How about those Boston Bruins?

[Creole Ned]

Test post to see if Q still reads the forum.

[Tai]

heh, funnies! :) I was going to ask if they'd just won the Stanley Cup or something. I did get invited to the skybox for the Caps game on Friday but declined since I know so little about hockey and the teams.

[Creole Ned]

Darn, this will never work now. Boston went and won a game.

[Tai]

I didn't know they could do that!

[armerius]

flyers are up 2-1!

[Q]

Two days ago, my response would have been: Stupid Bruins.

[Creole Ned]

Now it is "somewhat stupid Bruins"!

[Tick]

Shouldn't it have been "same old Bruins"? They seem to have done this nearly every year for the last like decade.

[Creole Ned]

Ouch, the Canucks could have put away Chicago in four straight tonight and instead got pasted 7-2.

Still, odds are they'll advance. Very few teams have come back after being down 3-0 in a series. The last to do it was Philadelphia last year.

Against Boston.

[Q]

So how about them Canucks?

[Tai]

Who won?

[Tick]

Bs are up 3 games to 2 with game 6 going on now (Montreal is up 2-1 midway through the 2nd period). The Vancouver Canucks have blown a 3-0 lead and are now facing a deciding game 7 in Vancouver against Chicago later tonight.

[Creole Ned]

Working for the Canucks is the fact that only four teams in NHL history have come back from 3-0 deficits to win their series (the Flyers did it just last year against...Boston!) Working against the Canucks are, well, the Canucks. In 40 years they have not had much playoff success.

But I don't dismiss the regular season out of hand, so even if they go out tonight, they had a great season leading up to it. My only request would be for some team -- any team -- to smoosh Chicago out of the playoffs.

Boston beating Chicago would be acceptable!

[Tai]

nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure! This all sounds more exciting than I expected, make me wish good luck to everyone equally :)

[Creole Ned]

Yay, Vancouver smooshed Chicago out of the playoffs! And gave every hockey fan in the city heart palpitations by waiting until overtime in game 7 to do it!

[armerius]

GO FLYERS GO!

[Q]

GO FLYERS GO!

Can we ban Arm for this?

[armerius]

You're still just sore from last year.

GO BROAD STREET BULLIES!!!!

last night's game was AMAZING!

[Q]

Bruins are in the process of choking yet again...

[Q]

Ahh, much better.

[Creole Ned]

And now the Bruins play the Flyers after yet another round 1 series went to the seventh game and overtime!

[armerius]

This could get a bit personal here on the forums... shall we play nice-like, Q?

[Creole Ned]

I'll jut go ahead and ban everyone now just to be safe. :nod:

[Q]

So, how about that game today Arm?

[armerius]

grumble grumble grumble....

game 2... it's on.

[Creole Ned]

The Bruins are up 3-0 in the series.

Just like last year when...the bad thing happened.

Also, you know it's the playoffs when the Capitals do their usual choke. Swept in 4 by Tampa Bay. They don't even have ice down there!

[armerius]

that's pretty bad for the caps...

as for my beloved Flyers, I stand by saying they are a better team, but the Bruins goalie is near unbeatable!

[Tick]

And the Flyers don't have a goalie this year, which is no way to win in the playoffs.

[armerius]

this is regrettably true...

my kingdom for the golden days of Ron Hextall

[Creole Ned]

Ah, Hextall. He was such an even-tempered guy. :yay:

I remember him being one of the goalies to actually score a goal, too!

It's interesting how round 2 has been the opposite of round 1. The first round a lot of series went to seven games and T. With the exception of Nashville's one double OT win against Vancouver, the opposition in all of the second round series are on the brink (or eliminated) without winning a single game. Weird!

[armerius]

don't say it.. i don't even want to talk about it.

[Q]

Ah, the demons of last season have been exorcised!

[Creole Ned]

Meanwhile, the Canucks are being roasted over lacking the killer instinct -- a valid complaint given that they've had five chances to end series so far and haven't. Also, the Sedins are apparently already golfing in their minds rather than playing hockey. #1 and #4 in scoring in the regular season, #1,000,000 and #1,000,001 in the post-season.

