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Anyone else here interested in hockey? NHL playoffs second round are well underway, and theres no topic on it yet... Well, I want to know everyone's take on the projected cup finals, thoughts, and junk... Watching my hometown Oilers take on San Jose in the 1st OT right now, hoping for a new dynasty ( like that's gonna hapepn). The NHL, what's your take?

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"Everyone's on the ride of their life, for some it's just scarier than for others..."
"It's the things you dont mean to do that have the greatest impact on your life..."

The Ducks are scary. They are playing some of the best playoff hockey I can remember ever watching. Watching the sheer domination over the Aves, its going to make me scared of actual ducks in real life. Nature will never be the same. On the flip side, whenever Im on a hill and see an avalanche, Im just gonna throw a duck at it. I learned it from TV. TV is never wrong.

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Feeling unknown
And youre all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
Ill make you a believer

I'm really surprised by the way these series are going.

The Senators are done. I thought the series would be close and could have gone either way, but while they've managed to keep the games close, it's clear that Ottawa doesn't care enough about winning. Where are the mighty Ottawa Senators that finished atop the Eastern Conference and defeated the Sabres 10-4 earlier in the year? I'm growing more and more convinced that they will never be able to win anything with this core of players. They're an excellent team, but the stars, particularly the captain, Alfredsson, don't know how to elevate their games in the play-offs. Buffalo is too good a team to beat if you aren't giving 110%. The Senators' only chance now is for Hasek to return and shut his old team down for four games, and I don't see it.

The Devils are even more surprising. They looked unbeatable for a while, but now it looks as though they'll soon be finished. In this case, though, I think it has more to do with Carolina playing well than with the Devils playing poorly. The Hurricanes never really got going against Montreal and Ward had to steal that series, but now Carolina seems to have found their stride again. The Buffalo-Carolina series should be very exciting.

I'm not surprised by the Ducks-Avalanche series. The Ducks are playing extraordinary hockey in these play-offs and they're getting solid goaltending when they need it. Theodore seems to be getting back to the form that won him the Hart and Vezina trophies with Montreal, but his team is simply outmatched. The Avalanche are on the decline now; without Forsberg, Foote, and Roy, this team is not the powerhouse it once was.

The only interesting series, it seems, is the Oilers vs. the Sharks. What an epic game last night/this morning! (Man, I'm tired!) Except for the second period, the Oilers dominated that game. The only question is: for how long can they keep up this punishing physical pace? They didn't seem to get tired last night, and hopefully they can maintain that level of play.


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Always hopeful, yet discontent; he knows changes aren't permanent --
But change is!

Quote (Alexandr @ 11th May 2006 08:09)

The Senators are done. I thought the series would be close and could have gone either way, but while they've managed to keep the games close, it's clear that Ottawa doesn't care enough about winning. Where are the mighty Ottawa Senators that finished atop the Eastern Conference and defeated the Sabres 10-4 earlier in the year? I'm growing more and more convinced that they will never be able to win anything with this core of players. They're an excellent team, but the stars, particularly the captain, Alfredsson, don't know how to elevate their games in the play-offs. Buffalo is too good a team to beat if you aren't giving 110%. The Senators' only chance now is for Hasek to return and shut his old team down for four games, and I don't see it.

I'm not all that surprised that the Sabres are winning this match up. I am surprised though that it is 3-0. Everbody seemed to make the Sabres out a much bigger underdog than they actually were. They finished the regular eason with the same amount of win as the Senators (52) and only finished 3 points behind them. Sure, the Sens blew out the Sabres a few time during the first have of the season, but the Sabres fared much better the second half, winning three of four. Still, as a Sabres fan, I'm still afraid of this Senator team. If any team can come back from a 3-0 deficit, it's them.

On the otherhand, I really am surprised by how the NJ-Carolina series is going. No team scared me more going into the playoffs than the Devils. I think they spent too much energy the second half of the season just to get into the position they were. That and Carolina is a really skilled team.

I can't comment as much on the Western Conference as I haven't seen as many of the games as compared to the Eastern Conference, but how about that Oilers-Sharks game last night? Triple OT? Wowzers.

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"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle

I'll have to come clean on this one. I watched my hometown Sharks for the first time last night.......*hides face in shame. My brother had to go to bed early and asked if I would finish watching it and leave him a note. So, I did. And it was beautiful.

I have no credentials to say this, but the Sharks take it all

Ducks-Avs: Yeah, I'm particularly surprised about the ducks-avs series. I though for sure that one would go for minimum 6, considering colorado's style of play, and the ducks... well duck-ness. Although i should have seen it coming. I thought the theodore trade was a bad idea from the beginning, but theodre needed out of montreal with the issues he had there. I didnt think colo would actually win the series, but i though they would win at the very least, one, but looks like ducks are pulling out the brooms.

Devils-'Canes: After seeing the devils crush the rangers, i thought they would return to their cup-contending days. The first loss was understandable, as they havent really been in a game situation in a while, but now theyre three in the hole. shocking. Carolina in the finals again? looks like a possibility.

Sabres-Sens: The other Canadian team in the playoffs. After the first game, i though for sure this would be an exciting series, i mean, 7-6, a true offensive battle. After gm 2, though, the goalies straightened up, and wasnt nearly as exciting as the first game, but still exciting game, nonetheless. Buffalo plays a good game, and Ottawa will never make it to the cup finals, no matter how good they are in the reg. season. It's just not ottawa-ish.

THE series, Sharks-Oilers: After watching both first round series with these two teams involved, i knew that if Calgary lost (damn them, i would've loved a battle of alberta again), that the Oil would still be in an exciting series. San Jose and the oilers are built as very similar teams, who had a little trouble earlier in the season. Both teams got what they needed to set them up for playoff contention. Amazing games so far in the series, though relatively low scoring (2-1, 2-1, 3-2) they are still very exciting games. amazing hits, scoring oppurtunities, blocks. simply the series to watch for pure entertainment. Also, marathon games, such as last nights, are unbelieveably amazing. especially the morning after up here. Games up to quarter-to-one in the am local time, another hour of hockey talk w/ friends. stumble into class at 8.30 am, talk with friends, sleep in bio... absolutely amazing. game 4 tomorrow night, and possibly into saturday morning. Go oilers.

My cup predction: for the east, looks like Carolina is gonna return to the finals again, in the west, its a little harder to pick. if Edmonton faces off with the ducks (or, though highly unlikely, the avs) in the next round, momentum and team spirit might take them all the way. If the sharks win, anaheim will make their return to the finals. oth anaheim/carolina and edmonton/carolina would be amazing, solid cup finals games.

What's your take?

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"Everyone's on the ride of their life, for some it's just scarier than for others..."
"It's the things you dont mean to do that have the greatest impact on your life..."

I'll say the Canes vs. the Ducks in the finals. I never would have picked them to do so well this year, but I suppose that's just another reason why I don't bet in Vegas.