Sydney Crosby for the penguins has got to be the worst player ever in the history of the NHL. He really bugs me alot. And the GIRLY name doesn't help.

I'm really not sure if I should take this seriously or not....

Crosby is one of the best players in the entire NHL right now. And he will be an elite player for most of his career unless he gets a bad injury.

Why don't you like him?

And if you want players that are annoying try Steve Ott, Jarko Ruutu, Sean Avery or Clutterbuck. Those guys are annoying.

You are seriuosly under my skin do you know that? Crosby sucks @$$
Ima FLYERS FAN AND ILL DIE THAT WAY

OH NO!

I'd better look out.

Dont' worry, I'm not a Penguins fan or anything. I just recognize a good player when he's a good player.

LET'S GO FLYERS!!!

crosby is a good player, but in all honesty he's a b****. he's annoying and can't take hits. I wouldn't call him elite though, he isn't that good

that's the same sort of thing people said about Gretzky when he was playing. He couldn't take the punishment.... but he still managed to get a couple thousand points .

Okay, and let's look at his stats for a second...

Games Played: 287
Points: 393
Points per Game: 1.37
Career +/-: 33

he also was a huge part of the cup run that the Penguins had last year in his third year in the league. Maybe he hasn't been around long enough to be called "elite" but he's easily one of the best players in the league right now. Top 10 easily.

Personally, I am a Penguins fan and I don't care. I think that you are being unreasonable and saying bad things about a good player just because he is on a rival team and you should be ashamed of yourself for that. I am not involved enough yet to have favorite players or really know the names of a whole lot of them. I live on the west coast though, so it is easy to see how that can happen.

It's kinda why I am still leary about hockey. Love the game, hate the fans.

Also, Sydney is a neutral name as far as I know.

For the record, I would just like to say that the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings both suck this season. Go Sharks!

Sharks have a very good chance of making it to the finals this year. Just hope that Joe doesn't choke -again- in the playoffs. Although even if he does hopefully the team around him is good enough to make up for it this year.

I just want a team to win the cup that isn't in one of the bottom states in the US.

Why?

And last year it was Detroit, they're northern. Heh heh, technically if the Sharks get it then a bottom state wins... but only technically, since they are from the northern part of the state.

I want to see a Penguins vs Sharks game, but I don't know who I would root for.

Sharks vs PENGUINS? Not a chance, the Pens aren't that good...and the Flyers will crush them in the first round. Most likely, it will be Devils vs Sharks or Red Wings. Boston can't rely on their goalie to win every game and the Caps only have Ovechkin (even though that means a lot). The devils have one of the best goalies of all time, great defense and a very good offense. I hate them, but they're probably the best team in the East

Originally posted by Elara

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Personally, I am a Penguins fan and I don't care. I think that you are being unreasonable and saying bad things about a good player just because he is on a rival team and you should be ashamed of yourself for that. I am not involved enough yet to have favorite players or really know the names of a whole lot of them. I live on the west coast though, so it is easy to see how that can happen.

It's kinda why I am still leary about hockey. Love the game, hate the fans.

For the record, I would just like to say that the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings both suck this season.

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I agree. My husband is a big hockey fan and I've only just started getting into it. I went to a Kings vs Red Wings game in January and the Red Wings kicked the crap outta the Kings. It was pretty bad ass. One of my favorite players is Niklas Kronwall. I don't have any issues with Crosby though.

If I remember correctly, Penguins made it to the finals last year. In fact, the first NHL game I watched was Penguins vs Flyers during the playoffs and Penguins won. Perhaps that is a source of your bitterness? Rivalry is all well and good but you don't have to act so antagonistically. I'm still sad that Red Wings beat the Penguins last year but you don't see me going around talking bad about the team. Red Wings have a good team, just as the Penguins do, just as the Flyers do.

As far as standings look right now though it seems it will be San Jose against Boston as long as positions don't change.

standings don't mean a lot in the playoffs though. There have been plenty if 6th or 7th place seeds in the finals over the last few years.


I think the penguins are good enough if the keep playing like they have been. They went from 11th or 12th into 4th/5th (depending on how the flyers do today). I think they could do it.

Washington has more than just Ovechkin to help them win the cup. They wouldn't have won their division just riding his success. Still I don't think they're good enough to win the cup.

Boston could go all the way.

Flyers won't make it. They are another pretty good team but they just aren't good enough to get all the way.

Honestly, most of the series will be pretty good. I do love the Boston Montreal switch that happened this year. Boston is first and Montreal is 8th this year and it was the reverse last year.

