I got lucky and scored a ticket to the Flyers/Caps game tonight in Philly. Just got back about twenty minutes ago. The atmosphere was electric in the city. Not only did the Flyers win, the Phils tied the game and then won it about thirty seconds after the clock ran out at the Wachovia Center on the Flyers game. I was in a corporate box so I got to see that crazy finish, too. What a night.
South Philly was just crazy with happy fans. Good times.
I really don’t see the Caps coming back to win this one, but it’s certainly possible. Danny Briere is a revelation in the playoffs. Vinnie Prospal trade looks like a genius move, too.
There’s been good and bad in the other series. The Senators look like the team they turned into halfway through the season. The Ducks aren’t dead yet. The Habs seem destined for great things. Anyone watching?
Yup, hockey playoffs are my favorite sports time of the year. Flyers fan here, too, and super happy about today’s win. So jealous you were at the game, it was a good one. I’ve been to one playoff game in my life and that was game 6 against Buffalo a couple years ago where the Flyers just got annihilated at home to end the series.
I didn’t get to watch the other games tonight, but looks like we have some series that are going to go down to the wire. Calgary/San Jose has been great. I see Thornton finally got his head in the game and scored a goal. Rangers/Devils is always exciting, especially being a NJ native I know quite a few people who get really into that rivalry. Nice to see Colorado probably going to take a decisive win tonight.
I’m praying Boston somehow wins the series so we don’t have to play Montreal next round (if we win).
Poor Sens. I was a Bruins fan in childhood (screw Gretzky; I liked Cam Neely), moved away from hockey for a bit, but when I returned to the game I decided, for whatever reason, that I liked the Senators. Marian Hossa and Daniel Alfredsson in particular. Now Hossa’s helping put them away…
Truth be told, I really don’t have anything against most of the Northeast division. Living in a state that doesn’t actually have a team of its own, I’m closest geographically to the Habs, and roughly equidistant between the Sens and the Bruins, but the Bruins get more television coverage, thanks to NESN.
Besides, the game’s what I watch, not any particular team. There are too many decent players spread across too many teams to choose any one. I feel sorry for guys like Olli Jokinen who don’t get a chance to show their stuff in the postseason.
As for the end-game scenario, I’m going with Pittsburgh losing to Detroit in 6.
Stars really need to step it up for Game 4 after a crappy Game 3 at home. The comeback was nice, but after cutting the lead to 2 goals they couldn’t score on a 4-minute powerplay in the middle of the third and seemed to lose all momentum after that. It’s still nice being up 2-1, but I’m not comfortable. I want to put away the Ducks. Now.
Other than the 4-1 nerve-ridden blow out, the games have been very close, and closely played.
Granted, I don’t expect the Bruins to win, but I think going 6 or 7 games is a real possibility. Most people expected the Habs to blow out the Bruins every night and I’m impressed with how the B’s have handled themselves.
The best things Boston could hope for have already happened: They broke their losing [to the Habs] streak (13 games, was it?) and Marc Savard finally got to see the playoffs. Tim Thomas made an admirable effort in goal, but why not put Alex Auld in for the next game? He did some nice relief work this year, and deserves some playing time.
Where the hell is Manny Fernandez these days? I know he’s injured, but a starting goaltender shouldn’t finish the season with a 2-2-0 record, a 3.93 GAA, and a .832 save percentage.
If Montreal keeps doing what they’re doing, and Washington goes out in the first round, will people forgive Gainey for sending Huet away?
Because Timmy doesn’t own any of the goals. Last nights was a screen
Where the hell is Manny Fernandez these days? I know he’s injured, but a starting goaltender shouldn’t finish the season with a 2-2-0 record, a 3.93 GAA, and a .832 save percentage.
Manny had knee surgery around December and was projected to miss the rest of the season–he’s on the B’s long-term exception list which means Chiarelli could have used his salary. He’s been in practice but neither he nor Bergeron were eligable for minor-league rehab games (I forget the technicality). It would be incredibly stupid from a game perspective and the player’s development to throw a goalie into a playoff game that hasn’t played in 6-months. I think Manny made 10 games, barely, this year.
Do people generally pay attention to the Bruins down there in the Hub? You see plenty of Bruins hats and whatnot, up here in northern Vermont, but I get the sense folks are just wearing them as a geographical badge of sorts. The Habs fans (and there are many around here) will actually know what’s going on, but a lot of the people sporting the spoked-B seem pretty fuzzy about everything.
It’s like the Bruins are jumping on the Red Sox bandwagon and siphoning off some residual partisanship.
When the ownership had the brilliant idea of dismantling a talented team in the hopes of getting players for bargain basement prices, turning the Bruins into an expansion team when they restocked with lesser talent, the fan base gave them finger and walked away. It didn’t help that both the Sox and the Pats got hot.
This year attendance was up. People in Boston like to see gritty players who aren’t afraid of the corners or fighting. This year’s team really started to warm some people up to the franchise again. The Bruins are still only slightly more popular than the soccer team, though.
If I were a Bostonian, I’d be very happy with acquisitions like Aaron Ward and Chuck Kobasew. Milan Lucic has made a nice impression this season, as well.
He talks about assists as being akin to a good batting average, but not having batted runs in. I tend to agree with him. I like to see a lot of assists from the defense, but I don’t like seeing forwards with a large gap between assists and goals. Thornton and Boston didn’t mix, and I think the fan base had also started to turn against him. A lot of it was pressure and he was mis-coached (as were most of the Bruins around then).
Thornton not showing up for the playoffs didn’t help him. I know the one post-season he played hurt, but if you can’t contribute when injured, you need to give up the spot.
