1st Round Opponents

Cullen and Michalek are fantastic together too. That one shift by Cullen last night was just silly, I can't believe we didn't score there.

So, we're in 5th spot no matter what now. We just have to wait and see if it's New Jersey or Pittsburgh in the first round. They both have the exact same record (46-27-7 for a total of 99 points) with two games remaining. Jersey holds the tie breaker and sits on top of the division... for now.

Pitt close out with games against Atlanta and the Islanders (both on the road).

Jersey closes out with games against the Islanders and Buffalo (both at home).

Hmmm...

SensGirl11 wrote:When does Donovan draw in the lineup? We need him to be fresh, he's a difference maker for sure.

I think he draws in for the last game. I mean, its the last game of the season, he hasn't played in god knows how long, and shannon hasn't been all that great either.

I also thought Kovalev would be at another level for the playoffs....but sadly he's stuck on 49 pts, and went into the olympic break at 47 pts.....that is horrible. I know he's hit tons of posts along the way, but this is Jonathon Cheechoo terrible.

Kovalev is a playoff performer with 98 points in 116 career playoff games. We need as much experience in the lineup as we can get with guys like Elliott, Carkner, Karlsson, Foligno, Regin and Winchester playing.

PKC wrote:Kovalev is a playoff performer with 98 points in 116 career playoff games. We need as much experience in the lineup as we can get with guys like Elliott, Carkner, Karlsson, Foligno, Regin and Winchester playing.

If we look at his post-season numbers with the Habs (4 seasons)... he does seem to step it up: 37games, 17 goals, 14 assists for 31 points.

There's no way this Pittsburgh team is going out in the first round, no matter who they play. They have too much pride for that. That's why I don't want to face them right away

Big Ev wrote:There's no way this Pittsburgh team is going out in the first round, no matter who they play. They have too much pride for that. That's why I don't want to face them right away

They'll be out if they face Ottawa

seriously, Pens are great, but you're really underestimating the sens. If the series goes long, I think the sens will pull it out. To go deep into the playoffs three years in a row is a very tall order, and the sens will be ready. I think we will be better defensively than pittsburgh, and that will be our key to shutting down their high octane offence. Sens will start on the road, keep the game simple, and if they steal one of the road games, this series is ours!

That is of course if we play the Pens

As much as I love the Sens and hope springs eternal, they are a sub-500 road team, with no playoff experience in goal, some very streaky players in their top-six (even to-nine), a possible long-term injury to one of their snipers and a 19 year old kid playing 29 minutes on the back end. Good thing their power-play is coming back because they will need it.

We didn't have much playoff experience in net when Emery played for us either.

I believe in Elliott, he has what it takes and he's gotten us this far. Every great goalie was unknown rookie heading into the post season at one point, this is Elliott's chance to shine. At the end of this season we'll know what he's made of.

I think it'll really come to whether the Sens execute their game plan and are all on the same page. When the entire team is firing on all cylinders they're a treat to watch.

They need to come out of the gate flying, like Team Canada did against the Russians. No more slow starts, no more underestimating opponents.

I believe they have what it takes to give any opponent we may face a run for their money, they just need to bring it and not let up.

wprager wrote:As much as I love the Sens and hope springs eternal, they are a sub-500 road team, with no playoff experience in goal, some very streaky players in their top-six (even to-nine), a possible long-term injury to one of their snipers and a 19 year old kid playing 29 minutes on the back end. Good thing their power-play is coming back because they will need it.

A win tomorrow night also means that they'd be carrying an 8-1-1 record into the playoffs. Not too shabby for a team with a host of problems.

Hoags wrote:We didn't have much playoff experience in net when Emery played for us either.

I believe in Elliott, he has what it takes and he's gotten us this far. Every great goalie was unknown rookie heading into the post season at one point, this is Elliott's chance to shine. At the end of this season we'll know what he's made of.

I think it'll really come to whether the Sens execute their game plan and are all on the same page. When the entire team is firing on all cylinders they're a treat to watch.

They need to come out of the gate flying, like Team Canada did against the Russians. No more slow starts, no more underestimating opponents.

I believe they have what it takes to give any opponent we may face a run for their money, they just need to bring it and not let up.

Some poor team is gonna sleep on us and get destroyed.

PKC wrote:

Hoags wrote:We didn't have much playoff experience in net when Emery played for us either.

