NHL Playoffs 2011 edition

Do we perhaps have some new players? Well then, let's jump all over this. Since we've already got several first round predictions that are team only, we'll do round one as team only.

First Round: Pick yer team in each series. If they win the series, score 1 point.

Second Round: Pick yer team and the number of games. Score 2 points for picking the winner, score 1 point for getting the games in the series. If you miss the team, you can still get the point for the games.

Third Round: Pick team, games, and total goals scored. Score 4 points for the team, 2 points for the games. We'll have to see how many people participate before deciding points for the goals so it gets the appropriate amount of weight.

Cup Round: Pick the Red Wings, pick the sweep, pick the goals the Wings score (that will equal the total goals since all 4 games will be shutouts), pick Swede for the Conn Smythe. Points to be determined following round 2, based on participation.

Any ideas for the prize this year? In the past, we've done Peter Worrell's pimp hat, Chris Chelios' empty Geritol bottle, Cindy Crosby's sweaty jock strap (unfortunately, we couldn't award that one since we couldn't pry it out of Bettman's mouth), and something I don't remember from Chris Pronger.

(1) WSH vs. (8) NYR - Capitals in 6. Lundqvist overrated
(2) PHI vs. (7) BUF - Flyers in 5
(3) BOS vs. (6) MTL - Bruins. 7-0 drubbing last game shows they can score and shut the Habs down. Also, fan opinion about Price's talent is akin to their's about Theodore's. Weak glove. Smartest fans in hockey indeed. 4 games
(4) PIT vs. (5) TB - TB is my dark horse. If Crosby doesn't suit it up and Roloson remembers how he got to the finals the first time the TB may have all the pieces in play. Pittsburgh has been over achieving, but they won it all recently. 7 games for the Lightning..

(1) VAN vs. (8) CHI - The revenge series is not going to be as exciting as it seems. This may be the hardest series for the Canucks tho. They will win it in 6.
(2) SJ vs. (7) LA - Neimi is no Nabakov. Sharks still a one.five line team with little D and no toughness. If Kopitar can suit up in time LA in 7.
(3) DET vs. (6) PHX - Wings in 5. 'Yotes aren't the team they were last year.
(4) ANA vs. (5) NAS - This could interesting. Ducks will try to beat the tar out of Bashville. rinni will stop nearly everything. Nearly. Ducks in 6.

The prize I think should be a big old can of Mama Sedin's Surströmming. mmm mmm! Winner has to eat the whole can.

Alright, first round:

West:
Canucks
Kings
Ducks
Wings

East:
Capitals
Sabres
Habs
Lightning

GothicGothicness said:

Wash, Buff, Bost, Pitt

Chi, SJ, Det, Ana

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Honestly? Are you just another hater?

The 'Nucks led the league in GF and GA - that's the first time that's happened since those stacked Montreal teams in the '70's, and they were still benefiting from having a monopoly on French/Quebec born players before the implementation of the draft.

Lucky Day said:

The 'Nucks led the league in GF and GA -

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While that's impressive, regular season stats don't always mean much when it comes to playoffs. I like Vancouver to win that series, but Luongo still makes me a little nervous this time of year.

even with the gold medal, the haters (not you) continue to knock Lou but he has in the past stolen series such as the one against Dallas. Even with the great D this year Lou has stolen games the Nucks had no business winning.

Lou's only real weakness, other than his puckhandling, has been twofold: starting games after a period of rest, and playing too many games in succession. At least the latter part has been solved.

The difference this year is not just improved play in front of him but that he is much better rested going into the playoffs. With a potential starter in Schneider as a backup the 'Nucks were afforded the luxury of allowing Lou to rest more games.

In addition the new goaltending coach has pushed the guys to play deeper in the net, which has worked because both players size and reflexes have compensated for the "angle" they give up.

But even still, last year goaltending wasn't the problem (discounting that game 7 collapse ag the Hawks) - its been specialty teams. Of course, this years PP is #1 and the PK is #3. They've tooled the team all year for a "deep run".

That said, if you know anything about Canucks fans we are all waiting for the whole thing to collapse. We've been doing it all year.

If there's a weakness, its been size and toughness and I hear it constantly argued "Detroit". Look for teams to constantly run them. OTH, they're defense is almost all back from injury.

Darkhorse started a "Hybrid NHL" thread on the HFBoards a few weeks ago. I thought it was pretty entertaining so I joined and did a few myself. Here's Kings Knight's playoff mashups:



EAST:
New Washington Capiters
Buffadelphia Flabers
Bostreal Canadruins
Pittsbay Lightguins

WEST:
Chicouver Blanucks
San Angeles Shings
Phetroit Red Yotes
Nashaheim Dredators

Lucky Day said:

(1) WSH vs. (8) NYR - Capitals in 6. Lundqvist overrated

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I agree except on Lundqvist. He's as advertised, but that's just not enough. Caps in 6.

Lucky Day said:

(2) PHI vs. (7) BUF - Flyers in 5

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Miller's coming off the injury and probably won't be 100%. I agree, Philly in 5.