And how about those Sharks? With a 3-1 lead in the 3rd period, they allowed Detroit to score 3 straight goals to win game 5. I actually caught the third period on TV and you could practically smell the Sharks' panic as they completely unraveled.

[Q]

The Sharks are once again showing why they have been labelled as playoff chokers...

[Tick]

I'm still trying to figure out how San Jose, CA's only professional sports team is a hockey team. I'm pretty sure that the average resident thinks "freezing" is somewhere in the mid 50s.

[Creole Ned]

Game 7 for Boston after another high-scoring game!

[Tick]

Sometimes I wonder if the state of Massachusetts actually passed a law in the late 90s that Mass-based sports teams are never allowed to just win in the post season, they have to make it as emotionally draining as possible, and I just missed it.

[Tick]

So uh, Boston-Vancouver, huh?

[Creole Ned]

The last time Boston was in the final they also played a Canadian team (Edmonton Oilers, 1990). I'm hoping history repeats itself and the Canadian team wins again. :yay:

Then Boston can win the Stanley Cup next year!

The Boston-Tampa Bay series was weird. I didn't realize the teams had identical records in the regular season so in a way it's no surprise that the series went to seven but the scoring was all over the place. I mean, from nine goals in game 6 to one goal in game 7. It reminded me of the time a few years back when Vancouver faced Dallas and Vancouver won in seven games. The three games they lost were all shutouts. Wrap your head around a team that can lose three shutout games and still win the series.

[Tick]

It was strange to see Tampa switching goalies, too. Usually that's a kiss of death in the playoffs (everyone's looking at you now, Philly).

Luongo and Thomas have nearly identical stats so far in the playoffs, so it should be interesting.

I should also note that if the B's win it all, Boston will have completed a 10 year span with 7 championships across the 4 major sports (as well as two championship game/series losses), starting in 2002 whenthe Patriots won their first Super Bowl in Feb. 2002).

[armerius]

Usually that's a kiss of death in the playoffs (everyone's looking at you now, Philly).




still don't wanna talk about it...

how bout them philles?

[Creole Ned]

Luongo and Thomas have nearly identical stats so far in the playoffs, so it should be interesting.
Interestingly, Thomas and Luongo are two of the three 2011 Vezina Trophy finalists (the third being Nashville's Pekka Rinne).

[Tick]

two of the three best goalies in the league this year being in the finals is probably not a huge coincidence.

I'm more worried with the blue liners than Thomas. They're gonna have to step up against the Sedins.

[Creole Ned]

Another weird thing about Boston's Game 7 vs. Tampa Bay was no penalties. I think they said that's never happened in a playoff game before (and is the complete opposite of the Canucks=Sharks penaltyfests where it seemed like it was never 5 on 5). It probably worked to Boston's advantage, with their power play being...less than 100%.

[Tick]

Yeah, I certainly can't recall a hockey game with no penalties. I was raiding so I didn't see it, so I'm curious if it was just an unusually clean game or if the refs just chose not to call anything.

[Creole Ned]

It was pretty clean, actually. Both teams were playing the ol' disciplined hockey.

Also, priorities, man! The Bruins playing game 7 of the conference final and you were in WoW? :P

[Tick]

I couldn't have watched it anyway, I don't have cable anymore, and the game wasn't broadcast on any over the air channels here.

[Creole Ned]

Not even an Internet feed? I've always been able to watch it on the cbc.ca's website at least (though I do have cable again for the time being).

[Tick]

I'm not sure if Versus has an online feed. ESPN/ABC and TNT have been really bad about putting playoff basketball games online which drives me nuts, cause ESPN has both a web feed and a free xbox app that shows live feeds.

[Q]

Whee, game winning goal from the guy who should have been suspended.

[Tick]

That was a hell of a game, but what a terrible way to end. And yeah, Burrows shouldn't have been out there.

[Q]

Wow, Burrows is really a cheap hack.

[Tick]

I missed game 3, don't have Versus. 8-1 is a crazy score, especially considering how well Luongo was playing the last two. From what I've read, it sounds like it was chippy as hell all through the 3rd, which I guess isn't a total shock.

What'd Burrows do this time?

