NHL Playoffs 2003

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  • Reply 141 of 259
    casecomcasecom Posts: 314member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Moogs

    And they're still doing Goaltender by committee. Can't remember the last team who won a Cup doing that.



    But the difference here is they have great confidence in either goaltender no matter which one is in the nets ... hardly your usual "goaltender by committee" situation.
  • Reply 142 of 259
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    one thing i'll give the hockey refs. if they're going to call it loose, they actually do it loose. ended up evening out by the end.



    GO WILD!



  • Reply 143 of 259
    argentoargento Posts: 483member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mac OS X Addict

    The Wild did play well in the third only because the Vancouver team did not show up in the third period. They made sloppy passes, did not finish their checks, and overall sucked in the third. All I can say is that the Wild are going to have a tough time against J S. A real tough time.



    Why the hell won't anybody just say "yeah the Wild out played them"? ****, the canucks had 3 chances to knock us out, and nobody is giving any credit to the Wild winning? Nope, just that the "canucks played poorly, so that's why they lost." Don't give me that bullshit, the Wild won because they played out of their ass.
  • Reply 144 of 259
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    yeah, the Wild outplayed us when it counted most
  • Reply 145 of 259
    curiousuburbcuriousuburb Posts: 3,325member
    and we sucked defensively,

    and didn't hit enough to leverage our physical advantage,

    and took too many stupid/questionable penalties,

    and gave the puck away instead of dump and chase,

    and didn't produce enough shots, chances, closure...



    and some trades will occur as a result of this series.



    gone will be players who can't backcheck or defend well,

    new speed, grit, and maybe goaltending are my bets.



    fun while it lasted.



    fore!
  • Reply 146 of 259
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Argento

    Why the hell won't anybody just say "yeah the Wild out played them"? ****, the canucks had 3 chances to knock us out, and nobody is giving any credit to the Wild winning? Nope, just that the "canucks played poorly, so that's why they lost." Don't give me that bullshit, the Wild won because they played out of their ass.



    Sorry for bursting your WILD bubble. I was talking about this game and not the other two. In the other two games the Wild did kick the crap out of the Canucks and I give them credit for that. Tonights game was the Canucks in the first two periods. They outshot and they out hit the Wild. In the third period the Canucks were a total different team and the Wild took advantage of that with their quick speed and defence. Did you even watch the game?? I did and the Canucks simply did not show up in the third period.
  • Reply 147 of 259
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    No need to over analyze this. If Vancouver had a goalie, they'd be in the next round. Plain and simple.
  • Reply 148 of 259
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    The Wild were up 4-2 when Vancouver pulled their goalie anyway... how would it have helped if they had left him in?



    Or do you mean if they had a good goalie and you're just being sarcastic because you think their goalie is bad?
  • Reply 149 of 259
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    You could tell Vancouver ran out of steam. Their 3rd period defense consisted of a lot of clutching and grabbing but poor positioning and sloppy passing. Roloson stood on his head = he is so up and down. Luckily for the Wild (the whole series proved the idea of "lucky bouces" but they did work harder overall.), he was up at the right time. I still think Fernandez will be the undisputed starter for them after next year.
  • Reply 150 of 259
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Cloutier is a piece of dog shit.



  • Reply 151 of 259
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    ok, pregame predictions:



    Ducks vs. Wild?



    i'm going 3-2 Wild.
  • Reply 152 of 259
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    2-1 Ducks. Wild will play from behind again.
  • Reply 153 of 259
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    sheesh, after watching this game i think i'll go 1-0 in overtime, with the win going to anyone.



    btw, what's up with Wild players getting sticks to the face hard enough that they bleed with no penalties? that's 3 times in two games now.
  • Reply 154 of 259
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    OMG.



    if you're not watching this Wild, Ducks game, some AMAZING play!



    edit: Ducks go up 1 game.



    good game though.
  • Reply 155 of 259
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Moogs probably hated it.



    Ouch, so NJ basically dominates play in the first, and they're down 2-0? It's gonna be a long series.... for me.
  • Reply 156 of 259
    Its good to see that the Wild got shutout by JS. It is a disappointment that the Flames traded him only knowing that he would be big. Poor Poor Calgary.
  • Reply 157 of 259
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Aww shaddap Rotto.



    I actually was working so I didn't get to see the thrilling Ducks - Wild game (1-0 in 2OT: welcome to what will become the lowest scoring series in WC history ... Zzzzz).



    I did catch a couple periods of the Sens - Devils game. That one will also be pretty boring I think. NJ has no offense, so all Ottawa has to do is get a 2 goal lead every game (not "easy" but definitely doable) and clog up the NZ on NJ's end of the ice. [Yesterday was more "rust" than anything, I think]. With Ottawa's speed, NJ probably won't take a lot of chances on long cross-ice passes because they know they'll get burned. It's going to be predictable unless NJ really dares to place their trust in Elias, Gomez and some of the other forwards.



    NOW, to clear the air here:



    1. The Wild clearly outplayed the Canucks most of the series; I don't dispute that. They deserved to win - goalie committee or not - period.



