Round One: Columbus @ Detroit

ASQ...all excellent points.

IMHO you are spot on about Nash...he is SO important to CLB. If the Wings can counter him...not easy, but not impossible...the Blue Jackets will have little chance of prevailing.

Let the games begin!

:D:
:%%:

davetherave wrote:ASQ...all excellent points.

IMHO you are spot on about Nash...he is SO important to CLB. If the Wings can counter him...not easy, but not impossible...the Blue Jackets will have little chance of prevailing.

Let the games begin!

:D:
:%%:

the games will come, I am waiting on the draft lottery tomorrow night, what time does it come on? I might miss it actually, dang it lol.

davetherave wrote:ASQ...all excellent points.

IMHO you are spot on about Nash...he is SO important to CLB. If the Wings can counter him...not easy, but not impossible...the Blue Jackets will have little chance of prevailing.

Let the games begin!

:D:
:%%:

No kidding.

As a Sens fan, I can say that all analysis and stats and past games go out the window once the post-season begins.

When we were the favourites, we'd lose, when we were the underdogs, we'd win.

All will be settled on the ice.

Wow, people think this could go either way. Gonna be a fun series. cool)

asq2 wrote:

davetherave wrote:The Wings have some of the best players in the league. But they don't have a Steve Mason. And they don't have a Rick Nash. Players who can, and do, win games all by themselves.

Underdogs have a way of overcoming the myth--and reality--of The Big Red Machine.

After all, the Wings don't win it all every year. So somebody's been beating them.

And repeating as Stanley Cup winner has to be the hardest feat in professional team sports championships.

Yes, they don't have Steve Mason. But again, recent history has shown that young star goalies may struggle in their first go-round in the playoffs (see Price last year). In addition, so have young inexperienced teams.

I don't get the Rick Nash comment, to be honest. Do the Jackets have a Pavel Datsyuk, arguably the best player in the league? A Conn-Smythe winning second line centre like Henrik Zetterberg? A Hossa, Franzen etc.? The Wings have beaten better players than Nash, and they've won without a Nash.

Not to mention, Mr. 61 will be up against arguably one of the top-5 defencemen in the history of the game.

As for having difficulty repeating, this is a serious issue. But the Wings were so close to beating the Ducks in '06-'07 and obviously haven't suffered in terms of their regular season this year, what with finishing 2nd.

This is the most experienced, savviest, deepest, winningest team in hockey.

Mason is the real deal. Price is the real deal in Gainey's mind only.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:

asq2 wrote:

davetherave wrote:The Wings have some of the best players in the league. But they don't have a Steve Mason. And they don't have a Rick Nash. Players who can, and do, win games all by themselves.

Underdogs have a way of overcoming the myth--and reality--of The Big Red Machine.

After all, the Wings don't win it all every year. So somebody's been beating them.

And repeating as Stanley Cup winner has to be the hardest feat in professional team sports championships.

Yes, they don't have Steve Mason. But again, recent history has shown that young star goalies may struggle in their first go-round in the playoffs (see Price last year). In addition, so have young inexperienced teams.

I don't get the Rick Nash comment, to be honest. Do the Jackets have a Pavel Datsyuk, arguably the best player in the league? A Conn-Smythe winning second line centre like Henrik Zetterberg? A Hossa, Franzen etc.? The Wings have beaten better players than Nash, and they've won without a Nash.

Not to mention, Mr. 61 will be up against arguably one of the top-5 defencemen in the history of the game.

As for having difficulty repeating, this is a serious issue. But the Wings were so close to beating the Ducks in '06-'07 and obviously haven't suffered in terms of their regular season this year, what with finishing 2nd.

This is the most experienced, savviest, deepest, winningest team in hockey.

Mason is the real deal. Price is the real deal in Gainey's mind only.

couldn't have said it any better myself, Halak is more goalie material than Price.

One of the things I observed watching the Wings-Hawks home and home over the weekend is how much Detroit relies on Nick Lidstrom.

These 'tune up' games don't feature as much hitting for evident reasons, but they do allow you to observe a team from a different perspective as certain players are 'rested'.

