Figure this will be a good place to discuss the playoffs apart from the Penguins (which have their own thread).

Who do you like?

Eastern Conference:
No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 8 New York Rangers
No. 2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 7 Buffalo Sabres
No. 3 Boston Bruins vs. No. 6 Montreal Canadiens
No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning

Western Conference:
No. 1 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks
No. 2 San Jose Sharks vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Kings
No. 3 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 6 Phoenix Coyotes
No. 4 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 5 Nashville Predators

I think Boston has as good a chance as any if they play their game. The top of the West is tough but I'm not sure I trust Luongo or the entire Sharks organization when it comes to the playoffs.

If Anaheim can stay hot I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the WCF. They are that good. Getzlaf is a playoff beast and Visnovsky has been on a tear and deserves the Norris. Then there's Hiller, one of the best big game goalies.

Vancouver vs Boston.

First round:

Eastern Conference:
No. 1 Washington Capitals vs. No. 8 New York Rangers-NYR are going to miss Callahan badly. Washington is firing on all cylinders right now, WSH in 6.
No. 2 Philadelphia Flyers vs. No. 7 Buffalo Sabres-Philly has been brutal as of late. If Miller can catch fire look out. BUF in 7
No. 3 Boston Bruins vs. No. 6 Montreal Canadiens-Boston has depth and the best goalie in the league. BOS in 6
No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 5 Tampa Bay Lightning-TB's D and Roloson can be suspect at times and Stamkos has been ice cold. Pens in 6.

Western Conference:
No. 1 Vancouver Canucks vs. No. 8 Chicago Blackhawks-Van in 6
No. 2 San Jose Sharks vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Kings-Don't see LA doing much w/o Kopitar. SJ in 5
No. 3 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 6 Phoenix Coyotes-Upset in the West. Phoenix took them to 7 games last year. PHX in 6
No. 4 Anaheim Ducks vs. No. 5 Nashville Predators-Either team can win this. Anaheim in 7

Second Round:

No.1 Washington vs. No.7 Buffalo-WSH in 6
No. 3 Boston vs No.4 Pittsburgh-Pit in 6

No.1 Vancouver vs No.6 Phoenix-VAN in 6
No. 2 San Jose vs No.4 Anaheim-Anaheim in 6

Conference finals:

No. 1 Washington vs No.4 Pittsburgh-WSH in 7
No. 1 Vancouver vs. No.4 Anaheim-ANH in 6

Stanley Cup Finals:

No. 1 Washington vs No.4 Anaheim-Anaheim in 7.

Washington over New York
Philadelphia over Buffalo
Montreal over Boston
Pittsburgh over Tampa Bay
Vancouver over Chicago (epic series)
San Jose over Los Angeles
Detroit over Phoenix
Anaheim over Nashville


Washington over Montreal
Pittsburgh over Philadelphia
Vancouver over Anaheim
Detroit over San Jose


Washington over Pittsburgh
Detroit over Vancouver


Detroit over Washington

I think Washington takes it this year. They quietly took the 1 seed. Not as much hype as the past two years, and even though Ovie didn't have his typical year, I think they get over the hump. Their penalty kill has gone from a bout 29th last season to 6th this season. That will be huge in the playoffs.

like_that;738218 wrote:I think Washington takes it this year. They quietly took the 1 seed. Not as much hype as the past two years, and even though Ovie didn't have his typical year, I think they get over the hump. Their penalty kill has gone from a bout 29th last season to 6th this season. That will be huge in the playoffs.

I don't think their goalie will hold up for the entire post season.

Raw Dawgin' it;738224 wrote:I don't think their goalie will hold up for the entire post season.

Which one are they going to lean on, Varlamov? Holtby? Neuvirth?

Philly has the same problem with Boucher and Bobovskry, they're both inconsistent.

Washington wouldn't surprise me. They seem to have really peaked at the right time. Seemed like a month or so ago, they were in that mix of teams Pittsburgh could play in the first round in a 4-5 match-up. And then they passed everyone in the East to snare the #1. Part of that is because Philly faltered enough to almost fall to #4, but Washington won everything they needed to.

