Quest for Cup is on

Hey Steve, if you are going to Poll who you think the Stanley Cup winner will be, you ought to include ALL the teams in the playoffs!!!!

Coop,
You are exactly right. The writer lists 10 of 16 teams and then picks Vancouver to lose in the final, which he didn't even have as an option. Sheesh.
BTW - I'm picking Luongo and the 'Nucks to win their first ever Cup.

That's funny I'm picking St Louis to knock Vancouver out in round one. Had to pick an upset or two in my playoff pool. That should be a fun series to watch.

Rooting for the Caps in the East and the Blackhawks in the West. Had Anaheim drawn Detroit instead of San Jose in round one I would have them as my dark horse but I think San Jose will squeak by.

Anyone else got predictions???

DK Schrute wrote:

That's funny I'm picking St Louis to knock Vancouver out in round one. Had to pick an upset or two in my playoff pool. That should be a fun series to watch.
Rooting for the Caps in the East and the Blackhawks in the West. Had Anaheim drawn Detroit instead of San Jose in round one I would have them as my dark horse but I think San Jose will squeak by.
Anyone else got predictions???

I think Detroit remains the team to beat. Their roster is balanced perfectly for the playoffs - with players of all types to fit all roles needed for playoff success. Only concern I have about them is goaltending. I just don't think it is all that strong.

My darkhorse candidate is Carolina as they are playing their best hockey right now. Two teams I don't want to see win are the Rangers or the Pens.

DK Schrute wrote:

That's funny I'm picking St Louis to knock Vancouver out in round one. Had to pick an upset or two in my playoff pool. That should be a fun series to watch.
Rooting for the Caps in the East and the Blackhawks in the West. Had Anaheim drawn Detroit instead of San Jose in round one I would have them as my dark horse but I think San Jose will squeak by.
Anyone else got predictions???

Washington's weak goaltending will be exposed. Maybe not in the first by offensively challenged NYR, but certainly in the second round.
Who is your eventual Cup winner DK?

That's awesome!
They only list 10 of 16 playoff teams in their poll.
BTW,
There are now 50 total votes in that poll.
The poll re: Dolphins 09 schedule has 1700 votes.
That should tell you alot...

Wait a Minute wrote:

<quoted text>I think Detroit remains the team to beat. Their roster is balanced perfectly for the playoffs - with players of all types to fit all roles needed for playoff success. Only concern I have about them is goaltending. I just don't think it is all that strong.
My darkhorse candidate is Carolina as they are playing their best hockey right now. Two teams I don't want to see win are the Rangers or the Pens.

EXCUSE me THE PENS will win it all this year.

Wait a minute:

We agree, I have the Canes pulling an upset. Jack, as for the Caps weak goal tending being exposed, I don't think it will happen. And if it does, they will score more than enough goals to make it mute. I think we can all agree on the Pens and Rangers not winning. But I think the Pens will come out of round one. The Flyers looked average in the last week of the season. Daniel Briere is going to have to step up.

To the west. Anaheim and San Jose is going to be a hard hitting, gut wrenching slobber knocker of a series. Jody Shelley of the Sharks and George Parros of the Ducks are going to be out for blood. Two of the best blue line players in Pronger and Niedermayer are hungry. It's going to be a 7 game series. Not much travel for either team involved, so all players should be rested. I really hope the Wings go down. But I don't think the Jackets are strong enough to take em. I'm rooting for Calgary only because Olli Jokinen is in the playoffs. I think if the Panthers' could go back on it now, JM would be gone instead of Olli. Just my opinion. Let's not forget about the Canucks.

But this year is the Bruins year. I have them taking the Sharks, yes the Sharks, down in the final round. PS, if you guys didn't see, there's a game on nhl.com where you can make your picks and win prizes. Just letting you guys know. Should be good hockey!

leo zarazowski jr wrote:

<quoted text>EXCUSE me THE PENS will win it all this year.

No, they will not. Crosby won't stop crying long enough to help his team win. His dominance in the regular season means nothing now. Though, I think they will take the Flyers down.

DK Schrute wrote:

That's funny I'm picking St Louis to knock Vancouver out in round one. Had to pick an upset or two in my playoff pool. That should be a fun series to watch.
Rooting for the Caps in the East and the Blackhawks in the West. Had Anaheim drawn Detroit instead of San Jose in round one I would have them as my dark horse but I think San Jose will squeak by.
Anyone else got predictions???

We agree, how refreshing..
I think the Blackhawks will win it..

Jack Tupp wrote:

<quoted text>
Washington's weak goaltending will be exposed. Maybe not in the first by offensively challenged NYR, but certainly in the second round.
Who is your eventual Cup winner DK?

I don't think it is the weak goaltending itself that will be exposed. The Caps are a team designed to attack agressively and by nature that leaves them vulnerable in their own end. Even a stronger goalie than Theodore might not make much of a difference. I think the problem is that they won't be able to play their run and gun game as successfully as they would like in the playoffs, where defensive hockey rules. But overall I also don't see them making it past the second round. I haven't looked at how the seedings fall, but a Caps-Pens matchup would be very entertaining if it happens.

