Av Fan! Let the Playoffs begin and Pedictions from Iraq ;)

[phoneisbusy]

Well, my wife is officially in mourning as hockey widow season
begins. Av fan, I like your teams chances better then mine to
advance but I'll be rooting for the Canucks throughout.

:D

Dave

OT from the Canucks newsgroup (hopefully it won't get me in the hall of shame heh...)

Statement from Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf
Iraq Ministry of Information

Canucks total games: 3

You will be completely defeated and will meet your graves. You will die
the death of a thousand scorpions. Your goaltending will melt down and
your defences will crumble.


> Baghdad
> Ottawa

Baghdad in 4.
All reports that Ottawa is playing the New York Islanders is spoken by
branded liars controlled by the Zionist cabal led by little Bettman.
Baghdad had more points than everyone else and will play and defeat 8th
place Ottawa. Bagdad will destroy these miserable villains in 4 straight.


> Boston
> Tikrit

Tikrit in 4.
The first-place Tikritis have the Bruins completely surrounded. They
will be smashed like a hammer on an anvil. There is no escape for
Boston. Their yellow third-jerseys reveal their cowardice.


> Wash
> Mosul

Mosul in 4.
Fresh from winning the President Saddam trophy, Mosul will destroy the
Washington forces. If you do not believe me, I will take you there.


> TO
> Philly

Philadelphia in 4.
Nobody likes the Leaves, not even in Iraq. Pat Quinn is throwing his
players into the fire. God will grill their bellies in hell. Special
punishments will be meted out to Darcy Tucker.


> Edmonton
> Dallas

Edmonton in 4.

Dallas' age will reveal itself tragically in this series. Edmonton's
speed will befuddle the Stars and Turco's ankle isn't as strong as it
appears to be.


> Anaheim
> Detroit

Detroit in 4.
The Ducks are really snakes and will be cut, no, julienned into a
thousand fries and gobbled up by the red hot Wings.


> Minn
> Colorado

Colorado in 4.
There is no hope for the infidel Wild against the Avalanche. They will
be truly and utterly destroyed and their souls will wail in lamentation.
Even if Jacques Lemaire convinces Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt to
unretire and go back in time they will not prevail. Instead they will
fry in a pan of their own fat.


> SL
> Vancouver

St. Louis in 3.
The Canucks are an international band of villains with no future but
their own graves. St. Louis goaltending will erect an unbreakable wall
to stop all futile shots from Vancouver guns. Sopel is yet another
Mongol invader who will meet his doom in Baghdad, er. St. Louis.

I must hastily take my leave now. But I warn you, I will be back and I
will be victorious.

Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf

[dcarlson]

I'll have to second that on the Canucks, Bertuzzi's from my home town of Sudbury, On. He kicks ass.

I'm also rootin the other Canadian teams, Leafs, Senators and Oilers.

Derick.

[wangotango68]

untill somebody beats my mighty redwings they are the champs and will win a second straight cup!

[dcarlson]

Cujo has never proven himself worthy in the playoffs. The west is a lot stronger than the east, if the Leafs can make it past Philly, they have a good chance to go all of the way.

Derick.

[avelanchefan]

So far it looks like there will be some exciting series.

In the east...the Devs are the favorites. The Senators better get their crap together or it will be another qwick exit. Philly and Toronto will beat the crap out of each other and render themselves usless in the later rounds of the playoffs. Capitals/Lightning....who cares!

In the West....Unfortunately you have to go with the Wings. Their the Champs and until someone knocks them off they will be the favorites. (And the Ducks won't do that) The Stars are strong, but after last night who knows? Will Turco rebound, or fall flat on his face? Thats one series that I would not put money on. The Avs should have a fairly easy time with the Wild....as long as they cannot get past the left wing lock. With their speed and Foppa's line it should be no problem. Vancouver and St. Louis will be a great series to watch. Cannucks should get past Osgood and the Blues.


Looking forward to tonight....GO AVS!
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/art/wallpaper/avalanche/2001/640champs.shtml

[sterling bug]

Whoever wins will come from the west, stronger teams in the west by far. As a Hawks fan its typical this time of year to be rooting for other teams. We have the worst owner in sports and I finally got fed up so I adopted a team from each conference, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. Neither has won the Cup and T.B. is an underdog. Would be happy if either Dallas, Detroit, or Colorado won too.

