Vanflyer

So....what you are saying is that Kessel and JVR are too busy blowing each other??? Where is Lupul? Seriously (and sorry, this should be a family oriented forum), looking at it now, would you rather have L Schenn or JVR?

.......and it brings a smile to my face to once again see Fleury prepping for playoff form and the Leafs tanking. Good times I tell ya.

Ruxpin is kicking and screaming at this!

got it backwards. My brain is a bit scrambled. Blame it on DGG. "and when he smoked my eyelids and punched my cigarette" (jack straw will know that reference)

They don't have to lose the rest of the way. Their next loss combined with a win by Detroit and Columbus will seal their fate. They are not mathematically out of it even then, but despite the win tonight, they are in a swoon. They barely beat a weak calgary team (no offense and worse defense). They have not pushovers the rest of the way (maybe the panthers). I see them going .500 the rest of the way, which will not get it done. I can't wait to see the exodus in Toronto this post season. Its and annual right of ritual.

Agreed. And that was Lindros' year. He was a monster that playoff. Too bad he chocked so bad later.

Not sure I can agree with that. St Louis has 50 wins and they want the Presidents trophy for home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. This was not a layup game for them.

Maybe we can trade? lol Yeah, truthfully any sport is really about paying attention. Hockey is hard because its such a fast game. Hows TB looking v. Montreal?

Will you marry me (after I divorce my wife)? Any girl that can talk hockey like you do (not to be sexist, okay, I am being sexist) puts an immediate crush in my book. No Maker jokes from the peanut gallery! :-P

My bad. I had it in my brain they were 8th seed and was too lazy to look it up. That semis with the Flyers was a great / brutal series.

Is it him, or is it the team / line? Kessel has vanished as well. I just don't get JVR. He could and should be a dynamite player but whats between his ears and in his chest are faulty. All things being equal, he is putting up a 30 goal year. Thats more than Turris. What I see in Turris (the limited Ottawa games I have seen), is he has become a complete player in all three zones. You are right about his size. I think he was maybe 175lbs soaking wet when he entered the NHL. Couture was number 9 I believe and seems to be the class of the top 10. I will always give more weight to centers / d-men, than goalies.

Always liked him. But I don't know anything. I supported JVR before Turris (a BC Kid). Turns out (thus far) Turris is better and having a monster year playing the same minutes as JVR, yet at center and all situations.

Thanks. I was not paying attention (seriously). So Boston 1, Dallas 2 and Toronto 3.

I was actually pondering this yesterday (more the shoot-out v. 4-4, 5-5, 3-3 for 5, 10 min etc.). There are two things: 1) Marketing to a general mass- Meaning that the general mass does not want to watch an overtime drag on. The shoot-out is a gimmick only for the general mass. 2) Revenue / Advertising- For whatever reason (I will assume its because its a 4th rate sport), don't want to pay additional dollars for OT. I know there are other factors. I am fine with the idea that a tie is a tie, but the honchos in corporate central thought it would be a better idea to attract more viewers. I guess the problem really is that team will keep the point in hand that makes the OT not so significant. I get that. The other problem is that the sponsors / advertisers don't want to pay money for additional air time. Its hard for me. Football (american) has a tie. Basketball has a tie. Baseball can go all hours. For me, give me 10 minutes of 4-4. 5 minutes, the teams can play safe. 10 minutes, one team is going to want to finish so they can go get dinner.

My favorite player from the game the other night. So, the trail being long and the prospects not there yet, who are the losers and winners between Boston-Toronto-Dallas?

This years Bruins team is a monster team and you should rightfully be worried. If Lecavelier gets going you should worry about the Flyers as well. I don't think Mason is going to be a choker (hhhmmmm Fleury) in the playoffs. In fact, I think he will play even better. Tampa is no slouch either (in fact, I would be more worried about them than the Flyers- its just that the Flyers seem to have Pitts number).

