Although they lost in the seventh game, I am proud of the Vancouver Canucks. They fought until the bitter end, forbearing the Bertuzzi affair as well as Cloutier’s leave.
I shall be happy if a Canadian team wins the cup.
; _ ; <br>
While I don’t agree with your first example because that was more the goal judge’s fault and even then, all the different angles were inconclusive. Inconclusive evidence = ref’s original call, which was a goal. The second example is because the net came off before the puck went in (I think that is what you’re referring too.
I agree with the point though. With the two-ref system, there’s too much of a discrepency. What one ref might call, another ref would let go. They should go back to a one-referee system and (preferably) more frequent training/refresher courses for the refs.
Tampa Bay should win? TAMPA BAY?
Has anyone noticed something wrong with this? Has anyone noticed something wrong with Tampa Bay having a hockey team at all? Have none of you noticed that Tampa Bay is in Florida and gets no snow whatsoever?
That’s why I dislike hockey. Why does Tampa Bay have a team? Why is Tampa Bay a team seperate from Florida’s team? Why does Dallas have a team stolen from Minnesota (a state that SHOULD have a hockey team, damnit!) Why does Nashville of all damn places have a team?
'tarded.
The Tampa Bay coach apparently modelled the Lightnings after Ottawa’s setup, and that’s why they’re so far right now. They have an advantage in that they don’t have to deal with Toronto (yet) 
Ez told me to start an argument because he’s bored. So uh, Iginla sucks shit and everyone who isn’t him wants to shoot him in the head. Have fun Ez.
tuh, you suck Hades. =P
Oh blah, less than 10 minutes to go and Ottawa is down by 3. I don’t like rooting for them, but I have to admit that Toronto has a very good team. They have a deep (if somewhat old) roster and Belfour’s played well in the playoffs.
How many swears am I allowed to use in this thread before I’d get Pikachu’d? I’d like to know so I can vent just enough to not get forsaken. :too bad;
It’s not like the Sens won any other game 7’s…
Uh, the southern expansion was to get national coverage of the NHL. Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose, Miami, Tampa Bay and Atlanta are big TV markets, and they would be idiots if the NHL were to ignore it. Tampa Bay has finally made themselves into something after sucking for more than a decade. Not counting '96, though.
The fact that Tampa gets no snow means that they shouldn’t be a NHL franchise? The NHL is a business.
And sorry, but what the hell are you talking about? I don’t think you’ve been watching anything. Observe: http://www.wild.com/
Let’s all forget the team that made it to the Western Conference finals last year. (And lost brutally to Anaheim)
man, Ottawa is out too? Blah, there’s basically no teams left interesting enough or who I’d want to see win this playoff year. There are three classes of hockey teams I just don’t like:
- Hugely expensive, star-laden poweropolises (Detroit, Colorado, Philadelphia, Toronto)
- Dinky wimpy trapping teams that play passive dull defense-only hockey (Montreal, San Jose maybe)
- Teams who’s success relies solely on their goalie (Calgary maybe, Tampa Bay maybe, San Jose maybe, Montreal maybe)
Normally I’d probably pull for Calgary or San Jose right now, but that’s still problematic. I like San Jose’s team-based approach (their highest scorer only got 65 points), but besides the fact that SJ sort of fits in two of the above categories, I’ve just always disliked SJ because they’re the prototypically annoying “model” expansion franchise. Calgary was always a team I historically loved, but I feel like every time they make a pass this playoffs the announcer is going to talk about the team only in terms of comparing them to Anaheim last year. Which will get old fast. I also have a suspicion they play a little on the dirty-side. If one of the powers win, fine, I can’t really put my finger on how TB plays yet, and Montreal needs to lose. They deserved the series win, but they are a loathsome example of a hockey team who’s simpering rivals only Toronto (but at least they don’t play dirty like the Leafs). Of the powerhouses, I’d prefer Detroit or Colorado because their style is more appealing than Philly’s or Toronto’s.
But this is nothing, the first year I watched playoff hockey seriously (when Colorado won against Florida), I think in every single matchup in every round the team I wanted to win lost
Despite all that, here are my picks for each round:
Detroit over Calgary in 6
Colorado over San Jose in 7
Tampa Bay over Montreal in 5
Toronto over Philadelphia in 6
Colorado over Detroit in 7
Toronto over Tampa Bay in 6
Colorado over Toronto in 6
I really do agree about Calgary. After Iginla, there’s a huge drop-off in scoring. The defence and goaltending has saved the Flames so many times. And yeah, I find it irritating to no end sometimes (the comparison between Calgary and Anaheim), but I get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I root for the whole team. As for the dirty part, I think that at least Gauthier’s suspension in January could’ve gone either way and as for the brouhaha in Nashville, I can’t explain that.
As for San Jose, I agree to some extent but it’s not nearly as bad as other trap-heavy team, from what I’ve seen.
