Stanley Cup Playoff Thread

[Donald A]

Okay...guess you couldn't get a towel.

Choke of EPIC proportion by Montreal last night. Wow....

Check your private messages

[Pagan]

Donald....you so rock!

[Ian]

It has been horrible both ways which in the playoffs there is no excuse for period! Not only true in this series but pretty bad overall from the games I saw. I heard that the officials were addressed by the league after Friday night's game at the Rock

Well last night didn't improve things much. Not that the calls were bad necessarily, but I hate when the refs mess the flow of the game up like that. WAY too many penalties called. And too inconsistent ... some stuff was penalties in the first period and not in the second or third. Annoying.

Happy with the outcome, though!

RE: Kovalchuk, Dan Carcillo has as many goals this playoffs as he does. I'm just sayin'

[Ian]

Huh. I have to say that, while I thought the Flyers had a chance to win this series, I really didn't expect it to be this easy. The Devils appear to have largely just given up. I mean they couldn't even score a single goal in the last five periods of hockey they played.

And listen ... "Marty" has had a great career and he's a sure-fire Hall of Fame goalie, but he's done. He'll play a few more seasons I'm sure, but he's not the same goalie he used to be. He was below average in this series and even that's being kind of generous. When you get dramatically outplayed by Brian Boucher, who was ranked as the worst goaltender heading into this year's playoffs, that's not a good thing.

Brian Boucher finished the series with a 1.59 GAA and a .940 save percentage. Brodeur had a 3.01 GAA and a .881 save percentage, which is pretty brutal.

Too bad we're about to get smoked in the next round by the Caps.

[Pagan]

Too bad we're about to get smoked in the next round by the Caps.

Bro, EVERYONE'S gunna get smoked by the Caps.

[Ian]

Bro, EVERYONE'S gunna get smoked by the Caps.

That's certainly what it looks like. They're like a team on a mission this year. I think they're still really angry they lost to the Pens last season. I think they felt like they were the better team.

Honestly, I don't mind losing to them. The Flyers really didn't even deserve to make the playoffs the way they played down the stretch and they're obviously not even close to as good as the top teams in the Conference.

[JPL]

Disappointed Yes! Surprised not really! Flyers were the worst possible first round draw for the Devils.Basically this series cames down to the Flyers special teams being better than the Devils Special teams.

As for Boucher out playing Broduer in a sense yes and in another snese not at all. Most of the goals the Flyers scored were unstoppable by anyone and the Devils never really challenged Boucher like they should have. Not to take anything away from Boucher he made some timely stops and did enough to win the games but he also had much more Defensive support than Marty did.

[Donald A]

Bro, EVERYONE'S gunna get smoked by the Caps.

The Caps have some offensive firpower and are among the best in the league with Ovechkin, but I am not so sure that they are hands down the best team in the playoffs RIGHT NOW.

Varlamov is not the caliber of a goaltender to guarantee a run to the Cup. Let's keep in mind that this guy played much of the season in the AHL in Hershey. I also think Green is over-rated and that Ovechkin does not contribute as well as the could defensively.

Earlier in the year, I made it a point to go see the Caps play the Pens (Weeknight game, not my favorite). I noticed Ovechkin hovered around the blue line defensively. Now I know he is a wing and not a center so he doesn't belong in that deep. However, I think you need a guy like that to chip in defensively. I know I am biased with Crosby but he plays well in all facets of the game. I was fortunate to attend game 2 of the playoffs and watch him single-handedly make a save. Sometimes defense is more important the offense and I am wondering if this may hurt the Caps.

[Ian]

As for Boucher out playing Broduer in a sense yes and in another snese not at all. Most of the goals the Flyers scored were unstoppable by anyone and the Devils never really challenged Boucher like they should have. Not to take anything away from Boucher he made some timely stops and did enough to win the games but he also had much more Defensive support than Marty did.

Trust me, Jeff ... that was mostly just a friendly dig at you ... there's no planet on which Boucher is in any way, shape, or form a better goalie than Brodeur.

Even the most deluded Flyer fans on the planet would agree with that!

[PirateLover]

I am so so happy that the Flyers beat the Devils, I don't even care if they get swept in the next round, honestly. I'm happy enough with the Phillies successful years right now. I do want to see a Stanley Cup in my life time (desperately so), but this team now has too many key players injured to make it all the way, so I'm not gonna get all hyped up. I didn't even expect them to make the playoffs down the stretch. That being said, my fiance and his brother are both fans of and the brother in particular is SO obnoxious about it. He is the best man in our upcoming wedding and I just know I would not hear the end of it. So thanks, hockey gods!

[JPL]

Trust me, Jeff ... that was mostly just a friendly dig at you ... there's no planet on which Boucher is in any way, shape, or form a better goalie than Brodeur.

Even the most deluded Flyer fans on the planet would agree with that!

Maybe I should introduce you to my friend Danny

He is basically looking at this as proof the Flyers should have kept Boucher the last 10 years and they would have a won at least 1 Cup

[Ian]

He is basically looking at this as proof the Flyers should have kept Boucher the last 10 years and they would have a won at least 1 Cup

[seanyred]

Nervous about tonights Hawks game. Hoping that miraculous come back win after giving the game away to the Preds motivates them to take control of tonights game and never let go of the lead. Cause if there is a game 7 I could easily see the Preds winning.

[Pagan]

Four down, twelve more to go.

[Ian]

Hmmm ... a game seven in the Caps/Habs series ... interesting.

[Pagan]

Hmmm ... a game seven in the Caps/Habs series ... interesting.

I'm telling ya!

If Montreal can pull off this upset, I'll feel ALOT better about the Pens chances this year!

[Ian]

Me too ... they're so clearly the class of the conference.

Pens would have to be the favorite if the Caps drop out, I would think.

[Pagan]

I just hope we get another Pens/Flyers series.

Those two teams HATE each other. Always makes for great playoff hockey!

[Ian]

I just hope we get another Pens/Flyers series.

Those two teams HATE each other. Always makes for great playoff hockey!

Oh yeah ... I'd love a good revenge series!

[PirateLover]

Bad news for Flyers fans

Right winger Ian Laperriere, called "a heart and soul guy on our hockey team" by Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren on Tuesday, will likely miss the rest of the playoffs.

Crazy computer posted the message before I could add that this is due to a brain contusion which could potentially be CAREER ending