NHL 2011-2012 Thread
- Thread starter Joel
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Joel
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- Noob616
I think the Predators just might upset the Red Wings in 7, but it'll be a really tough series for both teams. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Canucks go deep again (particularly with the addition on Pahlsonn, Kesler won't have to be worn down as much by shadowing the best players on the other teams). If I were to pick a cup favourite, it would be Pittsburgh, assuming that Fleury is OK (he left the game vs the Islanders tonight after a collision with a forward on his own team).
The Penguins are just so deep. The only place that is a bit of a weakness is on D, where they aren't top 3 in the league but are still a good D corps. Fleury is a good goalie, IMO he's overrated but can certainly get the job done. And any team playing against the Penguins shouldn't have to worry about the Penguins PP, as it will generally be over in about 6 or 7 seconds. (Joke stolen from downgoesbrown.com)
I just think with the monster season Malkin's had, and Crosby coming back free from the wear and tear of a season, look out. I can't see anyone other than Boston beating them out of the East, although as a Habs fan we definitely proved anything's possible a couple years back.
I dunno, out of the West I'd say Vancouver, or Nashville, potentially St. Louis if Halak resembles a 4 by 6 brick wall again. Out of the East, Pittsburgh, or Boston for the repeat (oh god please no).
The Penguins are just so deep. The only place that is a bit of a weakness is on D, where they aren't top 3 in the league but are still a good D corps. Fleury is a good goalie, IMO he's overrated but can certainly get the job done. And any team playing against the Penguins shouldn't have to worry about the Penguins PP, as it will generally be over in about 6 or 7 seconds. (Joke stolen from downgoesbrown.com)
I just think with the monster season Malkin's had, and Crosby coming back free from the wear and tear of a season, look out. I can't see anyone other than Boston beating them out of the East, although as a Habs fan we definitely proved anything's possible a couple years back.
I dunno, out of the West I'd say Vancouver, or Nashville, potentially St. Louis if Halak resembles a 4 by 6 brick wall again. Out of the East, Pittsburgh, or Boston for the repeat (oh god please no).
David
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- 2,732
Damn Penguins just can't seal the deal and get ahead of the Rangers. I thought they would still be able to take down the Isles last night, but I guese the defense missing Letang and Niskanen with injuries was just too much. I would really hate to have to play Philly in the first round, especially given our record against them this year.
I went to the Verizon Center last night to see the Capitals play the Sabres. It should have been a good game, but the Caps looked like they were asleep. Certainly not what I expected to see with their playoff chances on the line. There were also tons of Buffalo fans at the game. Anyway, here are some crappy cell phone pics I took. Sat in Row D of the 100 section, right next to the Caps tunnel. First time I've been that close to the ice.
I went to the Verizon Center last night to see the Capitals play the Sabres. It should have been a good game, but the Caps looked like they were asleep. Certainly not what I expected to see with their playoff chances on the line. There were also tons of Buffalo fans at the game. Anyway, here are some crappy cell phone pics I took. Sat in Row D of the 100 section, right next to the Caps tunnel. First time I've been that close to the ice.
Joel
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Nice pictures! I'm hoping the Capitals make the playoffs, for three reasons.
1. Roman Hamrlik, guy was a beast in Montreal, and I'd like to see him win a cup.
2. Jeff Halpern, see above.
3. The NYR/WSH series last year was one of the most entertaining of the playoffs, and a rematch would be awesome.
Ideally I'd like to have seen Winnipeg get the 8th spot, but that isn't happening, so I'd rather see the Capitals there than the Sabres. I think the Capitals would be a better match for the Rangers anyway, would be a more interesting series.
1. Roman Hamrlik, guy was a beast in Montreal, and I'd like to see him win a cup.
2. Jeff Halpern, see above.
3. The NYR/WSH series last year was one of the most entertaining of the playoffs, and a rematch would be awesome.
Ideally I'd like to have seen Winnipeg get the 8th spot, but that isn't happening, so I'd rather see the Capitals there than the Sabres. I think the Capitals would be a better match for the Rangers anyway, would be a more interesting series.
- 3,460
- Hollywood
Preds clinched a playoff spot tonight. Good things happen when I wear the 06-07 home jersey I have (2 dollars a Goodwill. Nifty and Thrifty).
What happened to the love for the Islanders?
