Thought I would start this thread for all the east Stanley Cup Playoffs.

My head is spinning looking at all the possible scenarios in the Eastern conference. As far as I can determine by looking at the standings (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) only the Buffalo Sabres are certain of their seed (#4) and even they don't know yet who their #5 opponent will be yet. It all comes down to the final games tonight...

Marc,

here's to another Lightning/Flames Stanley Cup run! :cool:

To all those who bitch about the playoff seedings for their teams (and there WILL be those who do), just remember...at least your teams made the playoffs! The Penguins were out of the playoff race from the gate, with their woeful defense, and the drama of switching coaches mid-way through the season.

I want to see San Jose advance, because I think Joe Thornton is delicious, and I'll be temporary changing alliances to the Flyers this year. The reasoning is two-fold. First, because I can--SO THERE! And two, Philly's going to be my new home, so I need to learn to support the home teams. Although, I'll always have a special place in my heart for the Steelers and Penguins. GO FLYERS!!! Joe would be so proud right now. wink

Backing a team in one's future hometown isn't changing allegiance; it's proactive rooting.

What fascinates me about thne East's representatives in the playoffs is the number of teams heading into them with relatively inexperienced netminders. It seems a lot of teams have goalies with limited playoff games under their belts (pads?) Since the conventional wisdom is that goaltending wins Lord Stanley's Cup, it'll be interesting to see who rises to the challenge.

~Adam

Tell you what, very impressed with the Sabres in Raleigh thus far. They are beating the Canes 2-0 now going into the 3rd. Gerber has not looked his greatest so far. Also, hear the Rangers are down to Ottawa so far, and the Flyers are behind as well. Very interesting night shaping up.

The matchups are now set......

1. Ottawa vs. 8. Tampa Bay
2. Carolina vs. 7. Montreal
3. New Jersey vs. 6. New York
4. Buffalo vs. 5. Philadelphia

let the fun begin!

My picks: Ottawa, New Jersey, Buffalo, and Carolina. If the Rangers would be playing better I would favor them, but they have now lost 5 games in a row, and the Devils are white hot. Buffalo and Philly should be interesting, but I think the Sabres will prevail. Double header on Friday on OLN. Let the games begin!!!!

If that happens again Kenny, it's my turn to buy the beer mug this time, regardless which team wins!
wink

Eastern Conference

Ottawa vs Tampa Bay - Senators in 6
Carolina vs Montreal - Canadiens in 7
New Jersey vs New York - Devils in 6
Buffalo vs Philadelphia - Sabres in 7

Ottawa vs Montreal - Senators in 6
New Jersey vs Buffalo - Devils in 7

Ottawa vs New Jersey - New Jersey in 7

Way to go out on a limb there Tommy (picking the number 1,2,3,4 seeds)! Actually you are probably right though. If my Lightning can somehow get past the Sens, I will be amazed. I will be there Tues and Thurs rooting for 'em though.

[ April 19, 2006, 05:18 AM: Message edited by: Kenny ]

Howie Mandell: "Deal or no deal?"

Kenny: DEAL!!! wink

Hey Kenny, you never know what may happen though. I think all of the east series, much like the west will be decided in 6 or 7 games. Its gonna be awesome baby!! I am guessing OLN is going to have one east coast team on early then switch to a game out west. I can't wait!

Adam, I like your way of thinking. Thanks for justifying my decision . Now for the Captain's Picks:

1 Ottawa vs 8 Tampa Bay: Ottawa in 7. I think Ray Emery is good, but he's going to be stretched to the max. Tampa's going to make this fun.

2 Carolina vs 7 Montreal: Montreal in 6. Goaltending wins games. Montreal has two excellent netminders in Abeischer and Huet. Carolina's main threat is Gerber, who will get worn out.

3 New Jersey vs 6 New York. New York in 7. Home ice advantage is irrelevant, as the two arenas are less than 20 minutes apart (with no traffic ). I find it hilarious that the seedings weren't determined until the last game of the season. The Atlantic Division was so close, but the Rangers lost to the Sens. Jagr is on fire, and even though Brodeur is a lock for the Vezina Trophy, the Rangers offense will be too much for the Devils to handle.

