2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[slickdtc]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Now...

Wow, this Boston/Philadelphia matchup is going to be a throwback. I think the two teams are evenly matched, though Boston probably is a bit more ready with us being without Carter, Gagne, and Lapierrerre. Strangely, I feel like the Flyers will be okay. I think we'll miss Carter the most. That shot of his, it's dangerous from anywhere at any time and I think we'll miss that the most. But getting players like Giroux, van Riemsdyk, and even Leino more minutes could also allow them to shine as they get more prominent roles. I think losing a defensemen is a bigger deal then a forward, and thankfully, we're still healthy on the back end. Both teams are well rested, so rust isn't a factor in this series.

It's got to go at least 6 or 7 epic games. And whoever takes it is going to be all fired up if they draw the Pens the next round... and ready to beat them up. They both have very good reasons to.

[RealmK]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Whoa, whoa, whoa... should I get my tickets to Mellon Arena for the Cup Finals? Because everyone here seems to be giving the Penguins the Eastern Conference.

I can't disagree that they are the favorites and should be the favorites. But with the top seeded Capitals going down at the hands of the Canadiens (and pads of Halak), how can you be so sure? With two bruiser teams in the Bruins and Flyers as a matchup in the ECF if the Pens beat the Habs, how can you be so sure? Rask and Boucher have been very good in their own right, besides their respective teams seemingly firing on all cylinders.

No, I don't buy the Pens coasting to another Cup Final. Montreal gets first crack, and then Boston or Philadelphia has a lot to say as well. And if it does happen, I'll be serving crow all day.

Well said Slick. I wouldn't count out either Boston, Philly or Montreal just yet. Boston has been finding the back of the net so far in the post season by grinding it out and playing their game, being physical and are solid defensively, and have good goaltending.

You could say the same about the Flyers as well, give Boucher credit, he was the better tender in the NJ/Philly series.

Give the Habs credit as well winning 3 in a row vs this year's President's Trophy winners. Sure the Pens are favored and they should be considering the talent they have on a defending cup champion team, but no one gave Montreal much of a chance in their Caps series and just look what happened?

Thats why I love playoff hockey, anything can happen, and any team that plays as a team and gets solid goaltending has a chance to win it all.

[Money99]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Whoa, whoa, whoa... should I get my tickets to Mellon Arena for the Cup Finals? Because everyone here seems to be giving the Penguins the Eastern Conference.

I can't disagree that they are the favorites and should be the favorites. But with the top seeded Capitals going down at the hands of the Canadiens (and pads of Halak), how can you be so sure? With two bruiser teams in the Bruins and Flyers as a matchup in the ECF if the Pens beat the Habs, how can you be so sure? Rask and Boucher have been very good in their own right, besides their respective teams seemingly firing on all cylinders.

No, I don't buy the Pens coasting to another Cup Final. Montreal gets first crack, and then Boston or Philadelphia has a lot to say as well. And if it does happen, I'll be serving crow all day.

I agree. However I think Pittsburgh has the advantage in that their series won't be nearly as physical as the Bruins-Flyers tilt will be.
While those two teams beat the crap out of each other, the Penguins will have an easier time, physically.

In all, the Pens have a greater chance of making it to the Cup with minimal bumps and bruises compared to the other 6 teams in different series's.

[Qb]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Whoa, whoa, whoa... should I get my tickets to Mellon Arena for the Cup Finals? Because everyone here seems to be giving the Penguins the Eastern Conference.

I can't disagree that they are the favorites and should be the favorites. But with the top seeded Capitals going down at the hands of the Canadiens (and pads of Halak), how can you be so sure?

Exactly what I was thinking. Sure, I'd love nothing more than to see it, but by no means is it "an easy road" and if Montreal beat Washington, why can't they beat Pittsburgh? Not to mention the winner of Boston/Philadelphia waiting in the wings with neither teaming needed any extra motivation to take down the Penguins.

[slickdtc]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I agree. However I think Pittsburgh has the advantage in that their series won't be nearly as physical as the Bruins-Flyers tilt will be.While those two teams beat the crap out of each other, the Penguins will have an easier time, physically.

That's a good point. Still, to get out of the East, they're going to play either Boston or Philadelphia. And whatever pass they got in the physicality department against Montreal, the Flyers or Bruins will certainly make up for it.

Scariest part of the East are the goalies. We've seen Halak, and Rask and Boucher have been just a notch below (though more consistent in their first round series, just less spectacular). And I remember vividly Fleury stealing Gm. 4 @ Philly last year...

Flyers defense has been awesome. Pronger & Co. have been clearing out the crease perfectly. If Boston crashes the net consistently and the bounces find their stick, could spell trouble. This is going to be a pure grinder. The tougher and more willing team wins.

[Money99]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

That's a good point. Still, to get out of the East, they're going to play either Boston or Philadelphia. And whatever pass they got in the physicality department against Montreal, the Flyers or Bruins will certainly make up for it.

Scariest part of the East are the goalies. We've seen Halak, and Rask and Boucher have been just a notch below (though more consistent in their first round series, just less spectacular). And I remember vividly Fleury stealing Gm. 4 @ Philly last year...

Flyers defense has been awesome. Pronger & Co. have been clearing out the crease perfectly. If Boston crashes the net consistently and the bounces find their stick, could spell trouble. This is going to be a pure grinder. The tougher and more willing team wins.

