2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[UMFan83]

If I was a Red Wings fan, I'd be so frustrated that they couldnt have held at least 1 of those 3rd period leads in games 1-2. Imagine if this series was 2-2 right now.

[TruffleShuffle]

i love brian boucher's style of goaltending. lie down to make the first save and then stay lying down for the next five seconds, hoping that an NHL forward can't hit the top half of the net which is wide open.

[NewUserName]

very frustrating series to loss. Got to hand it to San Jose, they played well except for game 4. I think they are going to be real tough to beat by anyone

[UMFan83]

very frustrating series to loss. Got to hand it to San Jose, they played well except for game 4. I think they are going to be real tough to beat by anyone

 

Assuming the Blackhawks can finish off Vancouver (I can't believe I'm saying that already), in your opinion how would you predict a SJ-Chi series to go with SJ having home ice? I feel like the Hawks always play the Sharks well, and both teams appear to be playing their best hockey right now.

[NewUserName]

very frustrating series to loss. Got to hand it to San Jose, they played well except for game 4. I think they are going to be real tough to beat by anyone

 

Assuming the Blackhawks can finish off Vancouver (I can't believe I'm saying that already), in your opinion how would you predict a SJ-Chi series to go with SJ having home ice? I feel like the Hawks always play the Sharks well, and both teams appear to be playing their best hockey right now.

 

let me think about it, I still have a lot of emotion blinding judgment so not sure I would make a good prediction. I mentioned this during the season sometime but will say it again. San Jose has had issues in the play offs but so has Quennville coached teams in my opinion.

[UMFan83]

very frustrating series to loss. Got to hand it to San Jose, they played well except for game 4. I think they are going to be real tough to beat by anyone

 

Assuming the Blackhawks can finish off Vancouver (I can't believe I'm saying that already), in your opinion how would you predict a SJ-Chi series to go with SJ having home ice? I feel like the Hawks always play the Sharks well, and both teams appear to be playing their best hockey right now.

 

let me think about it, I still have a lot of emotion blinding judgment so not sure I would make a good prediction. I mentioned this during the season sometime but will say it again. San Jose has had issues in the play offs but so has Quennville coached teams in my opinion.

 

Good call. I probably shouldn't have asked you to predict a playoff series between the team that just beat you in the playoffs, and your historical biggest rival just minutes after getting eliminated.

[Drew Doughty]

i really don't think you can point to how well two teams play each other during the regular season for any indication of how they'll play in the playoffs. the kings beat the canucks 8-3 like 2 weeks before the playoffs started, it's pretty meaningless stuff. i think we handled san jose in the regular season too, but i don't have any faith that we'd win out in a 7-game series.

 

i'm gonna say the sharks will win, but they were my cup pick after round 1. so. yeah.

[Banedon]

I wonder how many 5 games series the NHL has had where the losing team scored more than the winning one for the entire series? I bet it's much more common in long series than short ones.

[Guest]

Montreal must like 3-1 series deficits. They won Game 5 and are 10 minutes from winning Game 6 and sending the series back to Pittsburgh.

 

Also, Philly showing signs of life and will go back home for Game 6 barring an epic collapse.

[sweetpeteman]

Montreal must like 3-1 series deficits. They won Game 5 and are 10 minutes from winning Game 6 and sending the series back to Pittsburgh.

 

Also, Philly showing signs of life and will go back home for Game 6 barring an epic collapse.

 

 

Montreal was tied 2-2 in this series.

[Guest]

Montreal must like 3-1 series deficits. They won Game 5 and are 10 minutes from winning Game 6 and sending the series back to Pittsburgh.

 

Also, Philly showing signs of life and will go back home for Game 6 barring an epic collapse.

 

 

Montreal was tied 2-2 in this series.

 

Huh. Don't know why I thought they won in Pittsburgh the other night.

[UMFan83]

I'd love a Boston/Montreal ECF. Those 2 teams hate each other. I think if Pittsburgh is knocked out it's safe to say the Stanley Cup will goto either San Jose, Chicago or Vancouver.

[Banedon]

Montreal must like 3-1 series deficits. They won Game 5 and are 10 minutes from winning Game 6 and sending the series back to Pittsburgh.

 

Also, Philly showing signs of life and will go back home for Game 6 barring an epic collapse.

 

 

Montreal was tied 2-2 in this series.

 

Huh. Don't know why I thought they won in Pittsburgh the other night.

 

Lets go with "Montreal likes game 7's" :)

[kujay]

I guess this can go here since it's not Hawks related.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=5179252

 

Looks like the Coyotes are on the verge of a move back to Canada after all. But not Hamilton.

 

The article mentions KC as an option too. Much as I'd love another relatively close place to go see the Hawks, I don't see KC supporting a hockey team much more than a place like Nashville has. And that's assuming the team is decent like Nashville.

 

Send them back to Winnipeg.

[UMFan83]

I'm pro-American anti-Canada in most aspects (lol), but with regards to the NHL getting more teams in Canada, I am all for it. I think they deserve more than the 6 they have right now, and I always liked Winnipeg as an NHL city.

[jersey cubs fan]

I really have a hard time understanding how Winnipeg can handle a franchise. It's entire metropolitan area is under 700,000 people.

[kujay]

I really have a hard time understanding how Winnipeg can handle a franchise. It's entire metropolitan area is under 700,000 people.

 

Which equals 700,000 rabid hockey fans.

 

And I 100% agree with UM. More Canadian teams is good for the NHL.

