Round One: Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh

beedub wrote:This one is going to be all about offence. No defence, no goaltending, just pure offence. Gagne, Briere and Carter vs Malkin and Crosby. Yikes, I am getting he shivers just anticipating watching this gem of a series.

Philly in 7

Goaltending and defence win Stanley Cups.

Pens have just enough of the edge in both departments...and they have home ice.

And they are on a mission.

Pens in 6...too much talent for Philly to handle.

davetherave wrote:

beedub wrote:This one is going to be all about offence. No defence, no goaltending, just pure offence. Gagne, Briere and Carter vs Malkin and Crosby. Yikes, I am getting he shivers just anticipating watching this gem of a series.

Philly in 7

Goaltending and defence win Stanley Cups.

Pens have just enough of the edge in both departments...and they have home ice.

And they are on a mission.

Goaltending will not be a factor in this season, nor will defence. This will be true run and gun offensive hockey. High scores for all games.

Neither of these teams has good goaltending. Someone before said "Biron?". That's pretty accurate by my estimation, but I'd like to add "Fleury?"

beedub wrote:

davetherave wrote:

beedub wrote:This one is going to be all about offence. No defence, no goaltending, just pure offence. Gagne, Briere and Carter vs Malkin and Crosby. Yikes, I am getting he shivers just anticipating watching this gem of a series.

Philly in 7

Goaltending and defence win Stanley Cups.

Pens have just enough of the edge in both departments...and they have home ice.

And they are on a mission.

Goaltending will not be a factor in this season, nor will defence. This will be true run and gun offensive hockey. High scores for all games.

Neither of these teams has good goaltending. Someone before said "Biron?". That's pretty accurate by my estimation, but I'd like to add "Fleury?"

I see Pittsburgh having one advantage over Philly. That's the crying. I can't wait for Crosbaby to get unjustly hit and start snivelling to the refs.

SensFan71 wrote:Pens in 6...too much talent for Philly to handle.

I say Philly in 6. Too much secondary scoring for Pens to handle :D:

beedub wrote:
Goaltending will not be a factor in this season, nor will defence. This will be true run and gun offensive hockey. High scores for all games.

Neither of these teams has good goaltending. Someone before said "Biron?". That's pretty accurate by my estimation, but I'd like to add "Fleury?"

Bee, you're forgetting last year's series...aren't you? This is a grudge match, with a lot of scores to settle...

I think the streak of finalists not making it to the 2nd round ends here. This series could be a disappointment.

Pittsburgh in 5.

"Whenever you play a team that much, it's obvious that you have some rivalries and some players you dislike over there," Flyers captain Mike Richards said. "I'm sure they're the same way, so I don't expect anything less than a tough series."

--from Philly.com

Pens in 6

sennies1980 wrote:Pens in 6

A lot depends on how physical this series gets...

Well, I for one, am hoping the Flyers send these flightless birds packing; and NOT solely because the Pens threw their last game of season last year so they could draw the Sens...

I really want Biron to show the NHL and fans that he can be a good goalie, and just as interesting, I think Fleury will end up showing the fans and nhl what happens so often when a young punk gets his paycheck a BIT too soon.

Flyers in 6, but I will venture that the Flyers will be controlling the physical pace of the series from the get-go.

ESPN's Scott Burnside offers his typically insightful analysis:

The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins are the same two teams that met in last season's Eastern Conference finals. In many ways, both are dramatically different, which suggests this series will be dramatically different than the five-game set won with relative ease by the Penguins in 2008.

Even if you accept the old truism that goals are going to be hard to come by in the playoffs, this series promises to be a wild and wooly affair. Never mind the two teams can't stand each other; they each have the kind of arsenal that can make the other side pay quickly, and dearly, for mistakes.

More here, and his prediction:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/2009/news?columnist=burnside_scott&id=4062953

I'll go with the Pens in 7.

They have more scoring and are on fire right now.
Goaltending is pretty even on both sides.
The Pens have experience now from last season, making it to the Finals.

BUT

IF someone hurts one of the stars (which is a huge possibilty) all that has been said above is null. The Pens can win with all of their guys healthy, if they start to get pushed around etc...they'll have a tough time, they are NOT a tough team, Philly IS!

So...I guess in the end...who knows who will win?

All I know is that it will be a blood fest! Teeth, guts and blood all over the ice. FUN!

I'm not voting because I don't like either team. I will say that these are two teams that are simply playing for the privilege of being eliminated in round 2.

SeawaySensFan wrote:I'm not voting because I don't like either team. I will say that these are two teams that are simply playing for the privilege of being eliminated in round 2.

Really? Doesn't that depend on which of the teams makes it through Round One?

:pirat:

SensGirl11 wrote:I'll go with the Pens in 7.

They have more scoring and are on fire right now.
Goaltending is pretty even on both sides.
The Pens have experience now from last season, making it to the Finals.

BUT

IF someone hurts one of the stars (which is a huge possibilty) all that has been said above is null. The Pens can win with all of their guys healthy, if they start to get pushed around etc...they'll have a tough time, they are NOT a tough team, Philly IS!

So...I guess in the end...who knows who will win?

All I know is that it will be a blood fest! Teeth, guts and blood all over the ice. FUN!

I tend to agree; not to mention if Crosby decides to have another brain cramp and decide to drop the gloves, I'm not sure ANY Flyer is going to go 'easy' on him... LOL

god, I can't wait to just get this Dung underway. Let the games begin.

Cronie wrote:

SensGirl11 wrote:I'll go with the Pens in 7.

IF someone hurts one of the stars (which is a huge possibilty) all that has been said above is null. The Pens can win with all of their guys healthy, if they start to get pushed around etc...they'll have a tough time, they are NOT a tough team, Philly IS!

So...I guess in the end...who knows who will win?

All I know is that it will be a blood fest! Teeth, guts and blood all over the ice. FUN!

I tend to agree; not to mention if Crosby decides to have another brain cramp and decide to drop the gloves, I'm not sure ANY Flyer is going to go 'easy' on him... LOL

Hmmm...last time I checked The Pingu Posse had some pretty nasty types by the name of Eric Godard, Hal Gill, and Craig Adams, not to mention Mr Bill Guerin.