NHL Playoffs

[millz58]

I'm at work right now, trying to finish up some paperwork and get home in time for Habs/Flyers at 7. Listening to SJ/CHI on internet radio, good game so far, tied 1-1 midway through the 2nd period.

[millz58]

So far the Flyers have made their bread in front of the Habs' net, which is something the Caps and Pens never really did, enough anyway to get Halak and the Habs' defense off their game. Two goals banged in from the crease, now Briere gets one to go in from the circle, and there wasn't the same kind of collapsing of the MTL D around Halak that time...

[Spen]

Not a great start so far. Lots of shots but little sustained pressure.

 

I blame your signature photo Millz, you're jinxing them!

[Spen]

Hey, a Price sighting. Not sure what Halak could have done about two of them though.

[millz58]

I blame your signature photo Millz, you're jinxing them!

I'll pull the sig pic Spen, I surely didn't mean to jinx the Habs, i'm not a hater. Philly's plan to create more distraction around the net and disperse the Montreal defense a bit seems to be working, though.

[millz58]

Hey, a Price sighting. Not sure what Halak could have done about two of them though.

HEY, maybe Price can go on a tear the rest of the way, Montreal wins it's 25th cup, and then Carey and Halak share the Con Smythe trophy!

[Spen]

lol, I didnt really think the signature pic had anything to do with anything. Though I am not really superstitious about much, but I am a bit with sports.

 

Not much to say about this game, everything the Flyers are doing is working and the Habs look a bit lost. Oh well, its only game 1. I'd at least like a goal before its over.

[millz58]

Man, you know it's rough when Hartnell gets into the act, sliding up the boards after avoiding contact, inching around to the crease, then dropping back and taking the easy feed... 5-0 Flyers...

[millz58]

lol, I didnt really think the signature pic had anything to do with anything. Though I am not really superstitious about much, but I am a bit with sports.

LMAO the Habs pic was part congratulating the better team and another part mourning; but I do realize I would be weird about it if someone suddenly (seemingly) changed allegiances. Anyway it may have confused at least one viewer of these posts. Anyway, I'm going to look for better pics, if I can find some Pens fans burying their faces in the seats of the Igloo on the nigth of that facility's last game (I'm still cool with the building closing down after even such an ass-beating.) I'm sure Jacques Martin will have some way of adjusting for game 2, I'm already looking forward to it.

 

that San Jose/Chicago game was great (or at least so it sounded, I had it on radio), and those two teams will not need much adjusting on either side. I was glad Niemi had a great game, I didn't expect him to out-perform Nabokov, but apparently he did. That will be a great series, too.

[Spen]

I enjoyed what I saw of the Sharks-Blackhawks game. End to end action with few calls.

 

I am not too down about the game tonight, after the stress of two elimination games last series, and three the previous one; I am pretty relaxed so far.

 

I understood the Habs pic was a congratulatory one.

[millz58]

I understood the Habs pic was a congratulatory one.

Indeed! When I was at work today I got the internet feed for the Blackhawks' broadcast, and they made many mentions of the lopsided penalty calls (5 for SJ and none for CHI) but anyway the 'Hawks won, this is gonna be an interesting series. I do fully expect the canadiens to rebound with a more physical effort (they seemed a bit lackluster tonight). They don't play (potentially) 7 games for nothin'.

[millz58]

Did I hear right, the dudes on NHL network say the Habs/Flyers finals is the first conference finals b/w #7/#8 in NHL history? crazy if true; I know Gary Bettman is loving it, the way he touts the "parity" of the league lately. I'll give Bettman credit, he does go on air every week (thursdays at 6 pm on XM 204 NHL home ice) and let fans talk to him, none of those other commishes are that approachable.

[millz58]

AND... the Western finals are b/w the #1/#2 seeds. So real weirdness, we could see a #1 vs. #8 in the finals! but, that's for media hype. The Sharks are no scarier a #1 than the Habs are a meek #8. Maybe I should write Bettman's talking points...

[millz58]

side note during a brief break in the playoffs; the Caps have signed Niklas Backstrom to a 10-year, $67 million contract. HOLY SH*T! Ovechkin is in the 3rd year of his huge 13-year $124 million contract. Lookout Rangers and Leafs, you're not the only ones who can throw the buck around the puck.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/capitals/2010-05-17-backstrom-extension_N.htm?csp=34

 

seriously though, isn't this the kind of stuff that brought us to the lock-out?

[Spen]

In some ways it seems like the contracts are worse than they were before, but at least there is a cap and they cannot have 10 players making 9 million. That may end up being a bargain for Backstrom.

 

Its certainly not a Bobby Holik pre-lockout deal. Coming off of 54 point season a lot of teams were interested and people thought he would get between 4 and 5 million. Then the Rangers jumped in out of no where with a 9 million a year contract. (like the Yankees with Giambi years ago like they thought "to hell with bidding, we'll just offer 15 million more than everyone else".

 

I still think its a lot better post lockout, I think its fair that salaries are tied into revenue.

[millz58]

I've got no real problem with $$ in salaries vs. revenues, but moreso with the lengths of the contracts. I mean, 13 and 10 years for Ovie and Backstrom? crazy. They're not gonna get snow like this year's very often, hope the two can "warm up" to the region's normal climate...

