NHL Hockey 2012 PLAYOFF TALK
 

The Winnipeg Jets didn't make the cut (not surprising their first year in the new location, but they came close) so my team is the Blackhawks... mainly because about a quarter of their team is from Winnipeg (Sharp, Keith, Toews) and they are three of their best players.

So go 'Hawks. :D


Canucks are really in the basement of the shitter now. Seems like only last week there were Vancouver fans on here talking some major shit, where are they now? :1orglaugh

Nashville looks good.
Flyers are unexpectedly off the charts good, but that "offside goal" that led them to a win by one goal in game one was a travesty of justice. See refs? One bad call can taint the outcome, of the game and basically the whole series.

St. Louis Blues are a dark horse in this race. Those of you discounting them are making a serious error in judgement.

Nearly every series going on right now is off the hook crazy, tons of fights, plenty of end-to-end action, tons of games that go right down to the wire and are decided by one goal, often in OT.

I'm in hockey heaven.

as always the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is the greatest show in sports.

the Flyers/Penguins series has been awesome, like going back in a time machine to the 70's and 80's. for the first time in my life I'm rooting for the Flyers to go all the way.

i want a Bruins/Flyers series bad.

not really a good thing but no sport changes as dramatically from the regular season to the playoffs - NHL players turn it up to '11' in the playoffs.

Brian Burke has proven that he is less competant than John Ferguson Jr - so the Leafs will never make the playoffs as long as he is in charge.

But I like to see Original Six teams win. Boston and Chicago both won recently (I loved watching them win - I LOVED those teams growing up...). I hate the New York Rangers, and Detroit has won it enough. Montreal and Toronto are now jokes...

New blood. Nashville. I'd also love to watch Vancouver lose to anyone in the final.

I have a good friend in Philly, and the Flyers (who I also used to hate) will be my second choice.

As for St. Louis - they have some Toronto rejects on that team. I could cheer for them if they advance.

Barclay Plager!

Go Kings! Quick and the gang are playing a tight game.

I'll see your Barclay Plager and raise you a Garry Unger!

I don't know much about Hockey but as somewhat of a newcomer to the sport, I'm loving the Flyers/Penguins series. Couldn't take my eyes off Game 3 on Sunday. Looking forward to the next one.

Not sure i would call St louis a dark horse. they were a pretty dominate hard working team who almost took the presidents trophy.

i think LA is the dark horse right now. if Quick keeps it up they will be tough

Pens need to play like pens... actually they try to match Flyers at their game and they are loosing at it. About the 'offside goal' it's 1 goal, 1 game. When you are a professionnal you should pass over it. Goalies didnt made their job in game 2 and 3....

I say dark horse for St. Louis only in that a lot of people have been focused on a cup win for teams like the Penguins, Boston, Canucks, Rangers and the like. I've heard very few people (in fact none) saying the Blues are going to win it.

Agreed, Kings are definitely another dark horse, and one that most if not all were thinking would be a "given" win for Vancouver. Maybe that's why the nucks are now in the predicament they're in?

The Cannots are dreadful and painful to watch.I hope LA puts them out of their misery.
The Flyers are looking really good this year.I'm going for them to take it

I'll see your Barclay Plager and Garry Unger and throw in Chris Bordeleau (Blues top scorer in '71, and later played for the Winnipeg Jets on a top line with Bobby Hull)

someone said it already, but every series is a blast to watch. hard to pick one game a night when two are on at the same time, thats my only complaint. would like the nhl to space them out more, plus it would last longer this way haha

I'm rooting for the Flyers as I always do. Want to see the Senators get somewhere aswell if they can.

old bastard thread! Barclay Plager, Gary Unger, Glenn Hall

the Blues had the greatest hockey announcer of all time, Dan Kelly. only Danny Gallivan belongs in the same conversation with Kelly.

Being a die hard Rangers fan I do have to throw their name into the hat. Especially w/ the way Pitt is being man handled it's hard to count the Rangers out of the race. The bracket I jumped into has the Rangers trumping the Blues in the finals. Homer style, I know...

Big fan of the Blues and their style this year though. They're fast, physical and their goalies can stand there w/ the best of them right now. I have a dieing passionate dislike for the Canucks. I picked the Kings to upset them in Round 1 and so far I'm looking good! I think the Preds are a team to consider the dark horse. Yes, they finished in the top 4 but no one is really talking about them. If they can get past a solid but aging Detroit team watch out for them. Confidence w/ that team will only build as they move on.

