05-06 NHL Discussion Thread

the Western Conference is starting to take shape with the final three slots to get locked up in the coming days... for me it's a preference of who I'd like Anaheim to face in the first round...
With three games left... four points behind Nashville... it looks like we might be resigned to 5th in the west and would face Nashville in the opening round. Could be interesting if it remains that way...

How ya doing, buddy?

*cheer* FSN was kind enough to pick up the Anaheim games so I wouldn't have to try to find a sports bar nearby that would be showing the games (instead of the typical basketball and baseball crap they tend to show).

I have my Anaheim jersey on... a new keg of Guinness being delivered this afternoon... people coming over this evening to watch the game. Should be a fun evening.
I have hopes for Anaheim... really I do but there have been times in the last few games that made me wonder if they are actually going to shape-up and start playing how they were playing in the months prior? Calgary is going to be a tough team to beat, but we've faced worse in the first round and come away amazing critics everywhere.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Locke

and calgary killing anaheim - it's started out as an awesome playoffs

Killing? Apparently you weren't watching the game then... there was no killing. It was a win for Calgary but they had to wrok their ass off for it. It wasn't one of those skewed games that were total mis-matches. Anaheim played a good game last night, as did Calgary. Calgary just managed to get Bryzgalov off guard. I know I was a bit shocked when I saw the puck hit the back of the net considering he had been doing fairly well all night stopping the shots.

How ya doing, buddy?

and the Ducks tie up the series. Started off a great game and then went to shit in the second period... and really had Anaheim in making stupid mistakes landing them in the penalty box. But it was a great game... at least from my perspective.
Series tied 1-1... and moving to Anaheim for games three and four. ^_^

Might have to talk to the boss to see if I might be able to score a pair of his four tickets for one of the games...

How ya doing, buddy?

>_<

Anaheim totally self-destructed tonight... watching them skate was like watching a Disney On Ice show while watching a speed skating competition. Anaheim was slow... lucid... and not there. And if they don't snap out of this funk they don't deserve to advance. I like my Ducks... but after seeing them play these last two games makes me wonder it they even care about being in the playoffs.


In terms of the Arrowhead Pond not playing the Canadian national anthem... I know they've done it in the past whenever I attended the games, but FSN didn't go to the ice until the final line of the US national anthem so I cannot confirm or deny that it was sung or not.

I was speaking idiomatically.

FTW Anaheim!!!! In OT...
Anaheim played well in the first couple of periods and fell apart at the beginning of the third period, but managed to pll themselves together to make sure the 2-0 lead at the beginning of the third didn't end up becoming a loss.
Was really impressed with the younger players... and was nice to see Selanne finally score a goal in this series.
Anaheim needs to put more pressure on Iginla just like they put a lot of pressure on Selanne. He's the thorn in Anaheim's side... and unless he get injured in some way... he will continue to be the main reason they cannot totally kick some ass.

A couple of issues I did have was the lack of calls in the game though. I saw at least two high sticks against Anaheim that were never called... one of which did draw blood. It seemed to me that in this series that the refs were very anti-Anaheim. A lot of calls never being called... and only would call VERY flagrant calls against Calgary (as well as in the last handful of games of the regular season).

Yes, I'm going to call bullshit on the refs... there are calls that they are letting go. And it isn't just Anaheim... it's across the league. Either call everything or call nothing. Don't take sides... and don't call them willy-nilly.

Okay... rant off... now to move on to Game 5... the beginning of a Best of Three series now... ^_^
See you in Calagary on Saturday...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

thank you for noting that it was a third goal. That first goal that was waved off was a bullshit call... and should have stood as a goal.

Oh... you mean the Detroit game... my bad ^_~


BTW: Calgary fans better not start celebrating yet... we're going to Game 7...

FELIPE NO

so everyone is waiting on tomorrow's game, huh? (okay, today by the time I actually hit "Post Reply")
I am looking forward to the final meeting of Calgary and Anaheim... it should prove to be a very interesting game IF Giguere is not the goalie for Anaheim. He does not deserve to be the netminder for Anaheim. He gave up more goals in one game than Bryzgalov did in the two games he was in goal. Giguere should have not played for most, if not all of, this series. He's 100%. And it showed.

Anyway, looking forward to the game at 7pm... hope Anaheim wins, but the stats are against them right about now. *sigh*

How ya doing, buddy?

Well Anaheim took Game 1 in a 5-0 shutout over Colorado... and the bad blood between these teams has shown itself as Colorado began having a meltdown during the third period.

The one issue I have... and I think other Anaheim fans are having is the apparent intentional elbow by Hinote on Getzlaf. Some seem to be calling it "intent to injure"... others are calling it a cross-check. Me? I'm going to let the officials within the NHL decide on that one... but my opinion is intent to injure... especially when the horn was blowing...


