St. Louis, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Nashville all with 3-1 series leads in the West.  Who'd a thunk it?

So what I'm seeing here is amazing for us, and please understand this is in no means a slight to any of the teams still standing. Just a statement of fact that I feel Vancouver was a stronger club then Los Angeles, Chicago was a stronger club then Phoenix, Pittsburgh was a stronger club then Philly.

If the Rangers blow it against the Senators, you're left with Ottawa, Bos/Wash, NJ/Florida, Philly in the East. None of those 6 scare me as much as the other two. Not saying they suck, they certainly don't.

In the West, it's even better. We get Los Angeles. Quick is good, real good. So is Elliott/Halak. There's no way I would have rather played Phoenix then Los Angeles (which is what happens if Vancouver won). Nashville and Phoenix get to duke it out, and I'd rather see Phoenix there. Nashville is fucking good, and Rinne always seems to cause us problems. If Phoenix beats Nashville, we'll get through the entire western conference with home ice, and not having to play another Central division opponent.

Wrapping up round one, I would almost rather see Washington advance, because I'm a lot more scared of running into a hot Tim Thomas in the finals then Ovechkin. I'm pulling for Ottawa purely to lock up home ice in the Finals if we get there. However, going into round 2, and for the next 2 1/2 weeks, nothing matters outside of Los Angeles.

'Assume that Florida, Ottawa and Washington win their series.'

ok if i don't?

Heard something about his coach wanting shot blockers on the ice, and I guess he doesn't lay out. I can't even imagine a Blues player not blocking shots.... We'd run him out of town.... That's half our game.

Another reason why Boston scares me more than Washington. Defending Cup Champions that know exactly what's needed to win on the big stage. Washington is still having to replace their superstar because he won't sacrifice his body to block a shot.

artie_fufkin wrote:

'Assume that Florida, Ottawa and Washington win their series.'

ok if i don't?

No.

"Come playoff time, it's always the surprise guys who score the big goals to win the games."

i'd ask brett hull, steve yzerman and bobby orr if they agree.
hunter is an ass. and what makes it worse is he could be the twin brother of the guy from whom we bought our house, who is also an ass.

I agree Fors. I can understand wanting to lock down defense if you're trying to protect a lead, but a great way to remove massive amounts of defensive pressure is to have Ovi roaming the point. No defenseman in their right mind is going to try to hold the blue line or pinch if giving up a breakaway involving Ovechkin is the result of failing on those split second decisions. The result? A less effective forecheck, and Ovi hasn't even needed to block a shot.

That's just me though, and let's face it... My vast experience with playing hockey involves an XBox controller, although I would say that NHL 2K12 is an amazingly accurate depiction of a lot of hockey. I do know that if I'm playing defense (another great thing about this game, you play a character on the ice), then I have to know when one of those damned wingers is trying to slip behind me, even if we have possession, and he will pull me completely out of the attacking zone sometimes just in preparation for a long pass to hit that little cherry picking turd....

dale hunter is a prophet

alz wrote:

Adeiu to Tim Thomas and the Bruins. Another case were I feel the Blues chances were heightened by the result. I'm not really sure I have a rooting interest in Florida/New Jersey, but if Ottawa beats the Rangers tonight, I'll be thrilled.

Artie, I am not sure if you're a Bruins fan or not, but that's possibly the only Boston club I don't despise, and sorry if you were pulling for them.

i think i was more annoyed by both of the cardinals' losses in chicago this week. i just don't know enough about hockey to develop too much of an emotional investment. it's just kind of fun to watch, especially in the playoffs.

So Nashville and Phoenix square up in Arizona tonight, I'm rooting for goalie injuries, what about y'all?

Well Game 1 could have went better, we had defensive mistakes on both plays that would have kept those goals from hitting. Lost Petro, although I'm hopeful it's not for more than just game 2. Don't get your heads down though, San Jose won the opener too, let's see how the kids respond tonight.

Nashville down 2-0 now, and Rinne looks human. Almost makes me want to root for them to advance, but I'm comfortable with either team. We just need to get through Los Angeles first.

Blues are being beaten by a superior team. LA is just as big (or bigger) and just as fast, and has superior offensive talent. The Blues don't have a player who can match Kopitar, and at their best, Richards and Carter are better scorers than anyone on the Blues.

I'd add that the Kings don't appear to have any concern about the Blues offensively.  The Kings are aggressively going after Blues players at the blue line and stopping offensive pressure before it begins.  When the Blues are on the power play, LA is basically conceding that one guy on the opposite side of the ice will be open and attacking the remaining Blues players man-to-man.  The Blues can't get the puck to the open guy.

Major props to Darryl Sutter and the Kings GM.  The addition of Carter at the trade deadline was a bold move, but I'm not sure there's a better team playing hockey right now than the Kings.

Last edited by forsberg_us (5/01/2012 11:13 am)