Zack is Great 14 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 our no depth conference has won 3 out of the last 5... so i guess it isnt that bad. just pointing some things out. When the Eastern Conference beat Calgary, Edmonton and Anaheim, weren't they all eighth seeds? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reggiedunlop 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Well see, here's how it works. The Eastern Conference will always have 1 team in the SCF and the Western Conference will always have 1 team in the SCF. By that point, all the dross in the Eastern Conference will have been eliminated. Once you get to the Finals, it's anyone's game. My point is while the Wings have (are having) a hard road to get there (say for Rd 1), the Pens have coasted to the Finals. then i guess we agree to disagree.....good luck none the less Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reggiedunlop 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 When the Eastern Conference beat Calgary, Edmonton and Anaheim, weren't they all eighth seeds? then im guessing the 8 seeds beat 1-7? wow. nice accomplishment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidthekid 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 the western conference is not all that it's cracked up to be. the wings are good and the ducks are ok (suspect goaltending and one line). the bruins are better than the sharks. the devils are better than the blackhawks. i think both conferences overall are fairly even. this notion that the west is better than the east used to be true in the late 90s but it's just a fantasy now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reggiedunlop 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 relax boys.... til we beat you we have done nothing. just pointing out that we shouldnt hand over the cup to you quite yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 our no depth conference has won 3 out of the last 5... so i guess it isnt that bad. just pointing some things out. Right but the East has not won the last two. As of recently, the west has been better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McCartyFanForLife 17 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 the western conference is not all that it's cracked up to be. the wings are good and the ducks are ok (suspect goaltending and one line). the bruins are better than the sharks. the devils are better than the blackhawks. i think both conferences overall are fairly even. this notion that the west is better than the east used to be true in the late 90s but it's just a fantasy now. The Bruins are not better than the Sharks. Both teams are playoff flops so it's hard to compare the 2, but the Sharks have way better depth and play a way more physical game than the Bruins. The Devils better than the Hawks is laughable. Hawks have more speed and depth as well. Devils have the edge in goaltending probably, but that's about it. The Ducks are more than OK; I hate the team, but if they had to face the Penguins, the Pens would be golfing w/o Lord Stanley's Cup for 2nd year in a row. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevie12 5 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Has anyone heard when Game 1 and 2 will be pending the different outcomes (i.e. if the wings win in 5 or 6) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Rosenrosen 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 When the Eastern Conference beat Calgary, Edmonton and Anaheim, weren't they all eighth seeds? Who sucks worse - the #8 seeds in those years or the top 7 that couldn't close them out when it mattered? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 (edited) the western conference is not all that it's cracked up to be. the wings are good and the ducks are ok (suspect goaltending and one line). the bruins are better than the sharks. the devils are better than the blackhawks. i think both conferences overall are fairly even. this notion that the west is better than the east used to be true in the late 90s but it's just a fantasy now. The Ducks are not just okay. Sure they have only one offensive line, but their defense can smother the best forwards of any team. And Hiller was great. I believe he still leads in save percentage. The Bruins are not better than the Sharks. Sure the Sharks choked in the playoffs, but they are still a great team. Notice how they lost to Anaheim who is also another great western team. The Bruins could only beat the Habs (no big accomplishment) and then lost to Carolina of all teams. The Bruins just have goaltending. The Shraks are very physical and have a great presence. The Devils are not better than the Hawks. The Hawks have much better forwards in Kane, Teows, and Sharp. Devils have goaltending as their strong point and even Brodeur blew it against Carolina. The east gets to inflate their records by beating up on the Leafs, Sens, Lightning, Islanders, Thrashers, and others for 4-6 games a year depending on division. The only teams in the West that got consistently beat on this year were the Coyotes and the Stars. Other than that, most of the western teams were all playoff contenders. Teams in the East are all based on a couple superstar forwards. Teams in the west are based on chemistry and defense. The East has the best individuals. The West has the best teams. So yeah I would say the West has been much better lately. Edited May 27, 2009 by Lovin Jiri Fischer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Rosenrosen 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Right but the East has not won the last two. As of recently, the west has Ducks and Wings have been better. FYP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
reggiedunlop 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 ........but that's about it. The Ducks are more than OK; I hate the team, but if they had to face the Penguins, the Pens would be golfing w/o Lord Stanley's Cup for 2nd year in a row. we beat them 3-1 the only time we played them this year and beat them the only time we played them last year. so, we really havent seen them enough to know how amazing they are. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
russianswede919293 95 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I doubt it'll get that bad. But the Pens do have cap concerns. Hate to break it to you but so does Detroit. The Wings are going to lose a significant amount of players at the end of this season. That being said, I am more afraid of Pittsburgh then I was last year, and then I was of any other opponent the Wings have faced this year. Honestly if it weren't for Crosby I would like Pittsburgh and be happy for their success, I just can't back that whiny d-bag. Also that being said GO WINGS!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zack is Great 14 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I found this little gem over on lgp, thought I might share =P Right now, we still have more skill up front and Fleury is still better than Osgood even on a bad day. Without Lidstrom the defense evens out. When playing 7 D, our 4th line has Malkin or Crosby on it which makes us deeper up front too. So according to this guy, the Pens have more skilled forwards all around, Fleury when he's bad is better than Osgood when he's good, the Pens defense is equal to the Wings, and they also have more depth. Oh, the hilarity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
