The Official 2008/2009 NHL Thread

[Alan]

awesome for the hawks. and the NHL.

omark has decided to go play for $$ in the KHL instead of coming over to the NHL =(

[CheapJon]

awesome for the hawks. and the NHL.

omark has decided to go play for $$ in the KHL instead of coming over to the NHL =(

who can blame him? he'll be getting more money and probably have more time on the ice, he'll come to the NHL later i'm sure 

[AxlsMainMan]

Blackhawks beat the Chicken Wings 4-2.

Let's do it again tomorrow at home

[Alan]

awesome for the hawks. and the NHL.

omark has decided to go play for $$ in the KHL instead of coming over to the NHL =(

who can blame him? he'll be getting more money and probably have more time on the ice, he'll come to the NHL later i'm sure 

the KHL has huge financial problems at the moment. It's just sad to see such a huge potential talent waste 2 years in a shit league.

[CheapJon]

awesome for the hawks. and the NHL.

omark has decided to go play for $$ in the KHL instead of coming over to the NHL =(

who can blame him? he'll be getting more money and probably have more time on the ice, he'll come to the NHL later i'm sure 

the KHL has huge financial problems at the moment. It's just sad to see such a huge potential talent waste 2 years in a shit league.

there's a big chance that he would have "wasted" 2 years in some AHL team too u know

[AxlsMainMan]

Prediction time boys n' girls.

Boston over Montreal in 5
Washington over New York in 6
New Jersey over Carolina in 6
Philly over Pittsburgh in 7

San Jose over Anaheim in 5
Detroit over Columbus in 5
Vancouver over St. Louis in 6
Chicago over Calgary in 6

[tim_m]

Boston over Montreal in 4
New York over Washington in 6
New Jersey over Carolina in 5
Philly over Pittsburgh in 6

San Jose over Anaheim in 5
Detroit over Columbus in 5
Vancouver over St. Louis in 5
Chicago over Calgary in 4

[Malcolm]

Boston  over Montreal in 6
Rangers over Washington in 7
Devils over Canes in 6
Penguins over Flyers in 7


Sharks over Ducks in 5
Detroit over Columbus in 6
Vancouver over St.Louis in 4
Calgary over Chicago in 7

[Skeba]

Boston Bruins  over Montreal Canadiens in 6
Washington Capitals over NY Rangers in 6
New Jersey Devils over Carolina Hurricanes in 7
Pittsburgh Penguins over Philadelphia Flyers in 5 (gotta be optimistic.. )


San Jose Sharks over Anaheim Ducks in 5
Columbus Blue Jackets over Detroit Red Wings in 6 (this is very unlikely, but detroit hasn't really been itself lately...)
Vancouver Canucks over St.Louis Blues in 5
Calgary Flames over Chicago Blackhawks in 6

[AxlsMainMan]

Alot of optimism for Calgary eventhough they're around 25-5-5 against Khabi', and have exited the first round 3 years in a row.

[Alan]

awesome for the hawks. and the NHL.

omark has decided to go play for $$ in the KHL instead of coming over to the NHL =(

who can blame him? he'll be getting more money and probably have more time on the ice, he'll come to the NHL later i'm sure 

the KHL has huge financial problems at the moment. It's just sad to see such a huge potential talent waste 2 years in a shit league.

there's a big chance that he would have "wasted" 2 years in some AHL team too u know

nah, the oilers have shit forwards, he'd have been in the NHL pretty quick 


Bruins over Habs in 5
Caps over Rangers in 6
Devils over Canes in 7
Pens over Flyers 6

Sharks over Ducks in 6
Wings over Bluejackets in 5
Canucks over Blues in 6
Hawks over Flames in 5

[AxlsMainMan]

Playoffs have been just superb so far.

Let's make 'er 2-0 tonight 'Hawks

[AxlsMainMan]

Bruins over Hurricanes in 5

Detroit over Anaheim in 5

Chicago over Vancouver in 6

Capitals over Penguins in 6

[Malcolm]

Vancouver over Chicago in 6
Penguins over Caps in 7
Detroit over Anehiem in 6
Boston over Carolina in 5

[tim_m]

Vancouver over Chicago in 5
Penguins over Caps in 6
Detroit over Anehiem in 6
Boston over Carolina in 4

[AxlsMainMan]

Blackhawks blueliners 'a challenge' for Canucks

MATTHEW SEKERES
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
April 29, 2009 at 11:31 PM EDT

The Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver's second-round opponent, arrived at General Motors Place yesterday with two of the top-scoring defencemen in the playoffs, and two more blueliners known to be among the best puck-carriers in the league. That means Vancouver's game plan has to change for the Western Conference semi-final, which begins tonight in Vancouver.

