NHL playoff - general discussion

[SweetOwnGoal]

With a week to go before the start of the NHL playoffs, pretty much nothing is settled. I thought I’d jump the gun and start a playoff thread….

At this point the only playoff series that I’d put money on happening is TB/NYI. With one Bolt win (or Boston loss) Tampa are, incredibly, the Eastern champs. Since they have home games with the Panthers and Thrashers left, I’d suggest that they look pretty good for the one seed. The Islanders need a Buffalo loss and a win of their own to lock up eight.

A Tampa/Island series should be interesting, if only as a gage towards how ‘real’ the Lightning are. They have played a softer schedule -- I don’t think that’s debatable – are they a legitimate number one seed. If they are, they should wipe the floor with the ho-hum Islanders.

Other than 1 and 8, only Montreal is a lock to finish 7th. The rest is, to say the least, muddy. Three points seperates the two spot with the six.

The West picture is about as clear, although Detroit looks to be set as champions and San Jose looks solid for second.

I would suggest that St. Louis’ win over Edmonton last night all but put the Blues in. The Oilers and the Preds will battle it out for the right to ‘pull a Ducks’ on Detroit (I can’t see it happening two years in a row – The Red Wings are my pick for the cup). The Blues and Flames will fight for 6-7 and the rest will sort out the confusing middle.

Things will get clearer daily….

Tonight’s match-up’s:

Canadiens - Islanders

Not much on the line for the Habs, although they are hoping to get back in stride after slumping a bit as of late. A win won’t absolutely clinch for the Isles, but the fat lady in Buffalo (there are lots to chose from I hear) will definitely be warming up the vocal cords if New York comes out on top.

Red Wings - Blue Jackets

A win clinches the west for Detriot. Columbus….well, they’ve got Nash, right?

Sabres 0 Rangers

If the Sabers don’t win this one, they don’t deserve to be in.

Senators – Panthers

An absolute must for Ottawa. The win will vault they in to fourth and bring the Battle of Ontario III one step closer to reality (which will be great for neutrals, hell on the Leafs/Sens long-term playoff hopes).

Avalanche – Wild

Thank God the Wild missed the playoffs. No, THANK GOD the Wild missed the playoffs. Vancouver has closed the gap back down to one point for the decision title and the number three seed. This is, obviously, a big game for the Avs (who I’m not to sure about – a first round bust perhaps).

Oilers - Stars
This is, without a question, the game of the night. Both teams have a lot to play for (although the Oilers probably have a bit more on the line), plus there is a lot of history between the two clubs. A loss by Edmonton will put their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. Dallas wants to hold on the four spot ahead of Vancouver/Colorado.

Coyotes – Flames

Flames fans have waited a L O N G time for this game. If Calgary wins, they are in.

Canucks - Mighty Ducks

See Colorado - Minnesota

Sharks – Kings

If you are going to skip one game tonight, make this the one!

[BlueMeanie]

Mods, other readers, I have a suggestion.

Can we call this the Playoff Predictions Thread, and then let us create individual threads for each series, now that we have our own forum? This seemed to work well in the football forum during the NFL playoffs.

[Daniel from Montréal]

Mods, other readers, I have a suggestion.

Can we call this the Playoff Predictions Thread, and then let us create individual threads for each series, now that we have our own forum? This seemed to work well in the football forum during the NFL playoffs.

But part of the playoffs is watching other teams for once, and paying attention to something like NYI-TB!

One thread per round, mesays.

[JMU Soccer!]

A Tampa/Island series should be interesting, if only as a gage towards how ‘real’ the Lightning are. They have played a softer schedule -- I don’t think that’s debatable – are they a legitimate number one seed. If they are, they should wipe the floor with the ho-hum Islanders.


Actually, if you look at other teams records vs. the Southeast conference it doesn't show domination. Boston even has a losing record against the Southeast.

Tampa's record vs. the Southeast is 12-7-3-0, against the Atlantic it's 16-4-0-0, better then any other team in the conference besides Boston ironically.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/expanded?conference=eastern

Against the Western Conference, their record is 8-3-3-4, better than any eastern conference team besides Boston ironically again.

