TSN Panel Pics

[e_prime 1,936]

I don't see why the Flyers are the sexy pick to be in the SCFs. You need strong playoff goaltending which is why I understand hardly any analyst picking the Hawks to be in the SCFs, but the Flyers don't have goaltending which is why I'm bewildered why everyone and their mother is picking them to go to the SCFs.

I think Emery has got a lot to prove this year... and I think he's going to play solidly.

I know this is not a popular sentiment nor a prudent statement, but I've got this feeling.

My gut has spoken.

[Doggy 130]

The people who are questioning Kipper and saying he's declined are most likely looking at the playoffs. I know I am. And those people are right on. His GAA and for the most part his save % has gotten worse every year since 04 in the playoffs.

This particular discussion began because someone said Van would "cruise" to the NW title.

[Doc Holiday 0]

Philly is this year's Vancouver/Boston.

[T-Ruff 47]

Cruise? With Calgary in their division. Think about your words. The Flames roster s***s on Vancouver's any day of the week.

This particular discussion began because someone said Van would "cruise" to the NW title.

Maybe you're defintion of "cruise" is different than what I meant to imply...

I think Vancouver will "cruise" to the division title in the same way the Wings did last year... Calgary will be on their tail for most of the year but it will be wrapped up before the last bunch of games, just as the Central was.

WTF?? He won a Vezina after the playoff run!

I used to hold Kiprusoff as a top tier goalie in the NHL, along with Luongo, Brodeur, and Lundqvist. I'm just saying that ever since that playoff year he's just not showing me he belongs there. 4 straight first round exits and declining stats during the season (from 2.04 in 2005 to 2.49 to 2.69 to 2.84, not exactly top tier numbers, increased scoring included).

It's just a prediction based on my own analysis that the Flames will not be as good as the Canucks will be this year.... For the record I have them in 6th place.

Edited October 1, 2009 by T-Ruff

[Konnan511 1,736]

I think Emery has got a lot to prove this year... and I think he's going to play solidly.

I know this is not a popular sentiment nor a prudent statement, but I've got this feeling.

My gut has spoken.

Either go with your guts or brains. At least you pinpointed it and if your gut feelings have lead you in success in the past then it makes sense to pick them. I've also got this feeling...that tonight....is going to be a goooood night....

[redwingfan19 293]

lol @ all the ppl on vancouver bandwagon, sammy is on thier second line, they have a couple meatheads who can barley play hockey in thier line up, and old schnider and the most overrated goalie in the league who hasn't won jack s*** and chokes. Not even concerned with vancouver, Easy division, first or second round exit like usual. I will admit the sedins are great and they have some good young players but this team is no where near contending. Calgary has excellent D but no offense and kipper is on the back 9 of his career. We should be more worried about anaheim and SJ. Detroit , Anaheim or SJ will come out of the west

[mmamolo 287]

You make good points however for me, the bolded hold no water. His GAA and SV% have declined but that's a trend with all goalies in that period because scoring has increased. He joined the Flames in the dead puck era, then there was the lockout and then his numbers declined. He also won the Vezina trophy with that decline. Ozzie will tell ya, the most important stat in wins and that total is pretty damn solid.

That is definitely a good point and does hold some weight. However, to me it's more about the quality of starts and the timeliness of the goals he lets in. His playoff performances dont help either. Personally I do think he has been played too much over the last several years in the regualr season and I think that contributes to his playoff performances. His play just doesn't strike me as being as dominant as it once was. The argument can go both ways I guess. Yeah his GAA has gone up and his save % has gone down but his wins have been strong. With a good team in front of him and starting as many games as he does he is likely to get a lot of wins. For me the best way to judge a goaltender is his Save %, quality of saves, and timeliness of saves when the game is on the line. Some four years ago I'd find it hard to say anyone was as good a big game goaltender as he was. Today I feel like there are a ton of other guys who are as good if not better than him in this regard.

Don't get me wrong, in my view his is still an elite NHL goalie. But I do think his dominance has come down a little over the last few years.

[MannyK 16]

I think McKenzie has picked the Wings 3 years in a row lol

He's a smart man... We could have won in 2007, we did in 08, SHOULD'VE in 09..... and will in 10!

woo!

