Before the playoffs began, I picked New Jersey to win the cup, based on Martin Brodeur, a balanced, patient offense and solid team defense.
Having seen the Anaheim Mighty Ducks roll through to the final though, I am starting to wonder... can they be real? Will Disney need to make another movie?
Would be cool to see guys like Paul Kariya and Steve Thomas holding the Grail but I'm thinking Devils in 6.
I'm still in shock that Mighty Ducks are in the Show
Wulfran Moondancer
Stupid Sidekick of the Lambent Dorf
Petitioner to Club Bok Bok
Founding Member of the Barbarian Nation Movement
I dunno if Jersey will be able to score on Giguiere or not.. nobody else has been able to, and Jersey's strongpoint is their defense. (Though their offense is quite good, as well.)
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." - John F Kennedy
I pick the Dicks , errr I mean Ducks. Just on momentum alone. They are well rested and have a shitload to play for. For starters the team is up for sale and a lot of them are wondering IF they will have a job there next year or not. I see the Devils as being a little beat up and not wanting it as badly as the Ducks do.
Either way it should be a great series. Lets just hope its not a sweep like the Ducks last series. (always sucks to see a team get blown out completely)
The Ducks have the momentum andI don't think the Devil's can stop them. The Ducks rolled through some impressive teams to get to the finals. They're no fluke. Tonight's game will set the tone for the whole series. I predict Ducks in 6.
Without a doubt, this will be the most boring Stanley Cup playoffs ever.
Two teams that have little support in their own cities, who can't even sell out playoff games and who play the most boring style of clutch and grab hockey is a recipie for disaster for the NHL.
The Devils sold out 3 home games this year... all 3 were against the Rangers. When they play away games, they do not draw crowds like the leafs, canadiens, redwings or rangers. They are rewarded with wins and stanley cups for being one of the most boring teams in the history of hockey.
New Jersey isn't even a fucking city... neither is Anaheim.
What the fuck is downtown Anaheim or downtown New Jersey?
Eventhough I hate the Ottawa Senators, I was hoping they would win... at least they play good, entertaining hockey.
Bettman needs to do some serious work on the NHL.
Clutching/grabbing and obstruction needs to be eliminated.
They need to add an 'Illegal Defense' penalty on teams that use the neutral zone trap.
Icing calls need to be made without the touch-up.
The NHL has been going into the shitter in the past few years.
The talent is getting diluted by overexpansion.
The star players have been rendered ineffective by 'the trap'.
I think the majority of the predictions are going to be : "Who gives a shit either way"
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
They play out of the Meadowlands in Jersey (the same place that the Giants and Jets play). Though it is not a city, it is located outside of Newark whose name only got famous from the 9/11 incident and the anthrax in the post office. The lack of large and popular cities hardly warrants the lack of a pro team.
So Anahiem is almost Los Angeles and New Jersey is almost New(ark) York?
The lack of large and popular cities hardly warrants the lack of a pro team
Yea, but why should those 'cities' deserve a team that they don't even support? The NHL is stupid for awarding teams to cities and areas that lack the interest and can't support a professional sports team.
What is an 'area' like Carolina doing with a NHL team?
They make it to the Final and can barely fill 8000 seats the next season.
The Devils are one of the winningest teams of the past decade and they can't even sell out unless the Rangers come to play?
Hopefully, the abyssmal ratings they are going to get for this playoff will open Bettman's eyes and force him to make some serious changes in the NHL.
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
Sylvus wrote:I know they are the underdog, but I'm going to have to go with the Red Wings.
rofl
Okay, if I have to pick I say Ducks in 5 or 6.
Also, I disagree about it being a boring series. I think it'll be pretty good. the Ducks are a fun team to watch, even if they beat my Wings. >< Giguiere is fucking badass and makes some amazing saves.
"Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." - John F Kennedy
miir wrote:Without a doubt, this will be the most boring Stanley Cup playoffs ever.
Bettman needs to do some serious work on the NHL.
Clutching/grabbing and obstruction needs to be eliminated.
They need to add an 'Illegal Defense' penalty on teams that use the neutral zone trap.
Icing calls need to be made without the touch-up.
The NHL has been going into the shitter in the past few years.
The talent is getting diluted by overexpansion.
The star players have been rendered ineffective by 'the trap'.
I remember back in the early 90's, hockey was turning into a score-fest. Teams like the Penguins loaded up on front line talent, and just a couple tough guys on the back lines to keep the superstars from getting roughed up.
Then the league changed a few rules and the level of enforcement on a few others, and the era of the goon squad was born. Go go Claude Lemieux!