Both teams chose to scratch some of their stars on these days, so it was a level playing field.

Without Lidstrom, Detroit not only missed Nick's exceptional hockey intelligence and precision passing that drives their transition game.

They also miss his leadership on defense, and the ability to know exactly where he should be on the ice at all times.

The absence of Marian Hossa was also notable for its effect on Detroit's offense.

The Hawks, interestingly enough, played a very 'Wing-like' game in beating them both times. Constantly pushing the pace, relentless pressure on the forecheck, taking away space, and puck possession. They also cleared out the front of the net so Tommy Holmstrom couldn't do his thing. And Detroit seemed baffled at times about how to stop 6'3" 245-lb Dustin Byfluglien.

No doubt Ken Hitchc0ck has studied that game footage. In previous matches against the Wings, he has used some very effective countermeasures against Detroit.

IMHO this series will be notable for the strategies deployed by the opposing coaches, and the quality of execution.

Number Twenty Nine wrote:Mason is the real deal. Price is the real deal in Gainey's mind only.

Price was very, very good last year. I think he's the real deal as well, as long as he gets rid of some off-ice stuff.

Columbus in 6. My hatred for the Wings aside, the telling stat is that every Stanley Cup finalist from the previous season has either missed the playoffs or gone out in the first round for the last five years (I think).

I just can't see Detroit going up 2-0 in this series. Columbus will have home ice advantage in game 3, and won't let go.

Detroit in 7

I have to agree (once again) with DTR's assessment(s).

Seeing a series that pits Wang against Wang, wait...a tale of two Wang! LOL

But seriously, seeing these two heavyweights do their 'thing' should be a LOT of fun. I'm very anxious to see who successfully manages to outcoach the other.

As for the teams, I seriously would NOT count the Jackets out. This is their first post-season appearance, and I'm sure they would LOVE to have an extended stay, if you will.

Detroit is, well, Detroit, and if they Goaltending holds up, they will give the Jackets all they can handle; however, Mason is coming into his own (minus that ONE brainfart about a week or so ago) very nicely and it seems the Ex-Senator 'Toine Vermette is proving to be a very nice addition indeed. Glad to see Vermette getting along very well in Columbus and he seems to have regained his scoring touch as well. I certainly still miss him.

O.k. so as far as predictions go, I'll say the Jackets in 7!
it makes for ONE hell of an exciting series to see it come right down to the wire...

IN FACT, I'll go even further and say that Game #7 will require OT.

Cronie wrote:I have to agree (once again) with DTR's assessment(s).

Seeing a series that pits Wang against Wang, wait...a tale of two Wang! LOL

But seriously, seeing these two heavyweights do their 'thing' should be a LOT of fun. I'm very anxious to see who successfully manages to outcoach the other.

As for the teams, I seriously would NOT count the Jackets out. This is their first post-season appearance, and I'm sure they would LOVE to have an extended stay, if you will.

Detroit is, well, Detroit, and if they Goaltending holds up, they will give the Jackets all they can handle; however, Mason is coming into his own (minus that ONE brainfart about a week or so ago) very nicely and it seems the Ex-Senator 'Toine Vermette is proving to be a very nice addition indeed. Glad to see Vermette getting along very well in Columbus and he seems to have regained his scoring touch as well. I certainly still miss him.

O.k. so as far as predictions go, I'll say the Jackets in 7!
it makes for ONE hell of an exciting series to see it come right down to the wire...

IN FACT, I'll go even further and say that Game #7 will require OT.

"A Tale of Two Wang"

If the Jackets steal one in the Joe...watch out.

Could be a helluva series.
:D:

Something fans may not know is that the Jackets have dedicated this season to the founder of the team, the late John H. McConnell. "Mr. Mac" was a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist who was devoted to bringing an NHL franchise back to Ohio. He built the Nationwide Arena which allowed Columbus to be eligible for a franchise. When it opened, the fans packed the arena and cheered the wheelchair-bound McConnell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._McConnell

Many people don't know that Ohio is a hotbed of hockey fans. The Cleveland Barons were a successful minor league team for many years, though their NHL incarnation 22 years ago was less noteworthy. The Ohio University Buckeyes hockey team is notable for several alumni including the Jackets' RJ Umberger.

