NHL Playoffs 2014

@CWO:

Yesterday afternoon while I was walking downtown I passed by a sports bar and I saw on one of their TVs that the Canadiens were playing. I thought, “That’s funny – why is a downtown sports bar two-thirds empty during a Habs playoff game?” Then I saw the scoreboard: 5 to 1 for the opposition early in the third period. I stayed for two or three minutes, during which time the Rangers scored two more goals. The Canadiens eventually lost by a score of 7 to 2 – on home ice, to add insult to injury. I hope they learned something useful from this debacle. As Alfred Hitchcock once said to his set technicians when a device for a movie shoot malfunctioned, “Really, gentlemen, this will not do. I think this falls into the ‘raised eyebrow’ category.”

Carey Price got badly injured when the game was still close, it’s been down hill for the team ever since and the fact that he’s out for the entire series, doesn’t help matters going into NY.

I’m glad Montreal is only 4 wins away and is certainly looking like they got the momentum. As soon as they win it all this thread will get real quiet and we can go back to assigning one of the American teams as really being a Canadian team in disguise.

I consider myself a big Rangers fan and I know all too well how much the team has let fans down over the decades. I still can’t believe they won the first two games in such convincing fashion. And Nash scored two goals to boot!

Believe me you’ll hear from me when the Rangers postseason is over. Just hope it lasts three more weeks.

My Habs have one foot in the grave, unfortunately the team is playing with zero confidence in their young back up goalie Dustin Takarski (even though he has done everything needed to win, and has proven to be Montreal’s best player during the last 2 games). Incredible the difference an overtime goal in a game 4 makes, now they gotta win 3 in a row against Lundquist.

The local papers this morning were all complaining that Montreal’s biggest problem in this series has been their abysmal power play record.  One paper used the phrase “jeu d’impuissance”, which roughly translates as “impotence play”.

The penalty kill is the strongest attribute the Rangers have, the second being team speed on the counterattack. I think the slower ice at MSG wreaked havoc with both teams, as there were many unpredictable bounces and rebounds. And Tokarski played the game of his life in Game 3, it looks like the Rangers are slowly figuring him out.

A wild Habs win for sure… but I’m not gonna give myself a heart attack unless they force a game 7.

Sucks when your 3rd string goalie is your best player during a conference final elimination game, oh well… that’s it then.

Tokarski was the reason the Rangers had to hustle the entire 3rd period since it was still a one-goal game. But it did look like the Habs were out of gas until they pulled the goalie. Got their best chances since the bonkers Lundqvist save with his blocker on Vanek.

I honestly believe the turning point was game 2, that was Tokarsky’s first game and the Habs dominated the Rangers but still lost. After that it was hard to play well again even though #35 gave them every reason to trust him from game 3 on. As for game 6… the problem was both strategy and effort, the strategy to dump and chase was counter productive the team’s speed through the neutral zone (which was impassible to the Rangers credit), and the second problem (effort)… was essential for the first problem (strategy). The point of the dump in is to follow it with a strong forecheck, well… they had the dump in part right. The up hill climb next year when they try to get back to the conference final should be fun to watch… hopefully they can build on their success and start earning some… (you know what).

Wow.  Great series between LA and my Hawks.  The Kings proved they deserved to win and get to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Kudos to their team.

Sucks we’re out, but I doubt LA will lose in a seven game series to NY.

Kings in six.  Final game is a blow out (5-2).

LA will win again, no doubt.

LA should win of course, however… if NY can drive the net and take out Quick’s knee, the series will become a coin toss.

I think Game 2 is the only loss the Habs can pin on losing Price. Tokarski was one of the team’s best players the rest of the series, which didn’t bode well since guys like Vanek disappeared. Grapes can’t be that sour.

That was a ghastly turnover by Girardi, it’s unfortunate since the Rangers had regained some form in OT after being dominated for two periods. Lundqvist kept them in the game after being bombarded in the third period. The Kings looked so flat in the first period, it had to be attributed to fatigue from the last series.

Interesting that the King is playing against the Kings.