I believe in Elliott, he has what it takes and he's gotten us this far. Every great goalie was unknown rookie heading into the post season at one point, this is Elliott's chance to shine. At the end of this season we'll know what he's made of.

I think it'll really come to whether the Sens execute their game plan and are all on the same page. When the entire team is firing on all cylinders they're a treat to watch.

They need to come out of the gate flying, like Team Canada did against the Russians. No more slow starts, no more underestimating opponents.

I believe they have what it takes to give any opponent we may face a run for their money, they just need to bring it and not let up.

Some poor team is gonna sleep on us and get destroyed.

I don't think we are sneaking up on anyone. I like how we match up against a team like the Caps. I tend to agree with R.J. Umberger in that a good defensive team will at the very least slow them down somewhat. The Caps won't be nearly as dangerous as they were/are in the regular season.

I believe we can beat any team in the East 4 out of 7 times if we are playing well. If we play like we did the first 7 games after the Olympics, we are going out very quickly though.

I want the Penguins. It will be dubbed the rubber match. We took them to school then they took us to the school. So who gets to go to the prom this year. Ah man I need some sleep.

hemlock wrote:
I don't think we are sneaking up on anyone. I like how we match up against a team like the Caps. I tend to agree with R.J. Umberger in that a good defensive team will at the very least slow them down somewhat. The Caps won't be nearly as dangerous as they were/are in the regular season.

I believe we can beat any team in the East 4 out of 7 times if we are playing well. If we play like we did the first 7 games after the Olympics, we are going out very quickly though.

I sincerely believe that we won't play like we did post-Olympics. Too many guys who have the competitive drive and the first time in 3 years that Alfie will play a playoff series near healthy (knock on wood).

This is where Cullen's gonna pay off big time too. Nice depth and a guy who's gone all the way and won it. Kovalev as well, but it's definitely not as fresh as Cullen.

Phoenix30 wrote:I want the Penguins. It will be dubbed the rubber match. We took them to school then they took us to the school. So who gets to go to the prom this year. Ah man I need some sleep.

Let's not forget that the Pens seem ripe for the picking. Malkin with an "off" year and has had some injuries coupled with 2 very long playoff runs two straight years. That smells like a disaster to the Pens if you ask me.

SpezDispenser wrote:

hemlock wrote:
I don't think we are sneaking up on anyone. I like how we match up against a team like the Caps. I tend to agree with R.J. Umberger in that a good defensive team will at the very least slow them down somewhat. The Caps won't be nearly as dangerous as they were/are in the regular season.

I believe we can beat any team in the East 4 out of 7 times if we are playing well. If we play like we did the first 7 games after the Olympics, we are going out very quickly though.

I sincerely believe that we won't play like we did post-Olympics. Too many guys who have the competitive drive and the first time in 3 years that Alfie will play a playoff series near healthy (knock on wood).

This is where Cullen's gonna pay off big time too. Nice depth and a guy who's gone all the way and won it. Kovalev as well, but it's definitely not as fresh as Cullen.

Cullen will pay off especially if we lose a scorer during the playoffs. He's a nice insurance policy for sure, and with a full lineup, like icing on the cake.

Do you think we re-sign Cullen if we lose in the first round?

Hoags wrote:We didn't have much playoff experience in net when Emery played for us either.

And he went 5-5 with a 2.88 GAA that year. Our team was stacked and we got dumped in the 2nd round. Not saying it was Ray's fault, but the general consensus was that, had Hasek been playing, we would have been the team to beat league-wide.

Anyhow, I'm not a great believer in playoff experience being the trump card -- it's not, but not having any playoff experience is certainly not a bonus either.

Hoags wrote:
I believe in Elliott, he has what it takes and he's gotten us this far. Every great goalie was unknown rookie heading into the post season at one point, this is Elliott's chance to shine. At the end of this season we'll know what he's made of.

Dominic Hasek was 0-2 in his first 6 playoff games, spread over two seasons. Hasek was a bit of a late bloomer, and that's even with 8 years separating his draft from his first game in the NHL. Point is, not all great goalies are great right away.

Hoags wrote:
I think it'll really come to whether the Sens execute their game plan and are all on the same page. When the entire team is firing on all cylinders they're a treat to watch.

They need to come out of the gate flying, like Team Canada did against the Russians. No more slow starts, no more underestimating opponents.

I believe they have what it takes to give any opponent we may face a run for their money, they just need to bring it and not let up.

Yep, what the doctor ordered. Hopefully they won't let up (like they semi-consistently have done against weaker opponents).