Well, not necessarily. The season will continue on, but I'll bet some players (like Ovechkin) will go anyway, because they'll get it put in their contracts that they can. Certainly there will be far far fewer NHL players.
Since most of us are East Coast, we don't talk about the West enough in this thread. Obviously Chicago is my favorite to come out of the West. They are the best team and maybe the best team in the entire NHL. The Ducks and Wild have been playing pretty good this year, but not sure I can trust them. The Sharks are hanging around just like they did last year, so they could definitely make a Cup run. The Blues have gotten hot lately, but not sure how much damage they can do in the playoffs. The Flames and Preds got in to the playoffs but I expect both to be 1 and Done. That leaves my Dark horse: @Jake's Edmonton Oilers. They are on fire. Very talented young team. They might be a year or 2 away from being true Cup Contenders, but we have seen lightning in a bottle before. It would not shock me if they make a deep run this year. The West is going to be fun. I would love an Oilers-Blackhawks WCF. We will see.
I'm going to taper my expectations for the Oil in the playoffs. It's a different animal, they will probably learn the hard way if we draw the Ducks or Sharks. I think guys like Lucic and Kassian will really earn their money in the playoffs though. Not really a ballsy pick but I'm gonna go with a Blackhawks/Sharks West final pending seeding.
I do feel bad for Iginla, but yeah nice having fresh blood in the Western Conference playoffs. Caps need a point tonight against your Rangers to clinch the Metropolitan Division, Eastern Conference, and President's Trophy. It is impressive feat to do it in back to back seasons, 3 out of the last 8, but with no Conference Finals or Cup Finals appearances in that stretch, it is also sad. Maybe this is the year. I will be be headed to Verizon Center in a couple hours. Hope it is a good game tonight!
Just saw this: Kris Letang will undergo surgery for a herniated disc in his neck and is out 4-6 months. This is a big loss for the Penguins. He was really important in their Cup run last year. This does not mean they can't repeat, but it makes it more difficult.
Hopefully the Caps can clinch tonight then. If so, maybe they can rest some players the final 2 games of the season.
thats another boneheaded proposal from the office of Gary Bettman in a long career of boneheaded proposals!!! The Olympics are great for the game of hockey, especially for the casual fan. I'm in NY, I consider myself a casual hockey fan. I would never ever watch a San Jose Sharks game, for example, normally but I watch the hell out of the Olympics and I grow to like Joe Pavelski when I'm watching Team USA. Next thing you know I'm flipping through channels and it comes up on my guide "Sharks v. Kings" on NBC Sports Network, I go "oh yeah Pavelski's on the Sharks.. I think I'll check it out" and there are millions of folks like me... DUH GARY
The Penguins have to have Crosby, Malkin, and Letang to make a Cup run. The rest of the team is basically filler. Letang done and no idea when Malkin will return. I think they'll lose in the second round if they even get past Columbus. Their injury list is insane.
Yep, but they still cannot be overlooked. I would rather the Caps beat them at 100% so fans couldn't make excuses like injuries, but I would take a series win any way I can. If the Caps don't get past them this year, they may never.
Ovechkin Capitals would probably never beat a healthy Crosby Penguins in a series. So this is Washington's year (last year was supposed to be the year, they had easily the best team).
Seems a little far fetched to say never when they have played twice and the first series went 7 games and the second went 6 including a Game 6 OT loss. Are you a Pens or Crosby fan? Only way your mind could think like that.
No. Just realistic looking at the two teams in the last ten seasons. I don't think they ever would/will beat them in a series if the Penguins were healthy. Crosby and Ovechkin have some years left.
Oh okay. I think otherwise. I thought the Caps were a better team last year and a better team this year. 2009 I felt the Pens were better and they won that series in 7. Last year the Caps lost in 6 including 2 OT losses, but they definitely were capable of beating the Pens. This year again I feel they are capable of beating them.
