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

[MegoMark71]

Some of my reasons as well Sean. I actually like both teams. But before the playoffs started i told my best friend i would love the Kings to come out of the west. And they sure have been great. Lots of bad blood between the Kings and Coyotes. I really like Whitney and the Yotes coach but i had to take the Kings in 6. Game one has been a great game so far. Kings up by one right now but it has gone back and forth all game.
Someone did forget to remind the Coyotes though that when doing a white out, make sure the other team doesn't wear white.

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Someone did forget to remind the Coyotes though that when doing a white out, make sure the other team doesn't wear white.

I said that before when they did that against Nashville. It looks like everyone there is rooting for the Kings. Also those shirts are rediculoulsy big on most everyone and it's like a cult showed up for the game. I don't see why they didn't give out Maroon shirts which is you know, the color of the team. It's like if MSG handed out red shirts to all the fans entering the Garden tomorrow. Everyone would look like Devil fans in the crowd.

Anyway I was singing the praises of Quick last night but he was out goalied by Mike Smith. I know Smith gave up 3 but Quick didn't look ready at the start. He better get some glue on his hands cause he drops his stick A LOT! Last series he did the same thing a bunch of time too. Both goals he gave up were on him. He let one by him from center ice and the other one was a bad play he made on the puck that lead to a score. The end of the game Quick showed up and played great but LA won this game because their forwards were relentless from the first face off right to the end and they bated Phoenix into some stupid penalties. LA looks dangerous. 6-0 on the road and only 1 loss so far in the playoffs.

[MegoMark71]

The Kings attack tonight was relentless. I do agree with you on the goalies as well. Smith was the better goalie as he was more poised in net. But the Kings just keep coming and coming and like the announcers even said. They force penalties and mistakes. The Coyotes played well and it might go 7. It did get heated already as they both do not like the other already from the regular season.

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First period tonight was good. All day I heard how this was going to be a beat em up series with a lot of fights. I told everyone they were nuts on that. That's just not how Playoff Hockey is done. Then I heard all about too much rest for the Devils and they'll be rusty. The Rangers are coming off the Game 7 win and are gonna carry that momentum. Seems like everyone is picking the Rags to win too. A few guys today even said NJ is the easiest team they'll have to beat all playoffs. I really want the Devils to win to shut these people up. All things considered I though the 1st period was pretty equal both ways. These game are totally unenjoyable to watch though. Can't eat. Can't sit back. I'm on the edge of the seat as soon as the puck drops and I'm holding my breath on every play and when somethings about to happen I find myself standing up ever so slightly. Also the yelling. There's so much yelling at the TV. I wish the Devils would put a few in the net so I can relax a bit because the longer this goes on, the worse it gets. I can't stand the Rangers Oh O Oh O Oh goal song either and it's something I don't want to hear for the rest of the year.

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Wow..Coming from a Yankees fan, I think I actually hate the Rangers more than the Red Sox. Girardi is maybe the biggest scrub on the ice, he's literally stinking up the rink tonight and he scores the go ahead goal. On top of that another missed call against the Devils when Del Zotto totally man handles the puck, a clear penalty, but the refs somehow miss it and it leads to the second score. Rangers seemed out played for most of the night and they end up with the win. Only solace here is this is exactly how Game 1 in Philly went.

[MegoMark71]

Wow bud i think i watched a different game. I saw the Rangers lundqvist play another outstanding game and the Rangers need a ton of icebags as they blocked a ton of shots tonight. I did not see missed calls, i thought the refs called it down the middle tonight and let things go on both sides of the ice. Makes me sick the Rangers won this game and i hope the Devils can bounce back for game 2. And i might hate the Rangers as much as you do but perhaps your heart saw the game differently tonight my friend. the 3-0 score is not a reflection of how the game went i will give you that. Your boys played a great game with a high level of intensity. Freakin Rangers just blocked everything and what they didn't lundqvist did. I was pulling for them. At least i'm not up there where you are as i might be punching every Rangers fan who has already given themselves the cup this year.

