EAST:

1) Boston vs 8) Montreal
2) Washington vs 7) New York
3) New Jersey vs 6) Carolina
4) Pittsburgh vs 5) Philadelphia

WEST:

1) San Jose vs 8) Anaheim
2) Detroit vs 7) Columbus
3) Vancouver vs 6) St. Louis
4) Chicago vs 5) Calgary



My picks for first round:
Boston in 7 - I know Montreal has sucked, but I think this will be a tough series given the history. I can see Montreal standing up for this matchup, even if Boston ultimately prevails.
Washington in 5 - Expecting Washington to go out in the 2nd round due to goaltending, but too much firepower for the Caps and too little for the Rags.
New Jersey in 6 - I think this one comes down to a mental battle. I see the Devils as the better team on paper (barely), but depends which team is more hungry. Either way, have to go for the team I have tattoo'd on my back
Pittsburgh in 6 - Philly's goaltending sucks too much to deal with Crosby and Malkin, especially after the trade deadline acquisitions.

San Jose in 5 - San Jose will continue to dominate as the playoffs start.
Detroit in 5 - Detroit will too.
Vancouver in 6 - I can see St. Louis stealing a game in OT and letting their goaltending steal another, but ultimately Vancouver is too good.
Calgary in 6 - Chicago is too young and inexperienced (reminds me of the first year the Pens went to the playoffs with Crosby), I see the leadership of Iginla and the goaltending of Kipper overwhelming them.

Second round:
1) Boston vs 4) Pittsburgh - Boston in 6 - Boston is just too good to not make it to the conference finals, even if I think their first round will be long and hard.
2) Washington vs 3) New Jersey - New Jersey in 6 - I think Brodeur robs the Caps offense more than a few times if he is back to full form at this point, maybe making use of our checking line a little to counter them as well, and our top line (and to lesser extent our second line) overwhelm their goaltender.

1) San Jose vs 5) Calgary - San Jose in 5 - Anything Calgary can do, San Jose can do three times better.
2) Detroit vs 3) Vancouver - Detroit in 7 - I see Luongo frustrating the Wings like hell, but ultimately they prevail.

Conference finals:
1) Boston vs 3) New Jersey - New Jersey in 7 - I don't know how, I just have faith.

1) San Jose vs 2) Detroit - San Jose in 7 - This series is a total toss up for me. To be honest I think Detroit could win too, I see it going 7 and being a pick 'em between two elite teams.

Finals:
1) San Jose vs 3) New Jersey - New Jersey in 7 - I hope I think no matter the matchup in the finals, it will be at least 6 games and spectacular. The East has the firepower to compete against the West this year unlike last year, when we all knew Detroit would roll over the Pens.

Conn Smythe - Brodeur, finally winning it with a strong playoff showing who steals at least 4-5 games for the Devils over the course of the playoffs.


Your thoughts?


-Falaris

I hope the Devils score the most homeruns.

I'm rooting for all three Canadian teams to do well, though I know Montreal won't go far in the East. Hopefully, it'll come down to Vancouver or Calgary in the Western finals, somehow beating San Jose and/or Detroit.

Me too, but I'd really love to see them get the Heisman Trophy.


-Falaris

As much as I'd love for the Cup to come back to Canada, I can't bring myself to cheer for any other team. So I'm cheering for Canada, and not for the teams.

Apart from that... no clue. A San Jose vs New Jersey final would be a hell of a show.

Go Boston!

First round, it is up in the air for how most of the games will go. I think there will be quite a few upsets. But as for the finals, my guess is the Caps vs Sharks.

Really? Caps in the Finals? I dunno if anyone besides the Devils (of course) I think I gotta go with Boston. Theodore makes an argument for himself with his resurgence this year, but playing on a good team helps and usually that doesn't pan out when teams turn it up a notch in the playoffs.


-Falaris

As I said, a lot of upsets. Realisticly speaking, I dont see the Devils making it past the 2nd round. And I do see some of the underdog teams turning heads.

Either way, wont know for sure till at the very least game 3 of each series. For all we know, all our personal picks could be down 3-0 at that point

Absolutely livid with the officiating after the end of the Devils game. I can barely see straight. They said Marty had time to reset, which means he was INTERFERED WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE. Jokinen had other options, he proceeded to go right at the net and he hit Brodeur and threw him off. It doesn't matter if the Devils screwed up on the play (obviously they did for Carolina to have that chance in the first place), it was still illegal, end of discussion. Brodeur did not go after Jokinen and if any action is taken against Marty for his reaction I hope the Devils go to a judge and get an injunction "EAT ANOTHER DONUT"-style. I won't care if multiple dumb penalties are taken during Game 5 if they are our players running Ward.


-Falaris

When I saw that highlight during the Vancouver game, I wondered how long it would take for you to post here . It was a questionable call, but Marty did move out where it was partly his fault. Still a stupid way to lose a game, but it was not a bad call officially. Just a bad one from a fans point of view.

Just under 4 min to go in the first overtime in the Canuck - Blues game. Still cant believe they blew that 2-0 lead

Edit:

SWEEP!!!!

