The NHL Stanley Cup Finals Thread

[Bugg]

The Pens are a lock.

Nice we get 2 Original 6 teams in the West. A rematch of the New Year's Day game too.

[shawn306]

I think both series are going to be alot of fun.

The Canes just won't die. Does anybody know the last time a team one two game 7's on the road in the same playoff year ?

That to me is really impressive.

The Penguins are going to have their hands full with Carolina.

What can you say about the Ducks and Wings series. The thing to me watching this series is that it seemed like they were playing at a much faster speed than the other series. They were really flying, especially last night.

I think the Wings will probably take the Hawks down in 6. Hawks are still a pretty young team. Their time is coming though.

[Gainzo]

The Bruins are good. The Pens played much better down the stretch and into the playoffs, same with the Canes. Should be an entertaining series. Good luck.

Same old Bruins always breaking my heart.

I will be cheering on the Pens the rest of the way.

[faba]

Carolina got hot at the right time=putting it all together-looks like we may have a Stanley Cup Rematch.

[SouthernJet]

The Bruins are good. The Pens played much better down the stretch and into the playoffs, same with the Canes. Should be an entertaining series. Good luck.

agree..

The two best teams 'down the stretch' are in finals..as it should be..

Canes dont seem to mind not having home ice..same thing in 2006..all series on road..

[SouthernJet]

I think both series are going to be alot of fun.

The Canes just won't die. Does anybody know the last time a team one two game 7's on the road in the same playoff year ?

That to me is really impressive.

The Penguins are going to have their hands full with Carolina.

What can you say about the Ducks and Wings series. The thing to me watching this series is that it seemed like they were playing at a much faster speed than the other series. They were really flying, especially last night.

I think the Wings will probably take the Hawks down in 6. Hawks are still a pretty young team. Their time is coming though.

[SouthernJet]

[SouthernJet]

One of sports greatest traditions...

[faba]

Nothing better to watch than OT in NHL- to top it off in the 7th game. Tough loss for the Bruins to swallow after great season they had.

[SouthernJet]

Nothing better to watch than OT in NHL- to top it off in the 7th game. Tough loss for the Bruins to swallow after great season they had.

agree..

But Pens and Canes were best two teams in East since Feb.

Bruins seemed to lose thier edge last 2 months of season.. Maybe they were too far ahead?

[Gainzo]

Bruins seemed to lose thier edge last 2 months of season..

Not at all. They swept Montreal and then lost game 7 in OT.

Last year they grabbed the 8th seed with a couple of games remaining and took Montreal to 7 games. They built on that this season and should be a favourite to win it all next year.

[SouthernJet]

Not at all. They swept Montreal and then lost game 7 in OT.

Last year they grabbed the 8th seed with a couple of games remaining and took Montreal to 7 games. They built on that this season and should be a favourite to win it all next year.

they played iffy March I think except when they turned it on last 2 weeks of reg season,

montreal sucked..

canes and pens had best records since feb i think..when canes made trades and got maurice back,,so i doubt bruins favorite next year,,prob pens and canes

[Gainzo]

they played iffy March I think except when they turned it on last 2 weeks of reg season,

montreal sucked..

canes and pens had best records since feb i think..when canes made trades and got maurice back,,so i doubt bruins favorite next year,,prob pens and canes

The Bruins played 19 games in March/April. They had 11 wins, 7 losses and an OT loss. Manny Fernandez (the human sieve) was in goal for 4 of the losses.

[BleedinGreenNC]

The Bruins are good. The Pens played much better down the stretch and into the playoffs, same with the Canes. Should be an entertaining series. Good luck.

Thanks, good luck to you as well! I think this will be a very entertaining series.

[SouthernJet]

The Bruins played 19 games in March/April. They had 11 wins, 7 losses and an OT loss. Manny Fernandez (the human sieve) was in goal for 4 of the losses.

ya, i am not sure if feb or feb/mar when they went 4-8..

[CrazyCarl40]

Predictions?

Wings and Pens in 6.

[SouthernJet]

Predictions?

Wings and Pens in 6.

you better hope Pens in 6 , you dont want the Canes in a Game 7 away from Raleigh

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!

Hope its not decided by bad call or lucky bounce

[CrazyCarl40]

you better hope Pens in 6 , you dont want the Canes in a Game 7 away from Raleigh

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!

Hope its not decided by bad call or lucky bounce

I was actually trying to be nice. I think the Pens could make very quick work of Carolina.

Best of luck to you too!

[SouthernJet]

I was actually trying to be nice. I think the Pens could make very quick work of Carolina.

Best of luck to you too!

Ya, Pens could win fast, but so could Canes,,,Pens have more firepower, but Canes have the edge in goal for sure..

[SouthernJet]

Hard to argue with Toronto Stars synopsis last night:

NHL conference finals playoff previews

May 17, 2009 04:30 AM

Paul Hunter

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL PREVIEW

4. Pittsburgh PENGUINS 99 PTS vs.

5. Carolina HURRICANES 97 PTS

Penguins win if ...

