Canes vs. Devils

[HatManTC]

so wheres that vounted Devils team?

they played a great game 2 but havent seen much of them as of late.

sidenote: just thought my 2 year old to say "let's go canes" sure he might be able to say it perfect but its close enough

[See Red]

I'll tell ya what, I'm really looking forward to Buffalo/Carolina. I think the winner of that series wins the Cup somewhat easily.

[Mac the Knife]

I thought the 'Canes drive for the cup would get stopped at Exit 16W of the New Jersey Turnpike.

I knew this year might be different when I heard "Brass Bonanza" played during a Hurricanes pre-game.

Wow.

If they beat the Devils, they'll likely win the whole damned thing. Buffalo won't get past 'em, and there's not a Western Conference team that can hang with the remaining East teams.

Wow... Raleigh getting a Stanley Cup win. Who'da thunk it 5 years ago?

[Roger Clemente]

You seem to be getting ahead of yourselves there. What makes you think San Jose, Edmonton, Anaheim or Colorado will just roll over to Carolina or Buffalo? Both teams are on fire, but so are San Jose and Anaheim (and Anaheim has the defence to back-up the offense).

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[Eye]

I thought that the Devils would beat the 'Canes pretty easily, seeing how hot they were. Well, the 'Canes have dominated and things don't look good. I guess I'll go cry or something now.

[NJTank]

Im stunned at how the Devils are losing this series I really am. I juts dont believe they could be dominated by Carolina.

[Eye]

Im stunned at how the Devils are losing this series I really am. I juts dont believe they could be dominated by Carolina.

Same here, I really thought that the Devils could just ride their winning streak and get to the finals without too much of a challenge. Well, I guess I was way wrong, the Hurricanes have played great.

[FiddySicks]

I think Rog said it best. Even if the Sharks do win tonight, all four teams still have to win one more game.

[Mac the Knife]

You seem to be getting ahead of yourselves there. What makes you think San Jose, Edmonton, Anaheim or Colorado will just roll over to Carolina or Buffalo? Both teams are on fire, but so are San Jose and Anaheim (and Anaheim has the defence to back-up the offense).

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Oh, yeah, its premature I realize... but c'mon. Does anyone here really see anyone from the west winning it this year?

[FiddySicks]

You seem to be getting ahead of yourselves there.  What makes you think San Jose, Edmonton, Anaheim or Colorado will just roll over to Carolina or Buffalo?  Both teams are on fire, but so are San Jose and Anaheim (and Anaheim has the defence to back-up the offense).

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Oh, yeah, its premature I realize... but c'mon. Does anyone here really see anyone from the west winning it this year?

Uh, yeah. I do. I realize the East is strong, but the west has some really strong teams left as well. Carolina and Buffalo may be the best two teams left, but if theyre really that good they may take it 7 and wear each other down, possibly making it easier for one of those young western teams to come in and swipe it away.

[Roger Clemente]

You seem to be getting ahead of yourselves there.  What makes you think San Jose, Edmonton, Anaheim or Colorado will just roll over to Carolina or Buffalo?  Both teams are on fire, but so are San Jose and Anaheim (and Anaheim has the defence to back-up the offense).

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

Oh, yeah, its premature I realize... but c'mon. Does anyone here really see anyone from the west winning it this year?

Well, there are at least six of us who have excellent reason to think so. And that doesn't count the Oilers and Avalanche fans who still believe in miracles.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[Stampman]

While I am surprised the Devils are down 0-3, I'm pleasnatly surprised--I've never been a Jersey fan--so it's okay if the lose--even if I predicted they'd win.

HAs the second round ever had all series swept?

Yes that's premature--but has it happened?

Or even 3 series swept?

[shiznit1083]

Im stunned at how the Devils are losing this series I really am. I juts dont believe they could be dominated by Carolina.

Well, beleive it. Jersey has completely underestimated how 3 things: How fast the Canes are, How good Cam Ward is, and how deep they are.

Every game it looks as though they can't get the puck out of their own end, there are 5-10 minute strecthes at a time where the defense is under a constant barrage of pressure. Brodeur is good, but there is only so much he can do. New Jersey just isn't fast enough defensively to keep up.

[The_Admiral]

You gotta feel happy for Buffalo, in a way.

[CoryB]

It seems everyone always counts the Oilers out in these playoff predictions. In the regular season, they were tied for second and only 8 points away from Calgary (and 4 from San Jose). They played in arguably the toughest division, and did not have a proven starting goalie until Roloson.

They have been in every game in the playoffs, beating the best team in the league (given their points) and except for the second period in game 1 have played San Jose (the unofficial "best team" according to some) evenly, and outplaying them in game 3.

I'm a little biased, of course, but I'm getting tired of them never being considered as a legitimate contender. The way they are playing they have just as good a chance as every other team.

[winters in buffalo]

It seems everyone always counts the Oilers out in these playoff predictions. In the regular season, they were tied for second and only 8 points away from Calgary (and 4 from San Jose).

Edmonton was a #10 seed, as far as I'm concerned. LA and Vancouver had more wins, and the only reason the Oilers made the playoffs is because they took longer to lose games in the regular season.

Beneficiaries of a crappy scoring system.

[-kj]

Eh, you live and die by the system in place.

Would LA or Vancouver have beaten Detroit? LA, I don't think would have had a chance. Vancouver, maybe, but their goaltending isn't as strong.

[CoryB]

Edmonton was a #10 seed, as far as I'm concerned. LA and Vancouver had more wins, and the only reason the Oilers made the playoffs is because they took longer to lose games in the regular season.

Beneficiaries of a crappy scoring system.

No, they got 95 points in a system that everyone else has to play in. I could reverse that, and say they have 4 less losses than Vancouver and 7 less than LA. They got he points necessary to get into the playoffs - the other two did not.

Another way to look at it - Detroit had 58 wins, which is outstanding. However (from what I can remember) 22 of those wins came against the bottom three teams in the Western conference, all of which are in Detroit's division. You could say Detroit's record is a little inflated becasue of that. Or you could just say Detroit won those games. They had the opportunity because St. Louis, Chicago and Columbus weren't doing well and they took full advantage of that. They deserve their wins.

Edmonton was able to get past the third period more often - neither losing or winning, but they did it more than Vancouver or LA. As shaky as the goaltending was, they were able to stay in all of those games. They deserve the 1 point for getting there, which is not an advantage because every team gets the point for making it to overtime. The Oilers played within the rules and were more successful at getting the points they needed.