Hockey Fans, Who's watching the Stanely Cup Playoffs?

I don't know, maybe its a Canadian thing but everyone here in Toronto is going absolutely hockey mad (myself included). The mayor even encouraged everyone in the city to start chanting "Go Leafs Go" 15 minutes before the last home game for good luck, and there is not a day that goes by where you don't see atleast 15 people in Maple Leaf Jerseys, and 30 cars with Maple Leaf flags attached to them. Is anyone else following the playoffs, and are people this crazy in other cities?

Oh, and for good measure GO LEAFS GO!

My entire family are big fans of the Red Wings (with exception of a few) and so am I. We will all be glued to the TV tomorrow night. It's a crucial game... They def will beat the Flames tomorrow!

GO WINGS!

-Em

I'm so glad there's other hockey fans out there! The Leafs just lost to the Flyers 7-2 in what has to be the most unlucky game of hockey ever (everything that could have gone wrong went wromg, but we still love you Ed!). Oh well, there's still 2 games to go...

Btw, whose your favorite hockey player of all time?

I'm a hockey fan, but I don't go to any of the Chicago Blackhawks' games. I hate "Dollar" Bill Wirtz, the owner. That man is so cheap, he throws nickels around like they're manhole covers. Instead, I go to the Chicago Wolves games. They're the American Hockey League affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers. It's cheaper and they've won more league championships (3-two Turner Cups in the now-defunct IHL and one Calder Cup in the AHL) in the past five years than the Blackhawks have in the past 40 years.

My favorites are Wayne Gretzky, Chris Chelios and Denis Savard.

I know what you mean about the NHL. Sometimes you just get so fed up with the fact that they are so concerned about money making rather than the fans themselves (yeah right I can pay $60 for nosebleed seats. I'm a student for crying out loud!). Those are the times you turn to the amateur league. But the Leafs always drag me back in .

I'm also a big fan of Gretzky; he had so much skill and class. I also liked the old Hab (Montreal Canadian) players Boom-Boom Jefferys and Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. Oh, and of course Bobby Ore. Though I have to say that Tie Domi is earning a special place in my heart just because he tries so darn hard, even though he's really short and doesn't have any real amazing skills.

Who would you say are the biggest underachievers and overacheivers you've seen in hockey? My underachiever and overachiever, for a time, were wearing the indian head sweaters at the same time.

Underachiever: Eric Daze. He's missed the better part of three seasons with a bad back because of his poor workout ethic. He has size, but he tries to finesse his way to the net. Also, he's very predictable in his shot selection; goalies know he's gonna go low on the stick side before he does.

Overachiever: Bob Probert. Long regarded as the heavyweight champion of the NHL, people tended not to notice that he could score occasionally. He was willing to to do all the little things to help the team, like join a scrum in the corner for the puck and go to the front of the net to screen the goalie.

Underachiever would have to be Jose Theodore. I was in Montreal last year and saw him play, and I admit that I was impressed with him. He certainly had finesse, and he put on a soild performance as a goalie. Watching him this year, its hard to believe that its the same person. His goal tending was so sporadic - one minute he was unstoppable, the next he was making plays even a rookie could beat. He was definitely off his game for all of the playoffs, and I can only hope that he pulls it together for next season.

overachiever would have to be Mark Messier. I mean, the guy is 43 and still playing with and getting hit by guys half his age. Not only that but he can kick most of their butts! You gotta respect him for that, especially when he won the "sharp shooting" or what ever it was called at the NHL Allstars competition. Even if he does hang up his skates next year, he's still had a good run.

Whose you pick for winning the cup?

I have to say that Ed Belfour got Toronto past the first round. If it wasn't for him, Ottawa would have been taking Philadelphia out of the playoffs as we speak.

The biggest underachiever bar none is Alexandre Daigle. The next "Gretzky" was too busy playing nurse instead of playing hockey.

Oh absolutely! Belfour was definitely Toronto's savior in the first round, but it was painful to watch the game today, as the Flyers scored again and again and again. For the first time during the playoffs Belfour was pulled and Kidd was put in. If we don't have Belfour, Philly is going to cream us!

I sort of lost intrest after the Habs got ousted. I deffinately want to see the cup come back home, but what choices do I have? The Flames or the Leafs? Sorry to dissapoint you obvious leafs fans, but neither of those teams do ANYTHING for me. I'm not worried about upsetting any Flames fans, because there aren't any.

I guess it's all part of that "Can't cheer for the Habs and the Leafs" thing, and seeing Calgary get into round two while the Oil didn't even make it into the playoffs is disheartening.

The last time I really cared about the playoffs was the last time the Habs won. Yup, that long. What was that, '93?

Last game I watched that I got excited about, the NHL game that followed the Heritage Classic here in Edmonton. The Oil won the old timers game, which was expected, seeing how it was so strongly stacked in their favor. Most of the boys on the Oil's team were either still playing, or just retired. The Habs was packed with boys in their 40's-60's.

But, the Habs won the game that counted, and it was nice cheering for them again, while my brother, an Oil fan, was threatening to toss me out in the snow bank. Traitor. He lives here for eight years and thinks he can turn his back on the Canadiens. tut-tut.

I lost interest when the Kings finished out of the playoffs. Again. My husband watches all the games, though.

I'm watching baseball right now, it tis thee season.
Go Braves!!!

chop chop

Ahhh, gone are the good old days when the Toronto Blue Jays were actually half-decent. With the Raptors going to seed, all we really have left is the Leafs and the Rock (I'm not going to even mention the Argos!)

Leafs in 7 !

Tonight, I went to an AHL (American Hockey League) game. I went to Game 3 of a best-of-seven series between the Chicago Wolves (my favorite hockey team) and the Milwaukee Admirals. The Wolves won to cut the series to a 2-1 deficit, but they didn't get any help from the refs. The Admirals players could've been mugging the Wolves, and the refs wouldn't call it. However, if a Wolves player breathed on an Admiral, automatic 2:00 in the sin bin. About halfway through the first period, we started the "ref, you suck" chant. The officiating was so horrible, the Wolves announced at the end of the game that anyone who was in attendance tonight will be let in to Monday night's game for free.

Here's a statement directly from the Wolves:

I just have two words to say about the Wolves' ownership: Total class.

This post has been edited by MDF3530 on 08-May-2004, 11:05 PM