[avelanchefan]

I feel for you Sterling. Before the Avs came to Denver I was a huge Blackhawks fan. Very dissapointed in seeing their decline the last 7 years. Ohhh if they would have kept Roenick/Amonte/ and Eddie. May...with luck...have had a cup by now.

They sure took the Avs to the limits their first two seasons in Denver.

[phoneisbusy]

Originally posted by avelanchefan
So far it looks like there will be some exciting series.

In the east...the Devs are the favorites. The Senators better get their crap together or it will be another qwick exit. Philly and Toronto will beat the crap out of each other and render themselves usless in the later rounds of the playoffs. Capitals/Lightning....who cares!

In the West....Unfortunately you have to go with the Wings. Their the Champs and until someone knocks them off they will be the favorites. (And the Ducks won't do that) The Stars are strong, but after last night who knows? Will Turco rebound, or fall flat on his face? Thats one series that I would not put money on. The Avs should have a fairly easy time with the Wild....as long as they cannot get past the left wing lock. With their speed and Foppa's line it should be no problem. Vancouver and St. Louis will be a great series to watch. Cannucks should get past Osgood and the Blues.


Looking forward to tonight....GO AVS!
http://denver.rockymountainnews.com/art/wallpaper/avalanche/2001/640champs.shtml

The sens need to win the next one. If they go down two, it's gonna be tough. I'd give them the benefit of the doubt though. Snow can shine for a stretch but I have my doubts he can carry them to the cup. I really would like to see an Sens/Leaf series. They really hate each other.

I think the Canucks/Blues series will be one of the most entertaining first round series but the winner of that one may be too beat up to advance past the second. Also a bit concern as the Canucks have struggled with injuries and momentum.

Dave

[fireshoes]

Originally posted by avelanchefan
In the West....Unfortunately you have to go with the Wings. Their the Champs and until someone knocks them off they will be the favorites. (And the Ducks won't do that)

The Avs should have a fairly easy time with the Wild....as long as they cannot get past the left wing lock. With their speed and Foppa's line it should be no problem.

Vancouver and St. Louis will be a great series to watch. Cannucks should get past Osgood and the Blues.

Oops!!! Hahahaha

[avelanchefan]

LMFAO Fireshoes!

I was watching the game last night...well actually both games and I am thinking did the 5-8 seeds just all win?

They sure as hell did. In fact in both conferences only one 4+ seed won. That was the squeaker when the Devils beat the Bruins 2-1.

Welcome to playoff hockey....looks like some upsets are in the making.

[Tour2ma]

Gotta love them Ducks (sorry Wango)... Like Wilbon says on PTI, should change the name of the game from "hockey" to "goalie" when the playoffs start.

Philly has to do it tonite... got the line match ups figured out in game 2 and then the series went to Toronto and it's nervous time. It's all who hits the hardest in this series (and yet stays out of the box).

In spite of his value, I do hope Mogilny comes back OK. Very unfortunate incident when he tripped JR.

[avelanchefan]

It is going to be fun watching the Ducks play tonight. In fact I am looking more forward to that game than the Avs/Wild! I really want to see how the Wings come to play. Will they be on fire or pack up their skates and fold it in?

Personally the Ducks need to win tonight. They cannot let the Wings get back in the series. If the Wings win tonight I would almopst put money on the chances that this goes seven games. I know Giguere(sp?) is hot, but any doubt in the Ducks minds could be very detrimental. They do not want to go back to Detroit.

[wangotango68]

what the hell has happened to my red wings? i guess the golf courses are calling early this year. i ahve a felling it is going to be over tonight.

scott:cool:

[dcarlson]

No Bowman, no Hasek, give Ducks a good chance.

Go Leafs, Go.

Derick.

[wangotango68]

Originally posted by dcarlson
No Bowman, no Hasek, give Ducks a good chance.



Derick.

i don't think it so much bowman or hasek,but if your not scoring goals and the other team has a hot goltender. well that just about sums it up.

scott:cool:

[dcarlson]

What happened to the Go leafs, Go? :D

[Tour2ma]

dc,
I think Mark Recci just happened to 'em.... O/T 3... Flyers 3-2

[wangotango68]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=230416025#

scott :cool:

[dcarlson]

That's insane. I'll bet a lot hockey pools are shot. I stayed up to watch the Leafs, :( Belfour's keeping them in there. I didn't know about Detroit until this morning. Sad about Vancouver. Happy about Ottawa.

