NHL 2012 - 2013

[Special J]

More tears on my Clark jersey. I am very sorry, it is me. I blame myself. Closet Leafs fan, Browns fan, Indians fan, closet Cubs fan... I am the weakest link. The only team I have not plagued into oblivion are my LSU Tigers.

If its any consolation, I was an Ottawa Rough Riders fan.  And an Expos fan. I know what soul-crushing defeats feel like.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Pens vs Sens: Sens in 7 -shit goaltending for Pens, shit d, maybe gets you past the ilses in a gonze hockey series but not tight sens who have hottest goalie in league.

Bos vs NYR: NYR in 5 -Boston is a mess don't let the lucky  last second win over the Toronto Maple chumps fool you. They are not playing very good hockey.  For the Rags the King Hank has his A game on and have a lot of talented vet depth up front, bad news for banged up Bruins D.

Hawks vs Wings: Wings in 6 - Wings dug deep to steal it from my Ducks (quack.......), killed me in my office pool but very impressive comeback. Might be team of destiny this year, Howard is playing well and the money players up front are doing their job. I'm just not sold on the Black Hawks, too flashy and haven't faced enough adversity this season I think they are in for a surprise here.

Kings vs Sharks: Kings in 6 - Sharks played well against the Canucks but them again the Canucks blow so that doesn't count for too much. Kings just match up too well against the Sharks.

[Stewie]

My favorite part of the Leafs epic collapse is seeing some Leaf fans posting about how shitty the reffing was and the non calls against Boston.

While I agree, The elbow, the boading, throwing the waterbottle on the ice and more probably should have been called and it is shitty that the Bruins got away it when those calls could have ended the series.
It is the very same fans that were laughing when it was happening to the canucks. But of course there was no bullshit calls/non-calls in the Nucks/Bruins series, right Maple Laugh fans? RIGHT?    Fuckers.

[Fordel]

Nah that wasn't the reffing, that's just people trying to rationalize their pain or whatever. Both teams got away with MURDER last night, if that was a regular season game, there would've been like 60 minutes of penalties last night combined.

Toronto just lost the game, in a historic fashion (literally I believe, that may be the biggest comeback in game 7 history or something).

That's a game that was won, the end.

They managed to lose it.

The end.



 

[Ginaz]

After that so called "refereeing" last night, do any Leaf fans now see what Canuck fans were talking about during the 2011 cups finals?  As much joy as I've gotten out of the Leafs collapse, they did get screwed on more than a few calls.  That water bottle thrown on the ice should have been a delay of game penalty or a bench penalty and the elbow on JVRD was brutal.

[Ginaz]

My favorite part of the Leafs epic collapse is seeing some Leaf fans posting about how shitty the reffing was and the non calls against Boston.

While I agree, The elbow, the boading, throwing the waterbottle on the ice and more probably should have been called and it is shitty that the Bruins got away it when those calls could have ended the series.
It is the very same fans that were laughing when it was happening to the canucks. But of course there was no bullshit calls/non-calls in the Nucks/Bruins series, right Maple Laugh fans? RIGHT?    Fuckers.

Or this.

[Fordel]

You really seem to give a shit about what Leaf fans think about the Canucks.


We mostly don't either way. 

[Bunk]

You clearly have never read a comment thread on TSN after a Canucks game. It's like Torontonians live to berate us on those forums. Now we are just sitting back and enjoying the sweet irony.

Honestly though, the game has changed, again. We're back to "play-off hockey" aka, there are no fucking rules in the playoffs - we know our referee pool is spread too thin to do a decent job, so we just tell em to put the whistles away and "let them play".

Which is just fine and dandy if you enjoy that type of hockey. Personally, I prefer the high speed skill game (RIP).

[Fordel]

TSN Comments are right up there with Youtube Comments.


If you waste any time with them you get what you deserve. 

[Shannow]

Bos vs NYR: NYR in 5 -Boston is a mess don't let the lucky  last second win over the Toronto Maple chumps fool you. They are not playing very good hockey.  For the Rags the King Hank has his A game on and have a lot of talented vet depth up front, bad news for banged up Bruins D.

You are probably right. Seidenburg and Ference being out will be a big problem. Two things that give me some hope: The reason the B's were so bad against Toronto was the Leafs speed was giving them absolute FITS. Speed on the forecheck, speed into our zone...we just couldn't keep up. Rangers aren't as fast but they have better D and goaltending. I forsee a lot of 2-1 games and a rather brutal series. Oh the other thing? The fact that who the fuck knows with this Bruins team....they'll either crash out in 4 or win it in 7.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Yeah in the playoffs losing vet D-men is a huge problem, they might not be sexy names but Ference & Seidenberg are important depth on the Bruins to support Chara. Also I wouldn't be surprised if Chara's gameplay declines too he is playing 30-40 minutes a night and has been targetted for rough treatment (Colton Orr hit him A LOT against Leafs, hard hits too sent him flying a few times). With Chara's efficiencypotentially declining and the supporting cast thinned out and they are in trouble cuz when the Chara anchored D sputters, Rask is going to be exposed (Montreal is very good at throwing their D off and Rask has bad save% against Habs cuz of it, only team he does).