69.4 Contact Outside the Goal Crease - If an attacking player initiates any contact with a goalkeeper, other than incidental contact, while the goalkeeper is outside his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.

A goalkeeper is not “fair game” just because he is outside the goal crease. The appropriate penalty should be assessed in every case where an attacking player makes unnecessary contact with the goalkeeper. However, incidental contact will be permitted when the goalkeeper is in the act of playing the puck outside his goal crease provided the attacking player has made a reasonable effort to avoid such unnecessary contact.

When a goalkeeper has played the puck outside of his crease and is then prevented from returning to his crease area due to the deliberate actions of an attacking player, such player may be penalized for goalkeeper interference. Similarly, the goalkeeper may be penalized, if by his actions outside of his crease he deliberately interferes with an attacking player who is attempting to play the puck or an opponent.

---

He didn't try to avoid contact, he went straight for Brodeur. By the books that call isn't even questionable, and no it isn't "from a fan's point of view." It was a terrible non-call especially after they interfered with Brodeur on the earlier goal and nothing was called.

It isn't like this is the only incident with this ref and his name continues to pop up as being a crappy ref.


-Falaris

My cousins are going to be insuffrable now that Vancouver swept their series... ugh.

YEAH CANUCKS, WOOH!

GO CANADA, [Content removed] THOSE [Content removed]ES UP!

I just won 2 tickets to the game 5 devils game. woot woot

I don't watch TV

Bruins swept Montreal. Anyone surprised?

... didn't think so.

I won't say I'm surprised, though I could have just as easily seen it going the other way and really thought the Habs would step up to try to at least make it interesting and save some face after the end of the regular season. Usually playing against the Bruins brings out the best in them, but oh well.

Congrats Ganja, wish I could go :/ I'm holding out for SCF games.


-Falaris

That made me sad...

The Bruins are definitely going to make it the Eastern conference finals. I hope Sidney (Canadian representation FTW ) and the Pitts will take em' out. I don't think the Devils will make it , but I wouldn't mind them going to the playoff finals anyways, seeing as how their MVP, Brodeur, is also Canadian.

Well, you were right about the winning teams (obviously; they were giveaways)... but your guesstimates were way off.

It sucks I cant go though. I offered to give the tickets I won to my twin brothers, but there afraid to go anywhere near Newark lol.

Glad that happened, cause my brother found someone to buy the tickets for $300 each.

Vancouver all the way
we are winning the cup this year

Your brothers should know, cops line the streets from Penn Station to the arena every game night and don't let you wander off into the rest of the city. Either way nice job making $600. Still, I'd walk through Camden to go see a Devils game.

Ok ok, near the aquarium, but its still Camden technically.


-Falaris

Yeah easy 600 bucks, im kind of glad im not able to go tonight, because if this game has any type of ending like the last two games Ill have a heart attack there. And if my brothers went, they woulda gotten a car ride, there, and isnt traffic there hella crazy packed?

And [Content removed] ive walked through camden before at night, i never wanna go there again.

Dude, you REALLY shouldn't have missed that game. Wow, if any of you real hockey fans who appreciate a goaltender duel have a chance to watch the replay sometime on nhl.com, its worth it, or even just the highlights I'm sure.

Oh, and that Brodeur guy tied the postseason shutout record or something.


-Falaris

Yeah wow kinda mad I didnt go now lol

Pretty good time to be watching hockey between last night and tonight.

First off, yesterday on The Point on XM's NHL Home Ice ch.204 I was listening to Boomer, one of the hosts, who had a great point about Calgary. Every year you hear how they are a team built for the playoffs and it is mostly Canadians and they are a Canadian team. Last night marks the 4th year in a row that they have gone out in the first round, yet everyone talks about the Sharks and Habs choking instead and no one rags on the Flames. He went on to say that if this was a team of Europeans down in Florida, that everyone would talk about how they don't care about the Stanley Cup, they just want their paychecks and then head back home.

I agree with that completely. How the Flames manage to escape scrutiny is beyond me. They have been playoff failures for awhile now, Kipper is too soft in the postseason and quite honestly they don't appear to have much heart to put in extra effort when it comes down to it. I can't believe how badly the Hawks dominated them the past 2 games, and the Flames, being older and more experienced, should have been able to dig down and find the effort to come out on top.

Next up, the Sharks. I have to say I'm glad they got knocked out because they looked dangerous, but on the other hand I'm disappointed they aren't going to the Finals as I predicted because it would be an easy win for the East after how poor they played against Anaheim. People can talk about how it was the worst match-up possible for the Sharks going into the postseason, but your opponent should not matter if you are going to survive 4 rounds and win the cup.

Tonight is going to be great though. Devils/Canes of course, and also Caps/Rags.

I've been at work about an hour and a half now and still can't focus on anything but hockey.

Edit: Oh yeah, wanted to say I'm happy the Blackhawks got out of the first round of the playoffs even if I expected Calgary to win. Their fans had suffered for too long and the Blackhawks are one of the very few teams on my list of teams to cheer for besides the Devils.


-Falaris

Vancouver's our last hope.

