NHL playoffs start now. It's the most wonderful time of year

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Well..tonight could be it for the NHL and Game 4 up here as gotten 0 attention. Since the Rags were eliminated the only talk you here of hockey on sports radio is during the updates that basically just tell you what time the game stars. The Devils need to pull off a miracle on ice type comback which has only been done once sixty years ago. Do I think it's gonna happen...no but if there's a team that can rattle 4 wins in a row againts the Kings, it be the Devils. What really gets me is that the difference of this series is really 2 (maybe 3 goals) The two most obvious is the OT Goal in Game 1 and the OT Goal and Game 2. If the Devils get either of those, it's a different series. The other one that sticks out is the first goal of Game 3. All year long those plays are blown dead because of intent to blow the whistle and I watched incredulously as LA was allowed to hack and hack and hack long after the puck was covered under Brodeur's pad until he was pushed out of the way and the puck slid into the net. The only thing blown there, was the call. Sure the Devils lost that game 4-0 but that first goal was a huge momentum shifter in that game and it shouldn't have been. The Devils have never lead in the series though and I thought that was a key during the Rags series, a key for game 3 and it's certainly key for tonight. If the Devils can get one tonight then they live to fight another day and you never know what could happen going the other way. I wached it in 2004 when the Yankees went up 3-0 and lost in 7. It wasn't that the Red Sox out played them, it was that from the 7th inning of Game 4 on, every single break went against NY. So it could happen, but the Devils gotta score and they gotta score first. Marty has done all he can but 2 goals in 3 games of the Stanley Cup Finals is not gonna get it done. LA laid an egg against Phoenix when they had a chance to shut the door in that series too and if it wasn't for some really terrible officiating, would have blown Game 5 so while the series looks all but over right now, that 4th win is sometimes the hardest to get.

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Phantom call on Clarkson was crap. 12 minutes left in the game and they call a penalty on him for creating a breeze.

I thought the pipe should have gotten the second star tonight. It blocked two key shots in the game.

Kovy got a goal. Empty net or not that's gotta be great for his confidence. He'll have tow days to heal up now and be ready for Game 5.

Who knows, maybe the Devils build off of this and make something of a series now. The Kings sure looked deflated at the end of the game. LA has gone up 3-0 four times this playoff run and laid an egg when they had a chance to sweep the series three times now. I hope this time it bites them in the rump. One game at a time...one game at a time.....

[MegoMark71]

Great hard hitting game tonight. The Clarkson call was a load of crap. Glad the devils didn't let it kill their drive. So happy we will have at least one more game.

[MegoMark71]

I need to post again cause i don't like that post count sitting there. So you owe it to yourself Sean to buy my Conan as a reward for the Devils winning.

[MegoMark71]

What an amazing game 5 tonight and the best one of the series so far. Jersey will have their work cup out for them on Monday as the Kings will come out on fire for sure on home ice.

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Kings showed some frustration and the Devils are playing with the houses money. There's no way LA thought they'd be in a Game 6 and hopefully their luck has run out. Brodeur was amazing again. Parise finally got one in too. Any time your down 0-3 and are playing in a Game 6 is commendable but the Devils have a chance to do something no one thought possible, force a Game 7 and if they're playing Wednesday night, you gotta like their chances. Right now they've got to win one game tomorrow night and worry about Wednesday on Wednesday. I think if your NJ right now, your feeling pretty good about things and if your the Kings, you're getting tense. Any one play can determine the series right now but a Game 7 in the Finals when NJ was down 0-3 would be epic. It would turn what everyone though was going to be a mediocre Finals into a historic event that would transcend sports. I think anyone not a fan of LA would want to see that. Go Devils!!!

[J.B.]

and if your the Kings, you're getting tense.

The Kings aren't tense; maybe a bit frustrated over that first Devil's goal.

I attended game 3 and witnessed the 4-0 beat-down. Rosie O'Donnell has a better chance of gracing the cover of Playboy than the Devils do of walking out of Staples with a win on Monday.
I do, however, give mad props to the Devils for winning back-to-back games after looking at 0-3 in the face.

In the end, we know where Lord Stanley's Cup is headed.

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I didn't see that game as a beat down. Sure they lost 4-0 but that game was close and tight and changed when Marty had the puck covered and the refs didn't blow the whistle and allowed the Kings to hack and hack and hack until Marty got pushed over and the puck went in for the first goal. The Devils as a whole even said that totally changed the game. Any time you're up 3-0 and let the other team win a game, it's not good. I've said this up top, I've watched the Devils drop a few games and go on a run and take 5, 6, 7 in a row. So why wouldn't they be able to do it now. They're not looking to win two games, they're looking to win one. The Devils are more than happy to fly back and forth while the Kings are wondering why they're still playing. There's an old saying in sports..you're never as good as you look when you're winning and you're never as bad as you look when you're losing.

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Oh hey..lets totally blow a penalty on Giontta, call one on Bernier (which if the Gionnta penalty was called WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED) and then give the Kings a 5 minute Power Play and spot them 2 goals. The Kings aren't gonna win the cup, they're gonna have it handed to them. Every play in hockey has a reaction to another play and as good as the playoffs have been, the refs have been terrible.