With that all said I'd like to see my Rangers take down the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. All while the Blues take down the Preds in the West. Ending up w/ the Rangers hoisting the cup in June!

The solution: get a PVR. (or DVR if you prefer) I record all available games each night and then fast-fwd through all the BS and commercials and speed watch them in half the time.

George Morrison


Ernie Wakely! Later played for the Wpg Jets (WHA)

http://i.imgur.com/mUCMt.gif

http://i39.tinypic.com/34fz7yh.gif

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/6391/fleurysave.gif

amazing how despised the Canucks are both in the rest of Canada and the US.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/2009/imag...-ice-girls.jpg

Blackhawks will win Lord Stanley, they have the hottest ice girls among the playoff teams.

It's a perfectly logical conclusion.

3 early games and no late game tonight?

haha girls=winning:thumbsup

Bumming that the Pens are getting so worked. Their defense is just hard to watch - and it isn't all on Fleury either... but I do believe in miracles no matter how ridiculous...

I like the Blues mainly because of Oshie, who coached my son in a camp in Seattle, great guy and displays a work ethic (along with the rest of the team) that is nothing short of inspirational.

Loving watching the Kings taking the Canucks apart in tiny little pieces.

Fuck the Rangers, no matter how awesome they are, because Tortorella won't stop his whining even when they are winning. Sens are playing up and deserve praise even though it is sort of like watching the battle of Thermopylae.

Praying that Washington can knock out the Bruins.

Would not mind seeing Nashville take Detroit out even though I like all those old guys still teaching the kids a thing or two...

Go bruins!!!!

How bout then Rangers.

I dont totally disagree. Im more pissed that Burke didnt deliver. Of all people, i thought he would.

CD is stoked because he has his team back. I would be too bro!! :thumbsup

Im a Leaf guy so the playoffs kinda make me cry.

Old enough to have seen Gordie and sons vs. the Toronto Toros at The Gardens.

Go Philly!

Pittsburgh and Vancouver both finally showing some life in their life and death predicaments and I find this thread on PAGE 4??!!

Argg!


I don't know if I've ever seen so many suspensions in a playoffs. Shannahan must be hiring more office staff right now to handle all the "hearings" he's had to have. Bodies flying everywhere on the ice, and I for one am loving it. ha

Nothing like good hockey drama to get you through the spring. :D

I hate to bust your bubble my gfellow hockey lover but in the same game a very obvious icing was missed by the linesman directly resulting in a Pittsburg goal so way I see it , it was a blown call for each side resulting in a goal. And I always say , dont put yourself in a position where a bad call or bounce cost you the game.

Kings have been playing very well against the canucks, glad to see them go up early in the series. but im putting some money on nashville preds to take the cup...I would rather see the Kings take it all the way!
either way its been a fun series so far...

Always good advice, that.

I'd actually like to see the Kings close out Vancouver, but if it goes to a game 7 it's the Canucks' series.

Nashville looks good. Detroit is in trouble.

Game 5 in the Flyers-Pens series should be a good one. That's all I'm gonna say about that.

Blues look good.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Sens take the Rangers in 6, but if it goes to a game 7 I'm afraid NY is the tougher team and they'll take it.

My Blackhawks are up against it now, Coyotes are tenatious. Hope this goes to a game 7 but doubt it will, with Chi in the hole like they are.


Anyone know how many games suspension Raffe Torres got? I heard it could be 10 but that was before his hearing.

Detroit OUT
Pittsburgh OUT
Vancouver OUT


No wonder nobody's talking anymore, all your teams are TOAST. :D


Go Blackhawks!

Hawks are out next ;)

And I've got a guarantee into round 2. I grew up a Rangers fan but was born in Ottawa who came along when I was a bit older - I'm neutral when it comes to that series though.

Preds vs Flyers in finals.


At the start of the season I was saying Flyers vs Pens in QF with the winner taking the cup. I predicted that would be against Vancouver.

I still think the winner of Flyers vs Pens is heading to the Finals (Flyers) but I'm not so sure they're cup bound. I think the Preds have a lot of momentum and the Flyers just showed way too many holes in their game during the Pens series. Horrible hockey for a few games there.

