Archive for the 'Conference Semifinals' Category

04
May

What A Game!

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

I think we all have to look at Roberto Luongo and say WOW! He stopped a lot of pucks in this round, phenomenal performance in goal. Then look at the other end of the rink and say WOW again, because Giguere was no slouch himself. Very impressive on both ends and I hope that Vancouver will be smart and add some depth at both skating positions for next season, that would have really helped in this series.

Then we have to say thank you to Brad May, even though I still think he is an ass, he kept the puck in his skates setting up the entire play. He may not be the most gentlemanly hockey player, but you know he has the experience. Thornton, Shannon or Parros would not have been able to do what he did on that shift. I saw enough of him though, thank you for the one good shift, now please let that be all.

The 2nd line was awesome this entire game, they drove the Canucks defense crazy. On one shift they were even able to sustain pressure long enough to one-by-one change up. That is going to be a battle going to next round, who is going to want to go up against those guys?

Defense in this series was outstanding, especially from Anaheim, but you have to figure that would be the case anyway. It seems like the only time the Canucks got a sniff was when Pronger blew that one attempted chip along the boards in game 2 and when DiPenta and Huskins were on the ice. Randy Carlyle figured that out after the tieing goal and in overtime he split those two up and paired them with one of the other four. He should have his hands full in the next round trying to negotiate those situations.

The dueling Norris’ pretty much end up on the ice each minute of the game. It must be really nice to end a series in 5 games, because with each of them playing 30 minutes a game, they will have 5+ days between each series to rest, negating the fact that they play so much. Bad news for whoever comes to town next round.

Now that Anaheim is in the conference finals, the hockey media will HAVE to start talking about them. They love to ignore them even though the team is as good as it is. Southern California jealousy? Not a hockey market? Whatever, it may not be a hockey market, but we have a damn good hockey team in Orange County. Time to get to work, I will write some more later, but I will try to break down opponents for next round, giving them each a post. Enjoy the weekend, drink up, be merry, welcome to the Western Conference Finals!

PS: Sammy, good luck with the Selke, I am pulling for you. You deserve it and an even better contract then what you just signed!

03
May

Sleep Time

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks and Hockey

I am tired and will not really write too much right now, I will save that for tommorow. As I suspected, the Ducks played the best game of the series, though the goals didn’t seem to go in. 63 shots and only 2 goals, my hat is off to you Roberto Luongo. Too much, too often though. Excellent series that was a lot closer then the final count will let on, this was a great goaltender battle. Goes to show you what kind of respect Anaheim gets huh?

03
May

Give It A Rest

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Hockey and Pre-Game

My thought on tonight’s game is that the Ducks will come out and pound Vancouver like they did in game one. Why? To put a stamp on it and let the Canucks know exactly who the better team is. To let the next opponent know they are not really a weak team that can’t finish. To show themselves that if they want, they can run the table on anyone they see fit. From Ryan Getzlaf’s obvious cocky swagger, to Chris Pronger’s physical dominance, to the two goalies who can out duel anyone in the league. This team reminds me of how the Yankees think they are just the most badass team in the league. But they do it without making complete asses out of themselves, still preaching team play and 60 minutes.

Here is an honest question you should ask yourself, as long as you have seen a couple Ducks games this season. Can any team play its best 60 minutes and win if the Ducks also play their best 60 minutes? Top to bottom, I do not think it is possible.

Anaheim has three wonderful forward lines and a fourth that Randy Carlyle throws out when he is bored and wants his boys to go down a man, just for a PK refresh. Defense…Well, I think the Norris nominations sum that up. Pronger and Neidermayer have great complimentary wing men in O’Donnell and Beauchemin to boot. Kent Huskins and Joe DiPenta look shaky at times, I will admit that, but they don’t play enough to really hurt the outcome of a full game. Alain Vigneault is smart though, he tries to get his gunners out on the ice when Huskins and DiPenta are out, but that obviously isn’t winning them very many games.

When Vancouver steps on the ice tonight, it will be the last time they do so this season. Watch for a determined team that wants to get its star right winger a rest. A team that wants to get Ric Jackman and Todd Marchant back in to the lineup to add even more depth and make that fourth line worth a damn. Watch as this team comes together like they want to actually win this game. Look out Canucks, just ask the Minnesota Wild what happens on elimination day.

