Let's not all forget that the Blackhawks went OVER TWENTY GAMES without losing in regulation this season. Yea, the Pens got Iggy, but it's like we all have the memory of a goldfish if we suddenly just say GG to the Pens because of this trade. There are a lot of things that can go wrong in a playoff run (looking at you Fleury), and the Habs, Blackhawks, and Ducks have all had incredible form this year.
As a side note (ans since I'm such a shameless fan), the Wild won in a ridiculous give-up-a-two-goal-lead-and-then-make-an-awesome-last-minute-comeback-to-win-in-OT game last night, giving them their 7th straight win. They have a game in hand against the 'Nucks for the title race and are creeping up on the Ducks. Yea, I know, analysts always like talking about the "big" markets (although the Wild have some of the best attendance figures since they got here and are only getting more popular due to quality community outreach), but hey, since the upper Midwest gives y'all something like half the good American players that ever see the NHL, you'd think we deserve a little attention? The defense is as good as it has always been (great) and the offense is absolutely incredible over the last 15 games. Great vision and teamwork, with something like 3.5 G/G over the last 15, and far less reliance on scrappy, luck-based goals.
That said, I'm a little worried about the goaltending. Backstrom is proving to be one of the best in the league at the moment (incredible playing over this stretch), but we have no reliable back-up. Since Harding got diagnosed with MS, he isn't able to play due to medication problems, and while Kuemper is a decent goalie from the AHL, I don't know if he's back-up quality when it comes to the playoffs and Backstrom needs some rest.
rings are almost as bad as using +/- to compare talent. Chris Osgood is one of the best of all time if you do that and overlook his stats
fleury's maybe slightly above average at best
shit even just comparing him to active or recently retired dudes with 350+ games played he has some of the worst stats Khabi: 789 -.907-2.72-45 lu: 742 -.919-2.52-62 thomas: 693 -.917-2.56-49 theodore:648 -.909 -2.68 -33 js giggy: 565 -.913-2.53-36 turco: 543-.910-2.36-41 Ward: 431-.910 -2.74 -21 bryz: 414-.914-2.54-30 hedberg: 371-.902-2.82-22 backstrom: 353-.918 -2.41 -27
Agreed, the Wild arent a bad team but they risk facing a ferocious opposition in the 1st round ( detroit-Kings-Blues)...
Agreed that the Hawks are having a terrific season as well but they never have the horses nor the depth that the pens have. That and the fact that 25 regular season wins in a row doesnt mean anything when you start the 1st round of the playoffs.
and for the ducks, they will get rocked once the playoffs come. That is a Bruce Boudreau coached team; hell make miracles happen out of sheer shit ( his 1st pair of d-men is Beauchemin-Souray lol ) but once the playoffs come and the game tightens up like mad, they dont have the same success. Its sad cause I really like B.B. he played in SlapShot and brought the Caps to relevency again but hey, the run'n gun style doesnt win you cups anymore and theres a reason for that.
I just hope for an epic Mtl-Bos series in the 2nd round where Mtl gets crushed because they have a midget squad.
rings are almost as bad as using +/- to compare talent. Chris Osgood is one of the best of all time if you do that and overlook his stats
fleury's maybe slightly above average at best
In the end, rings are the only thing that counts... thats why they play the game...
Im not on a mission to defend fleury or anything but you know his first 2 seasons he had an ahl squad playing in front of him right? and that an 18 yrs old goalie set to start in the nhl is like feeding a baby to the lions lol.
I for one wouldnt mind having him in front of my net for the playoffs. just like I wouldnt have minded having Osgood all those years. A winners a winner.
Look at the Mike Smith- Bryzgalov thing; Smith was a pos before he played for Tippets ultra defensive system and Bryz. got terribad after he got that megadeal from philly and left Tippets system...
On March 29 2013 03:24 Kevin_Sorbo wrote: Agreed, the Wild arent a bad team but they risk facing a ferocious opposition in the 1st round ( detroit-Kings-Blues)...
Agreed that the Hawks are having a terrific season as well but they never have the horses nor the depth that the pens have. That and the fact that 25 regular season wins in a row doesnt mean anything when you start the 1st round of the playoffs.
and for the ducks, they will get rocked once the playoffs come. That is a Bruce Boudreau coached team; hell make miracles happen out of sheer shit ( his 1st pair of d-men is Beauchemin-Souray lol ) but once the playoffs come and the game tightens up like mad, they dont have the same success. Its sad cause I really like B.B. he played in SlapShot and brought the Caps to relevency again but hey, the run'n gun style doesnt win you cups anymore and theres a reason for that.
I just hope for an epic Mtl-Bos series in the 2nd round where Mtl gets crushed because they have a midget squad.
my money would be on the pens for the cup though.
Really stepping out on a limb by saying pens for the cup :D haha
On March 29 2013 03:33 Kevin_Sorbo wrote: In the end, rings are the only thing that counts... thats why they play the game...
You're right. Claude Lemieux is a far better player than Phil Housley, Pat Lafontaine, and all other players who never won a bunch of cups on the strength of being fortunate enough to be part of a great team.
On March 29 2013 03:33 Kevin_Sorbo wrote: In the end, rings are the only thing that counts... thats why they play the game...
You're right. Claude Lemieux is a far better player than Phil Housley, Pat Lafontaine, and all other players who never won a bunch of cups on the strength of being fortunate enough to be part of a great team.
Claude Lemieux is one of the best playoff goal scorers in the history of the NHL. He played on "goalie teams".
