2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs Talk - Round II

X-Montréal
Boston
Canadiens won series 4-3

Washington
X-Philadelphia
Flyers won series 4-3

Anaheim
X-Dallas
Stars won series 4-2

X-San Jose
Calgary
San Jose won series 4-3

Minnesota
X-Colorado
Colorado won series 4-2

X-Pittsburgh
Ottawa
Penguins won series 4-0

New Jersey
X-NY Rangers
Rangers won series 4-1

X-Detroit
Nashville
Red Wings won series 4-2

GO SHARKS!!!!

The way the Sharks lost Game 3 vs. the Flames, I thought the season was going to be over soon regardless of if they got a split in Calgary. It was eerily similar to the Game 2 loss last year vs. the Red Wings in round 2 in which we got 2 goals in the first five minutes and then seemed to never have the mental edge again for the rest of the series even though we won the next game.

That game 3 loss just felt like, "Oh no, here we go again. A big hit or a bad loss changes the season and this time it was both a big hit and a bad loss in the same game." The way they won game 4 last night was the only way this team could seem like legit contenders again. A blowout win would still leave them with the accusations of being a soft team.

Man, now that was a game last night, wasn't it?

So shark fans, if the coach didn't hold out Roenick in game six, would there have been a game seven. I am really happy they made it, but holding out on of your best scorers and relying on him for game seven is pretty risky. No wonder the SJ Mercury News was asking if wilson's job was on the line. Can you imagine holding Baron Davis out in game six against Dallas last year?

When Roenick got scratched, it made me wonder if Ron Wilson had a feeling about the balance of power between the Sharks and the Flames. If he had a feeling that his club would come out flat, then I think it was an absolutely brilliant idea for him to rest Roenick in hopes he would come out rested and nasty for the crucial 7th game.

The best head coaches are well known for being able to play mind games with their own players. It's been said that Scotty Bowman of the Detroit Red Wings was one of the best at pushing his players buttons to get the most out of them. Even players who knew they may be getting manipulated couldn't tell where they really stood with him and what he was really thinking. If the coach feels that he needs to have a combative relationship with a star player who could be more motivated by the desire for redemption than the desire for constant adulation, he'll open a special seat in his dog house.

This "what-if" game was getting played in Boston too where Phil Kessel, one of the best young defenseman with excellent playmaking abilities got benched for three games. When he came back, he scored a highlight reel goal and followed up with two more in game 6 to force a game 7 in the Montreal-Bruins series.

We'll never know what would have happened had Roenick been in Game 6, but my feeling is that we still would have lost Game 6 and Game 7 would have been less certain.

All these guys do is play Hockey. They can go everyday in a playoff series or go home. I think you put the foot on the neck and take out an opponent every chance you get: throw everything and the kitchen sink at them in game six, worry about resting the next day. You don't give the other team hope. You show me a professional or even a competitive athlete that would ever think different. Pro football has more injuries than hockey and they would never sit someone when the series is on the line, someone will be eliminated. I don't have to like it, I can disagree with it.

Wilson looks like he did it right, but I wanted them all to rest the extra day and not be on the verge of elimination in a game seven. Baseball is the only other sport I have ever heard of "saving" someone but hey who do they hit?

QUOTE (techvbjoe @ Apr 24 2008, 11:35 AM)

Pro football has more injuries than hockey and they would never sit someone when the series is on the line, someone will be eliminated. I don't have to like it, I can disagree with it.

Yeah, but you don't have series in pro football. Roenick also wasn't performing like a star up until we saw him in Game 7.

...In football they also don't play a hard, physical game every other day, like they do in hockey playoffs. You have to think more strategically because of that.

In football they play hard in practice everyday. It is off season and UCLA lost two top quarterbacks in one practice last week. The premier football program in all the world now has to find another all star. Some football players don't even make it to the season because of practice and training camp. I don't remember people dying in hockey practice or being paralyzed forever from a body check, and lastly when is the last time you saw a three hundred pound muscled hockey player running at you full speed.