Wait a Minute wrote:

<quoted text>
I don't think it is the weak goaltending itself that will be exposed. The Caps are a team designed to attack agressively and by nature that leaves them vulnerable in their own end. Even a stronger goalie than Theodore might not make much of a difference. I think the problem is that they won't be able to play their run and gun game as successfully as they would like in the playoffs, where defensive hockey rules. But overall I also don't see them making it past the second round. I haven't looked at how the seedings fall, but a Caps-Pens matchup would be very entertaining if it happens.

However, as you mentioned in a post above Detroit has the ability to gloss over such a weakness. Washington doesn't have the personnel to go very deep. Would you still take Detroit to win if Theodore was in a Wings uniform?

Jack Tupp wrote:

<quoted text>
However, as you mentioned in a post above Detroit has the ability to gloss over such a weakness. Washington doesn't have the personnel to go very deep. Would you still take Detroit to win if Theodore was in a Wings uniform?

Yeah, I think I would. Theodore's numbers are actually better than Osgood's - 2.87 GAA versus 3.09, and Save% of .900 versus .887. Conklin has been better than both with a 2.51 GAA and .909 Sv%. I haven't seen anything definitive about who the Wings intend to start, but most people predict that Babcock will go to the guy who has won before for him - Osgood.

Speaking of goalies, to me, here are the most interesting stories going into the playoffs.

Khabibulin - here's a guy who was on the chopping block when the season started, a guy Chicago was dying to trade, but he ends up being one of the strongest goalies this season, with a GAA of 2.33 and a SV% of .919. Does this guy need to win another Cup before he starts getting some respect again? And while we're talking about Chicago, how dumb does Montreal look getting rid of Huet, who's had a much better year than either of Montreal's goalies.

Steve Mason - not only is this guy the runaway winner of the Calder, but I think he's neck and neck with Ovechkin for MVP (though you just know Ovechkin will take home that hardware). Mason singlehandedly put Columbus in the playoffs with amazing numbers, including a 2.29 GAA,.916 SV% and 10 shutouts - and did so on a team that doesn't have an all star cast on the blue line.

Miikka Kiprusoff - he did not have a very good year by his standards, and you have to wonder if he struggles what Keenan will do (after pulling out the few remaining hairs on his head) about inserting McElhinney, who only won once in 6 starts and 14 total appearances. It is very interesting to note that since Keenan (who known as as goalie killer) became coach, Kiprusoff's numbers have steadily declined.

Jonas Hiller/Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Giggy has had a really off year, which many people suggest is the result of him not dealing well with his father's illness and subsequent death. Looks like Hiller will get to start, but he's never played a playoff game and if he falters, can Giggy get his game back? San Jose has so much scoring ability that one of these two guys will either be a huge hero or the goat.

Hey Jack - what are your thoughts on MacTavish getting canned today? What are fans saying up there? Do you think Tambellini should go as well?

Wait a Minute wrote:

Hey Jack - what are your thoughts on MacTavish getting canned today? What are fans saying up there? Do you think Tambellini should go as well?

Fans respect MacT as a person and solid community member. That said, he was dealt a hand by K-Lowe that he could not win with. The players are small, lack grit and overall mental toughness to compete on a nightly basis.
K-Lowe, as VP of hockey operations for the Oilers, AHL outfit, ECHL and WHL organizations, assembled this squad and he will now be the target of disgruntled fans (paying customers). Almost all of the entire fan base wants to rid the organization of the Old Boys Club (Oilers from the heydays) that believes in nepotism.
Tambellini was actually the first hire (as GM) outside this circle of friends, so I think he really needed to put his stamp on the Oilers by firing MacT who appears too smart for young hockey jocks.
They need someone like Ted Nolan or Pat Quinn to come in with a fresh perspective, not a recycled assistant coach.
My point is, this should be only the first of many changes to come before September including players. I suspect, the Islanders will be getting phone call to inquire who in the Oilers system would interest them in exchange for the first-round draft pick.
Yesterday, it was snowing here and MacT was the coach. Today it is sunny and MacT is not the coach...

Jack Tupp wrote:

<quoted text>
Washington's weak goaltending will be exposed. Maybe not in the first by offensively challenged NYR, but certainly in the second round.
Who is your eventual Cup winner DK?

although they are young I'm going to go with Chicago to win it all. I try to take things round by round because an upset or two really shakes things up but I'll go out on a limb with that one. I think they got a good matchup with the Flames plus I'm thinking San Jose and Anaheim will tire each other out leaving the Wings as the possible hardest team for them.

I would have picked the Ducks if they would have got Detroit in the 1st round. I really liked their chances against the Wings. I think they'll give San Jose a hard time but fall in game 7. The Red Wings are the one team that I'd like to see get bounced early. I'm sick of them always being there at the end.

I agree with you about Washington's goaltending but depending on how round 1 shakes they may go further than you think. They are pretty solid all around. On paper I think Boston is the best team in the East but they have a long history of playoff flops so we'll see.
Let's drop the puck already.

YORMARKS OBSERVER wrote:

<quoted text>
We agree, how refreshing..
I think the Blackhawks will win it..

ha ha, I usually agree with a good majority of what you post. I just don't understand the need to post the same thing over and over again but to each his own.
Go 'Hawks

Hockey isnt considered a sport in the US..if it wasnt for the fake fights no one would even watch it.