The Bruins were struggling before playoffs they only won 3 of last 10, against Leafs they essentially lost 3 in a row (counting game 7 cuz they needed a historic miracle comeback in last minute of what was otherwise a defeat against a decent opponent). This is not a team getting it together it's one falling apart. I know it when I see it haha I've watched enough Montreal Canadiens.  To be fair as you say the Bruins do have a few things going for them:

-NYR lack of speed compared to say Toronto or Montreal. The speed really kills the B's defence so at least this wounded D won't have to deal with that nemesis.
-The forwards are playing very well especially Krecje, because Bergeron can't do everything himself. This will keep the  Bruins in the game although beating Hank will not be easy.

Overall as you say most likely close, low scoring games but getting over the top will not be easy given these serious obstacles facing the Bruins at this point and my gut prediction is that they go down hard here.

[Strazos]

Shit, I was actually pulling for the Leafs, because fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck Boston. 

[Ingmar]

Going to Kings-Sharks game 4. Hopefully it isn't an elimination game. 

[Bunk]

TSN posted some interesting stats about the teams today. San Jose's team average was 10 lbs bigger per player than Vancouver. LA's average? About 10 lbs and 1" in height bigger than San Jose.

[Ceryse]

Don't like some of the scheduling.. you should never have two days off in the playoffs during a series.

Hoping the Sens can upset the Pens (I can't stand the Penguins... they're almost as bad as the Canucks and Leafs in my hate-meter).

Also, not NHL, but.. some Canucks show up at the Worlds.. and Edler already doing the dirty with a knee on knee with E. Staal.

[Ginaz]

Shit, I was actually pulling for the Leafs, because fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck Boston. 

It took every ounce of will I had to hope for a Boston win.  Pyrrhic victory I guess.

[Ginaz]

TSN posted some interesting stats about the teams today. San Jose's team average was 10 lbs bigger per player than Vancouver. LA's average? About 10 lbs and 1" in height bigger than San Jose.

Looks like we're going back to the days of lumbering, skill less hulks like Mike Rathje, Kyle MacLaren, Brian Marchment and Derian Hatcher.  Lovely.

[Shannow]

Well it was one game but the B's looked the better team tonight and deserved then win.  Christ 4 posts hit in the last 15 min of the game alone.

[Malakili]

The rangers need to control the god damned puck.  Lundqvist has to make 35-40 saves a night because the Rangers can't keep the puck in the offensive zone.  If I were him I'd be absolutely livid with the rest of the team.  Same old story every fucking year.  He's a magician to keep them in games and they can't put the puck in the net. BAH (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

[Ceryse]

I've said it many times; but just imagine King Henrik on a good team instead of the Rangers. Imagine him on Chicago. Or Pittsburgh.

How Boston won with three rookie defensemen is.. beyond me. Shows just how much the Rangers need to learn about taking advantage of a team and getting a killer instinct.

[Shannow]

Krooog!

Rangers in 6?

[Shannow]

You know I thought Bruins crowd could be awful quite but halfway through the 3rd period of a tied playoff game you could hear a pin drop in MSG. WTF? Rangers deserve to lose if your fans suck that much.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Man that's the last time I have any faith in the Rangers to show up in playoffs. They are like the SJ Sharks of the East. Full of tin men.

[WayAbvPar]

AV out. Couldn't happen to a smugger fuck.

[Speedy Cerviche]

Fortunately for our viewing pleasure, smug French-Canadian replaced by arrogant, violent, angry French-Canadian. Long live Pattie Roy!

[Paelos]

Pens made this a laugher late. I mean damn Ottawa, how can you completely go to sleep on the PP?

[Paelos]

Good lord, there may not be a fan left in the building if this keeps up.

[Special J]

It's ok, we got the Penguins right where we want them.

Ok, the reality is the Pens power play is absolutely killing them.  This is a team that takes penalties and relies on their ability to shut down defensively, and if its not working, they're toast.  Of course when Sergei Gonchar is a total fucking disaster, that's not helping much either.

Oh why couldn't Fleury play just well enough to keep starting in goal?

[Special J]

In another chapter of "Great UFA Signings by Glen Sather":

Brad Richards is in year two of a  $58.5 million contract; he will be a healthy scratch tonight.  A bold move from the Rangers' soon to be former coach.

[RhyssaFireheart]

Hawks vs Wings: Wings in 6 - Wings dug deep to steal it from my Ducks (quack.......), killed me in my office pool but very impressive comeback. Might be team of destiny this year, Howard is playing well and the money players up front are doing their job. I'm just not sold on the Black Hawks, too flashy and haven't faced enough adversity this season I think they are in for a surprise here.

Heading to Chicago for game 7 Wednesday night. I'm hopjng they can pull this out.

[Belasco]

Based on Speedy's predictions so far I would be confident in a Hawks win 

[Speedy Cerviche]

I enjoy looking for underdog picks, usually it just bites me in the ass :)

Was overconfident in the Sens cuz I saw them beat my Habs but didn't take into account the Pens magnitude of firepower compared to the wounded Habs (who had essentially lost a top line in 2 days with Eller out and Gionta+Pacioretty getting serious injuries).

Overestimated the Rangers too. Last time I make that mistake, there's something rotten about that team, like the Sharks they just have no playoff mojo.

Going to game 7 it's now a toss up, the Wings did have them on the ropes but couldn't close the deal.

[Hutch]

And the Hawks just pulled off a comeback from being down 3-1, to win 4-3 against Detroit. Congrats Blackhawks!

edit: 3-1 and 4-3 are win totals, not game scores :)

[Speedy Cerviche]

detroit looked so gassed. I guess their long stretch run to get into playoffs + ducks series + first 4 games killed their legs.

[Paelos]

Blackhawks win it all. Calling it now.