I don't have an axe to grind when I say this, but as a fan that had to endure Pronger's physics and Casper-like skills to go unnoticed by officials in the post-season, I'm very intrigued to see how Sid responds to a full playoff series against Schlonger. (if Philly gets past Boston).

Pronger's been allowed to molest and assault nearly every superstar in the West for years now without so much as a whimper from league offices or referees.
I'll be watching very closely to see how the media, and officials, treat Pronger's shenanigans against Sid the Kid.

[slickdtc]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Let me just say I'm so glad the Flyers are playing with Pronger and not against him.

I think the refs will continue to ignore his... umm, extracurricular activity. He's not immune (see his suspension in the Ducks Cup year), but he gets a lot of free passes. He intimidates people and he knows it, and Crosby better believe he'll have a hell of a time if the Flyers should advance. But you can't get too caught up in trying to bully guys. Sid gets that every game and he comes out with the points and W's almost every time. Do it when necessary, then play hockey the rest of the game.

As for the Boston series, who gets the Pronger treatment? They're very deep, I don't think you can focus on one guy. Very much like the Flyers.

Epic matchup alert: Chara v. Pronger.

[BlueNGold]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Epic matchup alert: Chara v. Pronger.

They have to drop the gloves at least once in this series.

[pietasterp]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Washington Capitals PR guy: "No way" that goal is waved off if Crosby had scored it.

twitter.com/Nateewell

lmao...

Sounds bad coming from the guys that just lost.....but, there may be an ounce of truth in that....just an ounce, mind you, but nonetheless, the fact that someone's saying this stuff publicly (what one of my friends said when we were casually watching this game over some beers) at least tells you there's an undercurrent of suspicion.

But whatever; it's sour grapes coming from the losing team's PR guy.

[jsquigg]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I'm actually interested in the East match-ups. Boston and Philly is going to be war, and I'll be interested to see how Montreal handles Crosby. The thing about Crosby that makes him better than Ovechkin in certain situations is that he doesn't have to dominate the puck to get his points. A lot of Pens' fans on this board think I hate Crosby because I call him out when he deserves it, but the kid is just incredible at fighting to the net and moving without the puck (which he hasn't always excelled at). I also think that the Habs have to pick their poison. If they load up on Crosby it means Malkin will have pressure to have a good series, but only if they can succeed in shutting Crosby down.
As much as I love Ovechkin's game, until he learns to move better without the puck and trust his teammates more in crunch time, he will never win a Cup. Halak was phenomenal, but more than half the shots the Caps took were from horrid angles. Halak will have to be even better to beat the Pens IMO.
As for the West, even though I'm not worried about the Sharks, I can easily see them having a breakthrough year, especially if the Wings' "Hyde side" shows up like it did often in the Pheonix series. Somehow I don't see the Sharks cycling as aggressively as Pheonix did, though. In the Chicago/Vancouver series I think it will be a toss up. Both teams are top heavy, but for some reason I think the X-factor will be Luongo. He didn't play well last year and has been shaky at times this year. I can't wait. Round two starts tonight!

[OSUFan_88]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

They have to drop the gloves at least once in this series.

Watching Chara beat the living hell out of Pronger would make my life complete.

[SPTO]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

I think the East matchups are a lot better then the West as it stands now. I really think that Philly/Boston series is going to be hard hitting and all out war. The Pens/Habs matchup should be very interesting if for no other reason to see if Halak can keep this up. Pittsburgh has a lot more sandpaper in their lineup and I see them putting the body to Montreal a lot more then Washington did. My head says Montreal has no shot but we saw what they did to the Caps so anything is possible.

[Money99]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Let me just say I'm so glad the Flyers are playing with Pronger and not against him.

I think the refs will continue to ignore his... umm, extracurricular activity. He's not immune (see his suspension in the Ducks Cup year), but he gets a lot of free passes. He intimidates people and he knows it, and Crosby better believe he'll have a hell of a time if the Flyers should advance. But you can't get too caught up in trying to bully guys. Sid gets that every game and he comes out with the points and W's almost every time. Do it when necessary, then play hockey the rest of the game.

As for the Boston series, who gets the Pronger treatment? They're very deep, I don't think you can focus on one guy. Very much like the Flyers.

Epic matchup alert: Chara v. Pronger.

Completely agree.
I'm just interested to hear how the fans react. For years Wings fans have been called baby's when crying over how much Pronger got away with. We were very versed in his brand of physics because it seems we played against him every year in the playoffs.
So it's going to be fun seeing how Penguins fans and media respond to Prongers tactics and his Teflon affect on the refs (yes, he gets called, but rarely after the first 20 minutes - and he knows it).

And it's going to be very interesting to see how the league handles his shenanigans.
We all know certain stars get preferential treatment. There's one on every team.
But the NHL has loaded all their apples on the Sid cart. So it's going to be fun seeing if the league forces a harsher standard on what Pronger can get away with if he faces Pittsburgh.

*** Of course, this is entirely based on the Flyers getting past the Bruins - which is no small task. I think this series is a complete tossup. Only in the Pens-Habs series can anyone really know what's going to happen.

[Psyblast]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

They have to drop the gloves at least once in this series.

Nope, that's not his style. He'd much rather throw an elbow or clothesline at a non-fighter than drop the gloves with someone who could cave his skull in. Sasquatch has a keen sense of self-preservation.

[Scottdau]

Re: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

Hate him or love him, but Chris P. is a beast to play against. If he was a Shark I would love him big time. He plays means and I love that about him. To me that is hockey. That is what I like about the playoffs, the refs let them play.