Stats aside, the history of the Stanley Cup playoffs is romp with upsets. It will all come down to how well Nikolai Khabibulin can out play whatever opposing goalie they face.

All that aside, the Lightning deserve a lot of respect for how high they have climbed the last couple seasons.

[SweetOwnGoal]

Last nights winners: NYI over Montreal, Detroit over Columbus, Buffalo over NYR, Ottawa over Florida, Minnesota over Colorado in OT, Edmonton over Dallas, Calgary over Phoenix, Vancouver over Anaheim and San Jose over LA.

Last night in the west:

Detroit’s win clinched the West, The Sharks locked up the second seed and Calgary is in the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

Vancouver seems to have turned things back around and have moved into the division lead (tied in points, more wins). The Avs finish with Columbus and Nashville, the Canucks with SJ and Edmonton.

Edmonton did what it had to do last night. Now the Oilers must win their last game (Vancouver) and hope that Nashville slips up and loses one of its remaining three games (Chicago, St.L and Colorado). The two teams are equal in wins; Edmonton won the season series.

And it’s great to see Calgary back in!

In the east:

The Isles magic number is down to .5 (if they gain a point or Buffalo losses a point they are in). New York finishes with Carolina and Philly, Buffalo with Toronto and Montreal. Technically the Islanders can still catch the Habs, who seem to have fallen into bit of a funk. Montreal will need the Islanders to lose one of their final two games or gain one more point themselves (Montreal has the tie break).

Nothing was settled in the middle of the east last night. Ottawa jumped over T.O, but that battle seems destined to go down to Saturday night.

Tonight:

Panthers - Lightning

The Lightning can wrap up the east with a win and a Boston loss.

Capitals - Bruins

The Bruins can still win the east, but haven’t clinched the division yet. A win will give them 103 points, Toronto can still finish with 103 and Ottawa can go as high as 104. A pee wee team should be able to beat the Caps nowadays so…..

Flyers - Canadiens

I talked about the Habs above. Philly…. the possibilities are enough to make you dizzy. The Flyers can still finish as high as second, as low as sixth. If they win tonight they will be in third – for now.

Red Wings - Blues

The Blues clinch a playoff spot with a win. If anyone cares, Detroit can win the Presidents trophy with a win of its own.

Predators - Blackhawks

Everyone in Edmonton repeat after me…GO HAWKS GO, GO HAWKS GO, GO HAW….

[BuffloSoldier]

Go Canes!

[revsrock]

With Toronto/Ottawa playing each other only one can get there max points which bolds very well for the Bruins, if the win one, get to overtime in the other 2 they clinch the division, with a Philadelphia loss who also play Ottawa they will clinch at least 2nd seed.

[soccernutter]

Mods, other readers, I have a suggestion.

Can we call this the Playoff Predictions Thread, and then let us create individual threads for each series, now that we have our own forum? This seemed to work well in the football forum during the NFL playoffs.

One of the benefits of having your own forum.

I'm not gonna be hyper about this, and you guys can start the individual series threads if you want.

Gonna call this the general playoff discussion thread and I'll sticky it.

[SweetOwnGoal]

Results from last night:

Tampa over Florida, Boston and Washington tie, Philly over slumping Montreal, Detroit over St. Louis and Nashville over Chicago.

In the east:

Tampa’s win combined with Boston’s tie gave the Bolts the conference title. Despite my comments about a ‘softer schedule’ above, my hat goes off to Tampa. This team came from nowhere (7 straight non-playoff years) to a Conference championship in two years. And they did it with some style – Tampa is a fun little team. Are they ‘for real’? The playoffs will be the true test, but they did win a round last year and this is the east. A trip to the finals is not out of the question – especially if they can get by the Isles (or, I guess, Sabers) quickly.

Montreal has to be squirming a bit. They have not looked good over the last week and if the Islanders win both their remaining games (Carolina, Philadelphia) and the Habs lose to Buffalo, Montreal could be making the trip south for the first round.