What superstar line mates did he have in 1986 again? uhhh ya. the 1986 Canadiens had no business winning the Cup that year save for 2 guys no one had ever heard of before.
Patrick Roy.. and u guessed it... Claude Lemieux.
The 1986 Canadiens and 1995 New Jersey Devils were hardly "great". But, Lemieux played great on both teams.
Claude Lemieux is 1000X better playoff performer than Pat Lafountaine and Phil Housley.
Claude Lemieux was an epic player, one of the great legends of the playoffs. When we were kids we used to tell each other about the legend of the rasor blade in his glove to fake blood and get hi-stick calls haha. Even the last playoff he had for the worthless sharks a cpl years ago hed get on the ice bang 3 guys and get the attack going and he was a hopkinslike 46 or something... wow what a beast!!
Marcel dionne was one of the great players in the history of the league but always played on a shitty team, sucked for him. Whats funny is that his brother Gilbert wasnt half as good and won with mtl.
Roy was some kind of TIger Woods god of the game when it came to playoffs hed always be one stroke under the other team. hes got 4 rings and 3 conn smythes. Considering the era and the teams he played for its pretty good. Hes the only reason the fckn habs aura of glory has been prolonged into the 21st century... -__-
Randy Carlyle has done a great job coaching the Leafs this year. Scratching Gardiner was yet another great move. The change in style in dealing with the team in crisis times shows the guys amazing hockey instincts and people instincts. It now appears the Leaf change in goalie coach was at the behest of Carlyle and the beginning of the end for Burke.
All those guys that picked the Leafs for dead last just ignored the fact that Carlyle has been a good hockey man his entire life.
On March 29 2013 21:17 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Randy Carlyle has done a great job coaching the Leafs this year. Scratching Gardiner was yet another great move. The change in style in dealing with the team in crisis times shows the guys amazing hockey instincts and people instincts. It now appears the Leaf change in goalie coach was at the behest of Carlyle and the beginning of the end for Burke.
All those guys that picked the Leafs for dead last just ignored the fact that Carlyle has been a good hockey man his entire life.
Ofc it was a great move when the kid was playing like shit and it was a dead giveaway in his pre-game interview when he said it comes down to who's giving up more compared to the opportunities they generate. Last 3 games Gardiner has played in he's been shaky. It was a no-brainer. Anyway, they're playing a lot more D and the forwards are somewhat supporting but we're still leading the league with the most turnovers and when it comes to getting the damn puck out. Guys are too soft or make mistakes. The good thing about the Leafs this year is the fact a few players have been getting hot at a time and it helps when you have so many weapons at your disposal. Right now Lupul is the hottest player for the last week and a bit when you include the games he played in before the suspension he has had 1 goal in every game. What is it at now? 7 games with a goal (5 games with the suspension and 7 goals and a few assists apparently). The dude's on fire.
On March 29 2013 21:17 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Randy Carlyle has done a great job coaching the Leafs this year. Scratching Gardiner was yet another great move. The change in style in dealing with the team in crisis times shows the guys amazing hockey instincts and people instincts. It now appears the Leaf change in goalie coach was at the behest of Carlyle and the beginning of the end for Burke.
All those guys that picked the Leafs for dead last just ignored the fact that Carlyle has been a good hockey man his entire life.
Ofc it was a great move when the kid was playing like shit and it was a dead giveaway in his pre-game interview when he said it comes down to who's giving up more compared to the opportunities they generate. Last 3 games Gardiner has played in he's been shaky. It was a no-brainer.
the "no brainer" decisions with Nazim Kadri and Luke Schenn were not made in the past few years under a different regime. and for players with big contracts they were guaranteed playing time under any and all circumstances. Komisarek is in the AHL now.. where he should've been during Burke's entire tenure.
On March 29 2013 21:17 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Randy Carlyle has done a great job coaching the Leafs this year. Scratching Gardiner was yet another great move. The change in style in dealing with the team in crisis times shows the guys amazing hockey instincts and people instincts. It now appears the Leaf change in goalie coach was at the behest of Carlyle and the beginning of the end for Burke.
All those guys that picked the Leafs for dead last just ignored the fact that Carlyle has been a good hockey man his entire life.
Ofc it was a great move when the kid was playing like shit and it was a dead giveaway in his pre-game interview when he said it comes down to who's giving up more compared to the opportunities they generate. Last 3 games Gardiner has played in he's been shaky. It was a no-brainer.
the "no brainer" decisions with Nazim Kadri and Luke Schenn were not made in the past few years under a different regime. and for players with big contracts they were guaranteed playing time under any and all circumstances. Komisarek is in the AHL now.. where he should've been during Burke's entire tenure.
Nothing is guaranteed man in this league man and when you know the team's credo and philosophy. It made perfect sense that Gardiner would be benched. That's why it's a no brainer after listening and knowing what the coach is all about. You can compare coaches all you want but that's in the past. As for GMs in as a whole. They rarely live up and say they made a mistake. They stick by their guns on players and Burke is no different when it came to Komi. Reason he brought him is because he was gritty and truculent. Doesn't mean the guy can stake.
On March 29 2013 01:22 Flaccid wrote: MAF is the most over-rated goalie in the league. He sucks, but gets praise because high draft pick
He gets praise not because he was a high draft pick, but because he has incredibly hot streaks where he plays like a Vezina winner, and one of them happened during the entire duration of a 20 games SCF run (2008). With Vokoun pushing him, I feel confident enough.
EPT