Or too bad you don't have a goalie that plays like Briere that you could tandem with. Run with Fleury during the regular season and then your Briere like goalie in the playoffs. WTF is it about Fleury and the playoffs? After watching the Flyers - Bruins, you should be praying that the Pens don't have to match up with the Flyers in early rounds. Also, I am not sure (as it stands today), Detroit is going to be a cake walk. Babbcock will run circles around Danny- even with a decimated line-up. I will acknowledge he is having a very good season (might be his best ever).

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=711498&navid=nhl:topheads Say what you want about the old man, but this is a riveting story / article. Most know about the program, but to hear it from Reyes really gives an inside view to the impact. It really brings into light, what is it about ice hockey that really inspires people? I bought my first pair of skates after my dad said "I will match you dollar to dollar on everything you earn to get your skates". The moral being, work ethic and responsibility- which is prevalent throughout the hockey community (not just Canada and USA). I know their are the "rich" families with the wannabe fathers etc., but for the most part the sport really generates quality people.

Agreed. The mere fact that they played the Flyers full tilt for two periods after a game the day before, with nothing to play for, says allot to me. If I have to get behind a team in the east other than the Flyers, I can do worse than rooting for the Bruins. I like their brand of hockey. Plus they don't have an N or P to start the name of their team.

Ok, we can agree that at least one was stoppable. :-) Given that, he mad a few 10 bell saves, so I can't bitch too much.

Yes and no. Microsoft works VERY hard every year to come out with a new release. Nothing in technology will stay the same, I get that. I have three problems: 1) It is a rope a-dope business model. Meaning, once you are hooked, you are hooked for life. There fore, to the "layman" user, they must continually shell out money to keep "pace". Granted, that pace is going to occur regardless, but not at the sums that MS likes to get. 2) Architecture- Infrastructure / Apps - apps support / Gui- All three are intertwined. This is my crux with MS. Why revamp EVERYTHING every year. Keep pace with technology (arch - infrastructure), for sure. But the gui part is a bit funky to me. You have to match it with the technology, but to continually strive for more bells and whistles (at a charge) is ridiculous. 3) I have not used Mac, so I can not speak there. But having used Linux the last year and half (many versions), with a zero hitch. Impresses me. I do agree that a novice is not going to go run command line stuff. But there are "lite versions" that GUI wise run very similarly to Windows. And its free. At the end of the day, If my linux machine is working better than my MS in every facet and I have to endure a learning curve regardless if I am on Windows or Linux, Why not. Keep in mind I am not talking about consumer small-big business side here. I am talking about the home user. Yet, I could get into the business side of it too. Cheers- Not to side step your security mainteness suggestions (which are extremely accurate and valid), on linux, I can plug and play the settings. Meaning. I spend about an hour on initial installation to get what I think is appropriate and go. Minor tweaks, monitor are par for the course, but it is neither laborious nor intrusive to get this done.

Don't know much about either of them at the AHL level, but I have not been cringing much with McGinn. I am not sold on his hands, but that could be a jitters / AHL-NHL speed of play thing. Also, in two seasons with the Phantoms (109 games), he is a -10. Both of those teams are / were abysmal. Tyler on his two stints has posted in 30 games: 6g, 2a, 8pts and even +/-. Just saying. :-)

Sure, why not? They won the cup as the 8th conference seed the first go around. I am a firm believer that everything is possible in the playoffs. While generally the cream rises to the top, I also think that match-ups / style of play and hot hands have an equal merit to potential cup winner. Look at LA as another example of that. The other thing is the playoffs become a war of attrition (particularly in the east). Your depth and ability to replace key / essential personal becomes a true story line.

I would argue the Chara goal as well. I can't blame him too much because he also stole goals. The Chara one was hard for me because everyone knew what was coming. Bergeon, should have had that too (only because it was a bad angle. But to have a Chara beat you like that on your door step is weak.

Hey Yave, If I am going to get behind a coach whom I think is an asshole for Jack Adams, hands down it will be Roy (or Hitchcock). There are other finalists I would put above hartly too. I think its going to be Roy. No way you can go from last to nearly first (100 pt plus season) and not get it- particularly with minimal personnel changes from last season. Hitch gets honorable second (any coach that gets 50 wins has to be there). Julien should be there too, but his team is pretty stacked and they have been competing at a high level for several years now.