Derick.

[sterling bug]

Can't do too much when a goalies save pct. is 96%. Detroit will be back next year, they have some older players but they also have some very good young players. Hopefully Dallas ends Edmonton's season in game 6 then I hope they destroy Anaheim. Can't stand Laroque on Edmonton, dirty player in my book.

[avelanchefan]

Fanny ass picture I found on the ESPN message board.

[dcarlson]

:lol: That's hillarious.

I'll have to send that one to a few buddies.

*Edit*

He's got his Red on.


Derick.

[phoneisbusy]

Originally posted by sterling bug
Can't do too much when a goalies save pct. is 96%. Detroit will be back next year, they have some older players but they also have some very good young players. Hopefully Dallas ends Edmonton's season in game 6 then I hope they destroy Anaheim. Can't stand Laroque on Edmonton, dirty player in my book.

What don't you like about Laroque? Probably one of the toughest fighters in the league and has some touch. I don't see much of him because I follow the Canucks but I havent' seen or heard of many dirty plays by him.

Well, I've crawled out of my hole after the first game. Don't get me wrong, I was still rooting for Vancouver but it was painful watching them in games 1-4.

It still can go either way Tues but I'll still be rooting (with eyes shut)...

regards

Dave

[avelanchefan]

Friggin Avs!!! Thats all I have to say. I am ashamed to use there name as my username.

[sterling bug]

Laroque is a tough guy but I think he can be dirty at times. One example was in the last game when he slashed Turco behind his legs while skating by. Granted it probably didn't hurt Turco but it was totally uneccassary. Don't worry avsfan, I think they will win tomorrow. Its ridiculous that Min/Col and Tor/Phi have to play game 6 and 7 back to back, gonna be some tired players, especially if they go into overtime. My predictions: Phi 3 Tor 1, Col 4 Min 0, Van 5 St.L 3. I hope St. Louis pulls it out though since I adopted them and Tampa Bay. When your favorite team is the Blackhawks you have to look elsewhere this time of year.

[Tour2ma]

Sterling I hope your predictions are right... my Flyers looked pretty weak Monday...

Tuesday night is going to be one helluva hockey night...

[phoneisbusy]

Originally posted by sterling bug
Laroque is a tough guy but I think he can be dirty at times. One example was in the last game when he slashed Turco behind his legs while skating by. Granted it probably didn't hurt Turco but it was totally uneccassary. Don't worry avsfan, I think they will win tomorrow. Its ridiculous that Min/Col and Tor/Phi have to play game 6 and 7 back to back, gonna be some tired players, especially if they go into overtime. My predictions: Phi 3 Tor 1, Col 4 Min 0, Van 5 St.L 3. I hope St. Louis pulls it out though since I adopted them and Tampa Bay. When your favorite team is the Blackhawks you have to look elsewhere this time of year.

I dunno... Turco was certainly feisty throughout the series. I've seen him face washing oilers during the various scrums after the stoppages. As for Laroque giving Turco a slash behind the legs, it could have been retailiation for previous slashes when oilers were crashing the net. You have to admire Turco for being able to get under the oilers skins. It's usually the other team trying to get under the goaltender's skin.

I tend to view dirty as boarding from behind, sucker punching players, and knee on knee hits (Marchment). I still think the Av got Marchment to keep him away from Sakic's and Forsberg's knees.

How's everyone feel about game 7 tonight? Brutal that the Avs, Wild, Flyers and Leafs have to play the day after.

Av fan, I have to say, Roy gave up a few soft ones (for Roy) last night. Hopefully he'll bounce back. I honestly thought the Av would take Minn in 5. I think the Av should pull it out with all their experience.

As for the Leafs/Flyers. Flyers seem to have dominated but the Leafs have been opprotunistic. Can't say who I think will win this one.

As for the Blues/Canucks. The scoring is back for the Canucks but their defensive coverage has been nail biting and downright brutal at times.

Good luck to all (except St. Louis) ;)

Dave

[dcarlson]

I've haven't seen Turco play too often, but I have to say I lost a little respect for the blatent dive he took in game 6.

I'm still rootin for the Leafs, it would be cool to see Ottawa vs. Toronto. Battle of Ontario.