Sidney Crosby continues to play like the NHL's MVP, an award for which he isn't nominated. ... Evgeni Malkin, the league's leading scorer, extends the dominance he showed only at times last series. ... Marc-Andre Fleury provides merely adequate goaltending with the odd big save. Pittsburgh has enough firepower to make up for his bonehead moments. ... Defenceman Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi limit Eric Staal's offence. ... Jordan Staal's game continues to improve. He's been getting better after slow playoff start.

Hurricanes win if ...

Cam Ward continues his push to become Canada's Olympic goalie with the same brilliance he displayed in the first two rounds. He outshone legendary Devils netminder Martin Brodeur in first round and Boston's Tim Thomas, the probable Vezina Trophy winner, in second. ... They maintain tremendous belief in themselves after dramatic Game 7 wins in last two series. ... Power play comes to life. It has only a 10.4 per cent success rate. ... Somebody wakes up Erik Cole, who still does not have a playoff goal.

Essential stats

Sidney Crosby topped all scorers with seven points in the four regular-season games between these clubs. ... Crosby has been sizzling with 12 points, including seven goals, in the last six games. ... Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen have 15 of Carolina's 33 playoff goals. Carolina doesn't have same depth of scoring as Pittsburgh.

Season series

Penguins 2-1-1

The edge

Penguins in six

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Great game in Detroit.

2-1 Wings after 2. Great hustle from Helm & Franzen

[CrazyCarl40]

Ya, Pens could win fast, but so could Canes,,,Pens have more firepower, but Canes have the edge in goal for sure..

Canes have a slight edge in goal, but it's not as big as you might think. Ward is going to have to stand on his head to get the Canes to the SCF.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

I refuse to believe that Ward is as great as the hockey media gods would want you to believe. Ward has been extremely solid without question, but there's no way he's going to singlehandedly steal this series without a lot of help from his team

[faba]

Pittsbugh and Carolina have both been on a roll to get where they are now- hard to think Carolina can win third straight not having home ice.

[124]

Pittsburgh in 5.

Detroit in 7.

[124]

Penguins take a 1-0 series lead.

They should win this in 5 or 6.

[yisman]

Fleury outplayed Ward there.

Only allowed one goal. The other came after Staal knocked his stick away, which should've been a penalty and a 3-1 ending.

[faba]

Carolina gave up two quick goals which killed them in the game-this will be close series with Pens winning it.

[Mavrik]

This has definitely been one of the more exciting NHL playoffs in recent years. They're showing why the NHL playoffs are the most grueling and fun in all of sports, and with the kind of matchups we've been getting (Caps-Pens, Hawks-Wings, Wings-Ducks), should only get some more interest from the fans and from perhaps, ESPN as well. (as much as I wouldn't want it on the station).

Driving me nuts not being able to watch the games here. Wings games have been starting at 7:30 my time.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

This has definitely been one of the more exciting NHL playoffs in recent years. They're showing why the NHL playoffs are the most grueling and fun in all of sports, and with the kind of matchups we've been getting (Caps-Pens, Hawks-Wings, Wings-Ducks), should only get some more interest from the fans and from perhaps, ESPN as well. (as much as I wouldn't want it on the station).

Driving me nuts not being able to watch the games here. Wings games have been starting at 7:30 my time.

Yeah....I'm sure that being in Berlin and traveling all over Europe is driving you nuts.

:lol:

[Mavrik]

Yeah....I'm sure that being in Berlin and traveling all over Europe is driving you nuts.

:lol:

I just have to settle for German Bundesliga matches and watching the Berlin Eisbarens eeking out a 9-5 victory over the Iserlohn Roosters.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

WHAT A GAME.

Red Wings win in OT baby!!

[SouthernJet]

Cole and Ruutu out for Game Two..I dont see Canes winning in Pitts. with these two out..injuries part of game though..no excuses,,Canes will have to win both games at home to stay alive IMHO..Tuf work ahead of them...

[Mavrik]

Cole and Ruutu out for Game Two..I dont see Canes winning in Pitts. with these two out..injuries part of game though..no excuses,,Canes will have to win both games at home to stay alive IMHO..Tuf work ahead of them...

There was a blog I read on Yahoo sports about that Cole injury.

Matt Cooke is a standup guy who never contradicts himself

By Greg Wyshynski

Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins is well within his rights to skip an optional skate and avoid the media on the day after his knee-on-knee collision with Erik Cole(notes) injured the Carolina Hurricanes winger and ignited the biggest controversy of the conference finals.

But he needs to answer for his actions. Not for his hit on Cole, which was an accident of bodies moving very fast in unfortunate directions. But for setting a standard of enforcement in the Penguins' series against the Washington Capitals that evidently doesn't apply when the brace is on the other knee. From Rob Longley of Slam! Sports, on May 9 regarding Alex Ovechkin's hit on Sergei Gonchar:

Matt Cooke knows what the verdict would be if it were him on the stand today facing what passes for NHL justice.