The mighty ducks will destroy the devils and it will be the loudest indication that hockey is going to way of every other bastardized, boring, water-down american sport with billionaire prima donna players and the wealthiest corporate owned teams buying the championship every year.
then they will ban fighting, then they will ban body checking, then they will ban slapshots, and then take the goalies out and replace the puck with a big orange ball that says SUPPORT OUR TROOPS on it, and every game with be a two hundred and fourteen to two hundred and six scorefest to keep valium and percodan-addled american's attention spans for longer than 15 seconds. players will insure their smiles for forty billion dollars and fall down clutching their knees crying like babies every time another player brushes up against them.
IT WILL BE THE END OF THE MULLET AS A VIABLE HAIR STYLE FOR PROFESSIONAL ATHELETES.
Seriously, I love going to a hockey game (minor league or college) in person but the pros are just boring to watch on tv. Now that the playoffs last longer than the regular season it is just horrid.
I think the last full game I watched on tv was winter olympics.
Anaheim is actually a fairly nice place. The 'Pond' is right next to Angel's Stadium (The Big A). Perhaps you've heard of the Angels, they won the World Series last year. Disneyland is in Anaheim and there are several other affluent cities, and nice places to visit in that area.
California's populace is perfectly capable of supporting multiple professional sporting teams.
Having said that, I agree with your sentiment about the NHL expanding too fast, etc.
Oh, my God; I care so little, I almost passed out.
The Wings took a dive and lost on purpose because they were tired of being the dominant team in the NHL the last 6 or 7 years. They also wanted to work on their golf games this summer, and summer is pretty short up here in Michigan. Winning the Stanley Cup would have cost them like half of the good golfing weather.
At least that's what I keep telling myself.
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
Haha, a Devils sweep will just be another nail in the coffin.
Has anyone even bothered watching these borefests?
If this shit doesn't make Bettman pull his head out of his ass and realise that people won't watch boring hockey I don't think anything will.
I tried watching a bit of the game last night and flipped it to baseball after 10-15 minutes. There was no action, the shit going on in nuetral zone was ridiculous.
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
miir wrote:
I tried watching a bit of the game last night and flipped it to baseball after 10-15 minutes. There was no action, the shit going on in nuetral zone was ridiculous.
And you call yourself a Canadian. Boring hockey is more exciting than exciting baseball any day. Blasphemer!
"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."- Barack Obama
miir wrote:The Devils are one of the winningest teams of the past decade and they can't even sell out unless the Rangers come to play?
Hopefully, the abyssmal ratings they are going to get for this playoff will open Bettman's eyes and force him to make some serious changes in the NHL.
The only time I go to see the Devils play is when the Rangers are in town. I'm not sure what the regular season averages are for attendance but they're probably not too bad though. They recently tried to build the stadiums in Newark and it got voted down. Not that I can blame them, Newark is a shithole plain and simple. Maybe in a few years, they'll try and build something in Jersey City. Even though the whole city is built on old landfills, it certainly hasn't stopped recent development.
Last edited by Chidoro on May 30, 2003, 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
not sure what the regular season averages are for attendance but they're probably not too bad though.
The Devils average attendace is around 14 thousand.
Roughly 75% capacity.
The only 3 sellouts this season were 2 vs the Rangers and 1 vs the Islanders.
The Ducks average attendance is also around 14 thousand.
Roughly 80% capacity.
By comparison, even the abysmal Rangers sell out virtually every game. Only 6 games this year weren't sellouts. They may be a shitty team, but they play entertaining hockey.
You know, the Devils weren't even selling out their home playoff games in the first 2 rounds.... not one single sellout.
I've got 99 problems and I'm not dealing with any of them - Lay-Z
miir wrote:
By comparison, even the abysmal Rangers sell out virtually every game. Only 6 games this year weren't sellouts. They may be a shitty team, but they play entertaining hockey.
Well that, and that they have an embedded franchise w/ 75 years of history. I was a Rangers fan since I can remember. Just because the Rockies decided to move to E Rutherford doesn't mean I can switch loyalties. The further south you go in Jersey, the more likely you are to get Flyers fans. And they are pretty die-hard fans as well, so they didn't make the switch either.
Didn't see the whole thing, just the 3rd and OT but it was fun to watch. Now its a best of 3: can the Ducks continue the Cinderella story? Steve Thomas says "yes!"
Wulfran Moondancer
Stupid Sidekick of the Lambent Dorf
Petitioner to Club Bok Bok
Founding Member of the Barbarian Nation Movement
Caught the last 2 games... some damn fine goaltending going on and hockey being played. Neither a Ducks nor a Devils fan, but must admit I'm pulling for Anaheim... Go Ducks!
