Btownjay-SportO Quarterfinal Thread

[Sport-o]

I`ll have to hide for a month once they are posted lol.

[Shane]

Nah, definitely not.

Oh, btw, we answered your email on the air. The recording got eff'd up, so it is just me summarizing what we said live. Check it out if you haven't.

[Sport-o]

Ya I listened good show.I was thinking guys like LeClair not Teemu ;-)

[Shane]

This topic was: Who will win this year's Stanley Cup:

Sport-O picked the Edmonton Oilers/Btown picked the Philadelphia Flyers

Btown's Article:

Being so early in the season is it obviously much too tough to tell
who is the best team in the league at this point. Sure some teams are
playing much better than others. But with the “new” NHL and all the rule
changes it may take some teams a little longer than others to figure
out how exactly they can best equip there team to win. So instead of
focusing on “who is where in the current standings”, I will focus on the
team best equipped to be successful in the long run. Who will be
successful and consistent enough to run the gauntlet of the NHL playoffs?

Well, that team will be the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, I can hear
everyone’s thoughts… “This homer just picked his favorite team”. While it
is true they are my team, they are also the team that will win Lord
Stanley’s cup. The Flyers made some big off-season acquisitions to
strengthen their Eastern Conference finals team from the last season that was
played. They added AHL star rookies Jeff Carter and Mike Richards,
Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje, Turner Stevenson, Mike Knuble and most
importantly Peter Forsberg (who is already proving to be great). This group
is much more solid than the guys they replaced, Jeremy Roenick, Mark
Recchi, John LeClair, Tony Amonte, Marcus Ragnersson, and Radovan Somik.

The Flyers defense is very solid with three 6’5 monsters to go along
with their four “smaller” quicker d-men suited perfectly for the new
NHL. This gives them the perfect balance of speed an power on every
defensive pairing. Currently Joni Pitkanen leads all d-men with a +14
rating in just 12 games.

Offensively this team is and will be simply incredible. They
constantly utilize all four lines, each with the ability to put the puck in the
net. But no line in the NHL is better than the Forsberg, Gagne, Knuble
line. This line has already amassed 26 goals, and 62 points in only 12
games. Only the Ottawa Senators average more goals per game, but the
difference is 0.07 goals per game. (4.69 to 4.62). This team can flat
out score, and that is what the new NHL requires. They are doing this
without their quickest player in Sami Kapanen who when is healthy will
only make this offense and PP stronger.

Which leaves me with their goalies. Robert Esche has already proven
he can lead the team deep into the playoffs. If not for a 2-1 loss in
game 7 of the ECF, they would have been in the Stanley Cup last season.
A proven goalie, a potent offense and solid defense… sounds like the
perfect formula for a Stanley Cup victory.

No other team in the NHL is as well rounded. Every team either has a
great offense, great defense or great goaltending. But no other team
can say they have all three.


Sport-O's Article:

Edmonton,Old champs for the new NHL.

Edmonton to win the cup this year? I`ve said it in forums and at the water cooler,most have a good laugh but lets take a closer look at this team and address the 5 things a team needs to win the cup in my mind.Goaltending,defence,scoring,depth and most important hart.

Goaltending-Jussi Markkanen Backstopped Lada Togliatti to a second place finish in the Russian Hockey League, he led all goaltenders with a 1.20 GAA and in 10 playoff games he compiled a 1.44 GAA with one shutout.This is not the NHL but in 15 games so far he has 2.86 GAA and .902 SPCT. ranking him around 17th in the NHL.
Defence-A solid group headlined by Chris Pronger,Steve Staios,Marc-Andre Bergeron and Corey Cross.I think your gonna see this defence start to explode.
Scoring- Raffi Torres and Jarret Stoll both had great seasons in the AHL last year and seem to be carring it over to the NHL this year.Ryan Smith is the hardest working man in the NHL.
Depth-This team is going to mature this year with alot of players playing in their 3rd season and now know what to expect come play-off time.
Hart-Your not going to find a club with more hard workers than Smith,Peca and Todd Harvey.

Edmonton has always been a strong play-off team and one most teams don`t want to meet in the play-offs.You may say where are the super stars?That is what makes this team a real contender they do not rely on 1 or 2 key players they are a true team.Yes the Oilers will have a rough road just to get out of their own division let alone the western conference but I think you will see this team gel as they move along in the season and hit their stride come play-off time and everyone knows play-off hockey is a lot different than regular season.
P.S. I`m not an Oilers fan I just think they are the team to beat.