"If I did what he did, I wouldn't be on the ice," the Penguins forward said last night in the bittersweet aftermath of a critical 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

How does he justify his participation in Thursday night's Game 2 then? The Hurricanes are crying foul, and it would appear that they'll be without both Cole and Tuomo Ruutu(notes) for a critical game due to injury.

What the incident has done is create an interesting bit of introspection from Penguins fans and media in light of the Alexander Ovechkin(notes) hit and Cooke's similar check in Game 1 against Carolina. And, of course, open up the NHL for another round of bashing.

Perhaps he's just being a contrarian newspaper columnist, but Ron Cook of the Post Gazette offered an absolutely blistering indictment of Cooke, Penguins fans, Paul Maurice and the NHL this morning:

The same people who screamed about Ovechkin see nothing wrong with what Cooke did, even though he has a reputation for being something of a cheap-shot guy and even though this particular hit left Cole questionable not just for Game 2 tomorrow night at Mellon Arena, but for the rest of the series. Only the Carolina team and its fans were upset. "I just didn't like it," Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said of Cooke's hit.

Not that Maurice has any right to complain. Maybe Maurice spoke out publicly against one of his players, winger Scott Walker(notes), sucker-punching Boston defenseman Aaron Ward(notes) in the previous playoff round, but, gee, I don't remember seeing that.

Hypocrites, all. That would include your Penguins. Sorry.

Really, the Penguins have no room to gripe, either. You saw forward Chris Kunitz's(notes) cross-check to the neck of Capitals goaltender Simeon Varlamov(notes) in the previous round? That was every bit as vicious as Ovechkin's hit on Gonchar, so brutal that Kunitz admitted he felt lucky that he wasn't suspended.

The NHL could stop all of the gratuitous stuff if it really wanted to do it. All it would have to do is stiffen its punishment. That would change the culture quickly. But the league has no desire to do that.

Hooks Orpik of Pensburgh was level-headed about the Ovechkin play, and offered this assessment of Cooke's hit:

Does Matt Cooke deserve a suspension? I'm not sure. I don't know what his intent was, Cooke is a devious player that always walks the fine line but I've never seen him hunt for someone's knees before. Cooke said the contact was accidental. We haven't heard for sure (it may not yet be known) the extent of Cole's injury, but as we saw in Ovechkin v. Gonchar that didn't seem to be a big consideration in the NHL's decision to suspend.

So now the ball is in the NHL's court. God only knows what they'll decide.

Both critics call out the NHL in this situation and, by comparison, the Ovehckin/Gonchar incident. Which is to say that they're calling out NHL discipline czar Colin Campbell, who sat down for an enlightening chat with Allan Maki of the Globe & Mail regarding supplemental punishment in the postseason and his stressful occupation of choice:

"You love the hockey at this time of year, but then you just dread the controversy," Campbell said. "For us, we sit down and say, 'There's going to be a controversial supplementary discipline. There's going to be a controversial goal review.' No one [outside the league office] mentions how many games we've watched and how we use established criteria. People ask, 'Why don't you use common sense?

"Listen, our decisions might not be liked and they might not be agreed upon, but at least you have to respect our integrity and experience."

Ask Campbell to explain some of his decisions and you get a grab bag of variables: When the infraction happened, where it happened, the score of the game, the history of the players involved. Considering how it can be made to sound so convoluted, no wonder people stop him and ask: "Why do your suspensions seem so arbitrary? Don't you use common sense?"

The answer, Campbell said, is simple. "There's never one [incident] that's exactly the same. All have their own identity at the end of the exercise."

"At least you have to respect our integrity and experience."

Well, we certainly respect your experience, sir.

None of this is an argument that Cooke should be suspended for the hit on Cole, although we'd love to hear his Pelosi-esque revisionism on his previous statements about such a play. Ovechkin didn't deserve the gate, and neither does Cooke.

But neither did Milan Lucic(notes) of the Boston Bruins. Or Daniel Carcillo(notes) of the Philadelphia Flyers. And while the NHL can claim the extent of a victim's injuries aren't heavily weighed, chances are Donald Brashear(notes) doesn't get six playoff games if he hadn't ended the postseason of the New York Rangers' top penalty killer.

In the end, Cooke is just like Colin Campbell: Setting precedents that at the time seem justified and noble, but that fail to remain so when the wheel of discipline needs another spin for a future infraction.

[Lurker]

the real complaints were when walker's suspension was somehow rescinded and he scored the game winner in game 7.

that should not have happened. Cooke? His hit was definitely no worse than Ovechkin's dirty play and the NHL set a precedent that that kind of play doesn't warrant a suspension.

I hope Whineshynski wrote a lot about the Walker punch.