29
Apr

Game Day Gut Check

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Pre-Game

So which team is going to show up today? If the team that show up in game one comes to Vancouver, then we all know what can happen. You have to hope that Randy Carlyle will stress that to the team, then again the players in the locker room should be saying the same thing. Anaheim made one mistake that actually cost them in game two and it just happened to bbe Chris Pronger who made it. Luongo played his ass off as usual and kept his team in the series.

The one player who shines in every game, for me at least, is Ryan Getzlaf. This kid is simply a stud. He has an amazing slap shot, soft hands and a nasty edge to him. All of this while being a decent two way player. He sure can’t be blamed for not hustling and giving his all in every shift. Getlaf and his line mates need to be more of a factor in this series. They need to cycle like the Sedin’s in game 2 and use their size to dominate, so I guess that is two of the same thing huh?

But honestly, the only thing that needs to change for the first game in Vancouver is the power play. They peppered Luongo in game 2 and they need to continue that. Vancouver looks to be losing even more defensemen and they have called up a player. Lets see if Vancouver can be lucky again and somehow squeek out another win, reality says that they were plain lucky.

Nothing has to be said by anyone, you know the players know that they have to play better. Typical Ducks fashion, they took a day off after thinking the team they were facing was not a worthy opponent. Look for the Ducks to pound on the Canucks even more, because they didn’t last game. This is the kind of thing a team looks for to get itself motivated, lets hope that Vancouver stirred something up.

A little end note here. I was at the game on Friday and it was worth the price, except that whole loss thing. My favorite part of the whole night was seeing Garrett Burnett in attendance. If you don’t know who Garrett Burnett is, he was the Ducks enforcer for the 2003-04 season. On December 26th, 2006 he was assaulted outside a bar and was left in a coma after serious head trauma. The fact that the Anaheim crowd knew who he was before they even flashed his name made me smile a little.

26
Apr

The Face Says It All

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews and Hockey

I think the Vancouver Canucks have started something they might not want to finish. Now I know that Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo were not in the game last night, but come on, I don’t think that would have mattered one bit. The Ducks looked absolutely awesome from the second period on. I was unable to watch the first period because my DVR didn’t record Versus and not KDOC, so that ruined me skipping commercials and intermissions. But the last two periods were some great hockey if you are a Ducks fan.

Vigneault’s decision to pull Luongo didn’t do much except let Andy McDonald get his first hat trick on a soft third goal. I am sure it was more mental than anything, but you know it didn’t help his teammates, because Luongo is the Canucks silver bullet. He played damn good too, but you can’t just let people around the net like the Canucks did.

There isn’t really much to analyse about this game, it was very tilted. I hope that Vancouver can get all of its players back so no one has to listen to the argument of Vancouver missing key guys here and there.

Something that made me laugh today was an interview that Scott Burnside did for ESPN where he said that if the series could be over in three games,  it would be. Sad, but true. Maybe I can find something stupid to post about later in the day, but I get the feeling that this series is going to be boring and that no one will care until the Ducks play the Sharks in the conference finals.

24
Apr

I Don’t Think We Need the Extra Point

By Daniel 2 Comments
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Hockey and Pre-Game

Basically that means I pick the Ducks in 6. I see two wins for Anaheim at home and split on the first two  road games. Vancouver takes game 5 and the Ducks finish off the amped but worn out Canucks at GM Place. Hot goalie or not, Vancouver is going to go up against some decent depth when they step on the ice this series. I do not have any fancy numbers to throw out, this isn’t Moneyball and it sure as hell isn’t baseball. When Jonathan Cheechoo obviously hurt his knee but somehow pulled it together to play the rest of the series, throw the numbers out of the window. Expect nothing less when the Ducks and Canucks collide tomorrow night.

“They’re a little grittier than most teams,” Ducks left wing Chris Kunitz said. “They want to get in your face. They want to make sure that you’re going to feel it every time. They’re not going to miss any checks. It’s going to be a rough series.”

