2009 NHL PLAYOFFS

[Nakor]

It's that time of year all! Here's the playoff discussion thread. And here is the current playoff outlook:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(6)Carolina Hurricanes @ (1) Boston Burins

Boston leads 1-0

GAME 1: CAR 1 : 4 BOS
GAME 2: @BOS Sun. May 3 @ 7:30p.m.
GAME 3: @CAR Wed. May 6 @ 7:30p.m.
GAME 4: @CAR Fri. May 8 @ 7:30p.m.
*GAME 5: @BOS Sun. May 10 @ 7:30p.m.
*GAME 6: @CAR Tue. May 12 @ 7:00p.m.
*GAME 7: @BOS Thu. May 14 @ TBD


(4) Pittsburgh Penguins @ (3) Washington Capitals

Washington leads 1-0

GAME 1: PIT 2 : 3 WAS
GAME 2: @WAS Mon. May 4 @ 7:00p.m.
GAME 3: @PIT Wed. May 6 @ 7:00p.m.
GAME 4: @PIT Fri. May 8 @ 7:00p.m.
*GAME 5: @WAS Sat. May 9 @ 7:00p.m.
*GAME 6: @PIT Mon. May 11 @ TBD
*GAME 7: @WAS Wed. May 13 @ 7:00p.m.


WESTERN CONFERENCE

(8) Anaheim Ducks @ (2) Detroit Red Wings

Series tied 1-1

GAME 1: ANA 2 : 3 DET
GAME 2: ANA 4 : 3 DET (3OT)
GAME 3: @ANA Tue. May 5 @ 10:30p.m.
GAME 4: @ANA Thu. May 7 @ 10:30p.m.
*GAME 5: @DET Sun. May 10 @ 5:00p.m.
*GAME 6: @ANA Tue. May 12 @ TBD
*GAME 7: @DET Thu. May 14 @ TBD


(4) Chicago Blackhawks @ (3) Vancouver Canucks

Series tied 1-1

GAME 1: CHI 3 : 5 VAN
GAME 2: CHI 6 : 3 VAN
GAME 3: @CHI Tue. May 5 @ 8:00p.m.
GAME 4: @CHI Thu. May 7 @ 8:00p.m.
*GAME 5: @VAN Sat. May 9 @ 10:30p.m.
*GAME 6: @CHI Mon. May 11 @ 9:00p.m.
*GAME 7: @VAN Thu. May 14 @ TBD

[Nakor]

All you NHL fans, time to put your hypothetical money where your hypothetical mouth is! Post your predictions for the first round of the playoffs before Wednesday at 7PM Eastern and I'll collect them all in this post.

I'll start off with my own.

Nakor

BOS def. MTL in 6
WAS def. NYR in 4
NJ def. CAR in 5
PIT def. PHI in 7
SJ def. ANA in 5
DET def. CBJ in 5
VAN def. STL in 5
CHI def. CGY in 7

[Frong]

Feh. You only give the Jackets one game against Detroit? Wank. Whatever, you're lucky the Jackets slipped to the 7th seed, or they'd be facing your team in the first round, instead. Having watched them all year, I can attest to the fact that they're a lot better than you probably think they are. Also, did you know they split the season series with the Wings 3-3? I think that says at least something, even if it was during the regular season.

Anyway, I'm not gonna bother making any predictions, because I always phail at this sorta thing, anyway. I'll just say that I like the Bruins and the Sharks as favorites to win it all this year. Detroit will probably have a hard time repeating, since Osbad isn't really THAT good of a goalie. Thomas and Nabokov are better, and as I forget what commentator said once during the playoffs one year, "They might as well rename the playoffs "goalie", because that's what it all boils down to, anyway."

[Nakor]

Standings updated, and NYR has already put to bed my prediction of a Washington sweep lol. Personally, despite that loss, I think there's a pretty solid chance of Washington coming out of the East.

Of course, as a Vancouver fan, you know who my pick for the West has to be.

[Jazzmyn]

Hockey!!!!!!??????? Who cares about the hockey playoffs??????? NBA playoffs start tomorrow night (saturday)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go BLAZERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Nakor]

Surely you jest. o_o;;

Rangers take down Washington again, and the next two games in New York. Wonder what happened to the caps.

[Frong]

Dunno. What I do know is that the Jackets have now been embarrassed in two straight games by the Wings, and not because they were simply outskilled; they were outworked. Losing to a team that has more skill than you is one thing, and Detroit's overall skill level is indeed higher. Losing to a team because not every player gives 100% every shift is inexcusable. If they don't get their friggin' act together immediately, they'll get booted out in four straight at this rate and they'll deserve it, too. Stupid Jackets.

Also, the Blazers are still too young. They'll likely get stomped by the Lakers or whoever before ever reach the finals, where they'd probably get stomped by the Cavs or whoever if they did somehow manage to make it.

[KenseidenXL]

I stopped paying attention to the NHL after the "Season That Never Was" and to hell with the NBA.

[Frong]

Sounds like my dad's approach to pro baseball. He was a Giants fan when he was a kid and a Mets fan later on, but quit caring entirely after the '94 strike. He only has a vaguely passing interest in it nowadays because I talk about the Indians a lot of the time.

[KenseidenXL]

I gave up on baseball after the steroid derby in '97.

[Nakor]

Vancouver with the first 3-0 stranglehold of the playoffs.

What happened to San Jose?

[Frong]

I gave up on baseball after the steroid derby in '97.

Understandable. Wait a few years and the league will probably be more or less clean of the effects of the 'roids era, though. The players that needed steroids to be any good will have gone back to phailing and irrelevance, the older ones will have retired, and the younger ones will likely be clean in the first place. At least I hope so, anyway.

So I see Boston is busy stompinating the Habs, too. That's the second 3-0 so far this season. What happened to the Sharks? Beats the crap outta me. Maybe somebody forgot to tell them the playoffs started, kinda like what happened to the Jackets.

[Nakor]

Vancouver completes the sweep!

[Frong]

Well, if the Jackets do get booted out in four straight in the first round, at least I'll have the extremely meager consolation of knowing that they're not the only team to suffer that ignominy this year. Feh.

[Nakor]

Not by a fair shot.

Montreal has fallen to Boston in four straight.