NHL playoffs FINALLY

[Tikker]

course you are tikker, that or you're being a homer who thinks his team can do no wrong and is the best thing out there

which do you think is more likely?

I think it's more likely that living in the west, I get to see more games, than someone who lives in the east

[Snero]

so you would be an expert in games from the west, and i would be in a better position to know who can do what in the est then, yes?

if that is the case, you would only really be in a position to claim somebody to be among the best of the west, not the whole NHL.

You can't really have it both ways

[Durothil Skyreaver]

What do you all think of Ottawa's chances this year without Hasek playing?

[Tikker]

so you would be an expert in games from the west, and i would be in a better position to know who can do what in the est then, yes?

no, you're missing my point


Eastern games start at 7-8 your time, and west games start at 11pm or later
chances are you don't watch a lot of the late games

here, east games start at 5, and west games start at 8 or 9

it's much easier for someone in the west to watch every game, just based on time zones. that's all I'm saying


It's the reason Dion Phaneuf has no chance at the Calder trophy. none of the eastern reporters have seen much of him

[Snero]

naw, phaneuf has gotten a ton of press too, ovetchkin is the golden boy though, goals will always win out over rock solid d and huge body checks for major trophies. (except the norris at times) The thing that surprises me though is how everybody is saying ovetchkin is a lock but crosby almost caught up with him, playing on a more dysfunctional team. They may have more talent then washington, but they're not a team at all.

I've also watched a good number of west games.

I think goaltending won't really be the major issue with Ottawa, or if it is, they're not playing well. They have all the talent in the world, but some days they seem to be totally disinterested, or they play hard for 10 mins or a period and then coast. Spezza is the perfect example of it, it's rare but sometimes you see him backchecking hard, skating to avoid icings and other times he's loafing around like he's radek bonk. If the sens start skating, I don't think there is any team that can beat them short of if they run into a crazy hot goalie (brodeur, kirprusof, or anybody else who catches fire).

Thats the reason I'm not real high on the coach, I feel it's the coach's responsibility to make sure everybody is ready and fired up to play, which sadly isn't the case.

Emery is solid but he won't win any games, the best they can hope for is that he doesn't lose them any and he's done a good job so far (unlike lalime). The team i see the sens having the most trouble with potentially though, is buffalo, potentially they have a great goalie and the team has a ton of speed.


Brian Campbell is another defenseman that can skate (I watched him play in buffalo and in the OHL, he's at least as fast as bergeron)

[Tikker]

I REALLY REALLY wish that the NHL would do scouting combine, and all that kinda jazz like the NFL

then you could get some neat measurables

they used to do some of that stuff at the all-star games, but it would be neat to know that defensman_01 could shoot 103mph, and skate a lap in 14.345 seconds (or whatever)

[Arlos]

So, Snerp, whatcha think of the Sharks's chances to make a real run at the Cup?

-Arlos

[Tikker]

So, Snerp, whatcha think of the Sharks's chances to make a real run at the Cup?

-Arlos

if they get top notch goaltending (they haven't yet) and avoid Calgary, they'll lose to Ottawa in the finals

[Snero]

sharks have a good chance, when the playoffs started i thought they would go to the finals.

i don't buy the whole thornton being a playoff choker, he was badly injured last playoffs when the bruins lost to the habs. The sharks are the deepest team at center, thornton, marleau, mccauley and that goc kid is something most teams would have a hard time matching. The only major problem that the sharks seem to have (short of shakey goaltending which really shouldn't be a problem) is defense, losing rathji and stuart has really cut into their lineup. Scott Hannan needs to be huge if they're going to go somewhere.

I like the sharks and the flames, I think anaheim beats nashville who can't keep up without vokun and colorado won't win more then 1 series imo.

[Arlos]

I think Toskala has been pretty solid the last 2 games. Shutout in game 2, and made some amazing saves in game 3. Is he Brodeur? No, of course not, but how many Brodeurs are there out there?

Besides, after you ranking Turco as a top-tier goalie makes me doubt your goaltender evaluatory skills. heh.

-Arlos

[Phlegm]

San Jose and Buffalo in the final.

This will happen.

[Snero]

btw tikker i don't know about any other team, but every year the sens have a skills competition. They do the whole race, skating around the rink and they also do hardest shot.

i know Charra has broken 100 a few years, and if i remember well Shubert broke 100 this year in the hardest shot competition.

