NewUserName

I am not picking a fight, but you guys are under selling Calgary. They are as good of a team as Chicago. Its not like they played above their heads last night.

I still think San Jose is going to win that series.....

so stuart and kronwall are doing what they do best...turning the puck over in their own zone creating great chances for the other team

I think the officiating was poor in this game, but the better team clearly won. Luongo won it, the Canucks didn't impress me... their fake power plays did, though. Luongo shows why he is a superstar. its not like St Louis didnt get several fake PPs either, including the one they scored their goal on Goaltending is part of the game..Vancouver owned the 3rd period when the refs finally let the teams play some hockey. I would contend that the refs probably kept St Louis in the game with all of the inane penalty calls. Also I dont think Vancouver is that impressive......St Louis is the worst team in the playoffs and I still contend that this will be a short series

I think the officiating was poor in this game, but the better team clearly won.

I'd rather see Theriot hit third than DLee right now. How loyal is Lou to his vets? Does he have the sickness like Dusty did? I think the difference between Lou and Dusty is the quality of veteran. I think Lou will give DLee a long leash because he has shown in his career he deserves it. I dont think Lou would do that for Neifi and Lenny Harris...Dusty on the other hand

Yea I made those picks after I had taken sleep meds last night... CNS Depressants FTL, thanks for pointing that out... should have caught it. Then it's Sharks/Hawks in the conference finals, Hawks win 4-2. I know this is completely unrealistic but if it happens I can say "I told everyone so!" haha. Hey cheer for your team..no shame in that!! I think the Wings are going to win the Cup again, no compelling reason to pick otherwise :)

San Jose over Anaheim 4-2 Wings over Blue Jackets 4-2 Canuck over Blues 4-0 Hawks over Flames 4-3 Boston over Montreal 4-0 Capitols over Rangers 4-1 Hurricanes over Devils 4-2 Flyers over Penguins 4-3 Also cyno in your picks the Blues would play the the Sharks in the 2nd round and the Wings would play the Hawks. The higher seed always plays the lower seed in hockey playoffs

San Jose is going to beat Anaheim, I just think the Ducks are really going to push them. 6 tough games.

Versus shows a couple of games a night in the first round if my memory serves me correct. So the road games in calgary will probably get national coverage.

some real good first round match-ups. I think not only did the Hawks catch a break with Calgary. I think Anaheim is going to really make San Jose work...which could benefit a potential 2nd round for the Hawks. I am going to put my prediction up tomorrow sometime.

Yea, they have 11 fights all year. when are you going to learn that fighting is not toughness? I would suggest that fighting is lack of toughness. I guess you will in the playoffs Where did I ever say that? But if you want to count Chelios getting away with countless slashes/crosschecks toughness it's all good. They aren't very physical overall... when you play more physical you get into more fights. I know how the playoffs work, there's barely ever any fights. No I dont want to count Chelios at all, my guess is you will not see him very much in the playoffs. Also, Cyno you do have homer glasses on when it comes to officiating. I think the Wings play plenty physical(at least enough to be stanley cup champions.) They just rarely fight. Today they obviously were coasting. I actually dont think the Hawks were exactly playing hard today either. Just their goaltender was great, ours was ok.

Yea, they have 11 fights all year. when are you going to learn that fighting is not toughness? I would suggest that fighting is lack of toughness. I guess you will in the playoffs

everything is not set yet. The bottom of the Western Conference can still be shuffled. If St Louis wins today, Anaheim will play San Jose. I am not sure who the Wings will play then since both St Louis and Columbus will be tied in points and wins. I hope the Wings dont have to play Anaheim the first round. I am getting pumped up, I dont get to worked up in the regular season. Also me and my son may go to game 5 in Detroit. Hope there isnt a sweep.

I am happy that Lou manages the Cubs....he has put a process into place that allows them to be successful. Sadly he is the biggest enemy to that process sometimes with his in game decisions. Yesterday was maddening.