The Caps did Toronto and Ottawa a big favour by stealing a point off of Boston, but the bruins are still very much in the driver’s seat in the NE battle. The final weekend shapes up like this: Toronto has Buffalo and Ottawa (both on the road); Ottawa is away to Philly and home to the Leafs; Boston has a home and home with the Devils. A Bruin win or a Leaf loss will ensure that Boston finishes higher than Toronto. Boston needs two of their own wins or a win and an Ottawa loss to guarantee a finish above the Sens. Toronto needs a perfect weekend and a Devils sweep for the division crown. If T.O is perfect, they will finish above the Sens regardless of what Ottawa does (Toronto has the tiebreaker on both Boston and Ottawa). Ottawa wins the tie breaker with Boston, so they need to gain two more points than the Bruins do this weekend to finish higher than Boston. Is that any clearer….I though so.

Meanwhile, Philly (home to Ottawa away on the Island) and Jersey (home and home with Boston) will duke it out for the division title. Jersey has the tiebreaker but Philly controls its own destiny. If the Flyers win both games they win the division. Jersey needs to sweep Boston and hope the Flyers drop one.

In the west:

Detroit will be the one, San Jose the two, and Calgary will almost certainly be the six (although they still technically can catch the Stars and be caught by the Preds and Blues although it seems unlikely.

After Nashville’s win last night, things are looking bleak for the Oilers. I spoke out of turn yesterday when I suggested that Edmonton would win the tiebreaker. Although the Oilers did win the season series, Nashville would guarantee itself more wins than Edmonton if they win one of their last two games (St. Louis at home and Colorado away). The only way the Oilers make it is to win their last game against Vancouver and hope Nashville takes fewer than two points this weekend (or, to complicate things further, ties both games). The other way Edmonton makes it is if St. Louis collapses (away to Nashville and Minnesota). St. Louis wins the tie breaker with Edmonton and Nashville. A lot would have to go wrong for the Blues in order for them to miss.

Vancouver (away to the Sharks, home to Edmonton) and Colorado’s (away to Columbus, home to Nashville) situation is a little simpler. Whoever gets the most points out of the weekend gets the division title and the three seed. The loser gets Dallas as a four or a five, depending on how Dallas finishes. Vancouver has the tiebreaker.

Tonight:

Senators – Flyers

This looks to be the best game of the evening. Once we know this result, things will be a little bit clearer in the east. There is a potential for this to be a first –round preview.

Islanders - Hurricanes

The Isles win or tie (or lose in OT – don’t get me going on that idiotic rule) and they are in

Avalanche - Blue Jackets

Look for the Blue Jackets to give Nash a lot of ice time….. If Colorado doesn’t win this game they don’t deserve to win the division. Period.

Penguins – Thrashers

What’s really scary is that someone, somewhere, is going to pay good money to watch this hockey game.

Maple Leafs - Sabres

Buffalo has been Toronto’s nemesis this season. The Leafs need the win to at least have a chance at the division going into the final weekend. The geriatric Buds (who have already lost Nolan for at least three weeks) should keep some perspective this weekend. A higher seed would be nice, not killing themselves getting it would be nicer. The first round ain’t going to be easy regardless of who you draw.

Stars – Wild

Minnesota has played spoiler once this week already by taking a point off of Colorado. They are not a team I would want to be playing this week.

Flames – Kings

Technically the Flames can still catch Dallas, but it is unlikely. A ‘hangover’ effect is a real possibility in this one.

Canucks - Sharks

The Sharks have nothing to gain or lose. The Canucks need to take advantage of that fact.

[Ludahai]

Wow! My B's can still finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th. Frankly, I hope we finish second so we can get our hated nemesis the Habs in the first round. If Toronto ties or beats Ottawa, all the B's will need is one win against the Devils or two ties to get that number two spot.

It seems like you can cover the top six in the east with a blanket. Anyone of them can win and go to the Stanley Cup finals. FOrtunately, many playoff games are on here in Taiwan, unlike the regular season, so I won't have to rely on internet radio....:)

[SweetOwnGoal]

Last night’s results…

Ottawa over Philly, NYI over Carolina, Colorado over Columbus, Pittsburgh over Atlanta, Toronto over Buffalo, Minnesota over Dallas, Calgary over LA and Vancouver over S.J.