[Q]

I missed game 3, don't have Versus. 8-1 is a crazy score, especially considering how well Luongo was playing the last two. From what I've read, it sounds like it was chippy as hell all through the 3rd, which I guess isn't a total shock.

What'd Burrows do this time?

He whacked Thomas' arm after Thomas had the puck covered with his glove. He got a punch in the head from Lucic for his troubles. Replay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3SCEMwBFUg


So you also didn't see the cheap shot from Rome on Horton: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8voTc9A7qDQ

That was just disgusting - Rome didn't even start that hit until the puck was gone.

On the brighter side, Thomas on Henrik Sedin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txBVdz6UO3U

[Creole Ned]

Yeah, Rome's hit was late and he deserved the suspension. Hopefully Horton will make a full recovery. With concussions being such a hot topic in the NHL this year maybe they will toughen up the penalties for these kinds of late hits.

And while it took the Bruins a period before they nuked Vancouver, the end result wasn't unexpected.

Sedin does like to 'embellish' a lot and I don't know why. He's an excellent player and doesn't need to. When both teams are playing well, it's been a great series to watch, with both goalies really standing out.

Anyway, I'm not going to dig up YouTune links for any of the stuff Boston has done because I'd rather focus on the positives that both teams have to offer rather than dwell on the negative. I realize that goes against the 'complain about everything in the world' thing that's so fashionable these days, but there you go. :)

And for the record, while I am obviously cheering on Vancouver to (cleanly) win the cup, I'm happy for either team to do so.

[Q]

I'm also glad that the series isn't going to be over in 4 games (in either direction)

[Creole Ned]

Agreed. A sweep by either side would not be entertaining.

[Q]

Man, I wonder if Vancouver is regretting poking the bear in Game 3.

[Creole Ned]

Yeah, outscored 12-1 in two games does not bode well. Would prefer to see them go out with a little more to show for it. The blowouts are not entertaining.

[Creole Ned]

I knew the title of this thread would come back to haunt me. :P

[Tick]

Here's hoping Q's head hasn't exploded in sheer joy. Woo!

Right now, the Pats are the longest-"suffering" team in Boston/New England sports. 6 seasons without a title. Been a pretty good decade for Boston sports fans.

[Creole Ned]

Congrats to Boston!

Based on previous history, Vancouver will next have a shot at the whole thing around 2026 or so. Woo!

[Tick]

Vancouverites (I'm assuming that's the proper term? Vancouverians?) were surprisingly quick to riot. Riotting is often seen as sort of a proof of the point that Americans are horrible people or whatnot, but the frequency of sports-related riots in other countries seems about on par (if not worse in some places) with american cities.

[Creole Ned]

They certainly weren't 'fans' in the sense most people would assume. They were goons looking to make trouble and would have done so regardless of the outcome of last night's game. It had nothing to do with hockey, sport or anything other than hooliganism.

[Tick]

Odd stat:

For the 2007/2008 season, the NHL had the then champion Anaheim Ducks face the LA Kings in London for two games. Each of the 3 seasons after that featured two two-game series in Europe. In each of those 3 seasons, the eventual Cup champion was won by one of the 4 teams that started their season in Europe.

2009, Pittsburgh, opened the season in Stockholm, beat Detroit for the cup
2010, Chicago opened the season in Helsinki, beat Philly for the cup.
2011, Boston opened the season in Prague, beat Vancover for the cup.

None of the defeated teams started their season in Europe.

[Creole Ned]

/me lobbies for Vancouver to start in Europe for 2011/2012.

[Tick]

Are we sure Q didn't die of happiness? I'm kind of amazed he hasn't commented here yet.

[Tai]

As Ned said, this was best picture:

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/topstories/2011/06/17/li-kissing-couple-116621449.jpg

[Tai]

heh, this is a great site: http://www.identifyrioters.com/ :)

[Creole Ned]

The whole social media angle on the riot is really interesting, especially in contrast to 1994's when the Internet was still this wacky new thing.

Q did post 'w00t' on Facebook, so he was conscious for awhile, at least.