I can't wait for playoffs to start!!!!! Not that my team will get very far (Flames)... but I'm enough of a fan that I will watch and cheer regardless.

@ Elara: I'm not sure you have normal sports spirit. The Flyers and Pens are rivals. It's not bitterness, a normal opinion of a rival team. Plus, we're the better team this time around (and the fact that there are no shoot-outs in the playoffs certainly helps us more than anyone). and yeah, I remember losing last year. I also remember Crosby nearly getting whooped in a fight by Carter at the end of the first game. the refs broke it up for his sake. Unlike with the Flyers (with the exception of Gagne), the Pens best players aren't so tough

@ geo: yeah, a couple years ago the 8th seed edmonton oilers were in the finals and in that same year all of the lower seeded teams in the Western Conference lost (8 beat 1, 7 beat 2 etc.). well, Ovechkin is a pretty big factor in the team's success. without him they aren't even a playoff team. yeah, I know my boys won't make it. Our defense sucks. we only have 3 good defenders and the rest are inconsistent or just bad. we could've traded Biron for cap room (because Nitty is just as good as him) then traded Carle, a defenseman and Lupul, a forward (both mediocre players by the way) for a marquee defenseman and we didn't. Despite our great offensive talent (Carter, Richards, Hartnell, Knuble, Gagne, Briere and the up and coming Giroux), we don't have a Stanley Cup team yet.

And I see you noticed the 1 and 8 reversal too. Funny how that worked out. Thing about Boston, is that they don't have a great offense, but their goalie and D are great. I still think that the Devils (as much as I hate them) will make it to the finals though, mostly because they have one of the top 5 best goalies of all time plus great defense and very good offense (and the third best goal scorer in hockey behind JEFF CARTER and Ovechkin).

You're a Flames fan right? I don't know much about the Western conference. Please tell me what you think will happen

Well, Western Conference to me looks like it's going to be top 4 winning first round.

Sharks (1) vs. Ducks (8) - Ducks just don't have the team they did when they won the cup a few years ago. They don't have as much skill or toughness as they did. Probably won't last ast 5 games.

Red Wings (2) vs. Blue Jackets (7) - does anyone actually think the Blue Jackets stand a chance? Not many. The Wings had a good run this year again. Pretty solid team overall. The only thing the Blue Jackets have going for them is Mason. Goaltending for the Red Wings has been sketchy all year long. No solid go to guy. Although that was the problem last year and Osgood took them to the cup. The key for the Red Wings will always be their system of team defence. Their forwards are better defensively than some teams defences are. Red Wings in 6 at the most.

Canucks (3) vs. Blues (6) - Again this one seems like a no brainer. Canucks have been on such a huge run for the last 20 or so games. They won the NW division after trailing by about 15 points. Although these teams did split their season series so you never know. And really if they can contain the Sedin sisters then the Canucks likely won't make it past the first round. Canucks in 7, but it won't be a very close 7. Blue will win in unlikely ways I think.

Hawks (4) - Flames (5) - Hawks have dominated the flames this year, without question. However, the majority of the hawks team have never been to the playoffs and the flames have been in the flames every year since their cup run in 04. They've got playoff experience and they are a much tougher team which is key. Hawks have a run and gun offence that Calgary may not survive if their defence doesn't tighten up. Calgary's offence is nearly as potent as the hawks (though not in their series) with players like Cammaleri, Iginla, Jokinen, Bertuzzi, Phaneuf, and Langkow. Calgary's top 2 lines (when Bourqe was healthy) were arguably the best in the league when they were on. I'm going to predict, partially because I'm a fan and also because I think they can do it, Flames in 7 but it will be a battle once it gets going.




Wow, that took a while. Now I have to point out.... Pens got home ice advantage because the Flyers choked against the Rangers today which could be the difference maker in that series. I see the East being pretty similar to the West. I see most of the top teams advancing with maybe the Flyers, or Canes making it through.