 

that goal by Briere was too easy, why wasn't Gill throwing his body around to block that one? Philly's coming again with the toughness, the canadiens already look agitated and it's not midway through the first period...

[millz58]

Early in the 2nd, Philly still up 1-0; Flyers are doing a good job getting back on D and standing MTL's progress at the blue line, preventing good penetration into the zone, forcing some awkward puck-dumpings which they get to before the Habs can even get wholly through the neutral zone... This is taking away from the Habs' speedy advantage on the rush; that's the flip side to the Flyers gangin' up in front of the crease around Halak when in the Habs' zone.

[millz58]

Wow, Gagne the recipient of a PP goal, hard work from behing, around, in front of Halak... . The flyers are feeling it, and the Habs are looking a bit tired; still competitive, but you wonder if they've got enough left in the tank to make this one a game and avoid going home down 2-0 in the series and giving Philly true home-ice advantage. I don't like the Philly fans mocking the "ole,ole" btw, classless... But that's just the city of brotherly love and their faithful.

[Spen]

With the exception of not scoring I think the Habs look fine this game. They are making Leighton look like Hasek. Though they were better in the first than the second; I dont really think many chances were great in the second.

 

Once again the goal in the third has to be to at least break the shut out. Its Michael friggin Leighton!

 

I don't mind the long contracts, though I am glad the Habs don't have any like that. Eventually some team will really get burned on one whether through injury or just failing skills.

[Spen]

I don't like the Philly fans mocking the "ole,ole" btw, classless... But that's just the city of brotherly love and their faithful.

 

I think its kind of funny. A lot of fans who say they hate the "ole" in Montreal are saying how much they like Philly fans doing it. Whether its mockery or not it sounds the same to me.

 

Here is some other fun stuff about Philly this series:

 

Certainly no fun for Patrick V. Hickey, who had a worse night than the Canadiens.

 

The Gazette's intrepid beat man parked his Honda Civic – 564,000 km and purring like a kitten – at the Wachovia Center.

 

Because the car has Quebec plates, Flyers' fans slashed the tires – and stole the plate!

 

Two Canadian TV trucks were vandalized as well.

 

And Marc-Antoine Godin of La Presse Tweets: "2 PHI fans yelled at TV guy 'go back home, you f@#$#& French-Canadian!' One had Briere jersey, the other a Gagné"

 

It seems to me to be an angry fan base and I dont really get that. Ive been to hockey, baseball, and Eagles games there and anger always seemed to me to be the most prevalent emotion. I'll never see a hockey game there again.

[Spen]

lol, I am frustrated, thats the only reason I am posting here during the game.

[millz58]

It seems to me to be an angry fan base and I dont really get that. Ive been to hockey, baseball, and Eagles games there and anger always seemed to me to be the most prevalent emotion. I'll never see a hockey game there again.

I vividly remember being cussed out by child-age phillies fans at the Yard; I also remember (back when I used to wear the Igglez gear) getting beer thrown on me at Three Rivers stadium during an intrastate NFL rival game, I of the green-cloth then.

 

That last goal Halak gave up was real bad...; but, they'll go back to the Bell Centre and be hopefully rejuvenated. I agree Spen, they haven't look bad, but things have gone Philly's was so far...

[millz58]

My, how the Orange turns. Halak, once the enigma of the first two rounds, has now been "touched" by the Flyers, and meanwhile this guy Leighton has become the most recent version of a newcoming goalie to experience some success in the playoffs. The Habs need to turn up the heat at home, I expect them to come out blazing and attacking in front of their fans.

[Spen]

Yeah the last Halak goal sucked. I am still more frustrated by the consecutive shutouts then the 9 goals allowed in two games. Well the next is really a must win.

 

A few years ago I saw a pre-season Flyers-Penguins game in Hershey and it was hot outside and inside the arena. So much that a fog would form over the ice. Every few minutes the refs would stop the game and have the players skate around waving their arms to dissipate the fog. Sounds amusing and it was, but it turned the game into a 4 hour event. During the intermissions everyone would go outside to cool off. On the way back in we were looking around and I guess we didnt move fast enough for some people, and I felt stuff hitting my back. I turned around and there was a family wearing Flyers jersey throwing fries at us. All of them. It was a mother and father and two kids who were probably 10 and 7. I was shocked and just said "oh real nice". Nice parenting.

 

I had season tickets to the Eagles a couple of years, they were cheap seats too and every game there was violence in the air. I went to a Penguins game in Philly and the Flyers won easily and the nasty things the fans were yelling at their own team surprised me. My wife wanted to wear her Penguin jersey but luckily I talked her out of it.

[millz58]

My wife wanted to wear her Penguin jersey but luckily I talked her out of it.

good call, and damn, makes me wish I'd seen the Flyers at the Igloo circa Lindros era, I didn't like that guy. Although Hartnell I really dislike. anyway what the heck is it with those Philly folks? I mean, Rocky was never like that Sorry to hear you were pelted with cheap arena snacks. You laid out some great visual imagery, you should write short stories for this site, little vignettes.

 

edit; actually I should admit that I've seen plenty of "good Baltimorons" that have their share of embarrassing moments, and also alot of WVU fans (especially at football games). But not so prevalent and consistent as with our neighbors 1.5 hours up I-95