And congrats to Buffalo for the win over Ottawa... I could have sworn I saw Ottawa on top by a couple of goals in the second before I took off to pick up dinner...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Devils got their asses handed to them today... what in the hell happened there? I popped the game in during the second intermission to see a score of 4-0... and then popped in near the end of the third to see a 6-0 score.
Did NJ throw out their farm team out on the ice?


Am looking forward to seeing the San Jose vs. Edmonton game in a few hours though...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Lipid

What channel is the SJ/EDM game on, btw? Center Ice package doesnt even list it

OLN was listing the game at 5pm PT


EDIT: Damn it... I just looked again, the game isn't until tomorrow evening... soon after the Ducks game... O_o

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Anaheim takes another shutout win over Colorado... ^_^

Bring it Colorado... we're ready to take you down...
How does it feel to be shutout not one but twice by rookie goalie Bryzgalov? ^_~

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by nabhan

I have to finish two assignments in 1 hour and 45 minutes to watch this game, and I'm sick. Damn you Oilers and my self inflicted obligation watch your games.

I'm going for Edmonton in this series as well only because the wife, being a native San Fransican, hates San Jose... I like the way they play, but they are the closest thing to a cross-town rival we really have. LA Kings aren't so much a rivalry as a cross-town scrimmage ^_~

I was speaking idiomatically.

so Bryzgalov has proved he is human... and not some sort of cybornetic goalie.

Colorado definitely stepped up their game last night and for most it it seemed that Anaheim was playing on their heels. Sadly I missed the two back-to-back goals by Anaheim as I was dealing with drama from within the complex... >_<
But then Colorado tied the game up and sent everything into OT... then my heart started pounding... thankfully nothing like the last time that landed me in the ER. I knew Anaheim wasn't playing 100% and it was only a matter of time before Colorado got the puck into the back of the net again.

But that never came... it ended with Anaheim putting it into the back of Colorado's net. Hat Trick +1 for Lupal (sounds like something that you craft in FFXI)...

Anaheim takes a 3-0 lead over Colorado in the series. Next game is on Tursday evening...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

with San Jose and Edmonton going into their 2nd overtime... I have to ask this question...
When was the last time that there were all four teams leading the conference semifinals up 3-0 and looking to sweep? Has this ever happened?

Edmonton is the one factor that would ruin this oddity at this point in time...
Anaheim over Colorado 3-0
Buffalo over Ottawa 3-0
Carolina over New Jersey 3-0

I have never seen this... or don't recall this happening before...
if SJ wins... they'll lead their series 3-0... just waiting to see how Game 3 turns out...

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Fire On Ice

Now that is more like it. Sens win it in regulation 2 - 1, all we gotta do is make it happen 3 more times...only better :/

I hate to be the pessamist... but when was the last time a team came back from being down 3-0 in a series to win four straight? Ottawa is a great team... and I wish the best for them, but sadly the odds are against them. Can they beat those odds?


And in other news... WOOHOO!!!! My team is the first to advance to the conference finals!!! The Mighty Ducks (the Ducks after this season) of Anaheim are now getting the rest that they deserve while some of us await the outcome of the San Jose/Edmonton series. ^_^

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

yeah... Anaheim looked like shit out there on the ice for most of the game. On rare occasions they seemed to be in synch with each other only to blow it within one shift.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Don't know... Anaheim might have outshot Edmonton... but from what I could tell they weren't in synch yet again. Bad passes... missed passes... lack of energy at various moments in the game when there was a fresh line on the ice. Anaheim is looking sloppy to me... I'm disappointed to watch Anaheim lose not once but twice at home...
Then again, the "fans" in the arena aren't all that exciting either. Not like hearing the fans up in Edmonton yelling and screaming... >_<

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh I believe... really I do... I keep cheering them on even in the face of defeat. Only after the game do I grumble for a bit. Kind of helps to live a few miles from the arena though too... despite the fact that this town seems to care more about their shitty baseball team than a hockey team ^_^
Still... trying to figure out how to swipe some of the banners they have hanging from the streetlights around the stadium... would go perfectly with my "2006 Fowl Towel"

And do or die in about five hours... going to have to get the hell out of here on time today and rush home to get prepared ^_^

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

congrats to Edmonton... they played well. Anaheim just didn't have enough to take it all the way. The team with the greatest desire... and it wasn't Anaheim this year.
But hopefully folks will stop looking at Anaheim as some sort of laughable team... and hopefully the Disney movie tie-in reference to their name will get commentators to take them seriously when the name change takes place for next season.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I have yet to see a team win four straight games when down 0-3 in a series... it might not be over yet, but I can pretty much guarantee Anaheim knows their season is over... though coming back from a 4-0 deficit in the 3rd to almost force an OT is rather intriguing

I was speaking idiomatically.

congrats to Edmonton... you played well and fought well...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

congats to Carolina... you played well and apparently wanted it more...

just remember, there is always next year for every other team out there...

FELIPE NO