[jersey cubs fan]

I really have a hard time understanding how Winnipeg can handle a franchise. It's entire metropolitan area is under 700,000 people.

 

Which equals 700,000 rabid hockey fans.

 

And I 100% agree with UM. More Canadian teams is good for the NHL.

 

Yes, there are presumably 100% rabid fans, but it's still an extremely small metro area to support a team. People have talked about the struggles that Edmonton and Calgary have had keeping up with the big boys, and Winnipeg is considerably smaller than both of those cities, and not growing nearly as fast. It's also completely isolated, nowhere near the three BC teams, and more than 450 miles from Minneapolis.

 

I am a big fan of NHL teams being in Canada, and I always enjoy seeing Canadian teams in the playoffs. But Winnipeg seems like a difficult place to put a team right now.

[kujay]

I really have a hard time understanding how Winnipeg can handle a franchise. It's entire metropolitan area is under 700,000 people.

 

Which equals 700,000 rabid hockey fans.

 

And I 100% agree with UM. More Canadian teams is good for the NHL.

 

Yes, there are presumably 100% rabid fans, but it's still an extremely small metro area to support a team. People have talked about the struggles that Edmonton and Calgary have had keeping up with the big boys, and Winnipeg is considerably smaller than both of those cities, and not growing nearly as fast. It's also completely isolated, nowhere near the three BC teams, and more than 450 miles from Minneapolis.

 

I am a big fan of NHL teams being in Canada, and I always enjoy seeing Canadian teams in the playoffs. But Winnipeg seems like a difficult place to put a team right now.

 

I understand what you're saying, but population isn't the key. Look at Atlanta or Miami. Millions of people, and nobody there gives a [expletive] about hockey. I'll bet if you looked at the actual potential fan bases for hockey in those cities (and admittedly I have no idea how you would calculate that), it would be less than 700,000.

[kujay]

Here's a Yahoo sports column with more info:

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=As0923ZrI2eJTADPt202POt7vLYF?slug=dw-winnipeg051010

 

A 15,200-seat arena? That's awfully small, but perhaps perfect for that market. And that potential owner has some serious cash. Even if it's all in loonies and toonies.

 

EDIT: And by the way, 5 of the 6 Canadian teams filled their houses at 100% capacity on average this season. Ottawa was at 98.5%. Edmonton and Calgary were both 100%.

[bcl412]

Bring back the Whalers.

[jersey cubs fan]

I understand what you're saying, but population isn't the key. Look at Atlanta or Miami. Millions of people, and nobody there gives a [expletive] about hockey. I'll bet if you looked at the actual potential fan bases for hockey in those cities (and admittedly I have no idea how you would calculate that), it would be less than 700,000.

 

What you do have is numerous businesses in both of those cities who can buy season tickets and provide sponsorships. It's not just about having enough people to buy tickets, but having a big enough local economy to support a sponsorship based business like pro sports. The Packers get by because of the revenue sharing in the NFL, but the NHL has failed in several smaller hamlets, hockey mad and not hockey mad. Edmonton has at times been a threat to fold.

 

I'd really like to see it work, but it's going to be tough to get a franchise to thrive there.

[kujay]

I understand what you're saying, but population isn't the key. Look at Atlanta or Miami. Millions of people, and nobody there gives a [expletive] about hockey. I'll bet if you looked at the actual potential fan bases for hockey in those cities (and admittedly I have no idea how you would calculate that), it would be less than 700,000.

 

What you do have is numerous businesses in both of those cities who can buy season tickets and provide sponsorships. It's not just about having enough people to buy tickets, but having a big enough local economy to support a sponsorship based business like pro sports. The Packers get by because of the revenue sharing in the NFL, but the NHL has failed in several smaller hamlets, hockey mad and not hockey mad. Edmonton has at times been a threat to fold.

 

I'd really like to see it work, but it's going to be tough to get a franchise to thrive there.

 

That's a fair point. Hopefully that extremely wealthy owner is willing to underwrite any potential losses.

[kujay]

Bring back the Whalers.

 

Now you're talking.

[UMFan83]

I really have a hard time understanding how Winnipeg can handle a franchise. It's entire metropolitan area is under 700,000 people.

 

Which equals 700,000 rabid hockey fans.

 

And I 100% agree with UM. More Canadian teams is good for the NHL.

 

Yes, there are presumably 100% rabid fans, but it's still an extremely small metro area to support a team. People have talked about the struggles that Edmonton and Calgary have had keeping up with the big boys, and Winnipeg is considerably smaller than both of those cities, and not growing nearly as fast. It's also completely isolated, nowhere near the three BC teams, and more than 450 miles from Minneapolis.

 

I am a big fan of NHL teams being in Canada, and I always enjoy seeing Canadian teams in the playoffs. But Winnipeg seems like a difficult place to put a team right now.

 

I understand what you're saying, but population isn't the key. Look at Atlanta or Miami. Millions of people, and nobody there gives a [expletive] about hockey. I'll bet if you looked at the actual potential fan bases for hockey in those cities (and admittedly I have no idea how you would calculate that), it would be less than 700,000.

 

In today's professional sports, it's not necessarily the number of rabid fans as much as it is the number of corporate businesses that are local and willing to support said team with advertising, sponsorships and purchases of luxury boxes. That's where the money is, and that's what any market needs to have it's team survive there.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corporations_based_in_Winnipeg

^ That is what is going to likely determine Winnipeg's viability more than how many rabid hockey fans they have.