The NHL play-offs draw close and, OTFwise, this looks like an intriguing season. In the East Reed's, JV's and Heliotrope's teams are all in the top four, should one of them slip (likely the Flyers) there's a decent chance they'll meet one of the other two in the first round. Meanwhile in the West — where real hockey is played — Clive's slumping Blackhawks look odds on to meet the surging 'Nucks. Time to practise your trashtalk people!
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This thread's so busy it'll be hard to get a word in but here goes:
"I see the Washington Ovetchkin's were well and truly routed by the mighty Atlanta Thrashers last night?" -
Lord Stanley's run in
Yes Gordie. All NHL anoraks will have noted that the Thrashers are now on a five game winning streak, the longest in their history. Kind of sad if you think about it. Which, by the way, I'm not.
How about those Canuckleheads Gordo?Comment
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"If the 'Nucks beat Dallas tonight it will be ten home wins in a row, following nine straight losses. This is already and NHL "turnaround" record, my stats book is getting dog-eared tonight Doug!"Comment
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So I see SuperGord.Comment
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"Yup, its the third meeting of the year between the Stars and the Glorious Blue and Greenies. Dallas took the first two but the home team has 'Louie Louie' Luongo between the pipes for his first game of the season against Marty Turco. As you know there's no love lost between these two Dougie. Both vie for the title of "Best in the West" and do their best to shake the other man off his game. Last year Turco complained consistently about the Sang-Froidian Luongo's equipment. In return, in an attempt to emulate Tiny Turco's strength, Big Roberto has been practicing his stick-handling. Without any noticeable success it must be said, he laid on yet another goal for the opposition Sunday night.
Should be a good one Douglas!"Comment
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I'll be watching Gordman!Comment
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Damn, I didn't know that hockey season even started. Or the NBA.Comment
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Tsk, tsk! And yer man Brodeur about to become the winingest goalie all time too.Comment
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I'm at that point in the season where I'm tired of it and want the playoffs to start. I haven't gone to any games lately because I'm saving my limited resources for playoff seats.
The Caps form has suddenly gone into the toilet, so unless things get better soon, I'm anticipating another early playoff exit. That would be really disappointing.Comment
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Christ buying play-off tickets on a walk-up basis is but to dream about!
I love the playoff run-in, the jockeying for position is fun. The West is almost always tight and the East is too this year. Sometimes you even want your team to lose a few games to avoid a hot team below. For instance Columbus sits a few points behind the Canucks, if the 'Hawks continue to lose we may well meet them in the first round. In Mason they have someone who might be the best young goalie since Ken Dryden. They don't have the depth to go far but could easily steal a series, best avoid if possible.Comment
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Oh fuck!
I hope Edmonton manage to squeeze out the Stars. I actually hate them (the Stars) more I hate the Wings, so a first round match-up between Wings and Stars would be torture for me. If Edmonton make it, I can squarely root for them against the evil empire.
I'm assuming the Hawks won't make it past the first round.Comment
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Demand will be higher this year, but I'm still confident I can get tickets, if not from ticketbastard then from StubHub.
I normally go to four or five games a year, but lately I've been really trying to cut costs and NHL tickets are just too expensive.
This summer, I want to go to at least one Nationals game and maybe an Orioles game, but I also may try to stretch my entertainment budget by taking an interest in the Frederick Keys or the Bowie Baysox.Comment
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Clive: It depends. Your proper goalie is healthy again. A few back to back wins and you should hold your position and meet the Canucks, that's what everyone out here expects anyhow. I don't expect us to continue winning at the rate we are, we might have peaked a bit soon in fact, it'd be a close series I think.Comment
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NHL tickets are just too expensive.
What do they cost in your area? The impression is that they practically give 'em away once you get past the northern states.Comment
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Officially, they range from $25-$250, plus they hold back a few of the seats in the very back of the top level end sections for like $10 or $15 to sell day-of, but those are so far away, you might as well stay home and watch it on tv.
On StubHub, they range from $15 for the worst seats to the least interesting opponents in mid-week to $500 for on the glass.