4 Buffalo vs 5 Philadelphia. Philly in 6. Again, goaltending wins games. And Philly has two of 'em that have been fairly consistent throughout the entire season. And like Adam says, I need to do some "proactive rooting" wink .

These are my picks for the first round. Second round to come up next, obviously, before it occurs. Thanks.

Ottawa over Tampa Bay

Carolina over Montreal. What do they know about hockey in Canada, anyway?

New Jersey over New York, whose Rangers have been fading fast.

Philadelphia over Buffalo. I had predicted the Flyers would make the Stanley Cup Finals before the season began, so I have to pick them here, don't I?

~Adam

This afternoon I actually caught Barry Melrose talking with Buccigross about the Playoffs on Sportcenter. For what its worth he thinks the Canes will come out of the east. Interesting...............he also thought that Tampa definitely has a shot at Ottawa but there are "ifs". He is also picking the Devils over the Rangers. Martin Brodeur will be the reason why.Said that Buffalo and Philadephia will be the battle of the goaltenders. I agree. Tomorrow afternoon he will talk about the west.

Ottawa over Tampa in 6:

Shouldn't be this close, but Tampa is the defending champs. Taking them out will not be easy.

Montreal over Carolina in 6

This will be the big upset, or will it?
Montreal has been playing well of late with Huet leading the way. Carolina has not been the same since Cole got hurt. And hell, who wants two Sun Belt teams in the conference semis?

New Jersey over New York in 5

This could be tougher for the Devils than we think. I still remember back in '93 when the Sabres struggled into the postseason having not won a first round series in a decade and losers of eight in a row. Their opponent Boston finished the season with a seven game winning streak.

As expected the series was a four game sweep.
Not expected, Buffalo did the sweeping.

Buffalo over Philly in 6

Buffalo won season series 3-1, winning both in Philly. Buffalo has better goaltending and a more balanced offensive attack which will make it difficult for Philly to game plan for them.

Raider...care to make a wager? If Philly wins, you need to come to the 'Burgh in your uniform and make a special delivery. I liked it when I saw it the first time wink .

If Buffalo wins, I'll run around the streets in nothing except a Daniel Briere jersey. Of course, you may need to provide the jersey .

Sound good?

Sens vs. Lightning: Sens in 6.

Canes vs. Habs: Habs in 6.

Devils vs. Rangers: Rangers in 6.

Sabres vs. Flyers: Sabres in 5.

Game 1 on OLN this afternoon/evening will be the Oilers @ the Wings. Game 2, will be the Ducks at Marc Flames.. Drop the puck!!!! eek!

[ April 21, 2006, 05:48 AM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

lots of people seem to think the Habs are good on here.. i'm not one of them

Ottawa vs Tampa: Ottawa in 6. I could see the Bolts upset ottawa in this one, but only if they had a #1 goalie themselves. They don't.

Carolina vs Montreal: Carolina in 5. Carolina has been cruising for the past month, knowing fully well they had a playoff spot and giving time for Weight and Recchi to adapt to their new teammates. Montréal has been playing in the playoffs for the past month. Yes, they've played well, but are going to burn out quickly. They achieved their goal of making the playoffs, their goaltenders are as suspect as Carolina's and the Montréal defense is VERY suspect.

New Joysey vs New yawk: This is a tough one because i think the Rangers' PP is deadly and they finally have a good goalie. I will have to say Devils in 7.. but in a very close series. It could go either way.

Buffalo vs Philly: Buffalo in 6. Buffalo's offense will be too quick for Philly's banged up D squad. The more icetime Hatcher gets the quicker it could end.

Ottawa in 5
There is confidence in Ottawa... on the cover of Ottawa Sun a big Stanley Cup with Get ready sens fans: It's our time
Ottawa Sun april 21

Carolina in 5
Less confidence in Montreal. Heard callers on radio about the outcome, it was about 50-50 split on the winner. I found that low since I expect partisans to be optimistic about their team. Four wins by Carolina over Mtl this year in regular season: 5-3, 7-3, 8-2, 5-1.

New Jersey in 6
Buffalo in 6

Last I heard Tampa was leading Ottawa, I think in the 2nd period 2-1 so far.