That Pittsburgh/Philly series was damn good.


Let's hope tonight both Ottawa and Phoenix can advance.

1,5h till battle!

Bummed the Pens are out but it is what it is. I knew that Philly would be the worst possible way to start in round one.

Now I am hoping for Philly and St. Louis in the Cup.

If the Rangers and Boston get knocked out then that will at least help a little bit to ease the pain of the Pens getting so worked.

I see your Gary Unger, and I raise you a Gary Dornhoefer and and a Bob Pulford.

I actually have the entire set of Esso Power Player cards from the first expansion period - then they came out with those 5 by 8 glossy photos. Got all those, too.

I'm going to KFC, then I'm digging them out.

I click submit, and I get a big old ad for virgin vagina. Not sure I even want to eat now.

Edit: I want a double down. brb.

A Shitload of Old Hockey Pics
 

I'd post this in its own thread, but few people care, so...

I know pro photogs want to know the details, so I used a "U-Cam" to grab these. From my Esso NHL Power Player Album 1970/1971 and a few snaps from the free pics The Toronto Sun handed out the first year it existed. If I ran them through the scanner I'd be here all night...

Maybe you recognize some of these dudes... (Oddly enough, I dig the book out of storage and its crusted with white powder that flakes off when I touch it... Got to thank my my ex-wife! So...)
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey01.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey02.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey03.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey04.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey05.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey06.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey07.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey08.jpg
http://www.garcemac.com/gfyhockey/gfyhockey09.jpg

Apparently I can't hotlink more than nine pictures off my server at one time, so I'll try to add the rest later.

Phoenix dominated the Hawks..wow

Loved it! after 5 OT games it was nice to see my Coyotes win 4 to 0.. Let's go Coyotes!! :thumbsup

oh man that brings back memories. that Esso promotion was HUGE, i can't believe they didn't keep doing it. growing up in a small city my parents usually patronized the businesses of people they knew and liked so we always went to a Texaco station owned by two Italian brothers who were clients of my dad. When Power Players came out he had to abandon them to switch to an Esso station for me the entire winter. There was a glossy photo cover to that black album.

If I could have figured out how to syphon gas out of his tank as a 7 year old I'd have done it. I would check the fuel gauge all the time hoping he was using lots of gas so we could get more Power Player sticker packs.

3 game 7's in 2 nights - hockey fan heaven.

Power players! In my thread no less! Garce you tha man. I spent a ton of hours trading those with the other kids on my street growing up. My PP's little blue wallet was packed fat with spares, had the soft cover album filled and was working on a second collection. Sadly, over the years my collection seems to have disappeared though. It was stored in my parents basement, to this day I don't know what became of them all but I'd kill to find them.

Game 7's coming up starting tonight I think. Hockey heaven is right.


Blackhawks -- They weren't dominated in that last game, they actually outplayed Phoenix for most of it in fact. It was one weird game, long stretches where the coyotes barely got to touch the puck, and only their goalie kept them alive. Chicago did all the dominating, all the play-making, had puck possession for most of the game, while Phoenix did simply one thing and one thing only.... scoring.

Not sure which team I'll cheer for now. I like the look of Nashville, like the vibe going on there, not an obvious hockey market but the love for their team and love for the game itself has really taken off there it seems. I like that.

I may have to back Ottawa though, assuming they win that game 7. I like the fact they've loosely recruited and at least temporarily called up Mark Stone for that one game, the kid from Winnipeg. He got an assist in that game and played quite strongly (as I knew he would, the kid is damn good).

Now to find those damn power players.... :(

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh oh please! Yes the first and part of the 2nd it was all blackhawks and yes shots on goal were very one sided BUT I would say a FOUR TO ZERO score would be dominated when the past 5 games went to OT..

To clarify (for those who have trouble understanding my meaning), Scoring -- yes, dominated.
GAMEPLAY -- so not dominated, in fact quite the opposite. Blackhawks dominated most of the game. It surprises me that anyone would even bother to disagree with me on this, even the commentators remarked that it seemed at times like the Coyotes weren't allowed to touch the puck. :1orglaugh

Based on actual gameplay, puck possession and scoring chances the score should have been about 11 to 4 in favor of Chicago. They just didn't know how to solve Mike Smith. The guy was a machine in that game.

"Oh please" indeed. :D