russianswede919293 95 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I find it hard to believe that if Lids can breathe he would miss a single cup finals game... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McCartyFanForLife 17 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Just wait, the boards will be loaded with ridiculous comments. If we win tonight, we will face another bag of bandwagon fans. Always enjoyable... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris L 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I thought the 'Canes folded too easily in that game. After Ward let in that weird softy they gave up and seemed to be just going through the motions till the final buzzer. They had moments life, and a few unluckly posts, but they looked flat and tired to me. Apparently they just couldn't keep giant killing. I heard one of the commentary guys actually say this game was the 'Canes best effort in the series... Holy s***! If that was their best effort the Pens got off lightly in the series. I was trying to see how the Pens carry the puck into the offensive zone and how they stand up on the blue line, but since the 'Canes looked so dead I couldn't get a feel for how these Pens play today. The 'Canes had zero traffic in front of Fleury and gave him little pressure at all. Staal's shorty attempts were nice but the rest of the team didn't want to go there against the Pens so-so defense. To me, the Pens spent the whole 3rd period defending their lead and it looked sloppy to me, 4 guys folding in on Fleury made it real hard for him to see the puck at times, not a good idea, IMO. Having said that, I was surprised how Fleury snagged the puck with all those white legs dancing around his head. Then afterwards Versus fell over itself shining Crosby's nob, they acted like the 4 game sweep was trench warfare and the Pens were the better for it. The way I read the game, the 'Canes rolled over and let the Pens do whatever they liked. These Pens have only seen one hard series, and that was against a Caps squad that barely made it out of the first round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YMHC 23 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I found this little gem over on lgp, thought I might share =P I've been lurking there for a year now. And I have to say that reading that stuff makes me feel real good! "....it smells like victory" I Just want it to last another year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris L 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 The east gets to inflate their records by beating up on the Leafs, Sens, Lightning, Islanders, Thrashers, and others for 4-6 games a year depending on division. The only teams in the West that got consistently beat on this year were the Coyotes and the Stars. Other than that, most of the western teams were all playoff contenders. Teams in the East are all based on a couple superstar forwards. Teams in the west are based on chemistry and defense. The East has the best individuals. The West has the best teams. So yeah I would say the West has been much better lately. While I generally agree with your point, you forgot how abysmal the Avs are, and will be next year. Both them and the Coyotes are competing for the West's version of the Islanders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim 5 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Hate to break it to you but so does Detroit. The Wings are going to lose a significant amount of players at the end of this season. Therein lies the caveat. The Wings were lucky enough to taste Cup success... before having to pay all their pipers. Teams like Pittsburg have done well to lock up Crosby and Malkin. The worries come when all the bit-players want their paydays. The worst fate is to end up like Ottawa or Vancouver... gobs of talent that might end up lost before their Cup window is closed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidthekid 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I found this little gem over on lgp, thought I might share =P So according to this guy, the Pens have more skilled forwards all around, Fleury when he's bad is better than Osgood when he's good, the Pens defense is equal to the Wings, and they also have more depth. Oh, the hilarity. i think that analysis is wrong. i think detroit is probably deeper up front and on D. Osgood - meh. he's good when the D in front of him is good. he'll never be a goalie like brodeur or hasek in his prime but good enough to win. i think though that the x-factor in all this is the pens desire to win. to me that's the biggest thing. you can have all the talent you want but heart > talent. i never predicted the pens would beat the wings but i do think they have a shot. i was not overwhelmed with the way detroit played in games 3-6 last year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chelios4eva 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Am I the only person here a little nervous about Pittsburgh? I'm right there with ya. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this series... ya know... assuming we play them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
McCartyFanForLife 17 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 I'm right there with ya. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about this series... ya know... assuming we play them I was way more nervous about the Ducks than Pittsburgh. Detroit is by far the best team left in the playoffs. It all depends on which Wings team shows up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grim 5 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 i was not overwhelmed with the way detroit played in games 3-6 last year. cool beans. I wasn't impressed by the Penguins in any of the Cup final games last year. Having said that, we have no clue how resilient the Pens have grown over the past year. We all shall soon see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr Rosenrosen 0 Report post Posted May 27, 2009 Just wait, the boards will be loaded with ridiculous comments. If we win tonight, we will face another bag of bandwagon fans. Always enjoyable... Don't think it hasn't already started on the Pens' boards, and you haven't even closed out your series yet. We each have our share of idiots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
