The Official 2010-11 Stanley Cup Playoffs Talk Thread

[slickdtc]

@ TSOLEliot, I can see where the "meh" approach comes to the team, but I've seen this team play so well in the playoffs the last 3 times they've made it (last big disappointment would have to be against BUF in '06 actually). Even when PIT dropped us in 6 games in the first round, I felt we still played damn well but Fleury stood on his head in Game 4. We took Game 5 and were up 3-0 in Game 6 before laying the egg and the whole Carcillo/Talbot fight thing.

I don't think a Richards/Giroux-led Flyers team is going to allow the team to continue to be so lackadaisical. The game is ramped up in the playoffs, it's like a completely different game. That means trends from the regular season do no apply. Though I love going in hot, I can totally see us righting this ship. We still have the same club that came out firing on all cylinders to begin the year. Gotta recapture that magic. Buffalo was a tough *** draw, though...

PHI fans still have that doomsday approach despite the Phillies and our Cup Finals run.

[skydog71]

I think this is going to be a particularly brutal first round. In 5 of the 8 matchups, the teams split in the regular season... and in the other 3, the higher seeds (Rangers, Habs, Preds) have the regular season advantage. There's really no telling how these games are going to go.

[Dog]

Go Flyers

[l3ulvl]

Quote: Originally Posted by JNes12

Go Flyers

I will also subscribe to this thread.

[DrJones]

#1 Washington vs #8 New York

Michal Neuvirth is starting the series in net for the Caps. God only knows who finishes it. Wouldn't surprise me if this series followed 2009's Caps/Blueshirts storyline pretty closely.

Capitals over Rangers in 7

#2 Philadelphia vs #7 Buffalo

Sergei Bobrovsky is starting the series in net for the Flyers. God only knows who finishes it. I think way too many pundits are burying Philly here. I've watched every NHL postseason since 1981, and I think don't think how hot/cold you enter the playoffs has nearly the effect that most people think it does.

Flyers over Sabres in 6

#3 Boston vs #6 Montreal

Tim Thomas is starting this series for the Bruins. God only knows... just kidding. If it's a short series, Bruins all the way. If it's a long series...

Canadiens Over Bruins in 7

#4 Pittsburgh vs #5 Tampa Bay

Kudos to the Pens for overcoming the losses of Sid and Geno. I'm guessing it'll pay big dividends for them... next year.

Lightning over Penguins in 6

-------

#4 Anaheim vs #5 Nashville

I think the Ducks were mentally prepared to enter the playoffs as "the team that Vancouver, San Jose, and Detroit didn't want to face", and now all of a sudden they're the favourites against the perpetually no-name Preds (expertly coached by the perpetually no-neck Trotz). In theory, this is the best the Ducks could've hoped for. In practice, hmmm...

Predators over Ducks in 6

#3 Detroit vs #6 Phoenix

Here's my prediction for this series: if the NHL doesn't announce a done deal with Hulsizer et al to keep the team in Arizona by Monday night, then they're beginning the 2011/12 season as the Winnipeg Jets.

Red Wings over Coyotes in 6

#2 San Jose vs #7 Los Angeles

Famous last words, but... even the Sharks can't screw this one up.

Sharks over Kings in 5

#1 Vancouver vs #8 Chicago

Ugh. Forgive me a moment while I indulge in some whining.

As we all know, winning the Presidents' Trophy doesn't seem to do much other than raise false hopes, especially if you've never won a Cup before:

2000 Blues: won first Presidents' Trophy in team history. Lost in first round. Still no Cup.
2003 Senators: won first Presidents' Trophy in team history. Lost in conference final. Still no Cup.
2007 Sabres: won first Presidents' Trophy in team history. Lost in conference final. Still no Cup.
2009 Sharks: won first Presidents' Trophy in team history. Lost in first round. Still no Cup.
2010 Capitals: won first Presidents' Trophy in team history. Lost in first round. Still no Cup.

Not exactly encouraging.

After 40 loooonnnggg years, the Canucks finally put it all together with one of most (statistically, anyway) dominant regular seasons you'll ever see (most points, best home record, best road record, #1 in goals for, #1 in fewest goals allowed, #1 in PP, #3 in PK). And for that, their reward is... the unluckiest draw for any #1 regular season team in NHL history.

Think I'm exaggerating? Forget the fact that the Hawks are Freddy Krueger and the Canucks are the kids on Elm Street. Any of you know the last time the top team in the regular season had to play the defending Stanley Cup champions in the first round of the playoffs? 1964. Nineteen sixty-four.

Going into Sunday, what are the odds that:

a.) Chicago, needing only a single point to make the playoffs (in which case they would've played San Jose or Anaheim), blows a second period lead to a team with nothing to play for, finally losing in regulation?

AND

b.) Dallas, now needing only a reg/OT win to make the playoffs (in which case they would've played Vancouver, who drilled the Stars during the regular season), ALSO blows a second period lead to team with nothing to play for (a crappy team, to boot), finally losing in regulation?

Given the stakes involved for Chicago and Dallas, what are the odds of this sequence of events occurring? 10 percent? 15-20, tops? So going into the last day of the season, the Canucks had an 80-90% chance of avoiding Chicago... and couldn't. Son of a bitch.

Okay, I'm almost done. The annoying thing is, the critics are right. The Hawks are not the same team they were last year. I don't think they're deep enough or healthy enough or motivated enough for a long playoff run. If the Hawks had upset the Sharks or Ducks, I would've picked the Canucks in a second-round matchup without hesitation.

The pressure here is thick, thick, thick. This team has never won anything. This team dominates sports talk radio in July and August, let alone during the season. No Canadian team has won a Cup since 1993. Fans expect a Cup, but are waiting, waiting for Luongo or the Sedins to crack so they can label them chokers. Everyone knows that if they lose to Chicago here, every story involving the Canucks from now on will be "Mentally weak. Can't win the big games." Detroit fans who remember the 91-96 era Wings know what I'm talking about.

Despite this, I see a long playoff run, maybe even a Cup, in the Canucks' near future. Just not this year.

Blackhawks over Canucks in 7

[Dog]

Quote: Originally Posted by l3ulvl

I will also subscribe to this thread.

Haha, you got me

[Psyblast]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

Fans expect a Cup, but are waiting, waiting for Luongo or the Sedins to crack so they can label them chokers. Everyone knows that if they lose to Chicago here, every story involving the Canucks from now on will be "Mentally weak. Can't win the big games." Detroit fans who remember the 91-96 era Wings know what I'm talking about.

Would they be wrong in doing so? The fans who labeled those Detroit teams as such certainly weren't.

[DrJones]

Quote: Originally Posted by Psyblast

Would they be wrong in doing so? The fans who labeled those Detroit teams as such certainly weren't.

No, not really. Although I do think the Canucks' current rep as chokers in the Luongo era is a little unfair at this point. No first round upsets, no blown 3-0 or 2-0 or 3-1 series leads, no Jamie Baker moments, all of the teams that beat them finished above them in the standings. I won't deny the Canucks suffered emotional/discipline meltdowns against the Blackhawks each of the last two years, that was obvious for all to see.

My larger point is that the more the fans believe that they're chokers, the harder it gets for the players, and it gets worse every year. The fact that a lot of fans in this market aren't as savvy as they think they are doesn't help. I had arguments with people who wanted to trade the Sedins and Luongo (as if such a thing were possible in the salary cap era) for prospects and use the money saved to sign Kovalchuk and "other free agents". Seriously.