My turn

Bruins (1) vs. Habs (8): Boston is a very good team this year. Their defense and goaltending are their strongest points, making it very tough to score on them. Montreal doesn't have the same team they did last year and won't be a tough opponent this time. Bruins in 4, 5 at most

Capitals (2) vs. Rangers (7): Last years Caps might have been a division winner and 3 seed, but this years Caps are easily an improvement. Ovechkin has absolutely been on fire and even the rest of the offense has been on fire. The only problem is their goaltending, which has been poor for a playoff team. The Rangers have a good goalie in Lundqvist, but the rest of the team has been fairly inconsistent. The Rangers go down in 6

Devils (3) vs. Hurricanes (6): The devils are all around great. They have an amazing goalie, a great defense and a very good offense. The Canes are a good team, but Cam Ward is gonna need a long rest if they keep him in as much as they have. He's played too many consecutive games. Even if he can pull through, the Canes are outmatched. Devils in 5, but every game will be close

Penguins (4) vs. FLYERS (5): The Pens ended the season with an amazing run and certainly with home-ice this series have the momentum. They have 2 of the leagues best scorers in Malkin and Crosby. Their goaltending and defense are average, however. The Flyers can win, but they'll need stronger goaltending from Biron than he's shown the past few games and the defense really needs to step up; essentially, Alberts needs to stop playing like crap and Timonen, Coburn and Jones can't be the only defenders pulling the weight. The Flyers' offense is of little concern, as they have 6 players with 25 or more goals including 4 players with more than 30. Another key factor in the playoffs is toughness, and these games are gonna have a lot of hitting. The Flyers are generally a tougher team and despite the Penguins recent play, the Pens won't be able to pull through. Flyers in 6 if Biron can play anything like last year and the D can show up to play. If the Flyers are surrendering too many goals, Pens in 7

well, this has been an interesting first 4 (well only 3 right now cause I'm still watching the canucks/blues play)....

Penguins won what looked like a very 1-sided game 4-1. And that 1 goal that the Flyers did get was a pretty ugly goal. I don't know if the Flyers can push this series very far playing the way they have. Lots of lazy plays and cheap slashes from the Flyers.... Hopefully they can turn their game around and actually make this series interesting ebcause at this rate it's going to be pretty boring.

Caps - Rangers - pretty shocked here that the Rangers came away with the win. I didn't get to watch the entire game since the Pens - Flyers was on at the same time but it seems like Lundqvist is up to the challange of taking on the Caps offence. I'm not convinced considering how close the game was that the Rangers are still going to win but they've at least taken home-ice advantage away from the Caps now.

Devils - Canes - not really surprised. Devils are a solid defensive team and they have some pretty good offensive players. Canes need to worry about their own zone a little more if they plan on winning this series. You can't just hope to get set up in their zone just because you got the puck. It was another 1-sided game from what I saw of it. I agree with the Devils in 5 but the only close games will be when Canes are at home.

Blues - Canucks - not finished yet but from what I've watched (I fell asleep at one point cause I'm a little sick) the Blues were probably nervous in their first playoff game in a few years. Still it's only 2-1 and the Blues are going to start the third with the momentum since they scored near the end of the second and now they have a realistic chance of tying the game. They're going to have to stop trying to make a pretty play and just look for a garbage goal though. Luongo isn't going to give up much unless you really get him rattled. Oh, back to the third period... I'll update when it's over.

I'm new to the game... but I actually like the game and all the trash talk just annoys me. I went to the Kings opening game against the Sharks back in October and I saw a father encouraging his six year old son to spout out obscenities at the opposing team. I'm sorry, that is wrong.

But, in my own little fan-girl moment: What was that about the Flyers winning? Huh?

Also... might as well mention, I'm planning on moving just north of Pittsburgh in a year or so, just so you won't hold my choices against me too much.

But yeah, I'm still rooting for Sharks vs Penguins for the finals. At the very least it will be fun to see the rivalry between my boyfriend and I.

yeah, some people take the game too seriously.... sure you want your team to do well but teaching a kid to get pissed off at the other team is a really terrible thing to teach a child.

Oh, Canucks won tonight.... not that anyone needs me to point it out. Game stayed 2-1 through the 3rd. Canucks just sat back at their blue line anytime the Blues got the puck and made it nearly impossible for them to get any good scoring chances. But the Blues showed that they can play with the Canucks which should be a good boost for them.

Not sure if a Sharks vs Penguins is going to happen since we still haven't seen the first game of most of the western teams but it would make for a pretty good series I think. The Finals are never quite as good as the series between teams in their own conference. I'm looking forward to the Habs/Bruins re-match from last year. I can only imagine how good those games are going to be.

I guess that's the fun thing about the playoffs.... you just never know. It's a race to 4 wins and sometimes it's the unlikely team that manages to get those 4 wins. I remember both the Calgary and Edmonton runs to the finals and neither of those teams were had overly skilled players. Sure guys like Iginla and Hemsky are good but beyond a couple top guys the teams were mostly gritty. They fought hard and won games in unlikely ways.

I wanna punch Biron, Carle and Alberts in the face right now. No excuses for that loss. We played a better game, and in OT Biron lets the puck go through his legs, what an embarrassing way to lose