The Official Neowin NHL Playoff Thread

[CatnipOligarchy]

Belfour is horrible. Toronto should start using their backup goalie.

i wouldnt say he is horrible...72/75 saves is a .960 save percentage...he was one shy of the all time playoff record for saves....toronto didnt even take 40 shots...belfour did his part...the rest of the team didnt...

[ChrisArr]

i really want to see the sens play when i go there on the 26th, but i probably wouldnt have time to see any games, and corel centre is probably quite a far away from the parliament region of ottawa

The Corel Centre is indeed quite far from Parliament (it's funny that nearly everything shows the Chateau Laurier or Elgin street when they are playing). It's about a 25-minute drive to Kanata and potentially much longer on a game night. I wish they played closer.

[Cara Veteran]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere could hardly believe it.

Giguere again was outstanding in goal, and Steve Rucchin scored 6:53 into overtime Wednesday night as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 to sweep the defending Stanley Cup champions out of the playoffs.

"If you would have asked me at the beginning of the series about a sweep, I would have said, 'No,'" said Giguere, who stopped 32 shots in the Game 4 victory.

In his first NHL playoffs, Giguere faced 171 shots and had 165 saves in the Western Conference series, a 1.24 goals-against average against the high-scoring Red Wings.

The Ducks might have to wait as long as a week before beginning the second round against Dallas, St. Louis or Vancouver.

Anaheim's sweep of the Red Wings was payback: The Ducks' only two previous appearances, Detroit beat them in four games, in the second round in 1997 and the first round in 1999.

"They are a great team, and it's a good feeling to finally beat them," said Paul Kariya, who scored a first-period goal that tied the game 1-1.

Jason Krog scored with 15:25 left in the third period to give the Ducks the lead, but Sergei Fedorov's goal with 2:15 left in regulation sent the game into overtime.

Anaheim won the first game of the series 2-1 in triple overtime, and each of the four victories was by one goal.

With new coach Dave Lewis, a former assistant, and new goalie Curtis Joseph, the Red Wings became only the second defending Stanley Cup champions to be swept the following year in a four-game opening series.

In 1952, Detroit upset the 1951 champion Toronto Maple Leafs and went on to win the Cup.

"We just did not get it done, not one game," Lewis said. "Their team played hard. One guy (Giguere) did not beat us; he was the difference, but their team beat us."

The Red Wings' Darren McCarty said, "We just couldn't get that goal when we needed it. We're just all in shock."

Rucchin scored his first goal of the series with a one-timer from 10 feet after defenseman?Keith Carney centered the puck from behind the net.

"The hockey gods reward the hardest workers and Rucchin worked the hardest this series and he deserved the goal," Anaheim rookie coach Mike Babcock said.

Rucchin credited Carney for setting up the winning goal.

"It was just a great play by Keith Carney all the way," Rucchin said. "It was a perfect pass.

Carney said, "The puck was on the side of the net and I saw it just sitting there. I had a lot of time. I saw the scramble in front and just wanted to throw it out, and Rucchin was there."

Detroit's Joseph gave up three goals on 27 shots.

Fedorov's first goal of the series and 50th of his playoff career came on a deflection, with the puck bouncing off Niclas Havelid and into the net past Giguere. The Anaheim goalie also had almost no chance on Detroit's other score, by Henrik Zetterberg on a two-man breakaway at 13:23 of the first period.

The goals were the second of the series for both Krog and Kariya. Grog scored the tying goal late in the Ducks' 3-2 win in Game 2. Kariya had the winner in Anaheim's 2-1, triple-overtime victory in the opening game.

Zetterberg gave the Red Wings a short-lived 1-0 lead at 13:23 of the opening period, but Kariya tied it just 1:45 later, beating Joseph at close range.

Adam Oates controlled the puck near the red line, skated into the Ducks' zone and made a perfect pass to Kariya, who broke behind the defense and beat Joseph high on the stick side from close range at 15:08 of the opening period.

Brett Hull set up Zetterberg's goal, stealing the puck near the top of the left circle, quickly skating toward the right post, then feeding Zetterberg with a tap across the crease. Zetterberg flipped the puck into the upper left corner of the net for his first goal of the series.

[Spyder Veteran]

boy..could the thread title be any more biased

[Steven]

boy..could the thread title be any more biased

Agreed, Cara this ISN"T YOUR Thread, so let us all enjoy the rest of the post season, i'd really wish you'd turn this back into a "Board Thread" please remove the

"End of legacy" stuff and let everyone else have fun while there team lasts..

or the...

"Real Season is Over: Editorial Suspended"

While the rest of us have an opertunity to enjoy this playoffs, i'm sorry your team sucked so much, its just hockey, live with it on move on.