Lately, I find that I'd rather go to one game at the $100 level then four at the $25 level. I've seen plenty of Caps games from the nosebleed section, but being up close is still a thrill.
My selection of games is somewhat limited because it's not feasible for me to get done with work and downtown by 7 pm most weekdays.Comment
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I think you have to go futher south than DC for the real bargains.
A colleague from Montreal was recently crowing about how he was able to get four good tickets to a Tampa Bay Lightning-Canadiens game while on vacation for less than it would cost him to park at the Bell Centre.Comment
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Yes, I think I posted here recently that the price of a Lightning season ticket next year works out, on a game by game basis, to less than the price of a beer at a Canucks game.
I'm a liitle bit surprised the Caps games are not that much more than they are here. I guess the difference is they can't be bought here at all except through the official touts. You generally pay as much as three-times face value depending on the game.Comment
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I haven't seriously thought about the playoffs much because it still seems a little early. I'm hoping we can avoid Washington, who would probably be a tougher opponent than they were last year. Meeting Boston would be interesting, because we haven't faced them in the playoffs since the '70s--break out the toe socks.Comment
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What's the connection with toe-sox and the Bruins?Comment
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Too bad I missed Marty's game. Sounds like a fun one in Newark.
But that's what happens when you measure time in Mardi Gras and Jazz Fests instead of division chases and playoff seedings.
It seems like yesterday some 19-year-old kid was taking the Rangers to the brink of a double overtime Game 7, only to lose on a spectacular goal back in '94. We figured he'd be a Sean Burke, a one-playoff-wonder, and it would be back to Team Mickey Mouse.
However, if that Prudential Center isn't that House that Marty Built, but becomes the House That Marty Built That Lured The Nets Back From Brooklyn, then he may have left a bigger legacy than Brendan Byrne or Tony Soprano (Not The Boss, however, who could keep that place alive by selling it out for 10 nights a year.)Comment
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Even if Marty's win was at the Evil-c-hawks expense, I'm happy to see Mike Haviland not only moving up the Blackhawks chain of command, but prehaps being a part of that team being top 4. He's won everywhere he's gone.
(As you may have read in years past, Mike Haviland was a Jersey Boy who became a two-time ECHL Kelly Cup-winning coach with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and Trenton Titans, then went on to being hired coach of the Blackhawks AHL teams Norfolk Admirals and then Rockland IceHogs, then went on to assistant coach with the Hawks. As someone who brought championships to 2 of the 3 ice hockey teams in Jersey, I'll always respect and appreciate him.)Comment
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Amor de Cosmos wrote:
Oh, I just thought they seemed like something from the days of Flyers-Bruins playoff series. Could easily have been Dorothy Hamill haircuts or Earth shoes.What's the connection with toe-sox and the Bruins?
But on topic: The key to the Stanley Cup is great goaltending, and I don't know if Marty Biron is that guy, unless he suddenly is hit by a lightning bolt that makes him abnormally hot.Comment
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I don't think the Caps have what it takes in goal either.Comment
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Oh, I just thought they seemed like something from the days of Flyers-Bruins playoff series. Could easily have been Dorothy Hamill haircuts or Earth shoes.
Ah. I would've got the other two but toe-socks just read Japanese restaurants to me.
Brodeur* aside The NHL's goaltending strength is mainly in the West for sure. Having said that I'm not convinced there's anyone out here at his level of consistency either. Despite our run of wins Luongo hasn't looked like the five-shutouts-in-a-row goalie he was before his mid-season injury. The team in front of him has been playing exceptionally well so he hasn't needed to "steal" one recently. More worryingly he's developed a tendency to gift the opposition a goal at least once a game. Scary.
Our win last night lifts us into a tie with the 'Hawks, three points off the evil Flames. During a minor fracas on the boards last night Turco kept loose by firing the puck at Luongo at the other end. He really knows how to get under our guy's skin. I'm glad we're unlikely to see him in the playoffs.
* Did you see Marty cutting the net off as a souvenir last night? How do you display something like that?Comment
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