Kind of like the Flames, but not as physical. The only thing I can recall from the last time these two teams met was when Dustin Penner pushed Tommi Santala in to the boards and Kevin Bieksa jumped Penner from behind. That happened in the first period and it created a nice hive of nastiness for the rest of the game. There is no reason to suspect this series wont be the same way, except that Vancouver might become a bit worn down after the first few games. The Canucks are a proud team with a equally proud proud fan base behind it, which should give them more energy when they need it.

The keys to this series will be how well Anaheim can control themselves when it comes to retaliation. Vancouver is looking for an edge and it wont be to try to match speed, physical play or even goaltending.

The goaltending edge has goes to Anaheim, not because Giguere or Bryzgalov are better goalies. Anaheim gets the edge because they have two goalies who can play equal to Luongo, Dany Sabourin will not play unless its a blowout or Luongo gets hurt, Roberto will play every game even if he looses 50-0 in each of them.

From what I watched in the Dallas series, Vancouver is a tough team down low. They like to cycle and they like to posses the puck to get the shots they want. So speed is not a factor for Anaheim to watch out for, but they have to play strong in their own end. Huskins and DiPenta have to be physical and not take obstruction calls or let their man walk to the net and if one does squeeze by, he needs to be dealt with accordingly to know it’s going to cost you to score like that.

So how do I think the Canucks have a chance? To agitate the agitator. Get in the Ducks players face, draw a penalty, take a key player off the ice for 2 or 5 minutes. The Ducks take a whole lot of penalties and seem to have this swagger that they can kill off anything or get the goal back if they wanted to. While I think they are right, Vancouver has to do that to get a sniff and I am betting they will. If the Canucks can get a goal or two on the power play, every game, then it might be a series.

Ducks in 6

EDIT: According to this article, John Bucigross reads my blog and doesn’t give credit. He picked the same order of wins and loses as I did for the Ducks to close this series out. While credit is being wished upon, I stole that banner from TSN, haha.

20
Apr

Wild Wild West

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Videos

Yea, that title sucks. Congratulations to the Ducks for moving on. Those predictions from people claiming MIN was going to drag this on were from people giving too much respect to the Wild and not enough to Anaheim. I bet they will pick better next round, because it’s going to be more of the same. I wouldn’t really know though, because I didn’t see last nights game. It wasn’t televised where I live, very disappointing. But after browsing some of the online hockey channels this morning, I saw that Snoop Dogg was on during one of the intermission guests. That means that I will probably not watch hockey next season, thanks Snoop.

Looking ahead, I believe Vancouver looks like the most likely opponent. Luongo has looked shaky, that’s no good for Vancouver. My thought on Dallas has been that they got Norstrom to have a small chance to do something in the playoffs this year. Turco is a great goalie and this isn’t his fault, his team just can not score goals to support him. You figure Norstrom has to be good for at least one less goal for the opposing team, better odds. But to let a Vancouver team that isn’t that good hang in with them, it shows you how not good both teams are when it comes to playoff hockey. Dallas is too old and Vancouver is too thin on the blue line and depends on goals from key players.

When the shut down line does just that to the Sedin’s, can Naslund pick up the slack? Can he also worry about the line of Getzlaf, Perry and Penner if he is matched against them? You have to stack quick, big defensemen against that line and have a responsible center helping out. Maybe they have that, maybe they don’t, I haven’t watched much Canucks hockey this season. Anywho, if you think that Vancouver has more depth then Anaheim, then the drugs are strong within you.

Calgary matches up great against the Ducks, that would be a killer series. I can not think of any goalie who moves like Mikka Kiprusoff and he seems to play very well against the Ducks. Plus Calgary plays a very gritty style of hockey, those are the best games, when they are down right nasty. Nothing over the top like running players, but tight checking and small scrums in front of the net. Damn I love hockey, I can not wait until the next round starts.

In case anyone wants to see the Game 5 pre-game scrum AND the Brad May KO, here you go. Brad, you are still a dick…

 

19
Apr

The Jello Is Jigglin’

By Daniel Closed
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Hockey and Pre-Game

This should be the final time we see Minnesota in the playoffs, because I said Ducks in 5 before the series started and I want to be right. Anaheim should come out ready to play though, no reason not to. It should work in their advantage to have gone 5 games, just to stay a little more fresh for whoever is next. Tonight’s game should be a fun one to watch, very physical from both teams perspective. The Wild should follow the trend of game 4 and play that style to try and knock the Ducks around and piss them off. But be careful, don’t make them pound you back and get them in the game more then they will be.