Sport-o



Btown's Rebuttal:

When I received Sport-O’s article I had to double check what the actual topic was. Could I have totally messed up the topic? Could his answer really have been the Edmonton Oilers to win the Cup? Then I thought Avery was just pulling a big joke on me and getting my hopes up. Here I was sweating out how I would defend my article vs. a good team. But now, I’m faced with another dilemma… how do I counter-point his article other than saying “the Oilers don’t have a shot in hell”?

The Oilers don’t have a shot in Hell! There, I said it. They are not a team near set up to make a run at the cup. They are a team set up to fight mediocrity, and try to battle their way into the 7th or 8th seed in the West. The Oilers could possibly be the fourth best team (or 2nd worst, however you want to look at it) team in their own division. You could make a strong argument that Calgary, Vancouver and Colorado all have better line-ups top to bottom. Currently, all three of those teams are averaging more wins per games played. But the Oilers can turn this around right? Again, not a chance in Hell!


I will use Sport-O’s “5 things a team needs to win a cup” and compare what he said…


Goaltending – Jussi Markkanen – He made some great points and gave some great stats on how Jussi did in the Russian Hockey League. Last time I checked these stats didn’t mean anything when it comes to the NHL. Roman Checmanek had incredible stats in his European league too. And we all saw that he fell faster than Spinks vs. Tyson when it came to the NHL playoffs. I noticed he also failed to mention that Jussi has been in the NHL for 4 years now and has a sub .500 career record. Sorry, but how many teams have won the Cup with a goalie ranked 17th in the league (right in the middle of the NHL)?


Defense – I will give the Oilers their credit on defense. They have some solid names, and guys playing well. However, that defense is ranked 16th in goals given up per game. Again, ranked right in the middle of the league (see a pattern forming here?). He says the defense is ready to explode, haven’t Oilers fans been waiting for this since Coffey left?


Scoring – Now this is the funny. Sport-O again mentions how great of seasons two guys had in the minor leagues. This team has 2 players that have more than 5 goals in 20 games. Torres and Smith are the only two pure goal scorers on this team. Outside of the top line, they never know if they are going to be able to put the puck into the net. Currently the Oilers are ranked 15th in the league in goals scored per game (get outta here, in the middle again?).


Depth – Sport-O says that they will mature as the season goes on. While that could be true and no one truly knows what will happen, what exactly does that mean? The Oilers have one offensive line with any potential to take over a game. If either one of their two goal scorers gets hurt, they have no one to fill in. They can not successfully roll 4 or even 3 lines throughout a game. This will lead to the “good” players playing too many minutes early in the year and start to get worn out late in the year. If you want to talk potential, sure the Oilers have some guys who could potentially be good over the next few seasons. But potential does not equal depth, it never has.


Heart – I will not say this team doesn’t have heart. They do play hard night in and night out which shows a lot about the types of players they have. However, the Tampa Bay Devils Rays also have a TON of heart. They played the best teams in the league tough until the end of the year. Is someone going to be writing an article on how they will win the World Series? The Miami Dolphins had a TON of heart last year when they beat the Patriots late in the season when they had no chance of going anywhere. I guess they are the Super Bowl champs this year?


Sport-O says the Oilers “have always been a strong playoff team”. Ummm, yeah when they had Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, etc. I hardly see how that relates to this current group. Or does he mean they fought hard when they were bounced from the playoffs in the first round the last 4 years?


Currently the Oilers are 18th in the NHL in power play % and 16th in the NHL in penalty killing %. As you can see, this team is a middle of the road team in just about ever stat, category and record. They don’t do any single thing better or as good than any of the top 5 to 10 teams in the league. They are a mediocre team that will be ending the season fighting to see if they will play against the 1st or 2nd seed in the western conference playoffs. They will be waiting to see which team will beat them in the first round once again this season.


Sport-O's Rebuttal:

The flyers do have a good team and have the whole season to find their stride as the new group that they are but thats where the problem lies that are for the most part a new bunch getting to know each other.The core of the team is new.I may be wrong and spent alot of time away from the NHL in the past but I can`t remember a team buying the cup in one year, ever.The Great one got L.A. to the cup but that was after a couple years.A team needs time to gel you have to know your teammates,know where they will be for them no look passes.Know that if your winger goes into the corner with a man comming from a certain direction that he will throw the puck behind the net.This all takes time years even.They were smart to unload them power forwards as I see no use for most of them in the new NHL and Philly may be a contender down the road but as for this year guys don`t know each other good enough to take a bighit for each other.It takes years to build a cup team it is not done in a season.You need to want to win the cup not just for yourself but for the 4th liner who has been riding the pines for the last 3 years and he wants to win it for the 1st liner who is still playing with the knee that looks like someone took a bat to it 3 months ago.
You win the cup as a team,sure sometimes a Goaltender will win the cup for you or get you to the final but to win it takes a soild group of guys who are a true team and I think Edmonton is that team this year as long as they don`t go messing things up at the trade deadline trying to get that player to put them over the top because that don`t win cups either.