    As for the "equal confidence in either goalie" thing, you're on crack Casecom. If Fernandez had played that whole series, it probably would've been over in 6. Roloson clearly played better against the Nucks than Fernandez did. If I'm not mistaken, he started games 5, 6 and 7. That doesn't spell "equal confidence" to me. Wild fans just have to hope that the trend of their opponent being able to get to one goalie, but not the other, will continue.





    2. I am happy for Wild fans, because I fuking hate the idea that a city like Dallas ever had the option to have a franchise like the North Stars. Sacrilege, pure and simple. Would be like the Cowboys getting relocated to Maine.





    3. The Canuck commentators and some fans don't seem to grasp the difference between taking stupid runs at players (which they did at times), and having the whole team focused on finishing their checks and making hard hits in the NZ (which they rarely did).



    They didn't lose the series because they tried to "hit Minnesota all game long, but the Wild were too fast" (like that guy for CBC said). They lost it because they gave Minnesota the NZ the last half of the series and refused to hit them *there* the way they did to St. Louis. Of course if you try to hit the other team around their own net (and miss), they'll burn you. That goes for any team. Even Pittsburgh will burn you if you try to do that to them, and they *suck*.







    4. Cloutier is still a head case. He did not give his team much of a chance though he played well in certain heated situations. Just has no consistency at all though.





    5. I'm not sure what big "trades" can result from this. I see a very similar Canuck team next season. Though 8 home playoff games the richer for their efforts, do not have a lot of money. Certainly not enough to get a big-name tender.



    I'll tell you one thing, I thought Malik was worthless -- just like Battaglia for Colorado. Those guys were one season wonders. One guy I though that improved his checking was Brendan Morrison. Not exactly known for his position play, he did a pretty good job the last few games. You could tell he was making a concerted effort in some situations to make the solid / smart play, which during the season he didn't always do.





    6. I don't buy the argument that a better goalie would've cemented a series win; witness Patrick Roy. The defeated both have the same weakness (though Colorado to a lesser degree): lack of defensive depth. The Canucks had to rely on Ohlund, Sopel and of course Jovanovski.



    It's all about skill and decision making there, not size. If it were only about size, Vancouver would've won in 4. Look at the size of their defensmen for God's sake: the *average* is like 6'3" 220 lbs. That's HUGE. Probably the biggest defense in the league, but definitely not the smartest. Their speed is average, but I don't think that's what killed them.
  • Reply 158 of 259
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Thing about the Devils-Sens series: Ottowa has better offense, they lok better on paper, but NJ has Brodeur, nevermind all the playoff experience (NJ has underacheived before, so I don't think this is necessarily a factor). But if Brodeur can steal 2-3 games, the Devils can probably slip by. They have an advantage at goaltender over the sens. Brodeur was not quite prepared for that first goal, the second and third he had no chance on, but he was pretty amazing for most of the game. If he can play 60 minutes like that, and assuming that the defense has adapted to the Sens like they did in the second and third, the Devils might take the series, albeit in 6 or seven games. Actually, the Devs-Sens game was probably more exciting than any other games I've watched so far in the palyoffs. No terrible mismatches, pretty up-and-down (surprise, Moogs!) though NJ will try to be more deliberate, but they do have speed people don't give them credit for. NJ's young forwards are their archilles heel, especially since Newendyk seems to have lost it since his move from Dallas. If either Gionta, Madden, Gomez, Langenbrunner or Elias have a good series, they will score their fair share especially considering the Ottowa goalie, who is good but not great. If two start lighting it up, placing them on one line could be overwhelming for Lalime. I think special teams won't make a difference in the series since both teams' penalty kills trump their powerplay teams. I think the coaching and the goaltending are the big factors in the series. I think Martin is an underrated coach though; I don't expect him to make mistakes.
  • Reply 159 of 259
    moogsmoogs Posts: 4,296member
    Broduer is definitely the best and most accomplished goalie left in the playoffs, and he *is* better than Lalime, but Patrick has matured quite a bit this year I think. He's more even-keeled, less prone to stupid mistakes like he used to be. With the Sens' D in front of him I think it's hard to say either team has a decisive edge on their own side of the blue line.



    Also, Ottawa doesn't have a Cup yet, but they're certainly an experienced playoff team by now. Gone through their share of disappointements and rebounding. They seem like a much more poised team this year, and probably Martin has something to do with that. Good coach as you say.



    As for Newy... he's anything but "young".



    Hopefully I'm wrong about the Sens - Devils as far as excitement goes. Otherwise one could argue the most exciting hockey has already come and gone.



  • Reply 160 of 259
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Well, I thought the Devs-Stars series in 2000 was exciting, especially the last 2 games even if they were low-scoring affairs, so don't trust my opinion.



    I'll tell you this, you won't be seeing Oleg Tverdovsky again if Burns can help it. He cost them 2 of the goals last night and cost them 2 in the last game he played in. Great talent, but too afraid of getting physical. According to the NY Times, Larry Robinson was giving Tverdovsky coaching advice and tips after the game, but he's not going to get past his (frankly) sissy attitude just because one of the great defensemen in hockey told him to.



    The rest of the Devs are sayng the right things at least. They've done that before and it wasn't reflected on the ice, but they didn't have anyone like Burns to chew them out since Lemaire was coach. (Well, except for 2 or 3 of tirades by Robinson in his tenure.)
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