Please Take Your Detroit Loss and Swallow it good but don't spoil the enjoyment of this thread for the rest of us. :)

[CatnipOligarchy]

yeah good point...and at least your team made the playoffs...i wish mine would have

[bayrider]

ahhh this is the best and most exciting play-off season in recent years (or as long as i could remember)

im in LA right now, and its great to see Anaheim doing so well, but i dont think they will get too far after this.

my predictions for the finals are Colorado vs New Jersey, and even that is a toss-up for me, i dont know who would win that one

[Hills420]

What is the average number of shots in an NHL period? 10-15? This game went 6 periods. I am not impressed by the number of saves. Watch the highlights. Even Pat Quinn was shaking his head at the sloppy goaltending. Don't get me wrong, I could care less if the Leafs win or lose.

Stars, Avs, or Devils as Stanley Cup Champs and I'll be happy.

Ducks will make it 1 or 2 more rounds then lose. Giegure(sp?) can be that good forever.

[ChrisArr]

I am glad the Sens are showing more signs of life. That winning nature that they had all regular season. They're not my first team, (mine's the Penguins, the NHL's newest Peewee team) but I root for the hometown team now. Once more, GO SENS GO!

I am also in agreement that these are some of the best playoffs I've seen in a while. I just hope that there will be some new blood in the latter rounds. I grow tired of seeing the usual suspects play.

[Hills420]

ahhh this is the best and most exciting play-off season in recent years (or as long as i could remember)

im in LA right now, and its great to see Anaheim doing so well, but i dont think they will get too far after this.

my predictions for the finals are Colorado vs New Jersey, and even that is a toss-up for me, i dont know who would win that one

Avs.

2 words = Patrick Roy.

[bayrider]

ahhh this is the best and most exciting play-off season in recent years (or as long as i could remember)

im in LA right now, and its great to see Anaheim doing so well, but i dont think they will get too far after this.

my predictions for the finals are Colorado vs New Jersey, and even that is a toss-up for me, i dont know who would win that one

Avs.

2 words = Patrick Roy.

well it would be interesting to see Broduer playing against his idol. as well, a fast offensive team vs a defensive team... still a toss-up if u ask me

and u cant rule out sakic and forsberg :)

[Hills420]

Agreed. An Avs vs. Devils Final would be great. I have the one from 2 years ago on tape.

[HyakuMan]

All that I can say is that Edmonton is going all the way... and Dallas is going home like the sorry ******s they are! :w00t:

[gigapixels Veteran]

well i really have a gut feeling that the avs are gonna win it - not just cuz they're my favorite team - and if they don't, they're at least makin it to the finals. they're a great team. and i KNOW that if the avs play the ducks next round, then the ducks will be out. there's no doubt in my mind that the avs are going all the way.

and two words:

patrick roy

;)

[DeathLace]

<Edited : If you have a beef with me, that is what PM is for, use it. >

Edited April 17, 2003 by Cara

[Tran]

In the morning I checked to see who had come out on top after the game between Ducks and Detroit... Boy.... a lot of people were quite shocked but, well, you couldn't really stop the inevitable. Anyway the Avs are steamrolling over Minnesota and the Sens are just pounding the Islanders. GO SENS/AVS!!!

[Cara Veteran]

Agreed, Cara this ISN"T YOUR Thread, so let us all enjoy the rest of the post season, i'd really wish you'd turn this back into a "Board Thread" please remove the

"End of legacy" stuff and let everyone else have fun while there team lasts..

or the...

"Real Season is Over: Editorial Suspended"

While the rest of us have an opertunity to enjoy this playoffs, i'm sorry your team sucked so much, its just hockey, live with it on move on.

Please Take Your Detroit Loss and Swallow it good but don't spoil the enjoyment of this thread for the rest of us. :)

The first post is where I was posting my Editorial, thus I've suspended it and won't be updating that part of the thread anymore.

I didn't close the thread, it's still open to discussion for the other teams.

As for my first post, it isn't changing, it is the final editorial I am writing on it and thats that. I may still post around here since my second favorite team is still in the playoffs but as the threads starter I reserve the right to make my first post as I wish it as long as it remains in the guidelines of the board.

Thanks,

[gigapixels Veteran]

yeah i don't think i'd be very enthusiastic enough about the playoffs to upkeep an editorial if my favorite team got swept in the first round... remember, she started the thread so it's her thread to change as she wants like anybody else would if it was theirs... just cuz she's a mod doesn't mean she's can only do things that make you guys happy. if it's something that makes you that mad i suggest you deal with it by makin your own thread.

[youm0nt Veteran]

lets go devils :D

[gigapixels Veteran]

i guess that's a nice way to break the tension...

:p

[Tran]

Sens vs Islanders today... in a few minutes actually. I think I know who will win... SENATORS!

[Hills420]

Go DEVILS!!!

[Troyboy]

GO :star:'s

Edmonton is about to feel the pain!

[HyakuMan]

Hahahaha, hellz NO! Stars are about to see stars! :cool:

[Cara Veteran]

Go Oilers! :)

Oh, desktop changed which is Hockey Related...

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?s=&a...00entry779362

;)