I'm so disappointed with the Flames. Yeah, we had a lot of injuries, but I don't think that's a good excuse. Game 5 was awful to watch and quite honestly the way they played I don't think they deserved to make it past round 1 anyways. The team needs to be rebuilt and to do that, they need to fire Darryl Sutter and Mike Keenan. I'm not going to even cheer for the Canucks.

Go Boston Go!

Oh please no.

As much as I'd love for a Canadian team to win the Cup, I really can't bring myself around to cheer for the Canucks.

New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, or Pittsburgh are all fine by me to win.

[Content removed] [Content removed] [Content removed]

WHAT THE HELL DEVILS

...

While the Flames may not be very good lately in the playoffs, I really doubt it is because they don't have enough "depth". There is no doubt in my mind that the Flames have the will power and the skill to succeed in the playoffs. Although, there is something lacking on that team and I think that certain something that is missing is a good coach.

You can go on all day how you think Mike Keenan is a good coach and how his "iron fist" tactics as a coach work wonders, but I honestly just believe there is something wrong there. The team is constantly scrambling on penalty kill, power play, four on four and the reason behind this isn't just players - it's the coach as well. I believe they just need a good coach and they'll be ready for next year. Calgary actually has plenty of good players on paper, but you need a coach to mend those players into a team.

This years playoffs were just a disaster for Calgary. Not only do they start off without one of the best defenseman (Regehr) but they managed to lose Phaneuf later on in the series and have an injured Conroy. This team took blow after blow and they just couldn't last any longer.

Anyway, I just felt like rambling a bit.

woohooo go Canes

AceoStar & Falaris, at the bike racks afterschool?

I would, but Im not all that into hockey, just gotta pull for my home team

Happy to report the Devils are going home.

Happy to report you should go [Content removed] yourself and die in a fire.


-Falaris

Breaking records doesn't mean much if ya can't clear the first round

any prediction on 2nd round?

Vancouver over Boston.
Detroit over Anaheim.

Boston over Carolina.
Washington over Pittsburgh.

Sidney Crosby might be a great hockey player, but he needs to get his ego deflated a bit. Plus, I really like Alex Ovechkin.

Vancouver isn't against Boston. They are in different conferences.

The matchups are:

Vancouver vs Chicago
Detroit vs Anaheim

Boston vs Carolina
Washington vs Pittsburgh

Brain fart, is all. Meant to say Chicago.

Just so that I dont irritate Falaris, I am not going to talk about how bad I started laughing at the Devil's meltdown in the final few min of that game 7. He mad enough as it is already


As for round 2 predictions:

Vancouver over Chicago in 6 (thinking more blackhawks in 6, but wont admit to that)
Detroit over Anaheim in 5
Boston vs Carolina.... cant say. Could go either way in 7
Washington over Pittsburgh in 7


Edit: Game 1 down... That was a close one... A bit too close. giving up a nice 3-0 lead. Vancouver got lucky in this one.

Well, apparently even on-topic posts can be removed.

Either way, no reason to beat a dead horse.

- Chicago/Vancouver, prior to the weirdest games I've ever seen, the Canucks had a 10-0 goals for/against in the last two meetings with the Hawks, as well as an amazing line brawl. Going to be a heated series, but I don't think the Hawks have the ability to finish this one. Although, they did upset the Flames in my opinion, which is a much more experienced and complete team. (4-2)

- Anaheim/Detroit, simply put: The Ducks are scary. If the Wings can't put the Ducks away, I doubt anyone else in the West could. That being said, its hard to win anything without a solid goalie, so I have to give this to the Ducks. (4-3)

- Pittsburgh/Washington, lets just hope that the Penguins can put it together to be the team they can be. Washington is still probably a little shook by the surprisingly long series with the Rangers, which I believe might be a factor for the Penguins. (4-1)

- I don't want to comment on either of Boston/Carolina ... both teams hurt me in Sportsaction a little too much this year to guess haha

Boston has depth and simply has too much skill. I think they will take care of Carolina in 6 games. (4-2)

Vancouver all the wayy

ovechkin is just too insane.

The Caps/Penguins game tomorrow is going to be awesome.

The Caps/Penguins game last night was awesome

I didn't catch all of it, but the VAN-CHI game was also great. I'm glad the Hawks won because I like them more, even though this kills the hope of most Canadians. Again, for being the "best goalie," I'd love to see Luongo actually get a team past the 2nd round... hell last year they didn't even make the playoffs. This is not to say he is a bad goalie, in fact he is top 5 in the NHL, but the best find ways to not let in 7 goals on a game that will end their playoff run.

I still think WAS vs. CHI would be an insane SCF match-up. Talk about firepower and up-tempo games.


-Falaris

I agree. As well, Chicago is very much a hockey town, so they'll be behind them all the way. Washington I don't think has ever been in the finals, so it'll be a good morale booster for the area.

I'm cheering for the Caps, and if the Caps don't make it, then whoever is in the West (except Anaheim).

Cant really fault Luongo that game. The whole team just played horrid. The scores would have been a lot worse if Louie wasnt in net. Either way, another disappointing end to the season. On a side note, at least he made it to the second round *coughs*