NHL Play Off Prediction thread

[warriorsfan]

With Datsyuk back in Detroit's lineup, it's going to be a whole new game in Pittsburgh.

Although I would like to see Detroit win the cup in front of a home crowd.

If Crosby wants to hoist the Stanley Cup, he should get himself traded to Detroit for next season.

 

[scottydog]

I hope it goes to game 7, too. The Pens definitely have to step it up a notch or two to compete with a great team like Detroit. I'm hoping they can rise to the occasion.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Anyone else's heart survive that? Scuderi and Fleury's six or so saves during that battle in the crease at the end was the highlight of these playoffs for any team.

 

[James Bond]

Holy bloody hell what a finish.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Almost forgot-- Happy 25th Anniversary with the Penguins, Mario! Your boys certainly made it a good one!

You can argue to the end of days about who was the best hockey player, but few could argue that Lemieux has done more for his team than any man in the history of the NHL. We owe these two Cup runs to his faith in keeping the Pens in the 'Burgh!

Merci, Le Magnifique!

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Agreed.

I would still love to see Pittsburgh win the Cup, but prior to the drop of the puck tonight, I was hoping for a 1-0 Detroit win which would have put me in the money in my playoff pool.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

It was a good game for Pittsburgh tonight (game 6). The Pens kept the Wings ineffective for the first two periods, although Detroit held their own in the last 15 minutes or so to keep it close.

In fact, I think the Penguins were better through the first 45 minutes of this game than they were in game 4 -- although Osgood was better also. Thank goodness for the Red Wings' sake that Osgood brought his A-game with him. It was simply a good high-energy win by Pittsburgh.

Bring on game 7.

 

[scottydog]

I'm so happy we have a Game Seven! I just wish it was on neutral ice. It will be ridiculously tough beating Detroit at the Joe, and to do so will require every Penguin to play a career game. It can be done, but it will take a heroic effort.

Oh, and yes, HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY to Mario Lemieux, the second-best hockey player of all-time.

 

[Garak]

Man, I can't wait for this game. This is what hockey is all about, game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

I hope it isn't a blow out though and goes right down to the wire. Overtime, while heart attack inducing, would be pretty awesome.

Any predictions? I'm going to say 3-2 Penguins.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

^
^^Overtime??! Holy crap! You are a masochist, aren't you.

The hockey fan in me would love OT in game 7, but the Penguins fan in me wants a 5-1 blowout (in the Pens' favor, of course). I just don't think that my heart can handle OT -- especially after the final 2 minutes and 37 seconds of the past Super Bowl. That was only 4 short months ago; I haven't recovered yet.

Hell, I still have a tough time watching that clip from 2005 of the Steelers' Jerome Bettis fumbling on the goal line in that playoff game against Indianapolis, even though I know that the Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl that season. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll be watching a video of that play and that guy from Indy who recovered the fumble (Nick Harper, I believe) is going to keep on running and not get tackled.

--------------------------------------------------------------

...But I digress...back on topic:

The only way I want to see OT is if someone can guarantee to me beforehand that the Pens will win.

Prediction time:
Being a Penguins fan, I have to go with my team -- so I'll say 5-3 Pens. I think the game will be relatively high-scoring. It will go down to the wire with the Pen's holding a 4-3 lead late into the third, but then getting a very late empty-net goal.

If they DO go into overtime, it would be great to see someone besides the usual suspects (Crosby or Malkin) score the cup-winning goal. Perhaps Max Talbot; he's always been one of my favorites ever since his minor-league days playing for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

 

[BigFoot]

3-2 Pens, with Staal scoring the game-winner.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I'm hoping for a Red Wings victory. Luckily I hate both teams, so I'm OK with it going into overtime, it makes things more exciting. But a Pens win would definitely suck.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Voting for the Pens is probably the longshot, so I'll just go hog-wild here-- Pens win 8-0, again. Marc-Andre Fleury scores the game-winning goal, and Brooks Orpik tallies 155 body checks... all on Marian Hossa. Natalia Malkin's legendary borscht wins the Conn Smythe.

Then the Pirates sweep the World Series for a Pittsburgh trifecta.


On second thought...
Pens 2 - Wings 1. This series has a habit of repeating scores from the previous game.

The Conn Smythe will go to Fleury if the Pens win, and Osgood if the Wings win.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

For Fleury to score the game winning goal, he would have to score the first goal in that scenario, no?