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Just the one missed call tonight but it was freakin huge. Del Zotto fell on his butt behind the net and he palmed the puck and pushed it away from him. Total penalty and no call. The Rangers went right down the ice and scored. If that gets called , the Rangers don't score their 2nd and the Devils go up on the Power Play and the last 15 minutes of the game are different. Also Girardi is a liability out there for the Rangers and he scored cause he came off the bench on a shift change and the Devils didn't see him. I thought the 1st Period was a wash with maybe the edge going to NJ, the 2nd period was all NJ, and the Rags scored a minute into the start of the 3rd and the Devils lost any chance of coming back when there wasn't a call on the Del Zotto puck grab. Yeah they shot blocked but that what they do. Hopefully that'll catch up to them sooner than later. I also wonder if Boulton and JAnnsen will dress tomorrow. Those guys haven't seen any ice time yet but if DeBoer wants to mix it up and start something those are the two he'll send out along with Carter who has played. If you see them in the lineup for game 2, they're in there to do one thing...Brawl and give the Rangers more than just bruises from the puck.

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If you asked me who was going to win it all this year, I'd have to say the Kings the way they're playing.

The way Shanahan has been handing out suspensions there should be an investigation if Mike Smith doesn't get at least a game for the whack to the back of Brown's leg. Phoenix is done for sure when that happens and they might not even get a game on LA.

[samurainoir]

Oddly quiet around my household. With no Canadian teams in the playoffs, my lovely spouse isn't trolling sports bars looking to pick fights this year, and is focusing on the upcoming season of opera and symphony instead.

[MegoMark71]

Not sure i agree with you on Smith getting a game. What he did was pretty rough, but not a game suspension. The part i did find inexcusable was the bullcrap refs giving Smith 2 minutes for embellishing. He got wacked hard, not sure how the refs saw anything differently there. As far a Shanny goes, they need to find someone who knows what they are doing and fire him right away. Maybe they could also define the rules a bit more as to what infractions get as far as games go. So far it has been pathetic who gets what all the while another player doesn't get a thing.
I have loved watching the Kings play. By far the hottest team going and possibly unstoppable. 8-0 on the road and zero power play goals given up. Two amazing stats. Going to be real tough for the Coyotes heading to LA for the next 2 games.
Game 2 tonight Sean, lets go Devils. I find myself waiting 30-40 minutes now before watching so i can fast forward past the annoying commercials.

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Devils are saying all the right things. Larry Robinson was ticked off the way the Rangers acted after game one as I'm sure all of the Devils were. Not that they need motivation but you never now. The garbage rag of a news paper, The Post, ran half of a Brodeur quote from the other day too which made it sound like he wanted his team to hit the Rangers in the head. I like the line changes DeBoer made in practice yesterday too. For most of the year Kovy and Parise have been on the same line but when Zajac came back from his injury, he shuffled the lines around and split Illya and Zach up . I always thought Kovy and Parise compliment each other well and are one of the deadliest combos in the NHL when skating on the same line so if he goes with the lines he went with in practice, they'll be on the ice together for more than just the Power Play. Also Larrson is most likely going to be out for Harrold instead. Not because Larrson has played bad but because Harrold has a different skill set so he wants to give his defense a different look and cycle the puck better. I like his reasonings and the Devils believe they can win tonight (and the series) so why shouldn't I. They've got a great coaching staff and they know what they're doing. Again, when you open a series on the road, your goal is to try to split the two away games and come home even. If they can do that and bring it back to the Rock tied 1-1, they're in good shape for what becomes a best of 5 series.

As for the Smith hit...What I meant was if Giroux got a game on the Zubris hit (and I didn't think he should considering his past history but they explained it happened because of intent) than Shanny should give Smith a game for a deliberate whack to the back of the leg. If he doesn't I'd love to hear the explanation.