In the east:

Ottawa gave themselves a chance by beating Philly. The Flyers are now at the mercy of Jersey. If the Devils win both of their games, they win the division.

The Islanders clinched with the win, rendering Buffalo’s efforts against Toronto meaningless to the Sabers. The Leafs did what they had to do.

In the west.

The Calgary and Dallas result is interesting. The Flames can now gain the five spot with a win (Ducks) and a Stars (Hawks) loss.

With the win, Vancouver controls things going into their last game against Edmonton. If the Canucks win, they take the division (just like last year – and we know how that turned out).

Today:

Devils - Bruins
As I type, the Devils lead 2-1 in the first. A Bruins win will eliminate Toronto for the division title and put the Bruins back into first. NJ wins the division with a sweep of the Bruins.

Rangers – Capitals

No comment

Blues – Predators

A big game, to say the least. The winner is in.

Blackhawks – Coyotes

next

Sabres – Canadiens

Montreal needs to get their heads out of their a$$es before the playoffs start

Maple Leafs – Senators

If I have to explain this one, you are not a hockey fan

Thrashers - Lightning

Nothing to play for either team (except that silly pride stuff)

Blue Jackets - Red Wings

See above

Oilers - Canucks
If the Oilers don’t win they are eliminated. Vancouver wins the division with a win.

[SweetOwnGoal]

Update....

Devils 5 - Bruins 2 Final

The Bruins have gone into a little tailspin and have lost control of the NE. Ottawa takes the title with a win tonight.

The NE looks like this:

Ott win, Bos loss (tomorrow against NJ) = Ott, Tor, Bos
Ott loss, Bos loss = Tor, Ott, Bos
Ott OT loss, Bos loss = Tor, Ott, Bos
Ott win, Bos win = Ott, Bos, Tor
Ott loss, Bos win = Bos, Tor, Ott
Ott OT loss, Bos win = Bos, Ott, Tor
Ott/Tor tie, Bos win = Bos, Ott, Tor
Ott win, Bos tie = Ott, Bos, Tor
Ott loss, Bos tie = Tor, Bos, Ott
Ott OT loss, Bos tie = Tor, Ott, Bos
Tor OT loss, Bos win = Ott, Bos, Tor
Tor OT loss, Bos loss = Ott, Tor, Bos
Tor OT loss, Bos tie = Ott, Bos, Tor

Yikes...I need a hobby!

Right now, Nashville and St. Louis are tied 1-1 and the end of two.

[SweetOwnGoal]

Update...

The first series to be confirmed is.....

San Jose vs. St. Louis

The Blues clinch the seventh seed with their 4-1 win over Nashville this afternoon. They have now qualified for the playoffs 25 straight years -- during which time they have accomplished, well, nothing.

Blues/Sharks is an interesting match-up. The Blues have had to fight their way in over the past month. That can either be a good thing or a bad depending on your perspective. Either you think they are 'playoff ready' or just 'tired'.

The Sharks might be the most underrated team in the NHL this season. To watch San Jose is to like them.

Nashville can still qualify with a win or an Oiler loss.

God, I love this time of year!

[afgrijselijkheid]

good night san jose

[MetroAndAGuinessPlz]

Much as I loathe the Isles don't be so quick to write them off against Tampa Bay in round one as they've beaten them 3 of 4 teams this season and outscored them 13-6.

[afgrijselijkheid]

Much as I loathe the Isles don't be so quick to write them off against Tampa Bay in round one as they've beaten them 3 of 4 teams this season and outscored them 13-6.



i've been saying since december that the islanders will spring at least a first round upset

[SweetOwnGoal]

Update –

Vancouver’s win over Edmonton and Montreal’s win over Buffalo ensures the following two series:

Detroit vs Nashville

and

Tampa vs. New York Islanders

Today:

With two periods down Boston is spanking Jersey 3-0 and the Islanders (who are suddenly playing well) are ahead of Philly 3-2.

