Who's got the worst reffing of the four sports? I gotta go NHL - though for a long time it was NFL. They haven't been egrgeiously abd lately though - and they may be better than the others. MLB umping is hit or miss -s aw an ump with a ridculous strike zone the other night - but at elast he was consistently squeezing both teams. NBA I have no opionon on since I don't pay any attention.

The Canucks are going to win the Stanley Cup this year!! GO CANUCKS GO!!

one more example of the regular season not meaning much - Flieshman for the caps had 23 goals in 82 games. in the playoffs (not his first one either) 1 assist and benched in game 7.....

Canadiens win in Game 7 goes down as one of the greatest upsets of all time. Seriously

And you now really have to question the character and heart of that team. Unreal.

Pens will cruise to the Cup - maybe the western team can give them trouble - but they will beat each other up.

I think the Pens can easily make the Finals, but I really doubt they'll be able to beat whoever they face from the West.

The Canadiens have a great roster. Outside of injuries and locker room issues, I have no idea why they sucked so bad in the regualer season. Hopefully they can challenge the Pens a bit.

the habs had no game or identity in the regular season. now with halak, they now they can play a defense first game and w/ camallari being a sniper they can max out their limited scoring. When guys like gomez and kotsistyn are committed to the back check (which gomez hasn't been since his devils days) you know they are buying into some message.

Stag Lord said:

Well, when Tim Thomas was playing like the Stiff Formerly Known as Tim Thomas, I didn't figure the B's would be in the playoffs. Talk about falling off a cliff (no one should be surprised the dude is old. I know this because I'm old and I remember watching, and despising, him when he backed stopped UVM when I was a student at Cornell.) Now, they look solid, have worked hard and overachieved a bit (unlike their more typical work hard and underachieve), and got a gift by getting home ice advantage in the second round as a 6th seed. If they win the second round, they will have far surpassed what I was expecting from them for pretty much the whole season.

Jux69 said:

Mmmmmm.....not so much.

Freaking Chicago was FLYING last night. They looked like a completely different team than they did on Monday.

More to the point: are the Bruins goign to choke this thing away? And do the Habs have ANY shot tonight in pittsburgh (I personally don't think so).

Stag Lord said:

1) I doubt it, Flyers will do what they've done all year and piss this game away. Remember the shootout that led to them getting into the playoffs? well all they had to do was win one of three games including that one and they lost the first two and played iffy to get to the shoot out in the finale. In short too inconsistent.

2) Mon might have a shot if Halak stands on his head, Gill comes back, and Camillari scores two clutch goals....you know the usual for them...

Whatever - meanhwile Corsby will dive and cry and draw three penalties and teh Pens will take the lead on a PPG with under five to go in regulation.

And I hear what you are saying - but the pressure is all on the B's in this one. I think they are the better squad - but I think once you four and five and have to go on the road for six, your collars start getting a little tight.

Wow - that's all I can say: wow. Its always a good morning when Sid the crybaby goes home for the summer: and it hasn't come this early in quite a while. whatever we get in the semis - Montreal v Philly in a 7-8 matchup (!!) or a Boston- montreal series with all the attendant histroy will be incredible.

And God - how tight is the collar now LGR?

what a fun NHL spring we are having.

Lars said:

well 50% ain't bad. I still doubt the flyers close it out.

Its interesting that during the regular season all we hear is how much better the west is over the east and that the lower seeds in the east would not even be in the playoffs out west, well go lower seed power!

It just goes to show you - regualr season maens very, very litle. because based on what we saw from say November through March - there was no way in hell Pitt or Washington would lose to one of these scrubby teams - but the Habs got hot down teh strecth and sure as hell stepped up. But no one saw this coming, second week of April.

well **** me....I guess being down 3-0 is what motivates these guys....go figure.

Greatest comeback in porfessional sports history. Bar none - becuase they were down 3-0 in Game Seven, ON THE ROAD.

Boston fans must be just sick.

And they lit up Halak last night. Everything is wacky this spring - but you have to be intrigued by the Flyers at this point.

Stag Lord said:

The collar just loosened enough that I can speak about it. And I have nothing to say other than "Crap!". Putting aside the B's choke, a Blackhawks-Flyers final is going to pretty fun to watch knowing the hardcore fans for each team will be living/dying with every high/low. And I'm not even bitter, as I think I'll end up gravitating to the Flyers as far as rooting goes, albeit only mildly.

this is obviously a dream. I still can;t believe they are in the finals (i'm still in shock they won the shootout to get to the playoffs. We owe torts a fruit basket for not having gaborik shoot...). Its also a nightmare as it reminds us what should have been after our sorst season ever (i.e. Patrick Kane in Orange and black......) I like JVR, but right now kane is 3x better if not more.

This is a scary series. But I have some faith (read I don't expect to get swept, no clue who will win), especially because barry melrose picked the hawks...

I am so, so, so, interested in seeing the matchup between Bufyglien (is that spelling even cloe?) and the rest of the Flyers. It'll be interesting to see the Hawks go up against a team with some grit. The Canuks had some, but they took way too many stupid penalties.

Its all going to come down to if the Flyers backup goalie can keep playing the way he has. sure - three shutouts against the Habs, but the Hawks are bigger and faster. I think its going to eb a great series and shoudl go long.

people don't realize but leighton has been playing this way since the winter classic (even slightly before) the only problem was that he hurt himself (high ankle sprain) about two weeks before the playoffs...

he also had 1.5 shutouts against the bruins and plays behind a defense that negated parise and kolvuchuck in the first round.

If we lose this series it will not be lieghton's fault.

My gut feeling is to go with Chicago for the cup, but if you had asked me a month ago i would also have said that the Flyers and Habs would have been out after the first round. both those teams showed a lot of grit in their games that i have not seen in a long time. So based on that by no means can the Flyers be counted out.

Really interesting Final though. Can't wait.

Do the Hawks have a shut down defenseman like Pronger?

not singular but probably the best pair in Keith and Seabrook

Pivotal game tonight....Hawks win and its pretty much over. i think you only get one of those comebacks in a lifetime, much less in a given playoff run.

Philly wins and we could be looking at one of the great Finals of all time - with a good shot to go seven, and a bunch of one goal games so far. I'm pissed I missed game 2 and i'll probably miss tonight as well.

Leighton faced a murderous barrage early in Game 5 - but a couple of those goals looked soft - especially the second one. he may have taken Philly out of that one which may cost them the series - cause I doubt you can win a Game 7 in ChiTown. Hoping you get there though. Its been a fun ride to this point.