Tough to argue that point.

My fantasy hockey league lead is insurmountable (6 wins in 21 seasons), so I get to watch in a bit more of a relaxed state.  There's still a little money still at stake (the team that gets the most points in the playoffs gets some cash), but I've already pocketed the big prize so from here on out I'm playing with house money.

Both series should be interesting.  In the West, you have 2 chronic underachievers.  San Jose has had several good teams of late, but always fallen short of the Finals.  Vancouver hasn't been to the Finals since 1994.  IMO, this series is simple--if the Sedins remain invisible, San Jose wins easily.  The Sedins haven't done anything since the 3rd game of the Chicago series.  Ryan Kesler damn near won the Nashville series on his own, but he won't be able to single-handedly beat SJ.  If the Sedins show up, I think Vancouver is the better team, provided that Luongo doesn't shit himself.

In the East you have another chronic underachiever in Boston against a Tampa Bay team that hasn't been very good since it won the Cup in 2004.  It wouldn't surprise me if TB won, but having beaten both Montreal and Philadelphia, I think this is Boston's year.

I think the Sedins continue to play like women and the Finals ends up SJ v. Boston.  Joe Thornton gets to take his first run at a Cup in a series that opens in Boston.  How's that for a storyline?

"So far, Boston has travelled roughly 1800 miles (2 round-trips to Montreal and 1 to Philly).  Vancouver has already travelled about 18,000 miles (2 round trips each to Chicago and Nashville).  San Jose has had to cover about 11,500 miles (2 round trips each to LA and Detroit)."

Yeah, but the Canucks and the Sharks haven't had to put up with the silly French persons in Quebec. Call it a draw.

There's something weird about those two guys who wear green bodysuits who sit near the visitors penalty box in Vancouver trying to taunt Dany Heatley by waving the Canadian flag at him.

forsberg_us wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

There's something weird about those two guys who wear green bodysuits who sit near the visitors penalty box in Vancouver...

You needed finish the sentence. This says it all.

Good point.

forsberg_us wrote:

It would appear that young Mr. Seguin did not enjoy the press box pretzels.

Wow. Seguin is all over the place. Best player on the ice. Thomas would be a close second. Apparently these teams think the All Star Game rules apply tonight.

The only reason he's playing in this round is because Bergeron is hurt. I'm beginning to believe the people who think Julien is a dunderhead boob.

Last edited by artie_fufkin (5/17/2011 9:09 pm)

artie_fufkin wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

It would appear that young Mr. Seguin did not enjoy the press box pretzels.

Wow. Seguin is all over the place. Best player on the ice. Thomas would be a close second. Apparently these teams think the All Star Game rules apply tonight.

The only reason he's playing in this round is because Bergeron is hurt. I'm beginning to believe the people who think Julien is a dunderhead boob.

There were questions about whether Seguin would have been in the lineup if Bergeron could have gone tonight. I'd say after tonight's performance, Seguin should keep his skates sharp.

artie_fufkin wrote:

forsberg_us wrote:

artie_fufkin wrote:

The only reason he's playing in this round is because Bergeron is hurt. I'm beginning to believe the people who think Julien is a dunderhead boob.

There were questions about whether Seguin would have been in the lineup if Bergeron could have gone tonight. I'd say after tonight's performance, Seguin should keep his skates sharp.

Shawn Thornton needs to dress. He's gritty, and he gives good radio interviews.
This game ain't over. The Bruins are playing not to lose.

The Bruins signed The Riot?

... and the Bruins' anemic power play has returned. Can you decline a penalty in hockey?

I couldn't tell whether Boston played really well last night or if that was the worst game Tampa had played since Game 4 against Pittsburgh.  Whatever the case, big game for Boston to reclaim home ice.

If Julien had major guts, he'd immediately demote Krejci, Lucic and Horton from the #1 PP unit.  They look clueless right now.  If nothing else, their ineptitude is giving Tampa's penalty killing unit enough confidence and momentum that by the time anyone else steps on the ice, the power play is effectively over.  You can throw Kaberle into that mix as well.

Personally, I'd put Seguin and Ryder on the #1 unit with Bergeron and replace Kaberle with Ference.  Bergeron is the best face off man Boston has which gives them a good chance at early possession.  Right now Seguin and Ryder are playing head and shoulders better than any other Boston forwards (from a scoring perspective).  Tampa hasn't shown an ability to keep up with Seguin's speed, and right now Seguin and Ryder are simply feeling it.  Ference's goal was another perfect example.  Seguin outhustled a Tampa player to the puck, got it back behind the net.  Kelly did a little bumping with another Tampa player before Ryder came around, took the puck and fed it back to Ference who scored.  If you watch the replay, you will see that both Seguin and Ryder were headed to the net as the puck trickled through Roloson, and either would have been in excellent position had Roloson made the save, but allowed a rebound rather than the shot trickling through.

Then, after Seguin and Ryder had wore out the #1 PK unit, Boston can run Krejci, Lucic and Horton at the #2 unit

It'll never happen, because if Julien made that change and the team lost, he'd probably be blamed.  My guess is so long as the team is winning, they won't change much.  But that's what I'd do.

Fors, I've been completely wrong about the Vancouver (and the playoffs in general) though it looked for a while as if they were going to pull the annual implosion in round 1. Since they won that series, they are playing great.

Hopefully they keep rolling.

What a stupid penalty by McGinn.

Chippy game. The team that csn control its emotions best should win Game 4.