Re: The NHL Thread
 

let's pump the brakes

:lol

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Just talking in theory compared to the last time the Ducks were there. I mean the way most of you Rangers fans and Hawks fans have been talking, it is over.

Not over yet. Tonight will say a lot though. Goes without saying that this is a must win for the Rangers, as is the next game for the Hawks. If NY wins game 4 I think they win the series. If they lose game 4 I believe it is over in 5. Although they seem to hold tight in elimination games.

All I can ask as a fan is that they extend the season as long as possible. If they extend it long enough we either won the Cup or lost it in 7 lol.

As far as all the negative talking about the Rangers....it is not that I don't like my team...I just don't think they are good enough. They still need to prove to me that they are great and not just good.

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Wow. Had no idea Mike Milbury was an Ant.

That's awesome. How's it going, Mike?

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PS we haven't won anything in what? 39 years? I don't think you have anything to worry about.

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:lol:lol:lol

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Any attorneys barred in New York in this thread? http://hockeyjobs.nhl.com/teamwork/r.cfm?i=81855

If I lived in New York/wanted to move to New York/was barred in New York I'd be all over this.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Hey I get the questioning it just saying people were freaking and we were talking about what might happen if TBL and ANH got there.

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I am not worried about the Hawks if the coach puts the best players on the ice

If it is Ducks/Lightning I for one will not watch. Would find it impossible to care enough and would be too upset about the Rangers not making it there. I would root for the Ducks hard though. Can't stand the thought of all those former Rangers winning a cup one year after playing for us. In fact, I would hope for a 4-0 Ducks win.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

I'd be torn cause I love Bruce. Seems like a guy I'd want to play for. But I hate Perry. He's such a douche. TBL has Stevie Y as the GM so it would be nice to see my all-time favorite player win as a GM and Copper coached up in Lansing while going to law school but I'd be thinking "man, the Wings should have beaten that team." Now on the other side, I don't want the Hawks to in cause I want to see a new team win and the Rangers...I dunno. If Marty wasn't there maybe I'd feel different. I just don't want to see him win one. He made me lose respect for him, with how he left Tampa. Who is in it, won't matter if I watch or not. I'll watch what I can. Cup clinching game, I'll watch regardless of who is in it. Haven't missed too many of those over the years.

So in order of who I want:
I'll put
Tampa/ANH tied
Rangers
Hawks.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

For me:

Rangers



Hawks
Ducks




Tampa



Honestly, if the Rangers don't even make the finals it will be a pretty big blow for me. I would probably not watch much hockey until next years playoffs...assuming the Rangers make the playoffs next year.

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:lol :lol :lol :lol

Good lord, man

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I would probably watch the end and root the exact opposite.

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Whoa buddy! Sorry you feel that way.

I strongly disagree that Corey Perry is overrated. He's obviously been good the past couple seasons, but I've felt that during these playoffs he's established himself as probably the best power forward in the game right now. Now, the power forward style is fundamentally different than the style played by guys like Crosby, Kane, etc. You won't see Perry pulling off the end-to-end rushes that Kaner does. But I can't think of a single player in the NHL who can play the power forward role.

He's got an awesome shot and good on-ice vision. He knows where he needs to be and gets there. He's actually a pretty good skater for his size, and is as defensively responsible as any other star player. As for the in-front-of-the-net stuff, of course that's where he's going to be. It's where he's most effective. How many of the goals Anaheim's scored in this series have been with him in front screening the goalie and taking at least two opponents with him to also be screens? It works. And we all know that tipping in a shot like that one he scored in game 2 requires CRAZY skill. Some tip-in/redirections are just as boner-inducing to me as a sweet breakaway move because of the skill they require.

Is he a shit bag on the ice? Absolutely. But that's another game he plays well. He knows not only how to win skill-wise, but also how to get into heads and play mind games with opponents. And it works. Guys take dumb penalties because of him, or even just start making mistakes. At the very least, they pay so much attention to him that it opens up space for other guys on the ice. Watch it and you'll see.