Star Trek the next generation is interesting

I suspect the Wings will not being putting their best foot forward this weekend. The only thing they could possibly be playing for is home ice against Boston if they both meet in the Finals. Since the Hawks will probably have the 4th seed secure, I suspect these are going to be very boring games this weekend.

Yahoo also carries a couple of games a day during 1st round of the playoffs. Its not the greatest feed, but it is watchable. Between them and versus I have been satisfied with the games I get to see the last couple of years. Of course all of Detroits games get coverage so that is what really matters to me. Cyno dont worry, if the Blackhawks stay competitive for the next couple of years, they will get the same coverage as the other teams you mentioned

I think his antics are effective when he plays how he has played with the Rangers. When he was on LA and Dallas (didn't see him much on Detroit so can't say) he wasn't very effective - he just instigated and caused chaos. Generally as a Ranger he has been pretty effective, but still crosses that line sometimes. I dont think Detroit would have let Avery become Avery. Team is always bigger than individuals there. I dont want to sound like a homer, but I think that is one thing that most hockey fans can agree with about Detroit. Most Wings fans liked Avery very much, but understood that getting Schnieder was a big part of future success. Anyway, I say this because I think Dallas has always been a team were team is bigger than individuals. This is why Avery struggled there. The Rangers have always been more about personalities....which may be why they are always one of the biggest disappointments in hockey. edit: this also shows how Brett Hull needs to understand how he won cups when he did...when he was the star individual in St Louis, they always fell short. When he became part of teams in Dallas and Detroit, he went on to win a couple of Cups. So far some of Hull's moves as a GM seem to point to him being more about individuals than how are these players going to fit into the team structure.

I think the main difference between Avery and several other players in the league is that Avery is a glory hound. To me, since wants to be the center of attention, that means he is going to get all kinds of attention. I dont think he cares though. I also dont think his antics are as effective as he and many others think.

Yes. I'm tired of hearing how the Big 10 is boring. During the late 80s they tried to run n gun stuff with Tom Davis at Iowa, the Flying Illini and the fab 5 and never won anything. Now it seems like a big 10 team makes the fianl 4 just about every year. But out here it's all ACC is awesome, blah blah blah. IDK..Michigan won the NT in 89 and the Flying Illini were clearly the 2nd best team that year(actually smoked Michigan twice during the season but lost to them in the final 4). So I wouldnt say they never won anything.

but thats my point. Minnesota didnt belong on the ice yesterday with Detroit. It took a goal by Hossa with a minute left to keep them from getting a point. Like I said, I dont know how they do it, they just seem to be in every game even though they are not very good.

I really hate minnesota...everytime I watch them play they get thoroughly whooped, yet somehow make a game out of it everytime I hope the Wings do not have to play Anehiem in the first round. Not that I dont think we would beat them, they would just take a lot to beat at this point.

I have never regretted that the wings traded Avery away. I think Avery can have a huge impact against a team that is not mentally disciplined. I think legitimate Stanley Cup contenders are not going to be influenced one way or another from Avery's tactics. Very similar to people who think toughness is some sort of line brawl...you really want to get under another teams skin...win battles in the corners, win face-offs, put pressure on the goaltender in front of the net, block shots, kill penalties. Players who do those things are getting in the heads of other teams much more than the sean avery's

It wasn't about that game anymore, it was about the next one (or the next "series"). That may be true...but picking fights with the Sedins is not intimidating anyone, even the Sedins. I am not going to dig through the thread to find any examples, but this kind of goonery has been bashed by several Hawks fans here. The Sedins happened to be on the ice, but the bigger combatants were O'Brien, Burrows and Bieksa. Who rank 3rd, 28th and 63rd in PIMs in the league, respectively. But the brawl started when Burish went after one of the Sedins...not O'Brien, Burrows or Bieksa. Also Burrows may have a lot of penalty minutes but he has to be the worst fighter in the league, heck Vincent LeCavilier beat him up a couple of years ago. I am going to drop it, but the desired effect that you guys think you got is not heart or toughness and has no effect on winning hockey games.