[Ishkur]

Wow, I can't agree with either of these.

I'd pick Ottawa. They are on a mission, they traded their euros for Canadian grit (euros win seasons. Canadians win the Cup), and the missing playoff piece that eluded them all those years has been found: Goaltending. Hasek is rejuvenated. And at this point, who the hell is going to stop Heatly-Spezza-Alfredsson. I can't see Edmonton getting out of the toughest division in the league, and Philadelphia is prone to folding.

But we shall see.

[BtownJay]

Ish, It's very hard to argue against the Sens. I was afraid I was going to have to in this competition. IMO, the Flyers depth is much better than Ottawa. The Sens are a one to 1 1/2 line team. Outside of the big 3 they have Havlat. No one else can score. Who else can they rely on to put the puck in the net? Neil? Smolinski? Also, I don't know if Hasek can keep this play up through out a full season and playoffs. The Sens also only have 2 solid D-men (Chara and Redden).

IMO, the Sens are not built for the long haul of the NHL playoffs. Can they get away with having only one good line? I guess we will see.

[BtownJay]

Also, so far this season..

Flyers 1, Sens 0. 5 goals vs. Hasek.

[Ishkur]

I can see the Sens and the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. That will be a battle for the ages, and its a tossup who would win it. The Sens will meet the Leafs again in the first round, and they will finally solve them. It's time.

As for the West....it's hard to even see Edmonton coming out in the division. This isn't homerism, but I feel Vancouver is a lock for northwest #1. Calgary will build throughout the season, and finish 2. I think the wheels will fall off Colorado halfway through the season, and they will finish 3. Edmonton 4, and Minnesota not apt for the new NHL, will be last.

Then, playoffs....Vancouver will go down in round 1 because their goaltending sucks, So will Coloradio and so will Edmonton (herald them all you want, you know they're unproven and too green for playoff contention)....I think Calgary is the only team that can realistically make it to round 2.

Be that as it may, I have a sneaking suspicion that, despite the new NHL, the playoffs will rescind back to the old ways, and some stupid goalie on a annoyingly defensive team will hit a hot streak, and they'll ride him to the finals through a series of stupidly boring and mind-numbing four-overtime 1-0 and 2-1 snorefests. It won't be Calgary. I can see it being San Jose or Los Angeles, for some reason.

[Rusty27]

Slam dunk all the way around for Jays on this one.

[BtownJay]

Originally Posted by Ishkur

I can see the Sens and the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. That will be a battle for the ages, and its a tossup who would win it. The Sens will meet the Leafs again in the first round, and they will finally solve them. It's time.

Thats my pick as well... i think that will make a great match-up. The leafs stink this year. Okay, okay, they don't stink... they just won't beat the Sens in the playoffs.

Originally Posted by Ishkur

As for the West....it's hard to even see Edmonton coming out in the division. This isn't homerism, but I feel Vancouver is a lock for northwest #1. Calgary will build throughout the season, and finish 2. I think the wheels will fall off Colorado halfway through the season, and they will finish 3. Edmonton 4, and Minnesota not apt for the new NHL, will be last.

I would be shocked if the Nucks don't win that division. It is a SOLID division, but they have the best overall team. Calgary has the best goaltending in the division, but not enough offense.

Originally Posted by Ishkur

Then, playoffs....Vancouver will go down in round 1 because their goaltending sucks, So will Coloradio and so will Edmonton (herald them all you want, you know they're unproven and too green for playoff contention)....I think Calgary is the only team that can realistically make it to round 2.

Hey, i didn't pick the Oilers, I was shocked that he did myself. I don't know if they will even make the playoffs. And if they somehow do, they certainly aren't knocking off the 1st or 2nd seed.

Originally Posted by Ishkur

Be that as it may, I have a sneaking suspicion that, despite the new NHL, the playoffs will rescind back to the old ways, and some stupid goalie on a annoyingly defensive team will hit a hot streak, and they'll ride him to the finals through a series of stupidly boring and mind-numbing four-overtime 1-0 and 2-1 snorefests. It won't be Calgary. I can see it being San Jose or Los Angeles, for some reason.

I was saying much of the same also.... since it will be the playoffs the ref's will go right back to calling the game the same way they did last season. I don't think it will be as long scoring, but much less than what we see now. I don't know who i like in the west as of yet but I will say it will be either Detroit or Nashville going to the Cup Finals.

[BtownJay]

Originally Posted by Rusty17

Slam dunk all the way around for Jays on this one.

Why thank you sir!

Lets hope the judges see it the way you did!