Call him cheap or whatever, but Corey Perry's a damn fine NHL player.
:lol:lol

I blame growing up in New Jersey. I have a lot of really nasty Devils fan "friends" who are brutal with talking trash. I have been putting up with their "you'll never win a cup" and "we have won 3 cups since your last one" and "we knocked you out of the playoffs 2 of the last 3 times" trash talk for 15-20 years. I really don't think I can take much more of it. It makes me want to go Dexter on them haha....(that's a nervous laugh because I don't know if I am kidding)

When the Rangers got swept by the Devils in 06 I don't think I watched a game in 07 until the playoffs. I got really into the English Premier League and Bundesliga. When we lost to NJ in the Eastern Finals two years ago it was the same deal. Until the out door games I didn't watch at all last year because of it. If New York comes up short I will probably take a step back and try to get back into soccer more again. I have not really watched footy much the last 3 years and I miss it.

I know that makes me shitty fan, but it really takes a toll on me when the Rangers lose. I am way to attached to the success or failures of this team. Way more than an adult should be at least. I applaud fans of teams that have not won in forever either and can still watch religiously. Truly you guys have a better system to handle it than I do I guess.

My hope is that the Rangers just come through this year for me. One Cup would change everything...but getting that cup seems impossible sometimes. Fans of teams that win often will never understand that.

End rant/melt

Re: The NHL Thread
 

:lol :lol :lol :lol

Re: The NHL Thread
 

The biggest reason I can see for the Ducks and Lightning being up in their series is they have an identity and they're sticking to it.

Like, with the Ducks, you always know how they're going to play. It will abrassive and maddening, but it's what to expect from them even going back to the Carlyle days. And they stick to it. And know what? They're looking like a team that could lift the Stanley Cup right now. They're really playing well. Ducks fan or no, if you're watching them right now you can't deny it.

Same thing with the Lightning, IMO. You know what you're going to get from them. They know it too, and they stick to it.

What surprises me is the lack of identity I'm seeing from the Hawks right now. I don't know if it's from the lineup juggling or what. They're still a great team, but there seems to be, I don't know, something missing. Almost like they're trying to adjust to the Ducks but it's not working. This is also a team that could win the Stanley Cup, there just needs to be something a little more.

Judging by the way the four teams are playing RIGHT NOW, Anaheim is the team playing most like a Cup winner.

I picked the Ducks in most of my pools before the playoffs started. They are such a solid team. I don't hate them at all, they just don't excite me. I have been in Chicago and Anaheim in the last two years...based on that alone I want the Hawks. Last year I saw how into it the fans in the city were. Despite me wearing my Rangers shirt there many of their fans bought me a beer and talked hockey with me for a while. It changed my opinion of the Hawks for the better. If we don't win I want Chicago to get it again for those reasons.

Ps...don't tell my girlfriend I said that.

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I have heard multiple stories like this regarding Hawks fans. Cool story :thumbsup

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"Babcock admits that Toronto had no chance, until they offered more money then it got him thinking."

I am totally surprised....Not criticizing cause for $50mil I'd go to Winnipeg for 8 years, let alone TO. I love that city.

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https://youtu.be/s9Q-6qtJwWw

Watching Babs cry was....weird. Very weird.

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If you are looking for sympathy there is a good chance you are barking up the wrong tree. I was/am a Whalers fan and we NEVER won anything.

I am also a Raiders fan so just like you I know how frustrating it gets to be perpetually loosing. :lol

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Currently eating lunch at Millers in CVille. Good times. Bought a bunch of wine at Blenheim I won't drink much of . Beautiful day here. Much better than yesterday.

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That was a little weird. Crying is not a good look for Mike Babcock. Some guys can make crying look good, Babs isn't one

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Beautiful day indeed! Little cold this morning but top notch afternoon. Great day for walking on the Downtown Mall

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I thought you'd like this.

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LOL. I do like that. I wish him the best, as long as the best isn't winning. If he was in Edmonton or something like that, I wouldn't care. But in the same division? Yeah I hope they fail miserably.

He is enjoying it now, but after a losing streak in December or if they don't make the playoffs for a couple years, that media and some of those fans can't get nasty.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

Indeed. And that money can only grease the wheels so much.

Re: The NHL Thread
 

:lol:lol