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I'm not even gonna watch the end. Great playoffs and the Devils played admirable after going down 3-0. There's a reason teams don't come back from that kind of deficit. It just feels like the wrong team won this series. I really wish one of the Devils just lays Brown out during the handshakes at the end. He may be the biggest goon in the NHL and I'd root against him where ever he plays. 2 OT goals and 2 horrendous calls decided the Finals this year. Not saying the Devils would have won tonight but if that penalty on Giontta gets called the whole game plays out differently. Just like in Game 3 where they allowed the Kings to score even though Marty had the puck good and covered.

It's funny because as a parent not only are you sad your team doesn't win the championship, you feel really bad for your crestfallen child who looks at these players as gods. The disappointment he feels is worse than knowing your team was so close but fell short by one game. He's been very lucky the last few years because the three teams we root for have all gone to the championship the Giants in '07 (which he does not remember cause he was 9 months old) the Yankees in '09, the Giants again in '12 and now the Devils going to Game 6 of the Finals this year. Hard to say either of these teams will be back next year since neither was supposed to be here but you never know. Maybe it's good in a way they lost this one because sometimes you gotta lose one before you can win one (just ask the '94 Devils about that) and the best championships come from the ones you're not supposed to win. Despite some really awful bad calls throughout, the playoffs were great this year. I guess it's a bit of a let down that the worst game was the last game. I'm sure the Kings don't feel that way but that cup should come with a bow on top of it since it was gift wrapped for them in the first period of Game 6. Now it's full attention to baseball and the next time hockey is on, it'll be time for the World Series.

[Jordiway]

Not a fan of either team but i love hockey and the refs ruined this game for me tonight.

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Not a fan of either team but i love hockey and the refs ruined this game for me tonight.

Well put. A few people I've talked to tonight that are "fringe fans" said the same thing to me already.

[MegoMark71]

Well i agree with you on most Sean. Not sure what would have happened in this game if Stoll gets called for the penalty. I know it was an incredible game before the non call. After the bernier call the entire game changed. I won't however take anything away from what the Kings did as a whole in these playoffs. I know it stings buddy. I'm not a big brown fan myself but he didn't do anything wrong that i saw in the cup series. He played hard but not cheap like he did so many times before. Still he is one that just gets under your skin. One thing as we close this hocket thread out. Yankees suck!!!! heh heh heh had to get that one in my friend. Of course this isn't the year for me to be talking smack as a Redsox fan.
I do know it sucks to get this close to winning the cup and then to watch it slip away. Devils had an incredible run and should be proud. I don't know many if not any that called the devils coming out of the east. Well anyone who isn't a devils fan that is. Kicked the hell out the Flyers and the Rangers at that. So drink a few and toast your boys as they should still be proud for coming back and never giving up.

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Your right that Brown didn't have any real cheap plays this round but after watching him play the entire playoffs, I just can't stand the guy. I hate him. How I really hate him. (Like if he were a Devil, I'd root for the team to win but him to do poorly.) The Kings did do something special but it would have been nice to see this go down to wire or have one of those great 1-0/2-1 games instead of a bad call changing the momentum and leaving a "what could have been" type of feeling over the game. In time that of course will get forgotten and all that will be remembered is the Kings were the 1st 8th seed to win the Cup and have a tremendous road record. I still say too much is made out if the seeding in the NHL. It isn't a big deal. Hockey is really the best sport where just getting in to the playoffs may sometimes leads to a championship. It could happen in baseball but not really, it almost never happens in the NHL and it never does happen in the NBA. I also think there's something to be said about the gauntlet the Devils had to go through to get here. 7 Games against Florida and then go up against their #2 rivalry in the Flyers only to go up against their #1 rivalry in the Rangers. I remember Joe Torre saying in '03 that they played their World Series against the Red Sox and just didn't have enough left in the tank to compete against the Marlins. Not saying that's entirely the case here but outside playing a disliked Coyotes team the Kings didn't road to the cup wasn't filed with hatred and adversity that the Devils, Flyers, and Rangers all have for one another.

I think I said in the early Spring that I did not understand any of the moves the Red Sox made this year. They sure don't look like a contender now either. The Yankees are playing their best ball of the year right now. I'm really looking forward to the Washington series in a few days. So go Yanks!!!

All in all this was a fun thread to keep going for the last few months and hockey will be missed.

And yes the Devils had a hell of a run and the team and their fans should be really proud of the year they had. I know I am.

[MegoMark71]

You just made me spit out my gatorade. man you really do hate Brown...lol And i do agree about the Devils run as well. The Flyers were riding high after beating the crap out of the penguins and jersey flat out punked them. Then having to face the evil Rangers in the conference finals and beating them 4-2 was awesome. So much better than a 4-3 series win cause 4-2 says to all the Rangers fans that run off at the mouth to just shut the **ck up. It really was an amazing run they had as well. It will hit me in a few days that it's all over for this season. I might have some stuff recorded that i can hook up the VCR and watch in mid July when im having hockey withdrawal