[Guest Shoreline]

Damn, so they don't think Toronto will win it all now? Insane!

[The Mule 0]

McKenzie's got it right.

[kidish 0]

Kind of surprised so many of you are that high on San Jose. They added one superstar but lost (at least) three valuable contributing depth guys. As of last week, they didn't even have a full roster, and the folk they are filling spots with aren't necessarily improvements over what they iced last year. And as Detroit knows firsthand, depth is what makes good teams great.

Additionally, San Jose only won the President's Trophy because the Pacific turned into a terrible division last season. They didn't even end the season winning -- they were losing with teams like Anaheim being red hot.

I think San Jose falters and flops this year. They will make the playoffs, but if they meet Vancouver, Detroit, or Anaheim again, I just don't see them having the necessary grit and depth to get past any of those three.

Heatley can only do so much, but they lost a lot of pieces to get him there.

[Guest mindfly]

Thornton and heatley can dominate as much as they want in the regular season, we all know that when playoff comes they will disappear, especially JumboJoe.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

Why so skeptical? Simply b/c neither Barry or Barnaby picked Detroit?

Not so much, just taking a jab at them for fun. I don't look too much into what they select because they usually get it wrong every year. Although I will admit that I believe we have the better team again this year and will be more focused and motivated to make it back to the finals again for the third straight year and. I actually want the Wings and Pitt to make it back for a third straight year to settle the score.

Whereas I don't really think Chicago or Philly has the goaltending to get there, both teams should be really good. Chicago did get to the Conference Finals lest we forget.

I haven't forgotten. I agree with you here.

San Jose hasn't proven anything but without a doubt they are going to be good. They've got WAY, WAY too much talent not to be good. They may even win the Pres. Trophy again.

Dany Heatley is a superstar. The Wings didn't add a superstar. The Sharks did. That makes them improved. They've got a good goalie. They've got veteran and puck moving D men. They are as safe a bet to make the finals as anyone.

I never said the Sharks wouldn't be good, and yes it's possible they could have one of the top scoring lines in the NHL and win the president's trophy. But as I recall, how successful has the Sharks been in the postseason? With that trade, how good is their depth to carry them in the postseason? If we can shut down arguably the two best players in the NHL in Crosby and Malkin, I see no problem in us doing the same with Heatley and Thornton. In fact, I like our chances much better after their trade.

As for Vancouver (in your other post). Doubting Vancouver these days is probably based more upon the past than reality.

I wasn't doubting them, I simply asked what else they did besides resign the Sedin twins, because I was under the assumption that getting them, be it the most important thing for the org to do, would put them near the cap limit and force them to let go of some other players on O and D.

Vancouver is strong.

Anytime you have Luongo between the pipes, you have a chance.

As for their offense maybe losing some pieces by signing the Sedins? Highly doubtful.

You start with the Sedins obviously. Toss in:

Bernier 15 goals

Demitra 20 goals

Kesler 26 goals

Samuellson 19 goals

Burrows 28 goals

Wellwood 18 goals

and they will be much like the Wings = offense by committee.

On the back end you really have to like the youngster Edler and the addition of Ehrhoff, add in Bieksa and Mitchell and Salo's shot and they will be fine. Oh, not too mention that they have Hordichuk and O'Brien adding toughness and I see a very well balanced team.

Wouldn't shock me at all if Vancouver wins the Pres. Trophy either.

Well dang I guess they did go to work. Thanks for clearing that up. We'll see what happens though, I still like Calgary's chances in winning the division but it's gonna be close and can go either way. As for them winning the president's trophy...I'd be really surprised if Vancouver wins it actually.

[Theophany 110]

Dude, replying inside the quote is really tough to read. Just say what you wanna say outside of the quote. If people can't figure out what you're replying to, you're either bad at English or they're bad at English.

[58Miles2Joe 12]

friend, you are forgetting about mikael samuelsson

haha, you beat me to it.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

Dude, replying inside the quote is really tough to read. Just say what you wanna say outside of the quote. If people can't figure out what you're replying to, you're either bad at English or they're bad at English.

I'm not really sure what's so hard about reading it; I bolded my responses. I'm also not sure how being good or bad at english has anything to do with the way I responded here. So you're telling me that saying what I want to say outside the quote makes me better at english? Okey dokey...