The_Crosby_Show;738229 wrote:Neuvirth

This one

Raw Dawgin' it;738263 wrote:This one

He did go 27-12-4 with a GAA of 2.45.

Canuck fans are queers

[video=youtube;bPgxF8kOE_0][/video]

The only team that doesn't seem to have a weakness would be Vancouver and even they have past history of playoff disappointments working against them. And to be honest, drawing Chicago is a tough draw for them in the 1st round and I would not be surprised in the least if the Hawks beat them.

I'm just going to make first round predictions:

Washington over Rangers
Flyers over Sabres
Boston over Montreal
Lightning over Pens

Hawks over Canucks
Sharks over Kings
Red Wings over Coyotes
Predators over Ducks

It will all come down to what team has the hot goalie, catches some breaks, and makes the big plays when they need to.

I like the Caps over the Rangers as the Caps won't repeat last year and their defense is much better. Caps in 6.
Sabers and Flyers, I like the Flyers in 7. Tough to pick.
Boston over the Habs in 6 as Boston has been some good hockey.
Lighting over Pens in 7. Going out on a limb, but think the Lighting will recapture that 1st half of the season magic.

Western Conference is a toss up to me.
I have no idea who will win any series.
I could easily see the Hawks beating the Canucks, but I doubt it/
Kings are a great club, when hot. No one can beat them and San Jose has a history of falling short.
The Coyotes have played the Wings tough all year, and could easily take it 7.
And the Preds and Ducks split the season series, but the matchups favor no team and Rinne is one of the hottest goalies right now.
Basically, I can see each of those going 7.
The West is so deep this year that I could see any of those teams making the Cup finals.


Sidenote: Cam Fowler fell all the way to the Ducks in the draft. Why did the Jackets pass him up? Ugh.

ptown_trojans_1;738605 wrote:Sidenote: Cam Fowler fell all the way to the Ducks in the draft. Why did the Jackets pass him up? Ugh.

Johansen has been a beast this year in the CHL. So I won't nit pick but, Fowler is the steal of the draft so far. Along with Skinner. With the numbers he's putting up, he could've gone #1 over Hall.

I jus absolutely love that all the Wings games are on Versus.

The series to watch is going to be Vancouver and Chicago though, I mean for the last 2 years these 2 squads have gone at it in the playoffs and with Vancouver having a tremendous shot to win a cup you gotta expect this edition to be even better. I think this could be one of the best first rounds ever...I mean look at all the juicy matchups. A lot of great hockey

I hope Chicago doesn't make another run. I couldn't stand to listen to this throughout the whole playoffs again:

[video=youtube;wchH7xL4tdE][/video]

There was video last year of a reporter giving Canuck players head phones then playing this song...their reactions were awesome, if i can find it i'll post it.

Edit: Here's the vid

[video=youtube;j6VoTbXRYdQ][/video]

I hate listening to song.

Raw Dawgin' it;739088 wrote:There was video last year of a reporter giving Canuck players head phones then playing this song...their reactions were awesome, if i can find it i'll post it.

Edit: Here's the vid

[video=youtube;j6VoTbXRYdQ][/video]

Haha that is pretty funny. I hope they route Chicago this year, and every time they score in Chicago they hum this song.

Chelsea Dagger > Rock and Roll Pt II


Lets go Hawks.

Chelsea Dagger is an atrocious song

Why do I love this sport?

This is why.

[video=youtube;JSd8CqBEbcY][/video]

[video=youtube;Q-adnOYdqJg][/video]

[video=youtube;5qlaoP85KXA][/video]

[video=youtube;NYwA9s-hjMs][/video]

[video=youtube;j2RL6Rr5TWE][/video]

[video=youtube;cnRH_ofMR-8][/video]

[video=youtube;5-N6sYLNLjU][/video]

[video=youtube;Jh8h8mX0384][/video]

Playoffs start today baby!