Tick, any hunches on what Vancouver will do in terms of changes? I'm thinking there's a good chance Vigneault will be fired as coach. I've heard speculation Luongo may ask to be traded but that seems unlikely. More likely is he'll be traded whether he asks or not, probably in the off-season but possibly early in the 2011/2012 campaign. No idea what they'd do with Schneider if that happened, though it's doubtful he'd be bumped to the starting position.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what other changes they'd make. The team played well all season but regularly underperformed throughout the playoffs -- and still made it to game 7 of the final, anyway.

Boston, of course, only has to hold its current team together -- something Chicago didn't do because of salary caps, with the result that the Blackhawks barely made it into the playoffs and got dumped in the first round in their attempt to defend the cup.

[Tick]

Boston does have to contend with Recchi retiring, tho they've got a couple options (Seguin, maybe?) Thomas is also getting pretty old, not sure if he'll be able to maintain the level he's been at (which has been incredible, really. .938 save % and 2.00 GAA, at 37, after a career that until 2 years ago shouted "journeyman"?).

I feel like the coach and the goalie were the main problems, tho, so I'd be amazed if they didn't replace at least one of them. Luongo seemed like a total basketcase; if you shook his confidence a little he just fell apart. It's not a good sign when your goalie is theoretically one of the best in the league but gets pulled in multiple playoff games. Not quite as bad as the situation with Philly and their complete lack of a goalie, but still. I thought Schneider actually played really well when he got brought in, so who knows. I also have no idea what sort of replacement they could bring in via trade/free agency. It might be better to bring in a really solid defenseman or two, or maybe a new defensive minded coach?

I feel like the Vancouver offense had long stretches where it wasn't playing up to it's potential, and I'm not sure if that's coaching, injuries, or just the b's playing really good D. Thomas set a record for saves in a finals series, so it's hard to say they weren't getting shots, but still. Either way, I feel like the coach ends up taking the blame for the anemic offense.

[Tai]

I'm very ignorant in all this stuff but it seems to me that I am hearing about coaches getting fired for season losses more often than I used to (across all sports). Is this a result of more coaches being available, less tolerance by team owners, or just a pure contraction of time sense for me and nothing is really new?

[Tick]

not sure if it's actually more often than in the past, but in basketball and hockey particularly, I think the average coaching job is something like 2-3 years before they get fired.

[Creole Ned]

A coach's shelf life is pretty short if a team underperforms in any of the professional leagues. In the case of the Canucks, the regular season performance was stellar but their play was so lopsided and uneven in the playoffs that Vigneault may still get the axe. Heh, I watched game 7 on CBC and the announcers were regularly and openly criticizing Vigneault's decisions during that game. One that he blew, I think, was starting Luongo in game 6. Schneider should have started. The Canucks may very well have won that game and the series. Vancouver may not have burned!

Tick, I think you're dead-on with Luongo. He is an excellent goalie but his mental game is a real house of cards, which ends up making him a not-so-excellent goalie when it matters most.

I don't think the Bruins need to worry about Thomas for next season. It's possible his play may come crashing back down to the level of mere mortal but the cup may be enough to propel him through next year. Losing Recchi will hurt in terms of depth and experience but he is 97, too. They can bring in three younger players to replace him.

[Q]

Are we sure Q didn't die of happiness? I'm kind of amazed he hasn't commented here yet.

I was away for the weekend at my sister's wedding.

[Q]

Thoughts on Vancouver:

They need more players that can play through adversity and show some real heart (like Kesler). Although the injury to Hamhuis and suspension to Rome hurt their defensive depth, your other players have to step it up in situations like that (I'm looking at you, Sedins).

Luongo appears to have major confidence issues but with his contract I think Vancouver is stuck with him for the long term.

I also think they'd be better off getting rid of Lapierre and possibly Burrows. Their antics created a major sideshow.

Thoughts on Thomas:

He's getting older but he doesn't have very much NHL wear & tear on him (only 362 NHL games). The surgery last year seems to have done wonders for him and I can see him playing at a high level for the remainder of his contract (2 years).

[Tick]

Thomas's career path has to be the strangest thing I've seen in a long time in sports. If you just look at where he's played and how long it took him to win a starting job, it shouts "journeyman" but he's going to win his second Vezina and he just set the record for single season save % and won the Conn Smythe.

[Q]

This is pretty funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtR3GY1FqFs&feature=player_embedded