NHL playoff upsets?

[KP]

What's up with the Western Conference's top teams not holding serve? The top four seeds are all ousted in the first round!

Was it due to trades/acquisitions the bottom four made? (San Jose and Joe Thornton)

Was it due to top seed overconfidence? (Possibly the Dallas Stars)

Was it due to a lack of team chemistry? (Detroit)

Or, was it due to a team entering the playoffs on a roll? (Anaheim)

[Shane]

I can't remember the last time I saw the top four seeds ousted in the first round. It is mind-boggling.

I think the Thornton trade was huge for San Jose, while at the same time, Vokoun being injured was disastrous for Nashville.

I think the main problem with Dallas was Turco. He is 2-8 against Colorado in the playoffs, and that won't fly. I also think, as a team, they really just played flat for 2 games.

I think that Detroit was a victim of their own luck. They had by far the easiest schedule of any team that made the playoffs. When the playoffs started, they thought they could just coast through, and clearly they could not.

I have NO idea how Anaheim pulled off an elimination of the Flames. I did not see that one coming AT ALL.

[BtownJay]

Two words - Salary Cap. The league is going to be similar to the NFL soon. Teams will go from worst to first and vice versa depending on who they can sign and who stays healthy. Small market teams now have a chance to compete with the "big boys" because everyone is on much closer to a level playing field.

Also, the new rules have affected this alot as well. It was so hard to judge how big of an impact they would have before the season started. It was hard for GM's to put teams together because they had nothing to use as a measuring stick. I hate to use the Flyers as an example, but IMO they are the best example to use here...

Bobby Clarke didn't do anything to change for the new rules. He signed 3 6'5, 230 - 250 lb dmen who are a slow as hell. Come playoff time it was obvious they didn't fit into this "new" NHL.

I think you will see teams doing whatever they can in the off-season to fit their teams into the new mold... they will try to mirror the formula that the cup finalist teams use.

[BtownBeers]

And I think fitting those molds could be pretty disasterous for some players...gone are the days of enforcers really that don't have much skill and big D men that thrived in the old NHL are now in jeopardy of losing a lot of playing time if not their jobs.

Some of the better big D men will be fine but players that are on the fence as far as skill and size in the defensive zone are going to have a hard time fitting it well. Teams should balance it out and say have a big slower D man lining up with a most likely smaller faster D man.

I also really hope they review the refereeing and try to get a more consistant stance on it...some of the games even in the playoffs were ridiuclous, who wants to watch 30 - 40 minutes of a 60 minute game with a team on the power play.

[KP]

Was the officiating pretty one-sided towards particular seeds or teams or home-ice?

Like in basketball, the officiating seems to be more one-sided towards the better team, home team and especially certain players.

Was that the case in these NHL playoffs?

[BtownBeers]

I didn't really see it that much in the NHL like you stated in Basketball...just a bunch of zebras blowing the whistle so they don't get canned....some of the first games were just ridiculous!

[karasz411]

The new rules make speed a lot deadlier then it used to be in the NHL.

And of course, as always GOALTENDING is the key to lifting the STANLEY CUP at the end of the season.

Which is why I really dont see how anyone in the EAST can stop Jersey. Which blows, cuz I HATE JERSEY. Fuckin pothole ridden ass-pimple New York/Philly wannabe piece of shithole.

And thats my venting for the day.

[Rusty27]

Yeah,the nitpicking and the inconsistancy by the NHL refs is the problem.
Not really anything relating to the home teams.

[BtownJay]

Yeah the "officiating" (whistle blowing practice) was horrible! But like others have said, i don't think it favored anyone in particular. And who can blame the refs? Their jobs were being threatened if they didn't call plays Buttman thought were penalties. So to keep your job, you just call everything and anything.

[Rusty27]

Originally Posted by karasz411

The new rules make speed a lot deadlier then it used to be in the NHL.

And of course, as always GOALTENDING is the key to lifting the STANLEY CUP at the end of the season.

Which is why I really dont see how anyone in the EAST can stop Jersey. Which blows, cuz I HATE JERSEY. Fuckin pothole ridden ass-pimple New York/Philly wannabe piece of shithole.

And thats my venting for the day.

Well,like jay noted today,the defense in front of the goalie is equally important. Although the great goalies can bail a defense out when the game is on the line.

[Rusty27]

Originally Posted by BtownJay

Yeah the "officiating" (whistle blowing practice) was horrible! But like others have said, i don't think it favored anyone in particular. And who can blame the refs? Their jobs were being threatened if they didn't call plays Buttman thought were penalties. So to keep your job, you just call everything and anything.

LOL,yeah but the important thing is attandance is up,scoring is up,the shootout is a success so Gary is a hero. So,if he can cut down on even more
physical contact to speed up the game,even more goals could be scored.
We love you Gary!!!