My favorite piece of news in between games, Brad May was suspended. Not nearly as long as he should have been in my opinion, but suspended none-the-less.

According to a source, May missed practice Wednesday to have his right hand checked for a possible injury. Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle would only confirm that May visited a doctor.

 

A psychologist? You stupid douche, you are lucky to only get three and I bet you know that. I am trying to think of a Ducks player that I have disliked more, Oleg Tverdovsky and Peter Sykora come to mind, but not anywhere close to Brad May.

That just means that Parros will likely be in the lineup at home where everyone loves the big man.

18
Apr

Brad May - Hired Thug

By Daniel 1 Comment
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Game Reviews, Hockey and Players

Besides the team collapsing at the end, the game was pretty even. The Ducks were out shot, but I wouldn’t really say out chanced. I also hope that Carlyle doesn’t strip Bryzgalov of his starting role by the actions of the third period. I am a big Giguere fan and will be sad if and when he leaves next season, but I don’t think you can blame the goalie in this game, he deserves to start in game 5. Even J.S. thinks Ilya had a good game.

“If I’m called upon, yeah, I’m going to have to be (game ready), I thought Bryz gave us a chance to win, so we’ll see.” - Jean Sebastian Giguere - O.C. Register

After the goals went in though, it was quite a scene. I guess it started with Kent Huskins and Adam Hall fighting in the defensive zone. Maybe Huskins thought Hall took an extra run, maybe Huskins wanted to get his hands dirty, whatever. That is no problem at all, hell, I don’t even mind that Shawn Thornton jumped in. You could see by the way Thornton went in that he wasn’t going to pound on Hall, he just didn’t want Huskins to be in that fight. Suspensions could go both ways I guess, but I honestly do not think Thornton was going to do anything but protect Huskins.

“Obviously, there was something going on,” May said. “I didn’t even know. I was in the offensive zone. I came back and, of course, when that happens, you pick somebody that’s coming into the pile. That’s the way it is. After that, I have no comment.”

Obviously you are an asshole. What the fuck dude, get a clue. I have seen a few instances since his arrival that he is a prick, another one where he tried to sucker punch Dion Phaneuf. So he drops Kim Johnsson because he was going in to the pile to help out his teammate? Now Johnsson has some kind of head injury that required a hospital visit. What a goon, you are almost as bad as Boogard and that is pretty bad. I hope you are suspended for a couple games and then Carlyle benches your ass. This team plays tough, I do not think they play dirty and you are a dirty hockey player. I wish you were on the ice still when the fans called for the Boogie Man, I would have loved to see him pound your face in.

17
Apr

Sure I Could Stay Home On Sunday’s

By Daniel 1 Comment
Categories: 07 Playoffs, Conference Semifinals, Ducks, Injuries, Pre-Game and Videos

It is 8:30 in the morning and I already dread being at work, like I do every day though, so it is no different from yesterday. I will watch the clock all day, counting down until I can leave to watch the game tonight. Let’s go ahead and call this game a warning to all those who will come after.

I want to see San Jose beat the Predators because I think that would be an awesome series. If Anaheim came out of that with a win, you could sign them up for the finals, because they would be hyped up after beating a team as good as San Jose. I would like to see Nashville win because I would love to stomp Paul Kariya on the way to the title. I also think it would be cool to see Peter Forsberg in town a few times and Pahlsson going at it with his fellow countryman.

Apparently Francois Beauchemin had a decent slice added to his chin that required a lot of stiches. Unless he is going to gear up in one of those motorcyle-like jaw shields, I would think he sits tonights game out. Maybe Aaron Rome make his playoff debut or Ric Jackman can be healthy enough to play 10 minutes. Then again, Beauchemin is pretty tough. I would hate to see someone touch his chin with a face wash and then get their ass handed to them from the rest of the team.

I leave you with a skit from Steve Carol about being a dedicated goalie, my friend sent it to me this morning. Everyone should work in IT, it really is lax job, haha.

« Previous Entries