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Wow... Philly and Vancouver are being highly overrated here given that they're both still playoff choke artists at this point. They need some kind of deep run to give themselves any legitimacy.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Wow... Philly and Vancouver are being highly overrated here given that they're both still playoff choke artists at this point. They need some kind of deep run to give themselves any legitimacy.

I don't think I'm overrating them personally. If you look at my post, I didn't make any claims as to who would win the Cup. Rather I merely commented on how strong I think those teams are and their ability to finish at or near the top.

You got to get to the playoffs first.

And how quickly we forget that for as dominant as Detroit has been, in the past 10 years we have had some of the most embarrassing early round exits of any team.

I don't claim to know what's going to happen when the playoffs start. But I feel pretty safe in saying San Jose, Vancouver and Boston will vie for the Pres. I guess I would throw Detroit in there but until I see Ozzie, Helm, Abby, Leino and Flip play 20 games, the jury is out on whether we can even compete for the Pres. trophy. Not that I care all that much about that. And again, I like Philly but not sold on their goaltending.

Calgary looked good for 2 periods last night by the way. Kipper was unreal in the 3rd. But I saw alot from Vancouver. With the defense that Calgary has, Vancouver still potted 3 goals and had over 20 shots in the 3rd period alone. If Vancouver wants to press, they have the speed and skill to do so.

Thank god hockey season is back!

[e_prime 1,936]

Calgary looked good for 2 periods last night by the way. Kipper was unreal in the 3rd. But I saw alot from Vancouver. With the defense that Calgary has, Vancouver still potted 3 goals and had over 20 shots in the 3rd period alone. If Vancouver wants to press, they have the speed and skill to do so.

For those worried about Calgary's offense... no goals from the first line. Still get four goals. (Not counting the ENG.)

...and those high on Luongo... 3 goals on 7 shots in the first.

I know it's early, very early, but as already discussed:

Calgary's D has gotta play the whole game.

Kipper was the only thing that kept them in the game, and this cannot be the norm for Calgary.

They face each other five more times. These two teams battling it out is going to be fun to watch all season long.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I don't think I'm overrating them personally. If you look at my post, I didn't make any claims as to who would win the Cup. Rather I merely commented on how strong I think those teams are and their ability to finish at or near the top.

You got to get to the playoffs first.

And how quickly we forget that for as dominant as Detroit has been, in the past 10 years we have had some of the most embarrassing early round exits of any team.

I don't claim to know what's going to happen when the playoffs start. But I feel pretty safe in saying San Jose, Vancouver and Boston will vie for the Pres. I guess I would throw Detroit in there but until I see Ozzie, Helm, Abby, Leino and Flip play 20 games, the jury is out on whether we can even compete for the Pres. trophy. Not that I care all that much about that. And again, I like Philly but not sold on their goaltending.

Calgary looked good for 2 periods last night by the way. Kipper was unreal in the 3rd. But I saw alot from Vancouver. With the defense that Calgary has, Vancouver still potted 3 goals and had over 20 shots in the 3rd period alone. If Vancouver wants to press, they have the speed and skill to do so.

Thank god hockey season is back!

I was referring to the way the TSN panel overrated them.

And no way would I put Vancouver up there as a president's trophy candidate over the Wings. Our core is still getting better, aside from Lidstrom who hasn't really shown a very big decline in effectiveness. The Wings added some more scoring balance and gotten younger this season. Goaltending is the only question for us, but then again, isn't that always the "question" in Motown?

[Lovin Jiri Fischer 147]

Philly is good but not that good that everyone picked them to go to the finals. I think the Caps are better.

[VM1138 1,921]

Do these guys even watch hockey?

Anyone with extensive hockey experience can see why Chicago might struggle and bomb. And Vancouver making the finals, let alone winning the Cup? What a joke.

Philly an argument can be made for, but this is the first time I've ever heard them mentioned as Cup-caliber team. They got better, but it remains to be seen if they can actually play hockey as well as they can skate to the penalty box.

[Guest ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24]

i know its only the first game but if emery keeps playing like tonight..

i for sure can see Philly in the Finals...

not jumping on the bandwagon in anyway just..shutout in the first game of the season..

off to a great start!