[fireshoes]

Man I'm totally psyched for tonight! Playoff hockey is just the best, and when you have three game 7's.....Holy crap! Hopefully we get an overtime or two in there too!

I'm going for St. Louis, Minnesota, and Toronto tonight. I don't really care that much on the Toronto/Philly game, but I just want to see if Philly will fire yet another coach if they lose. :)

[phoneisbusy]

Originally posted by dcarlson
I've haven't seen Turco play too often, but I have to say I lost a little respect for the blatent dive he took in game 6.

I'm still rootin for the Leafs, it would be cool to see Ottawa vs. Toronto. Battle of Ontario.

That would be a good series to watch with all the bad blood between the two. I'm a bit surprised though. I figured the Flyers and the Leafs would have pounded each other into oblivion by now.

Dave

[Tour2ma]

Whoa did Philly come through big... Even with Dejardens' injury I'm tempted to say they are going all the way.

We shall see... Still two games to go tonite. Good luck to y'all.

[fireshoes]

Goooooooooooooooallllllllllllll!!!

Sorry Avfan, that was a sweet play!

Go Wild!

[Tour2ma]

Ditto... When Vancover jumped out so big in their game 7, I was worried for ya Av...

Stat of the night was by Gary Thorn during the Flyers game... In game 7's the home team wins 68% of the time. Meant one of the three was bound to lose tonite and unfortunately the stat held true...

[avelanchefan]

Yeah...Avs really choked. What a sad performance by them

[fireshoes]

Maybe over the course of seven games they choked, but I wouldn't really say they choked last night. They dominated the play, but Fernandez was too good. The hot goaltender usually wins, and last night Fernandez was just better than Roy.

[phoneisbusy]

Whoot! Finally... the Canucks played a strong 60 mins!
It didn't look good but they pulled it out. Completely disgusted with Osgood and his whining about Cloutier diving. What's he do? Dive... Oh wait... he doesn't like to do that anymore. :p

Av fan, don't understand it. Your boys should have taken them out. A couple of comments from my hockey nut friends is that Granto got outcoached. Any opinions on that?

Anyways, I'm happy. I think Vancouver should be able to win the series against the Wild but then again I thought Colorado would take them out easily.


Dave

[dcarlson]

Boy oh boy. I'm sad Toronto's out. Happy Vancouver is in. Scared Ottawa's going to get roughed.

Now we just need Dallas and New Jersery to fall then we'll see a new team win the cup for the first time in 8 years.

Derick.

[sterling bug]

Tough luck Av's fan. At least it was a great goal and not a fluke. This is a bigger upset than Detroit losing IMO because Colorado had a 3-1 lead and all the momentum. Wanted the Blues to win but just had that feeling they were going to lose. Love Bertuzi, that guy is a monster and with great skill too, wish the Hawks had him. Should be an interesting second round thats for sure. This is the best time of year if your a hockey fan, great stuff so far.

[phoneisbusy]

Originally posted by sterling bug
Tough luck Av's fan. At least it was a great goal and not a fluke. This is a bigger upset than Detroit losing IMO because Colorado had a 3-1 lead and all the momentum. Wanted the Blues to win but just had that feeling they were going to lose. Love Bertuzi, that guy is a monster and with great skill too, wish the Hawks had him. Should be an interesting second round thats for sure. This is the best time of year if your a hockey fan, great stuff so far.

It was a treat watching Bertuzzi flatten St. Louis. I think he single handedly wore out the St. Louis d-men.

Good goal but what were the other av players doing standing there watching? You gotta respect a team that managed to upset the Avs but I think the Canucks can beat the Wild in a series if they stay disciplined and play patient hockey. That and if Bertuzzi flattens the entire team again... ;)

The Flyers impressed me with their physical play too. Ottawa is going to be very battered after round two.

Dave

[avelanchefan]

Yeah it was a fairly rough night last night. Lets just say I had one to many AFTER the game! It was a great series though for wild fans. Anbd to tell you the truth if any team was to beat us I would want it to be the Wild. They are my second favorite team. So I do have some interest going into the second round. Looks Like the Cannucks/Wild series will be good. Will be interested to see how the Ducks pan out. Hope they can match Dallas physically.

As for the east, I am hoping either the Sens or Flyers advance to the Finals. Hopefully Martin will have a breakdown against the Lightning....I said I was HOPING!!