[MegoMark71]

Ok i can see that. I just can't stand Shanahan. I hated him as a whiny crybaby player and he is even worse as head of discipline. He has no set of rules as to what is what as far as games suspended and for the reasons. The Giroux suspension was an absolute joke. The guy has been in the NHL 4 years and never once committed an action that required a second look by the league. And you have that tool ovenchicken not even get a darn thing and he leaves his feet and was way worse than Giroux and has a bad history of being a head hunter. It's almost like Shanahan does what he wants to players he doesn't like. I know i'm speaking exactly how you feel Sean. If Shanny wants consistency than yeah i agree Smith should get a game for the Brown hit. And i just realized i said Smith above, i meant Brown should not have gotten 2 minutes for embellishing. You knew who i meant though. I as well would love to hear what Shanny has to say if he doesn't give Smith a game. And the fact that he is a goalie shouldn't matter. Hell it makes it worse since his stick is half an oak in size.
I think the Devils are going to come out tonight on fire. I think Parise is one of the best american born players on the ice today. The Rangers need to be knocked down a few pegs. The Capitals almost did it but they had to play the Rangers and the refs in that series. I think Jersey needs to do exactly what they did in game one. Keep firing that puck. And Brodeur needs to be amazing, not saying he was bad, but now is where goalies step up and win games. He certainly knows how to do it. I am so happy i live down here and i don't have all the media that you have to listen to up there. Still my most hated person in the NHL is the Rangers piece of trash coach, followed by Lindy Ruff of Buffalo. I have hated Tortelini as i call him since his start in the league. I see his face and i want to go all Hulk on him. I need to calm down as just thinking about him raises my blood pressure.

[MegoMark71]

Now that was an awesome game. Wow, we have a series now bud. Like you said, all the Devils wanted was a split before heading home.

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Another nail bitter. I thought the Devils got rooked on the 1st penalty call but i thought for sure they were gonna call Ponikarovsky when he crashed into Lunqvist.

If the Devils can play with that level of intensity, they've got a good chance. I've got two days of nervous Rags fans now so maybe they'll Shut The @#$% Up for a while. The Devils have outplayed the Rangers 5 out of 6 periods and you could tell Torts knows it. Can't wait to hear his press conference tonight. He benched Gaborik for not laying out on the Carter goal, which I couldn't believe.

Now that it's the 3rd round hockey gets a lot of attention but since all the radio stations broadcast out of NY, 100% of the talk is about the Rangers. The only time NJ has gotten a mentioned was today when they talked about what Brodeur said that was misquoted in the Post and how "dirty" the Devils would be if they try to aim their shots at the Rangers ankles and heads when NY is blocking shots.

Tonight the Devils showed they weren't going to roll over and played with a lot of heart. I love the way Clarkson plays. He's such a nuisance out there he can really get under other players skin. I'll be wearing his jersey tomorrow for sure. Everyone up here keeps singing the praises of Kreider (baby) but Henrique is the best rookie in this series and he showed it tonight but nothing gets mentioned about him up here. Tomorrow all the talk will be about how the Rangers lost and what they did wrong when what really made the difference is the adjustments NJ made. Switching the lines. Holding onto to shots a tick longer and playing strong physical hockey. Great job with the penalty door too MSG. All that money into the restoration and the door doesn't work.

At least I'll enjoy the next two days but one other thing that really bothers me. I guess I can see not having a game on Friday night because they want to give both teams two days off but Game 3 is a 1:00 game!? Really NHL? The sport has enough trouble getting attention and they scedule a game 3 between the Devils & Rangers at 1 pm on a Saturday. Unless you're a die hard or are going to the game, the casual fan is not going to waste a Saturday indoors (it's supposed to be 76 and gorgeous out) watching a game they have a mild interest in. Talk about hurting your sport. I can't believe someone at the Front Office gave the o.k. to that. This late in the playoffs EVERY GAME should be in prime time. I can't be the only fan bothered by this either. That game should be, without question, 8:00 on Saturday night.

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Number of things, Stan. I'll keep it in the room.
No, No
No
I answered your first question. No
You need to improve as a hockey team every game.
I'm gonna keep it in the room, Stan.

Torts press conference answers after the loss. Class act.
HOW DOES THE NHL ALLOW THIS TO GO ON???