 

[AdmiralGarak]

For Fleury to score the game winning goal, he would have to score the first goal in that scenario, no?

So? For such a ridiculous scenario, is it any more plausible whether he scored 1st or 8th? Maybe the Wings put it in their own empty net on a delayed penalty, and MAF was the last to touch it. That's how it usually happens.

Given I gave the Conn Smythe to soup, I find it odd that you latched onto a goaltender goal as the the most unlikely element of that scenario.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

For Fleury to score the game winning goal, he would have to score the first goal in that scenario, no?

That's easy -- Fleury shoots the puck down the ice during Detroit's first defensive line change of the game. The puck travels all the way down to Detroit's goal and -- right before getting to Osgood -- it hits a rut in the ice an hops up over Osgood's pads.

...Maybe the Wings put it in their own empty net on a delayed penalty, and MAF was the last to touch it. That's how it usually happens...

Wouldn't they blow the whistle as soon as Fleury touched it? On a delayed penalty, if the team guilty of the penalty knocks the puck in too quickly before the ref has a chance to blow the whistle (say the player is right in front of the net) then the goal is disallowed. However, I have heard of "own goals" on delayed penalties with the net empty.

I suppose there is one delayed-penalty scenario that would work...I could see if MAF shot the puck, then the penalty occurred, then they pulled Osgood before realizing the puck was headed toward the goal.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Wouldn't they blow the whistle as soon as Fleury touched it? On a delayed penalty, if the team guilty of the penalty knocks the puck in too quickly before the ref has a chance to blow the whistle (say the player is right in front of the net) then the goal is disallowed. However, I have heard of "own goals" on delayed penalties with the net empty.

I suppose there is one delayed-penalty scenario that would work...I could see if MAF shot the puck, then the penalty occurred, then they pulled Osgood before realizing the puck was headed toward the goal.

I mean:
The goaltender was the last member of his team to touch the puck before the penalty, but at the time of the delayed penalty the other team has the puck. The opposing team then accidentally puts it in their own empty net. Since the goalie was the last to touch the puck on his team, he gets credit. That's how it typically happens.

I don't know that any goaltender in the NHL has ever scored a goal when his opposite number was in the goal. I suppose it would most likely happen on the PK, when he doesn't have to worry about icing. maybe a 4-3, so there's more open space to fire through. For it to work, the puck would probably take a weird bounce off of a chunk of ice or a broken stick. A pretty out-there scenario at any rate.

Of course, Fleury's rival is one of the handful that has scored the more fun way-- waiting for the opposing team to pull their goalie at the end of the 3rd, and rifling it into the empty net. I was at a game earlier this season where MAF tried for the empty netter with a 2 goal lead, but it went about a foot wide.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I mean:
The goaltender was the last member of his team to touch the puck before the penalty, but at the time of the delayed penalty the other team has the puck. The opposing team then accidentally puts it in their own empty net. Since the goalie was the last to touch the puck on his team, he gets credit. That's how it typically happens....

Ah, I see.

That's sort of like what happened to Nick Wallin for Carolina a few years ago when he shot the puck back to his empty net on the delayed penalty, either not knowing his net was empty or thought another defenseman was back there...or perhaps just mishandled the puck.

In that case, I think the opposing team's (The Capitals) goalie was the last opposing player to touch the puck, but forward Dainius Zubrus got the goal for being the closest to Wallin when Wallin shot the puck into his own net -- the logic being that Zubrus played some part in forcing Wallin to shoot (which was true -- he probably was the reason Wallin shot the puck).

In that particular play, Zubrus got credit for the goal even though the goalie -- not Zubrus -- was the last player to touch the puck...at least I think that's why Zubrus got credit for that goal instead of the Cap's goalie.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

From Wikipedia--

Chris Mason accomplished this feat most recently in 2006, when he was credited with a goal after he was the last player on his team to touch the puck before his opponents inadvertently put the puck into their own net.

Billy Smith, in the 1979–80 season, was the first goaltender to be credited with a goal; he was the last player to touch the puck before an opposing player put the puck into his own empty net.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

And, of course, Ron Hextall is the only goalie to have two goals, because he's that awesome.

EDIT: Apparently Brodeur has done it too, stupid copycatting bastard

EDIT Again: Actually, he only scored one, the other was the own team scoring against themselves (and credited to him).