Will the Bruins carry on their good form tonight against the Caps? #BruinsWillDestroyEveryoneOnTheIce
- 26,910
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
I heard a few days ago that the Detroit Red Wings have now made the playoffs for 21 straight seasons. You have to be a great team to make the playoffs this many successive years/seasons. That is no doubt one of the best teams in all of the NHL. This, speaking as a guy who watches hockey about as rarely as he watches football (as in soccer).
Congrats to the Red Wings as well as every other team who got into this season's playoffs.
Congrats to the Red Wings as well as every other team who got into this season's playoffs.
- 2,547
- Vancouver, BC
dchPSUone
Those are some great seats, I am quite jealous. Those seats literally cost an arm and a leg here
I think $450 is on the ticket but those sold out 3 months prior to the season so a street price of roughly $550-600 
I watched one game that close once and I couldn't get over just how big those guys actually are and how fast the play really happens. It's one thing on TV but an entirely different when you are down that close.
VandenalPreds clinched a playoff spot tonight. Good things happen when I wear the 06-07 home jersey I have (2 dollars a Goodwill. Nifty and Thrifty
A nice find. I'm afraid of this year's playoffs.
The Blues, Preds and Wings all scare me very much. I'm hoping for a first round series with Phoenix
Oh and the Canucks launched a campaign yesterday promoting safe celebrations
They are scared to death of another riot. No public viewing of games downtown this year either.... Makes sense but kind of sucks. I was down there for one game last year and it's pretty cool cheering with people you've never met in the middle of a street. Oh well... damn rioters.
- 5,693
- Canada
@Marinadiamandis: Islanders are just as bad as my Habs this year. Except the Habs fail for Mikhail. I need to bandwagon jump to a playoff team . I've had the Preds jersey since Grade 7 (4 years ago). There's more flip-flop in my choices than flip-flop in flip-flops.
. I've had the Preds jersey since Grade 7 (4 years ago). There's more flip-flop in my choices than flip-flop in flip-flops.
Joel
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My bandwagon team is the Predators, because of Hal Gill and the Kostitsyn Bros (also because Shea Weber is badass).
That being said, I'm not going to be actively cheering for any team this year. I'll just be watching because it's entertaining hockey. The Red Wings/Predators series will be awesome in particular. I just can't wait, even without Montreal being in them
That being said, I'm not going to be actively cheering for any team this year. I'll just be watching because it's entertaining hockey. The Red Wings/Predators series will be awesome in particular. I just can't wait, even without Montreal being in them
- 26,910
- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
The NHL Playoffs are set! Here are your alignments:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa
#2 Boston vs. #7 Washington
#3 Florida vs. #6 New Jersey
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 Vancouver vs. #8 Los Angeles
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 San Jose
#3 Phoenix vs. #6 Chicago
#4 Nashville vs. #5 Detroit
One thing is guaranteed- a Pennsylvania team WILL advance to the next round. That will basically be a glorified battle for the Keystone State to determine who will advance to the next round.
Lord Stanley would love to give his cup to sixteen proven teams. However, only one will win the Stanley Cup. Who will that team be? We'll find out starting April 11th. Best of luck to all sixteen teams. Go all the way. Tell it, GTPlanet- who'll win this season's title?
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa
#2 Boston vs. #7 Washington
#3 Florida vs. #6 New Jersey
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 Vancouver vs. #8 Los Angeles
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 San Jose
#3 Phoenix vs. #6 Chicago
#4 Nashville vs. #5 Detroit
One thing is guaranteed- a Pennsylvania team WILL advance to the next round. That will basically be a glorified battle for the Keystone State to determine who will advance to the next round.
Lord Stanley would love to give his cup to sixteen proven teams. However, only one will win the Stanley Cup. Who will that team be? We'll find out starting April 11th. Best of luck to all sixteen teams. Go all the way. Tell it, GTPlanet- who'll win this season's title?
Joel
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EASTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa
#2 Boston vs. #7 Washington
#3 Florida vs. #6 New Jersey
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 Vancouver vs. #8 Los Angeles
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 San Jose
#3 Phoenix vs. #6 Chicago
#4 Nashville vs. #5 Detroit
My Eastern conference picks are New York in 5, Boston in 6, New Jersey in 6, and Pittsburgh in 5.
For the west, Vancouver in 6, St. Louis in 6, Chicago in 7, and Detroit in 7.
Overall I think it's going to be a Pittsburgh-Vancouver final, and Pittsburgh will win, so the entire province of British Columbia will go into a full scale revolt, and martial law will be declared.
