[Homeless]

I'll take a shot at some predictions...

East

Washington vs Montreal: Washington in 6
New Jersey vs Philadelphia: New Jersey in 5
Buffalo vs Boston: Buffalo in 6
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa: Pittsburgh in 5

West

San Jose vs Colorado: SJ in 6
Chicago vs Nashville: Chicago in 5
Vancouver vs Los Angeles: Vancouver in 5
Phoenix vs Detroit: Phoenix in 7

 

[itsborken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yikes /img/forum/go_quote.gif They didn't have the drive to win??? ... That being said the way the Flyers backed into the Playoffs

Where you wind up is what I meant. That it went to overtime knotted up (and the flyers played a crisp five minutes fwiw) and it is resolved by a shootout doesn't portend a good playoff series.

I'll be rooting for the Devils even though I'm originally from the Philly area. Out of the lot, I think that pairing will produce the best games in the first round.

 

[itsborken]

East

Washington vs Montreal: Washington in 5
New Jersey vs Philadelphia: New Jersey in 6
Buffalo vs Boston: Buffalo in 5
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa: Pittsburg in 6

West

San Jose vs Colorado: San Jose in 5
Chicago vs Nashville: Chicago in 5
Vancouver vs Los Angeles: Los Angeles in 6
Phoenix vs Detroit: Detroit in 6

 

[ak622]

Go Detroit Go! This will be an interesting Playoffs with Detroit playing as the lower seed. The western conference has definitely opened up with the young teams of LA and Colorado in the mix. I just hope I get enough coverage. This is one thing I miss about living in Vancouver where I can watch all the playoffs!

 

[buddhashenglong]

 

[Pepsi]

Sorry guys, i think it's time for a team other than Pittsburg or Detroit as the Stanley Cup contenders.

 

[buddhashenglong]

Don't apologize, qualify.

 

[ak622]

buddhashenglong: very nice! its great to see the Wings playing well again after theri incredible amount of injuries this season. But the playoffs really rest on the shoulders of Howard.

Pepsi: I agree that Detroit and Pittsburgh are definitely not front runners like they were the past 2 years, but they have the experience and leadership to pull out at least a round or 2.

I really want to see which team or which player steps it up this year. I'm most interested to see if Henrik Sedin can continue his great offense outburst into the playoffs when he and Daniel don't produce as well.

 

[grawk]

There's leadership on pittsburgh? Where? Jordan Staal doesn't see it...

Penguins' loss seals No. 4 seed for playoffs - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Quote:

Staal said he doesn't know the reason for that trend. "It's frustrating," he said. "You can't put your finger on it. Someone's got to be a leader in this room, whether it's me or someone else, to find a way to lead this team to play the right way. Hopefully we can find that. It's got to be a line (of players). It's got to be the (defense) corps, the goalies, from the tops guys to the bottom." Staal concluded by acknowledging that the Penguins are missing a "whole bunch of things."

 

[ak622]

I would have thought Guerin brought a veteran's presence in the locker room but from Staal's line, it seems no one is stepping up.

 

[grawk]

That doesn't sound like he's talking about his line, but rather, about their lack of leadership, on the ice or in the dressing room.

 

[JDGAFFLIN]

Wings fan here. Rough first half of the season with the injuries, and such, but since the All Star break, they have been pretty darn solid. They lost a lot from last years team, but I still wouldn't want to run into Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and co. in the playoffs.

 

[grawk]

I think the wings are a better team today than they were this time last year. Last year they were looking old and tired. This year they're looking like they really want it.

 

[ak622]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif That doesn't sound like he's talking about his line, but rather, about their lack of leadership, on the ice or in the dressing room.

Sorry, I should have wrote his quote. His quote might just be enough to kick some "leaders" to take charge as the playoffs begins. It'll be interesting to see how they fair this year. They haven't been that great down the stretch.


I also agree that the Wings look a lot hungrier. They've overcome their season long injury woes which also gave a chance for their young guys to step up.. They had a fantastic post-olympic stretch so they look primed for a good play-off run.

 

[deadhead12]

I was hoping to see a hockey thread on here come playoff time. My vote is Wings/Caps in the final. As long as Pittsburgh don't make it I'm happy though.