Ah yes, Toronto. I think it’s not so much the players or team I hate; it’s the media and the fans. All I ever hear out of Toronto is constant bitching about how much the team sucks. I’ve never heard anything from Montreal about that, but that’s just me. Misc note: TB plays a very similar style to Ottawa
For your 3 peeves:
- Agree totally.
- Agree totally.
- I wouldn’t say this applies to SJ or TB, but I agree otherwise.
I know I rambled in this post, but I may as well end it with my picks.
Wings or Flames (either way) in 7
San Jose over Colorado in 7
Philly over Toronto in 6
Tampa Bay over Montreal in 4
San Jose over Wings/Flames in 6
Tampa over Philly in 5
San Jose over Tampa in 7
Lets go Sharks!
For anyone who doesn’t wanna read this absurdly long post, here’s it in a nutshell: “I like American Teams but not Canadian Teams, and Montreal needs to lose because they kicked out Boston and I have a grudge against them.”
No no, don’t thank me. I love paraphrasing. And Toronto is NOT a poweropolis. They’re definately an underdog.
And all teams’ success lies solely in their goalie. Seriously, take any team’s goalie away and watch the results. It wont be pretty.
And as for hating defense-only teams, were you not going for Germany last World Cup? Double standards are funnnnn ^^
Umm, Germany wasn’t really a defense-only team. They had an effective defense, but it’s not like they ever sat back on a 1-0 lead.
And let’s face it, the NHL has become dependent on the American markets. The Canadian teams are only 20% of the league. Well, it’s not like it matters to you since hockey is ruined forever, now that the Canucks are out.
>For anyone who doesn’t wanna read this absurdly long post, here’s it in a nutshell: “I like American Teams but not Canadian Teams, and Montreal needs to lose because they kicked out Boston and I have a grudge against them.”
Not at all. Of my four favorite teams overall, two are Canadian clubs (Edmonton and Calgary). I also like Ottawa a lot (the team chemistry is dynamic, the character of the players is pretty amazing, and they play an offensive style without the big bucks of some other clubs), and I admire the job Brian Burke has done with Vancouver. The problem is that besides Calgary, I don’t really like the other Canadian teams left; largely because of their playing styles. When I was younger I was a big fan of Toronto, but lately they’ve just become a high-priced team of complainers that plays on the dirty side (Bryan Marchment? Darcy Tucker? Tie Domi? even Gary Roberts to a degree). And Montreal’s behavior during the playoff series with Boston (besides the way in which they stuck together and won the series) was pathetic. Ribeiro? Kovalev? Bulis? Markov?
>And Toronto is NOT a poweropolis. They’re definately an underdog.
hahahahaha. Top six teams in terms of payroll, 2003-2004 season.
Detroit Red Wings $ 77,856,109
New York Rangers $ 76,488,716
Dallas Stars $ 68,578,885
Philadelphia Flyers $ 68,175,247
Colorado Avalanche $ 63,382,458
<b>Toronto Maple Leafs $ 62,458,140</b>
and I don’t think that counts their trade deadline aquisitions of Leetch, Francis, and whoever else they acquired.
>And all teams’ success lies solely in their goalie. Seriously, take any team’s goalie away and watch the results. It wont be pretty.
That’s not entirely true. It is possible to win playoff rounds without absolutely brilliant goaltending. But, teams can win just because they have an absolutely brilliant goalie, even if the rest of the team is crap.
>And as for hating defense-only teams, were you not going for Germany last World Cup? Double standards are funnnnn ^^
No, I was pulling for the United States to upset Germany. I rooted for Brazil in the finals.
No. Actually, that was me. Merlin was rooting for Brazil in the finals, specifically because they employ a more aggressive and offense oriented style. I was the one rooting for Germany because Brazil had already won four times. And then he yelled at me for backing one of those boring, stodgy, defense first 1-0 is great euro squads. 
man, wrong on all counts Hades. It’s like the good old days
Actually, I was only wrong on the first and last. Toronto is not a poweropolis. I don’t care how much they get payed, they have an average team at best. And not winning the cup for 5 decades. Yeah, definately a poweropolis there. You can feel the power pumping through their veins all the way from Mexico.
And all teams rely solely on their goalie. I don’t care how you try to cute-ify your phrasing. If you don’t have a goalie, you’re fried. End of story. The goalie is the only position that a team simply cannot go without. And let’s see Toronto win without a single player on the ice. Belfour’s good, but he can’t score from the other side of the ice. You need both a good goalie and good players to win.
It’s also clear that you have a grudge against Montreal. Saying you don’t is just plain lying.
Good job going for Brazil though. But dont’ make such bigotted and conspicuously false and exaggerated statements about how “wrong” I am in the future. It’s annoyingly frustrating because you’re the one who’s wrong, and you’re accusing someone else of being wrong. Like grah, can you not think?