The players wear 'JHM' on their jerseys as a tribute to 'Mr Mac' and Rick Nash personally pledged their playoff drive to his memory.

Quite a story...

Jackets in 6. I want to see Vermette have a good run. Besides, listening to the Name Dropper make like every regular-season game is pretty much in the bag for the Wings and make excuses when they lose makes me not like them. Also, I despise Big Nose Chelios.

This is exciting - a lot of people think Columbus can do it.

I don't personally - I think they're in over their heads, but it would really great for hockey (not to mention great hockey) if this happened.

Nice piece DTR. And hey, while I sometimes think when a team has an emotional drive and a face to see or remind them of something can play in their favor (ie, the tragedy of the Sens cup run and Fisher's pledge to the young and late Elgin Fraser that he would bring home the cup) sometimes, however, it doesn't pan out...

Cronie wrote:Nice piece DTR. And hey, while I sometimes think when a team has an emotional drive and a face to see or remind them of something can play in their favor (ie, the tragedy of the Sens cup run and Fisher's pledge to the young and late Elgin Fraser that he would bring home the cup) sometimes, however, it doesn't pan out...

The great thing about hockey is that a 'more motivated' team can beat a 'more talented' team.

The 'head games' are on!

From the Columbus Post Dispatch:

It sounds as if the Detroit Red Wings think the Blue Jackets are pretty much a one-man band.

They would deny that, of course, but there might be enough evidence to convict.

Consider Henrik Zetterberg's reaction when he was asked about facing the Blue Jackets and their rookie goaltender, Steve Mason, in the first round of the NHL playoffs:

"He's basically taken them to the playoffs by himself," Zetterberg said. "It's easy to play well when you have a goalie like that that really stops the pucks. They have good confidence in him."

Plus, find out what Mike Babc0ck really thinks of the Jackets...

Babc0ck's words are probably more typical of his players' thoughts. He called the Jackets' blue-liners "a journeyman group that works real hard and competes real hard."

More here: http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/content/sports/stories/2009/04/14/hunter_4-14.ART_ART_04-14-09_C1_DLDI1GJ.html?sid=101

This is too funny, Osgood is already testy.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DETROIT -- Chris Osgood would rather just play, take off his gear, get stretched out and enjoy some grub.
However, as the No. 1 goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings, doing anything quietly isn't an option.

"Everybody makes too big of a deal out of me," Osgood said yesterday, sounding slightly exasperated. "I'm just part of the team."

Despite Osgood's attempts to deflect attention, his play will be pivotal in the Red Wings' quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.
Detroit's chances improve if Osgood plays as he did last year, showing this season was a fluke. He had a 2.09 goals-against average last season and a league-low 1.55 GAA in the 2008 playoffs.

This season, his GAA ballooned to a career-high 3.09 and there were doubts at times about whether he'd even start the playoffs in net.

Osgood's first shot to show he's still an elite goalie comes tonight at home in Game 1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Does it bother him that some hockey analysts are giving the Jackets the edge in net with rookie Steve Mason.

"Who are the people doing it?" Osgood asked.

Awkward pause.

"Go," Osgood said. "Next one."

Osgood's place in hockey history also brings out the testy side of his personality.

"I'll worry about it when I'm done playing," the 37-year-old Osgood said. "It's not easy to win in this league, otherwise everybody would be doing it. I don't know how many goalies have played here in the last 15 years that I've been here, but I'm still here and I'm still wanted.

"That's what matters most and accounts for more than anything else. I'm a winner. That's all I do."

His 389 career NHL victories put him in a tie for 10th with Dominik Hasek -- who retired last year after losing his job to Osgood -- and trail only Martin Brodeur and Curtis Joseph among active goalies.

Oh Osgood! Testy testy! :D:

This is going to be an interesting series for sure.