If the results hold up Boston will win the NE and Jersey will win the Atlantic. With the Bruins in control the match-up’s seem set: Tampa/Islanders, Boston/Montreal, Philly/Jersey (home ice TBD) and Toronto/Ottawa. There are some sexy match-up’s in that group…

There are two more games this afternoon that matter: Blackhawks/Stars and Flames/Mighty Ducks

Dallas clinches the five spot with a win or Calgary loss. The Flames need a win and a Dallas loss or tie, or a tie and a Dallas loss.

The match-up’s will either be (likely): Detroit/Nashville, S.J/St. Louis, Vancouver/Calgary and Colorado/Dallas

Or

Less likely: Detroit/Nashville, S.J/St. Louis, Vancouver/Dallas, Colorado/Calgary

[Ian McCracken]

The match-up’s will either be (likely): Detroit/Nashville, S.J/St. Louis, Vancouver/Calgary and Colorado/Dallas

Or

Less likely: Detroit/Nashville, S.J/St. Louis, Vancouver/Dallas, Colorado/Calgary

I see Colorado being upset in either one of those series. The Avalanche have been playing horribly and Dallas or Calgary are dangerous.

Nashville had the Red Wings number early in the season, beating them on 3 occasions. The Wings rebounded later in the year against them and tied the season series 3-3.

St Louis is going nowhere. That team is awful. I see them out in five, tops.

[BlueMeanie]

good night san jose
LMFAO. The Sharks TV announcers just mentioned that Pronger said, "This is the series we wanted." Oh, okay. Bring it, bitches. :p

Considering Pronger never does jack against the Sharks, he's putting a lot of pressure on Tkachuk and Demitra and Osbad. In previous years, when STL did well against the Sharks in the regular season, it was because Scott Young tore them up. And he's on the Starlets now (well, the IR, actually). Mellanby has torn the Sharks up in the past, too.

Where this series breaks down is the Blues' huge talent up front (Tkachuk and Demitra) vs. the Sharks consistency and speed. If Korolyuk scores another goal today, he'll be the sixth Shark with at least 20 goals, and if Damphousse gets a point, he'll be the sixth Shark with at least 40 points. Sure, Tkachuk has more goals than any Shark, but the Blues only have two guys over 20. Not having Al MacInnis or Barrett Jackman could hurt the Blues more than not having Marco Sturm could hurt the Sharks.

I also disagree slightly with SweetOwnGoal's assessment. The Sharks were not underrated, at least as the season wore on. They've only lost two games since the trading deadline, and they've gotten heavy mention in both the Hockey News and with the ESPN talking heads. (I think you're confusing "underrated" with "way out on the West Coast"). At the beginning of the season, the Sharks weren't underrated, either. They were predicted to miss the playoffs, and started out with only one win in their first 10 games. Due to all this, Ron Wilson has to win the Adams trophy (all apologies to John Tortorella, but TB was expected to be pretty good this season).

The Sharks would be remiss not to give a huge shoutout to the New York Rangers, for giving up on Nils Ekman last season. In the offseason, the Sharks coughed up disappointing prospect Chad Wiseman for Ekman. All Nils has done since then is set a team record for +/- (+30 with two periods of regular season hockey left...), and leads the team in points. Not bad for a guy who was picked up as a grinder and defensive specialist.

Series was even this season, 2-2. All-time playoff series are also tied, 1-1.

Sharks in six.

PS--It's frustrating that we probably won't get to see TOR-OTT much down here. That looks like one HELL of a series, and Nolan will probably miss it.

PPS--Welcome to the playoffs, Preds! This year is the 10th anniversary of the Sharks' first postseason. They were the 8th seed, and beat top seed Detroit in seven games. It can be done.

[BlueMeanie]

Wanted to edit the previous post, but this new BS software has a quicker timeout...

In today's Sharks game, SJ just scored twice in the last 20 seconds to tie LA 3-3. Damphousse got the assist for his 40th point on the third goal, w/ 3.3 seconds left. So now SJ has six guys at 40 points or more. And defenseman Brad Stuart, who scored the last two goals, now has 39 points.

And...**** YES!!!!...Damphousse scores in OT for the win (41 pts).

Bring on the playoffs.

Oh, and enjoy the golf, LA Queens.