It's not over. If the Wings win tonight, they win the series.

Write it down.