Lucky Day said:

(3) BOS vs. (6) MTL - Bruins. 7-0 drubbing last game shows they can score and shut the Habs down. Also, fan opinion about Price's talent is akin to their's about Theodore's. Weak glove. Smartest fans in hockey indeed. 4 games

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Mostly agree, but I think the Habs will squeek one out in their own barn, so 5 game series.

Lucky Day said:

(4) PIT vs. (5) TB - TB is my dark horse. If Crosby doesn't suit it up and Roloson remembers how he got to the finals the first time the TB may have all the pieces in play. Pittsburgh has been over achieving, but they won it all recently. 7 games for the Lightning..

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I'll agree with you, but I think you're on the wrong side of the Cindy issue. If Crys-by comes back, I think that hurts the Pens even though he is a talented little peckerhead. He won't be anywhere close to game ready after 3+ months on the couch, but his teammates will let up expecting Cindy to save the day. Bolts in 7.

Lucky Day said:

(1) VAN vs. (8) CHI - The revenge series is not going to be as exciting as it seems. This may be the hardest series for the Canucks tho. They will win it in 6.

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I agree, other than it being the hardest series. Canuckles in 6.

Lucky Day said:

(2) SJ vs. (7) LA - Neimi is no Nabakov. Sharks still a one.five line team with little D and no toughness. If Kopitar can suit up in time LA in 7.

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I'd like to agree, but I just can't. Quick has picked the wrong time to go cold. I wouldn't mind facing either of these squads right now as they're both fragile. Sharkies pull thru on 1.5 lines, in 6.

Lucky Day said:

(3) DET vs. (6) PHX - Wings in 5. 'Yotes aren't the team they were last year.

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I fear the hot goaltender, as we seem to hit one every damn year, but I'm going to agree. Wings in 5.

Lucky Day said:

(4) ANA vs. (5) NAS - This could interesting. Ducks will try to beat the tar out of Bashville. rinni will stop nearly everything. Nearly. Ducks in 6.

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The real key here is that the Preds don't have a line of shutdown forwards that can still play. You need a Zetterberg line or an old Grind Line to corral the Perry line without automatically conceding the entire shift in the defensive zone. Even if Shea Weber is all that and a bag of chips, you need talented defensive forwards that the Preds just don't have. OTOH, the Quacks have squat between the pipes so the Preds might have to just outscore the Perry line each night, which is certainly do-able. I see this as a 5 game series either way depending on which team falls apart. I think I'll take the Preds to take it in 5.

Lucky Day said:

The prize I think should be a big old can of Mama Sedin's Surströmming. mmm mmm! Winner has to eat the whole can.

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Yummy. We might just have a winner, there. Anyone else with an idea?

Having grown up in Montreal..them's fighting words.

But I live in Vancouver now so all's forgiven with your Canucks pick Corwin. "


Hey, I remember watching Ken Dryden play and cheering for him in the 72 summit series. If the Leafs weren't winning the Cup, then it was the Habs next in line.

Ok....

West - Vancouver, San Jose, Detroit, Anaheim.

East - Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Tampa Bay.

Great first night.

My Wings had me a little nervous after the first period, but they brought the heat in the 2nd. I hope they carry that over to game 2.

I was surprised by Tampa Bay getting shut down like that, and also surprised by the Ducks getting dominated in Anaheim.

Looking forward to Boston-Montreal tonight..

Well, so far so good, I guess. The 4 of us that took Boston have to be a little disappointed at this point, but there's still time for that series to turn around. Too bad round 1 is only 1 point a series--I'm looking at a coup de grace with the Preds...

So far I haven't managed to watch a single game. I'm hopeful to see at least one from this series.

Corwin said:

So far I haven't managed to watch a single game. I'm hopeful to see at least one from this series.

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CBC.ca/sports is showing all the games online live Corwin. Maybe one of the games will workout time wise for you.

Warmark said:

CBC.ca/sports is showing all the games online live Corwin. Maybe one of the games will workout time wise for you.

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Whoa…Are they doing this for free?

edit: it appears that this is only available if you are in Canada.

you can find a proxy but they are typically slow.

when I've been at work I've used feeds that are around like justin.tv. justin itself doesn't work very good but the feeders advertise themselves with little links and you can usually choose until you can get a fast one.

wow, this has been an exciting first round. it always is - first round of the SCP is always my favourite games to watch.

Some real controversy to this start. I think it was Bobby Clarke who said, "if you aren't cheating, you aren't trying hard enough."

Someone needs to knock BC's teeth out for a comment like that!! Oh, I think they already did!!

Wish I could log on to either CBC or TSN from here, but it doesn't seem possible.

Wow.. home teams went 0-4 last night.

My Red Wings are now up 3-0 on the Coyotes. Detroit has advanced to at least the second round 13 times since 1992, best in the league. This year will make 14.

These west coast games are gonna kill me. Staying up until 1:30 and then dragging into work the next day just ain't much fun. At least the boys had the decency to reward my dedication with a solid winning performance.

Honestly? Are you just another hater?

The 'Nucks led the league in GF and GA - that's the first time that's happened since those stacked Montreal teams in the '70's, and they were still benefiting from having a monopoly on French/Quebec born players before the implementation of the draft.

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Well, it looks like I'll be wrong this time......