#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa
#2 Boston vs. #7 Washington
#3 Florida vs. #6 New Jersey
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #5 Philadelphia
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
#1 Vancouver vs. #8 Los Angeles
#2 St. Louis vs. #7 San Jose
#3 Phoenix vs. #6 Chicago
#4 Nashville vs. #5 Detroit
My Eastern conference picks are New York in 5, Boston in 6, New Jersey in 6, and Pittsburgh in 5.
For the west, Vancouver in 6, St. Louis in 6, Chicago in 7, and Detroit in 7.
Overall I think it's going to be a Pittsburgh-Vancouver final, and Pittsburgh will win, so the entire province of British Columbia will go into a full scale revolt, and martial law will be declared.
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- 2,547
- Vancouver, BC
ASH32
I'm going to have to strongly disagree. I don't see them ever beating Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, or Boston. I actually think they are a pretty good candidate to be a first round upset to Ottawa.
Noob616
If it goes to game 7 again and we lose then the hockey fans might actually riot this year. Last year the riots were prearranged on Facebook, craigslist and twitter. The number of people who couldn't care less about hockey far outweighed the number who did in those riots. There were people with signs saying "Riot 2011" on them... I have doubts that they just whipped that up in the middle of the riot.
It's unfortunate a bunch of idiots can make Vancouver and Canuck fans look like they do at the moment. Mayor announced the other day that there will be no city hosted playoff parties this year, that's where the riots started from last year. He failed to mention in his speech that he was so woefully under prepared that he realized 2 hours into the riot that the rest of his SWAT team was in a city 1 1/2 hours away.
Joel
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The Panthers...I dunno. Joisey may be cabbage but Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk are both pretty damn good cabbage. There's also goal differential, the Panthers were like minus 20 in goal differential on the season, Devils were at least +15 or so.
All that being said, go Panthers. I'm definitely not a Jersey fan, but they'd be my pick if I were a betting man.
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Joel
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As in players for a fantasy pool, or teams?
For teams, I'd say Washington and Chicago (although the Blackhawks have more points than the Coyotes).
I picked Boston in 6 above, but that could very easily be Washington in 6. They're finally going into the playoffs as the underdog rather than the favourite, and Ovechkin is back to being Ovechkin again finally, and he's typically a badass in the playoffs anyway (37GP, 25G, 25A, 50P). Alex Semin is a bit of a wildcard too, if he and Ovechkin heat up, it's lights out for the Bruins. Also Roman Hamrlik is an X-factor. He hasn't played as well this year as his past few seasons with Montreal, but he has a lot of experience and past success in playoff games against the Bruins. If I were to be picking for a real "upset", that would definitely be it.
For teams, I'd say Washington and Chicago (although the Blackhawks have more points than the Coyotes).
I picked Boston in 6 above, but that could very easily be Washington in 6. They're finally going into the playoffs as the underdog rather than the favourite, and Ovechkin is back to being Ovechkin again finally, and he's typically a badass in the playoffs anyway (37GP, 25G, 25A, 50P). Alex Semin is a bit of a wildcard too, if he and Ovechkin heat up, it's lights out for the Bruins. Also Roman Hamrlik is an X-factor. He hasn't played as well this year as his past few seasons with Montreal, but he has a lot of experience and past success in playoff games against the Bruins. If I were to be picking for a real "upset", that would definitely be it.
Joel
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I really don't think the Senators will beat the Rangers. They're just a stronger team in every way, save for the PP. I guess anything's possible, but I dunno. Also, after potentially beating the Rangers they'd likely have to play Boston or Pittsburgh, and I doubt they can beat those teams either. Not to say I'm not hoping to be proven wrong!
Joel
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I'd really like the Senators to pull off the upset, I'm not a Rangers fan in the slightest. I just don't want to say that I think it'll happen, because I really don't think it's too likely. Then again, they did win the season series.
What a finish to the PIT-PHI game tonight, I'm still picking the Penguins to win, but wow. What a series this is going to be. As for DET-NSH, I worry that Weber slamming Zetterberg's head into the glass was a really dumb move. If he gets suspended for even a game or two, it gets really hard for the Predators to have a hope of winning the series. Suter is a hell of a defenseman too, but without Weber the pairing isn't nearly as strong.
As for tonight, I'm intrigued to see who will win between the Canucks and Kings. I'd pick the Canucks for the series win, but I think it's going to be a tightly fought series. The Kings are better than their place in the standings would indicate.
