A Cranky Av Fan's Playoff Preview
by Bob in Boulder on Apr 13, 2009 5:09 PM MDT
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PrintEastern Conference:
Habs - Bruins: Two teams that hate each other. Good, because you know what? Someone has to have some emotion about this series. I think the Bruins don't wake up and realize, "Hey, we're still the fricken Bruins!" until sometime later in the playoffs. Besides, isn't Patrice Brisebois still playing for the Habs? Bruins in 5.
Rags - Caps: The NHL has a chance at some decent exposure here with the best and most exciting player in hockey playing against a major market team. Too bad the games are on Versus. A few rodeo fans will tune in only to see some funny game being played on ice and watch for more than a few seconds. Cranky Av fans will watch some games out of curiosity to see how long it takes for Theodore contract a playoff flu again. Still, I love Ovie and hate the Rags. Caps in 6.
Canes - Devils: Along with the hated wheel, the Devils seem to be the team that has weathered the new NHL storm the best. Of course, it helps to have certain "ways" of circumventing the salary cap, usually involving body parts shipped to various locales. Are they still playing hockey in Carolina? Cane fans will unfortunately be searching for games on Speedvision and miss most of the series. Devils in 7.
Flyers - Pens: The battle of Pennsylania will capture the attention of .... at least parts of Pennsylvania. The Pens have star power. The Flyers have some tough two-way players. The Pens, taking a page from a book that Francois Giguere does not own, changed coaches and boosted their season. Pens in 7.
Western Conference:
Ducks - Sharks: San Jose, unlike the Avs, hired an NHL coach in the off-season. Also unlike the Avs, they also have this thing called "talent." Even without Brad May, Todd Bertuzzi and Brian Burke (Burke and his merry band of thugs) the Ducks still have a certain douche factor (cough, Pronger, cough Perry) that I can't quite put my finger on. Sharks in 5.
BJs - Wings: This is the first ever playoff series for the BJs. What better way to celebrate it than by beating the most evil franchise in all of sports? Seemingly, this series might be the biggest mismatch of all 8 in the opening round. But I hate the Wings .... have I ever mentioned that? Therefore, with my only hope being that Chris Osgood is Chris Osgood, BJs in 6. And if it happens, free Av tickets to the first MSM headline writer who uses the word "Lick" in one of their series clinching story headlines.
Blues - Canucks: I have a confession to make, I am a Vancouver fan (3rd favorite team, behind 1. the Avs, and 2. Whoever is playing the Wings). So I'll probably watch some of this series and was happy to see that most of it will be on Versus. Having said that, the series could be, in a word, boringashell, if the last painful week of the Av season is any indication. Fortunately, Luongo is French for "I win boring games." Canucks in 6.
Flames - Blackhawks: While the Flames ooze with douchiness, from behind the bench to the ever douchey Dion Phadouche, they also happen to play a style of hockey geared towards the playoffs. Throw in the fact that the Blackhawks are young and have coach Q, this could get ugly for Chitown. Many folks here in Denver (not including me) will be watching this series hoping to see some mop-haired quarterback get beaned with a puck in the Chicago crowd. Flames in 6.
MileHighHockey.com is a fan community, allowing members to post their own thoughts and opinions on the Colorado Avalanche and hockey in general. These views and thoughts may not be shared by the editors of MileHighHockey.com.
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That crack about Dion Phaneuf made me laugh. I always beat the crap out of that guy in NHL 09 whenever we play Calgary.
by the_liberal_avenger on Apr 14, 2009 1:23 AM MDT reply actions
I think the Hawks take the series in 5, only because they had their way with the Flames in the regular season. And the Flames still can’t decide if they are good or not. One game they look great, the next game they look like an ECHL team
Remember, 1st round series, Q usually has it in the bag. It’s those second round series that kill him
GDTs
will MHH have GDTs going on during the playoffs? some of the other teams’ sbnation blogs are way too serious and not so much fun.
Sure, we just need some nominations for which threads make sense for us to host. Or we could hold a lottery and see which team we will bandwagon and then we can go over to their blog and annoy the crap out of them.
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
nominations for hosting or lottery for bandwagoning all sound fun. we could also just take a super-relaxed approach and throw up an open thread on game nights and let MHH members just start commenting on whichever games they are watching. (we sort of did that with other interesting games on avalanche game nights this season anyway, especially in the last 2 weeks :-).
going over en masse to another blog could also be hilarious, especially on the blogs where the members are being all “life-or-death” serious. or it could be really fun, as i was on japers’ rink with a handful of people early in the season when the caps were playing toronto, and ppp members all came over on a “field trip” during the second period — it really turned into something like a block party and lots of new friends were made.
I like the idea of bandwagoning with any blog against the evil winged wheel. Even a BJ blog. I enjoyed my time rooting for the Pens last year.
MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.
by Bob in Boulder on Apr 15, 2009 9:43 AM MDT up reply actions
crud
so I look over at the list of SB nation hockey blogs, and the BJs are about the only team still not represented. Wtf is that all about?
MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.
by Bob in Boulder on Apr 15, 2009 9:51 AM MDT up reply actions
I guess BJs aren't as popular
As we thought. Go figure.
2008-2009 Avalanche: It's like watching a car crash.
BJ blog
I personally like Bethany’ Hockey Rants over at Kukla’s Korner.
Even though the hatred of Adam Foote that BJ fans have has gone from quaint → annoying → comically preposterous → downright creepy. How does one commenter celebrate the franchises first playoff birth, and subsequent matchup with a team that can be considered their biggest rival?
HOWS LAST PLACE TASTE FOOTER…..?
That’s borderline “Cable guy” level obsession right there
by Jibblescribbits on Apr 15, 2009 10:13 AM MDT up reply actions
I have a mancrush on the Caps’ two Alexanders, so I’ll be bandwagoning over to them until Theo chokes.
I’m conflicted on Washington. I want to see Ovechkin win the cap cause he’s one of my favourite players and his celebration would be Legen-Wait for it-Dary. But I really want to see Theo crash and burn because not only is he a tattooed muppet but it might actually shut Dater up for once.
The Savage has spoken. Let it be done
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"
R. Frost
i’m not torn so much; theo is motivated by $$ for his contract. whatever. he was unbelievably horrible in the series against the wings when he tried to play “with the flu” (who made the decision to play him anyway?), but he was one of the main reasons the avs got into the playoffs at all last year. i don’t hate him like a lot of other avs fans.
i grew up in the dc area, so i’m already a caps fan, but japers’ rink is one of the blogs where people are pretty deadpan/serious (and a little boring). sometimes that blog can be a turnoff also because some regular members spout pretty embarrassing amounts of sexism/misogynism, homophobia, etc. in their comments. weird, because jp is really smart, funny and fun.
It's settled.
We’re crashing Japer’s Rink tonight. Theo shall be referred to Threeorfour by all MHH members. Also, Mike Green is the shit. That is all.
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
Green
Where tf did he come from? He is good. Damn good. It isn’t fair that one team has that much young talent. Of course, I’m sure lots of folks were saying that about the Avs back in the mid-90’s too. Sorry, waxing nostalgic again. Be careful not to slip on nostalgic. It gets plenty of waxing these days.
MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.
by Bob in Boulder on Apr 15, 2009 10:19 AM MDT up reply actions
Yeah but we did the honourable thing, we just outspent the rest of the teams untill they couldn’t afford to sign them. They got their talent by sucking for years.
The Savage has spoken. Let it be done
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference"
R. Frost
Okay!
you should post some sort of announcement on the “front page” about crashing Japers’ Rink (yeah, he puts the apostrophe after the “s”) tonight.
Just so you know, if you really want to irritate the regulars, talk about how awesome 92 is (#92 is Nylander — they really love complaining about how useless he is). That’s another thing a lot of them do, use players’ numbers instead of their names when they talk about them. (It is beyond their capabilities to come up with awesome nicknames like Baron Von Wolski). They will probably be commenting they are all hopeful that the “good” Theo shows up tonight. Calling him Threeorfour will probably have them crying. By the way, JP posts the GDT way in advance, sometimes like 4-5 hours in advance.
I’m currently negotiating the terms of our field trip. I’ll make a front page announcement as soon as we get the lawyers to agree on allowable nicknames for Theo.
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
It’s in the que.
JP did take a pot shot at the Avs during the negotiations, so we may have to leave the table…
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
Was his shot at Granato?
’cause that would be fabulous.
MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.
by Bob in Boulder on Apr 15, 2009 12:27 PM MDT up reply actions
Nope
The typical 5th-grade response of who are we playing in the first round.
Now he’s playing semantic games. We may have to crash that party for entirely different reasons if this continues…
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
The typical 5th-grade response of who are we playing in the first round.
With Threeorfour in net, probably the same opponent you guys will be playing in the second round!
by Jibblescribbits on Apr 15, 2009 12:48 PM MDT up reply actions
No shit. That was my exact reply. He came back with some lame crap about how Theo got us through some first rounds in the last few year…
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
Oh yea
going 8-11-0 in the playoffs in two of the last three seasons is something for Theo to brag about….PPPFFFFFTTTTTT!
MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Apr 15, 2009 2:02 PM MDT up reply actions
JP should be excited to have such warm, witty and charming guests on the GDT tonight. The facts are: most of his regulars are season-ticket holders and they will be at Verizon Center watching the game and not commenting on his GDT; and, more importantly, they need help coming up with better nicknames than “Greenie” (for Green), “Stecks” (for Steckels) , “Gordo” (for Gordon) and “Brooksie” (for Brooks Laich). Sigh.
by Pookie on Apr 15, 2009 12:56 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree
and honestly, the level of crap I’m getting from some of those guys doesn’t bode well for the field trip tonight. I may be banned pretty quick…
2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity
Maybe we should see how many MHH members get banned in the one night?
MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Apr 15, 2009 2:03 PM MDT up reply actions
Hmm
I had a whole fun post here and then FF crashed. But the fact that they don’t call Laich “The Laichness Monster” means they have Nickname Failed there way into a MHH invasion.
by Jibblescribbits on Apr 15, 2009 2:27 PM MDT up reply actions
Wow
god I’m glad I’m part of a community with a sense of humor.
Get rid of the loser point
08-09 Avs- can we decline the penalty?
Blackhawks and Wings could prevail
The Blackhawks could make a series out of it. Q and Nikolai Khabibulin could make a difference. Although Kiprusoff may come on in a longer series.
The Wings also have the leagues best powerplay percentage at 25.5%.
The Avs might want to watch the playoffs, so they can pick up some pointers. They might
also want to pick up some free agent talent from disgruntled prospects.
Monkey need a banana?
Kris Draper out for games 1 and 2 versus the BJs. Upper vaginal injury.
MHH: Shagging Dater one contributor at a time.
I guess
he shouldn’t have waxed before the game.
Colorado Avalanche: Please excuse the mess while we are under construction.
by hockeymom on Apr 14, 2009 4:24 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
MHH Dissed by Japers' Rink?
You know how a bunch of MHH members were made to wait 24 hours to post on JPR and so couldn’t post on their GDT last game? DMG over there today was just taking name requests from PPP so Leafs Nation regulars could both join and comment today.
No matter really, because chatting it up with the guys on Blueshirts Banter has turned me into a Rangers fan again. (I like following all the NY teams anyway since I live there). The Rangers were nearly as pathetic as the Avs this season and it’s cathartic (almost redemptive) watching them battle as underdogs in the playoffs against the high-powered Caps (whom I also like very much – I grew up in DC). The Rangers are up 2-0 in the series now. And seriously, it’s Lundqvist’s fierce play that is lighting a fire under his teammates, who are “playing physical” and battling every second they are on the ice. And some dude named Ryan Callahan is playing unbelievably for the Rangers. Awesome games.
Agreed
It was an awesome game. I also agree with the way the Rangers completely turned around their season. Plus, I usually root for the underdogs. I did think Varlamov played a great game. I would expect to see him back in net for game #3. I hope he continues to play well, whether the Caps win or lose. I did a nice little eye roll when the announcers said Theo didn’t think he deserved to be pulled. His ego could eat Asia. Too bad he doesn’t have the skillz to back it!
Colorado Avalanche: Please excuse the mess while we are under construction.
I imagine the reason Japers’ RInk doesn’t want us is partly because of our fearless leaders negotiations to allow us to reference the “limp cane” as Jose Threeorfour. We aren’t quite in their corner as I imagine the PPP faithful are.
Oh well, the Blueshirts crew seems to enjoy having us join them.
MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Apr 18, 2009 5:17 PM MDT up reply actions
Penguins and Ducks coming on
Scott Niedermayer and Jonas Hiller came on strong for the Ducks in game one. It seems like the Sharks choke every year.
Bill Guerin came on strong in game 2 for the Penguins and won the game in OT. Malkin and Crosby are also playing well.
The Flyers seem to be coming back in game 3.
Predictably the Red Wings are up 2-0, and Chicago is up 2-0. I really thought the Flames
would play better the first couple of games.
I think the Flames are having trouble with the speed of the Hawks…that or the Avs rubbed off on them and they can only play 20-30 minutes at a time.
MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Apr 19, 2009 3:10 PM MDT up reply actions
Maybe the fLames just suck, having a curse like Bertuzzi on their team along with our OTHER favorite NHLer of all time, Phaneuf.
And what about San Jose? I’ve been saying all season that they probably won’t get out of the first round of the playoffs (Joe Thornton!) but watching them on their way to doing that actually makes me feel sorry for them, even/especially for Thornton. I know he got an assist last night, but he was a minus 1 in the first game…how do you disappear like that in the playoffs so consistently?
For Those Interested in GDTs
PPP has a Bandwagoning GDT here
Battle of California and Fear the Fin also covering the Sharks/Ducks game.
An ounce of confidence can carry you a mile toward winning. Oh, and Red Wings suck.
And damn them
they are on to the next round…..
MHH: Like the Avs organization, we’ve now officially lost our minds.
I'm The Canary - but I'm not cute nor cuddly, and I don't sing.
by Americanario on Apr 21, 2009 10:52 PM MDT up reply actions
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