NHL playoffs 2011 thread

[BeauJangles]

Congrats to the Bruins. Tim Thomas was a man on a mission and he played like he was Neo in the Matrix. Boston's defense did a great job of cleaning up loose rebounds and, hey, all the bounces went the Bruins' way last night.

Luongo isn't nearly as poor of a goalie as he showed in the latter half of this series. Vancouver's defense could have helped him out a lot more.

As chippy as this series was, it was incredibly enjoyable. I also appreciate that Vancouver could be a gracious loser. I'm not sure that could have happened in Boston. It's funny to me that Vancouver tried to play lots of mental games with the Bruins, but ultimately it seems like it was Thomas' mental game that got in their heads. By last night, it seemed like Vancouver didn't expect to score.

Great series, well fought.

 

[Squisher]

Raffi retired last month. So I'm assuming the Red Wings have some extra $$ to get a replacement for him.

Looks likes Bieksa is getting $3.5m and Rafalski $6.0m

I would think $6.0m might attract a very nice defenceman.

 

[Dominato3r]

If that were Detroit rioting it would be indicative that the city was piss hole filled with worthless individuals.

By the way, are either of these teams going to over go an overhaul as far as cap space is concerned? Will the Canucks be able to keep Bieska if Detroit offers Rafalski money?

Bieksa stays, Ehrhoff on the other hand, I dont know.

What a pathetic showing by the Canucks, their fans, and even their owner. When your owner is cussing out reporters you know the class starts at the top. At least the Sedin sisters actually went out to take the pounding from the media, when every other player sat in the locker rooms and pouted.

As a lifelong hockey fan, that is the worst game 7 I've ever seen by any team. If I was unaware, there is no way I would think thats a Stanley cup final game. Looked like every game in Boston this series, completely unwatchable. What a waste!

Nah, you're just an AV's fan :awe:

 

[AMDZen]

Nah, you're just an AV's fan :awe:

I can assure you that all hockey fans that aren't Bruins fans or Canuck fans think that game was terrible. As was every game in Boston. Unwatchable

 

[Sentrosi2121]

Bad hockey is still hockey.
And I disagree AMDZen. I thought that each game had it's own underlying storyline which added some teeth to the series.

 

[Train]

I was not a fan of either team and I enjoyed this series.

 

[Train]

They let asians cheer for hockey in Canada?

are these the same people who think it's wrong to have NHL teams in warm weather places like Tampa?

 

[AMDZen]

They let asians cheer for hockey in Canada?

are these the same people who think it's wrong to have NHL teams in warm weather places like Tampa?

Obviously you've never been to Vancouver.

 

[AMDZen]

Bad hockey is still hockey.
And I disagree AMDZen. I thought that each game had it's own underlying storyline which added some teeth to the series.

I was not a fan of either team and I enjoyed this series.

How could you have enjoyed games 3, 4, 6 and 7? 1, 2 and 5 were good close games. One overtime. The others were complete and total blowouts by Boston.

I guess I just don't want to watch one sided affairs. Maybe you guys do

Compared to the last 3-4 years, the two with Pitts vs Det and the Phi Chi series last year, this one was downright boring. The rest of the playoffs was excellent. Which is maybe why it bothered me so much to see it end so anti-climatically

 

[SP33Demon]

How could you have enjoyed games 3, 4, 6 and 7? 1, 2 and 5 were good close games. One overtime. The others were complete and total blowouts by Boston.

I guess I just don't want to watch one sided affairs. Maybe you guys do

Compared to the last 3-4 years, the two with Pitts vs Det and the Phi Chi series last year, this one was downright boring. The rest of the playoffs was excellent. Which is maybe why it bothered me so much to see it end so anti-climatically

Game 3 was great because of "the hit" and how Boston responded.

All in all, I didn't want Maxim LaDive to get a ring. It was funny that the guys on Sirius/XM said the same thing, and also said the Sedins need to learn how to scrap more.

 

[silverpig]

the Sedins need to learn how to scrap more.

I think the opposite... I think the scrappiness needs to be taken out of the game. I love watching olympic hockey and the world juniors because you can't pull that stuff, and the skill shines through more.

Either that, or get rid of the enforcer rule. Marchand wouldn't punch Sedin 6 times if he had to answer to a goon on his next shift.

 

[SP33Demon]

I think the opposite... I think the scrappiness needs to be taken out of the game.

Dude, this isn't the NFL.

 

[BeauJangles]

Either that, or get rid of the enforcer rule. Marchand wouldn't punch Sedin 6 times if he had to answer to a goon on his next shift.

Nobody on Vancouver's team had the balls to actually fight.

 

[MotF Bane]

Nobody on Vancouver's team had the balls to actually fight.