Sami Salo also has a sick shot, when he was in Ottawa he would break something like 4 sticks a game

[Arlos]

Heh, Sharks're playing Nashville right now, Snerp, so kinda hard for them to meet Anaheim unless we loose. They gave up 4 PP goals on 7 attempts in the first game, but 0 on 16 in the last 2. Nashville has yet to score a single goal in the series 5 on 5.

If the current situation holds, we'll see the following in the 2nd round:
Flames vs Oilers
Sharks vs Avs

I like the Sharks' chances against the Avs, honestly. Not to mention, if Calgary and Edmonton DO meet in round 2, whoever gets to round 3 is going to have had the crap beat out of it, given the nature of series between those 2 teams.

San Jose is already pretty berserk over the Sharks, if they actually make the Cup finals, or even more, actually win the Cup, there's going to be some serious partying in the streets 'round here.

-Arlos

[Tikker]

Besides, after you ranking Turco as a top-tier goalie makes me doubt your goaltender evaluatory skills. heh.

Turco only seems to play poorly against the Avalanche

his record against pretty much everyone else is enviable

[Narrock]

I've seen 'em a few times, it's a good arena. Sightlines are good, chairs are reasonably comfortable, and it gets loud as hell when the team's doing well and the fans are into it. Definitely a good time, at least when the Sharks win. If I was working these days, I would've looked seriously at getting one of those 10-game packs, cause they also give you priority for playoff tickets. One word of advice if you want to go: Don't park at the arena itself, they charge an arm and a leg. Best bet is to take the train down, the SJ station is literally right across the street from the Tank. Alternately, downtown SJ is like 8-10 blocks away, and the public parking garages are free after 6pm.

Ticket prices aren't awful. If you want to be right up on the glass, you're gonna pay $115 a ticket, if you can find one for sale (unlikely). Most common of what you're going to find available is in the upper section of seats, where you're going to pay $40 a ticket towards the middle of the rink, a bit over 30 if you're at one of the ends.

Unless you're up in complete nosebleed (the $17 tickets), you've got a pretty good view, the seating rises pretty sharply. Even in those super-cheap seats, the view isn't utterly awful, they did a good job when they built the place.

-Arlos

I know about the place, I've been in it. That was like 12 years ago though. It was built very nicely. My ex-gf and I took her daughter to see "Beauty and the Beast on ice" there. I was just wondering how much the tix were for the Sharks. Thanks for the info. $115 for a rinkside seat is ridiculous.

[Tikker]

fwiw, you actually see the flow of a game better from the end, not the sides

[Narrock]

Like 10 rows up from the glass?

[Tikker]

at least


watch where all the scouts sit

You get a better idea for a players vision sitting at the ends, as well as their positioning

[Arlos]

Well, the rinkside seats may be $115, but you're not going to find one for sale at the box office, period. The only way you're going to get one of those is to find someone with season tickets who's selling their passes to a given game, or to get lucky and buy season tickets when there's a pair of those seats available. So, ultimately, their price is somewhat irrelevant, honestly. Also, I think $115 for rinkside is nowhere near the high end pricewise around the NHL for seats at the glass. The Rangers, for example, those seats'll run you $140 bucks, the Ottawa Senators'll run you $110 or $143 for games vs Toronto, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks will charge you a whopping $190 for those seats. So, I dunno, I think $115 is pretty reasonable, by comparison.

I had a great view of the game from one of those $40 seats that I mentioned, and even have had a great view from the 30 dollar seats in the 2nd tier in the end. Those're the seats that you're going to find available for game day purchase or probably for those 10-game passes, and that's quite reasonable.

-Arlos

[Narrock]

I guess it's reasonable if you're making a 6-figure income and can afford luxuries like that.

[Arlos]

Well, you can afford to go to 1 game at those prices without too much strain for anyone making decent cash. Season tickets, no, you're right. For that, you'd best be making 6 figures. All things being equal, on general principles I'd rather pay $400 for 10 games than 115 for 1. Still, I can see doing it as a special event with a girlfriend who was a hockey fan as well.

-Arlos

[Narrock]

Seats at the glass should be $15. Mid sections should be $10. Upper rows to the top of the stadium should be $7. Parking should be $1.00 per car.

[Durothil Skyreaver]

Those close seats are so expensive due to the free dental work that
Dr. P. Uck can perform during the game for you.

[Zanchief]

Sick dunk from Kobe.

Better vonk~

[Phlegm]

Sick dunk from Kobe.

Better vonk~

I think he meant the other playoff thread.