Ottawa has taken over in the third period turning a 1-0 defecit into a 3-1 lead, the last one coming shorthanded.

21 hours and 35 minutes til the postseason returns to Buffalo...

hmmms....I gots plenty of jerseys to choose from, considering you'll be the one doing this.

Don't know if you'd fit in a Briere jersey, you might be too big.....

he can wear it on his head.

Just a friendly reminder, OLN is carrying the Sabres/Flyers game this afternoon/evening. I expect this should be very very interesting. FRom what I know Esche is slated to be the #1 playoff goalie for the Flyers, so I guess will find out beginning this afternoon. Will see just how well Forsberg is feeling today.

[ April 22, 2006, 05:50 AM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

Smartasses, the whole lot of you ! I think Briere and I are the same size...

Now that I'm in the mood to write, I can think of a number of diminutive hockey players, but still are high-impact:

Theo Fleury (5'6"/182)...Sure, he's had some substance abuse issues, but when his head is in the game, he's a force to be reckoned with.

Brian Gionta (5'7"-175)....Scored 89 pts. this season, with a +18 rating. One of the main reasons the Devils won the Atlantic Division Title, scoring 11 points in his last five games.

Martin St. Louis (5'9"-181)...Scoring took a dip this year, but still managed 61 pts. Oh yeah, his team is back in the playoffs.

Martin Straka (5'9"-178)....Oh, how we miss him in Pittsburgh! Since re-joining ex-teammate Jaromir Jagr as a Blueshirt, he scored 76 points (22 goals, 54 assists) and compiled a +17 rating. If Jags wins the Hart Trophy this year, Straka will receive praise in Jaromir's acceptance speech.

Just saying...

Sabres/Flyers in one hour.

In case you haven't heard, Jagr has a bad shoulder it appears. Don't know when/if he will be back for game 2 yet. Without him Rangers are toast, as they get bombed today 6-1. Last I heard the Habs were leading the Canes 3-1 which rather surprises me so far, and the Sabres/Flyers game is 2-1 Sabres after 2. Very entertaining game. HSBC Arena is rockin..

All I can say is wow. WOW!! Barry Melrose said he thought that Anaheim/Flames would be a war, but he forgot about Buffalo/Philadelphia!! Yesterdays game one was just sensational. It had it all, and then some. HSBC arena was just rocking. I would have given my left nut to have been there!

And everybody had to have seen that jaw dropping bodycheck delivered to Umberger of the Flyers. I knew it would make the highlight reels of the evening/morning, and I wasn't disappointed! I mean that had to be one of, if not the most incredible body checks I have ever seen delivered. The camera just focused on Umberger lying there on the ice and the look on his face, said it all.....it was incredible, with a captial "I". Needless to say, right after that, things got really testy, and there were many tussles....

I was very impressed with Esche, who may have played his best game all season. He kept the Flyers in there time and time and time again, but the Sabres came through in double ot with a big fat win. I can't wait for game 2 between these two. Its gonna be something special.

Meanwhile, OLN's first afternoon game of the day will be game 2, Tampa @ Ottawa which obviously will be a must win for the Lightning.

3 games today. Woo-hoo!!! eek!

[ April 23, 2006, 05:57 AM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

if Tampa-Ottawa's on OLN you know what that means ..... it's goin OT

All 3 games that OLN has carried (EDM-DET, ANA-CGY, PHI-BUF) have gone OT

No shit Bolt. wink Last night during the Flyers/Sabres game the head commentator in studio, not Bill Clement, called OLN, the Overtime Lovin Network. Right on!

What on earth happened to Carolina last night?! That is pathetic to get beat like that at home!
Awful!

Eddie: they are probably asking themselves this question today I would think. Didn't see the game, but it appears Montreal was ready and hungrier than Carolina was....

That hit by RJ Umberger was absolutely amazing. TSN showed like 4 different angles of it last night, and thankfully I had it on tape so I could show all four angles on my cast. Unbelievable...poor kid though, I'd be surprised to see him back in the playoffs though Ken Hitchcock did say he was "good to go"

Holy shit what a night at the HSBC, waited five years for that night...great to see the good guys win.

When a multiple OT game winning goal isn't the defining moment of the night, well that just goes to show how huge of a hit that was by Campbell.