Yep. They would have gotten killed.

t

 

[TheNinja]

I don't watch a lot of hockey, but it seems to me that it is the ONE main team sport where if you have a goalie who gets insanely hot (like Thomas this year, Niemi last year, Brodeur, etc.) you can win the cup riding his back basically. It's like a goalie gets in that zone and is able to take 4 out of 7 games no matter what the rest of the team does.

Maybe baseball pitchers could come close in the world series if they pitch 3 times. Like Lincecum/Cain - or that year where Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling basically pitched every game.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Dude, this isn't the NFL.

ka-powww

 

[silverpig]

Nobody on Vancouver's team had the balls to actually fight.

Oh no?

Bieksa fights regularly and does very well. Rome does too. Edler has a few times as well.

Torres, Kesler doesn't fight much but has before, Oreskovich, Glass...

 

[BeauJangles]

Oh no?

Bieksa fights regularly and does very well. Rome does too. Edler has a few times as well.

Torres, Kesler doesn't fight much but has before, Oreskovich, Glass...

It would have been nice for Vancouver if any of them had bothered to show up, then, would't it?

 

[silverpig]

I don't watch a lot of hockey, but it seems to me that it is the ONE main team sport where if you have a goalie who gets insanely hot (like Thomas this year, Niemi last year, Brodeur, etc.) you can win the cup riding his back basically. It's like a goalie gets in that zone and is able to take 4 out of 7 games no matter what the rest of the team does.

Maybe baseball pitchers could come close in the world series if they pitch 3 times. Like Lincecum/Cain - or that year where Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling basically pitched every game.

Yeah that is definitely true. Anaheim with JS Giguere is another great example. He wasn't an all star goalie then either. That's the thing is these no-name guys get $1m a year and are relatively mediocre, then get on a hot streak for a few months and win a cup. Meanwhile, your all-star $6m goalies are consistently the best in the league, but don't elevate their game to the turbo hot streak status that the cup winners usually have.

 

[silverpig]

It would have been nice for Vancouver if any of them had bothered to show up, then, would't it?

Instigator rule.

You also don't want Bieksa sitting out for 5 minutes during a playoff game.

 

[BeauJangles]

Instigator rule.

You also don't want Bieksa sitting out for 5 minutes during a playoff game.

I was speaking less specifically about the fighting and more specifically about how Vancouver didn't bother to show up after Game 2, maybe making a brief reappearance in Game 5.

 

[SP33Demon]

I don't watch a lot of hockey, but it seems to me that it is the ONE main team sport where if you have a goalie who gets insanely hot (like Thomas this year, Niemi last year, Brodeur, etc.) you can win the cup riding his back basically. It's like a goalie gets in that zone and is able to take 4 out of 7 games no matter what the rest of the team does.

Maybe baseball pitchers could come close in the world series if they pitch 3 times. Like Lincecum/Cain - or that year where Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling basically pitched every game.

Well, I think pitching is the best example of putting the team on your back but goalies are a little similar. The difference is that a great goalie is also the result of a great defense to a certain extent. Boston had a top 5 defense this year. And like someone else said, had Boston not immediately pounced on loose pucks in front of the net, we could be talking a different story. Had Boston given up the middle like in their losses, we could be talking a different story. In their zone, they basically shut down the middle + 10 feet in front of the net and made Vancouver shoot from the sides, which is obviously a huge advantage. Tim did have to make some big stops but Boston's clearing of pucks in front of the net with speed is also why they're champions.

While Vancouver's D was #1 during the regular season, they were missing 4 starters. Against a team like Boston, they didn't have the defensive depth to keep Boston from going hard at Luongo, especially considering the Bruins are a physical and large bodied team.

Vancouver also relies on a lot of speed to get odd man rushes to generate shots on goal. Often Boston's hitting in the neutral/defensive zone disrupted Vancouver when they wanted to move to Boston's zone. A Canuck would pass the puck but fail to avoid the hit which left a 2 on 2 (instead of having the extra man) going into Boston's zone. Hence why they tried the strategy of shooting right at Thomas from the neutral zone, or to the left/right of the cage because if they tried to pass along the boards too much, they would have to take the hit which disrupted their speed game.

 

[silverpig]

I was speaking less specifically about the fighting and more specifically about how Vancouver didn't bother to show up after Game 2, maybe making a brief reappearance in Game 5.

Ah. Point taken.

 

[thegimp03]

Sent to me by a buddy who is a Canucks fan...

http://i.imgur.com/yFfTt.jpg

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/4958986.bin?size=620x400

 

[sandorski]

Sent to me by a buddy who is a Canucks fan...

http://i.imgur.com/yFfTt.jpg

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/4958986.bin?size=620x400