"They'll always attack you with four guys, so you need all your guys to back-check," Canucks winger Steve Bernier said. "Even if you're 200 feet from your net, you have to make sure you've got one forward focused on the defensive side. You have to think about what could happen ? and you can't rush anything, because you know you'll get your chances."

http://sports.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090429.wsptblueline29/GSStory/GlobeSportsHockey/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20090429.wsptblueline29

[GunnerOne 84]

Let's go Caps!

[AxlsMainMan]

Killer game for the 'Hawks tonight

[AxlsMainMan]

 

Were those tears I saw in Mats Sundin's eyes with 3 minutes left in the 3rd?

Here come the 'Hawks!!!

[Malcolm]

CAPITALS, SEMIN FIND OUT WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT CROSBY

PITTSBURGH -- Maybe now Alexander Semin knows what's special about Sidney Crosby.

It's not as if Crosby, the omnipresent face of the NHL since being drafted in 2005, needed the enthralling Capitals-Penguins second-round playoff series to validate his skill, competitiveness and drive. To reassure the league that he's more than a playmaker, that he also can be a clutch goal scorer when needed.

Maybe there was a bit of an edge to Crosby's game because of the Alex Ovechkin factor during a seven-game series that felt more like the Stanley Cup finals than a conference semifinal, at least until the Penguins ended it with a dominating 6-2 victory Wednesday night.

Crosby, though he won't say it, felt a tad slighted when he wasn't one of three finalists for the NHL MVP award, and heard all the talk that Washington's Ovechkin had eclipsed him to become the league's signature figure and best player.

Maybe Crosby didn't need to score one more goal than Ovechkin, 12-11, through two rounds to prove again what he's all about. To validate what he did last season at age 20 by leading the Penguins to within two victories of the Stanley Cup. Or what he did at age 19 by becoming the league's MVP and scoring leader.

But his teammates know this, and there are no maybes about it: Give Crosby a big stage and, no matter who else is starring, there will be few questions by the end who is carrying the show.

Crosby lives for these moments, these games, and now he has at least one more round to show it. He already has helped the Penguins become the first team since the 1996 Red Wings to get back to a conference final the season after losing in the finals, and there is every indication he is not done yet.

"There's a steely resolve about (Crosby) when big games come around," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said as the Penguins waited to see whether they would play Boston or Carolina in the Eastern Conference finals. "For Game 6 in Philadelphia (in the first round), I didn't know quite what it meant but I was pretty sure it meant he was going to have a big game. He was that way for every game in this series."

Especially for Game 7, the one clunker in a series that is likely to go down as one of the best preliminary rounds in NHL history.

Early in the season, Semin dismissed Crosby as being more of a media creation than a substantial player, saying, "What's so special about Crosby? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, (a) good pass. But there's nothing else."

Crosby didn't need those remarks, or several run-ins with Ovechkin during the season to gain extra motivation. The fact that Crosby took over this series should tell anyone what he thinks about Semin's talking or Ovechkin's on-ice mocking of him late in the season. Semin did not score a goal in the series.

"There were a lot of eyes on this series, it was a battle," Crosby said of his first playoff matchup with Ovechkin. "Individually, we both wanted to make sure we did a great job."

They did, too: Ovechkin had 14 points in the series, including a meaningless goal after Pittsburgh was up 5-0 in Game 7, and Crosby had 13 points. The NHL probably hasn't seen a star vs. star matchup like this since the Maurice "Rocket" Richard vs. Gordie Howe days.

Crosby's maturation into a big-game player -- he had four goals and an assist in Pittsburgh's close-out games against the Capitals and Flyers -- no doubt will be a big worry for either the Bruins or Hurricanes.

"He's one of those guys who never stops," defenceman Brooks Orpik said. "We like to joke about how competitive he is. That's what makes him as a good as he is. Based on just talent, he's probably not the most talented guy in the league, but I'm sure there's anybody who works any harder than him."