Sabres/Flyers series' have always been massive. Despite never being in the same division, this is the eighth time these two have thrown down in the postseason, most notably the '75 finals.

The look on his face was a bit scary. I was afraid
he would lose consciousness with his eyes rolling around.

Rangers list Jagr as day-to-day (channelling Keith Olbermann: Aren't we all?) with the usual vague "upper body injury." This is part of the reason the playoffs are so great--an upper body injury could be anything from a deep bruise to a missing arm.....and the player will still probably play.

~Adam

And Tampa and Ottawa are all tied up now at a game apiece. Tampa played really well in this game today, and Grahame did as well. Ottawa looked at bit suspect at times I thought. For once Tampa outscored their opposition in the 3rd period. This just may be more of a series as well. We shall see......

Game two this afternoon between the Rangers and the Devils. Will be interesting what goes on with Jagr. Did anyone else note that yesterday just before the start of the game with San Jose/Nashville, one of the guys from OLN was doing a short report on it, and just as soon he was beginning the story on what was going on with Jagr, the volume was gone...I mean that was just too bizarre, so consequently, I never did hear what the report on his condition was yesterday. Maybe somebody in the Rangers organization was working the audio????? wink

No Jagr....Weekes (whom I like as a goalie) in net...doesn't look good for the Rangers. And it seems that Jagr may be out for more than just this game (his "upper body injury" must be really bad for him to miss even this game) if the shoulder is as badly hurt as it appears.

And in the otehr game from the East, the Sabres are just beating the heebie-jeebies out of the Flyers, 5-0, at the end of the first period. I figure Esche will be pulled (and flogged wink ) before the second period. Additionally, Foppa, who's playing, must still be affected by his "lower body injury" as he looks completely out of his rhythm.

~Adam

Yeah, how bout dem Sabres? The clip I saw earlier Esche was jumping at the bit to get a fight or something started on the side. No doubt!!! Rangers are in serious trouble. 5 on 3 and they couldn't score. Serious trouble, but we knew this without Jagr. In interviews they all keep saying they know they arent playing disciplined hockey and they know what they need to do , but continue the Ranger speciality: stupid penalties. And I hear the Canes are only down now 3-2, after starting awful, again, against the Habs.

[ April 24, 2006, 05:52 PM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

At least someone's holding home ice, with Buffalo and Jersey being the only teams who defended home ice both days.

This mornings headlines should read:
Teams in trouble-and I was just stunned when I found out that Carolina lost again, after the back and forth battle they waged against Montreal. Gerber is letting his team down. We got some clues as to what was going on with him just before Carolina went into the playoffs, namely a bit of a slump. I know nothing about their backup. The Canes aren't out of it, but they are in some serious deep doo doo, as are the Flyers.They are being outclassed at every level, and I highly doubt they will be able to come back in this series. Since I didn't see the game, but just bits and pieces, was Esche/Flyers that bad, or was Buffalo that good, or both? Either way, statement made!!!! Flyers are in some deep doo doo.
OLN game 1 tonight is Tampa Bay/Ottawa. I expect the Lightning will be a bit juiced up for the first few minutes what with this being their first home game.

[ April 25, 2006, 05:32 AM: Message edited by: hockeyTom ]

Game three of the Sabres/Flyers series should really be a fight-filled affair as even the coaches are now mouthing off about each other. Granted, the Flyers would rather not have to answer questions about their play Monday night so questions about their coach's comments are preferable. It wasn't just poor netminding: the entire Flyers' defensive unit collapsed and there has to be something go on with Foppa--he's been non-existent during the series, when he would normally come up big.

~Adam

I am sure the culprit is his groin Adam. Lets face it he has had the problems on and off virtually all of the past several months and just before the Olympics. I expect a slugfest in Philadelphia for game 3.

YIPPEE! Heading the the game in a few hours! Let's go Lightning! :cool:

Well, we know it's not his spleen. And if it is his groin, I'm sure we can find any number of OutSporters willing to attend to it.

~Adam

Indeedy Adam. Man the Tampa/Ottawa game is turning into a rout, and not for Tampa either. Now 5-1 in the 2nd. Lightning are not up to the task so far. The Sens looked juiced.