I think Bill Masterton was the last NHL player to die as a result of injuries sustained in a game. That was in 1968 and thankfully there have been none since, though Richard Zednick of the Florida Panthers had a good shot of joining Masterdon on the list of deaths as a result of in-game accidents. I was a senior at Boston University the year Travis Roy's potentially promising hockey career and life was almost ended by a C4 neck fracture 11 seconds into his first shift.

I don't know what any of this means though. It'd be pointless to argue whether football players are tougher or if hockey players are tougher... they're different sports requiring different demands on the players and the body. I don't think it's fair to say that hockey players aren't as tough because rest sometimes does them some good. I don't think anyone would consider former 49ers linebacker Gary Plummer a wuss, yet for the final years of his career, he rarely practiced because his hips ached so bad that he needed to save his body for the games. I hear of other older football players doing similar things, though I don't remember them quite as strongly.

The Sharks were almost close to elimination but they came back last night with a vengence..Now they come back home to try to save themselves again. I hope they get through this round.

As for Football and Hockey, I do not think you can really say one sport is tougher than the other. I think each sport is really tough on a player. I think you get more head, back, leg, and arm injuries in both compared to other sports. I gotta say that both sports have some tough players who can keep going even if their body is worn out or they just got hit hard by another player. I always remember watching baseball or basketball and someone would be out because they had a hang nail or stubbed their toe..I do not know about football but a hockey player would suck it up and play. Not saying that baseball and basketball players do not play as hard. Baseball is a long season.

Didn't the coach for the Warriors decide to not play Barron Davis during an important game? I guess each coach has a reason to rest their players. I think it was a good thing for JR to rest..he came back and played very well..he even said he was feeling like a 18yr old again.

Flyers vs. Canadiens
Flyers lead series 3-1 GO FLYERS... Would be great to see a Penn series... :-)

Penguins vs. Rangers
Penguins lead series 3-0 GO PENGUINS!!!! GO Crosby... :-)

Red Wings vs. Avalanche
Red Wings lead series 3-0 DETROIT is on fire... Either way it will be hard to beat Detroit or Colorado..

Stars vs. Sharks
Stars lead series 3-1 GO SHARKS!!!!

QUOTE (piglet18 @ May 1 2008, 08:49 AM)

The Sharks were almost close to elimination but they came back last night with a vengence..Now they come back home to try to save themselves again. I hope they get through this round.

If we can win the next game, it's a series again. It might be that only 4% of the teams who fall into an 0-3 hole are able to advance, most of those teams are teams that are completely outclassed by the other team. The 0-3 stat is naturally skewed by data of teams that actually never had a chance in the series.

I'd say the Sharks have a better chance of advancing than 4%... not that I'm optimisic about it happening, but the way the Sharks ended being 0-3 isn't the same way most teams ended up 0-3.

We'd still need a miracle. Here's hoping for one.

Quote from Piglet: "Didn't the coach for the Warriors decide to not play Barron Davis during an important game? I guess each coach has a reason to rest their players. I think it was a good thing for JR to rest."

Baloney, no one would rest a big player on an elimination game. Barron Davis was sat down cause he stunk. He was doing more damage than good. That is a good reason. Do you think San Antonio Spurs would rest Parker or Duncan on a game they can eliminate the opposition? Nope! I have never seen a player held out for game seven (except baseball and it has more to do with pitching). Pittsburg didn't hold out Rothlesberger when he stunk in 2005 and they didn't make the playoffs after winning the super bowl.

Wilson is going to have a rocky off season with this playoff performance.

QUOTE (techvbjoe @ May 2 2008, 04:19 PM)

Wilson is going to have a rocky off season with this playoff performance.

Wilson will probably end up being forced to call it a career if the Sharks don't pull off a miracle comeback. Well, at least as far as the Sharks organization is concerned.