2004 NHL Playoffs: Round 1 (1 Viewer)

[Sami Kallio]

Yes, but it will be either a Finn or a Russian that will win the series for them. Hopefully it will be the Finn.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Calgary has one thing Tampa doesn't - Kiprusoff (sp?). That guy is amazing. I don't think Tampa was expecting to be hit as much, there is a lot of cowering going on so far when they know if they are near the puck, they are about to be plastered into the boards.

Also, while the players may not be Canadian (like every other NHL team), they are a Canadian team, and what matters is that the Cup is above the 49th parallel.

 

[Sami Kallio]

Spelling is correct but his brothers lastname is spelled kirppu-soft. It's a joke reflecting his playing style, in Finnish kirppu means flee. Fine d-man, just wasn't well suited for the NA style.

 

[Micheal]

The team wins the series... not the goalie. They are just an intricate part of the team. Trust me.... a shitty defence can make a great goalie look mediocre at best.

So... 4-0 for Tampa Bay in the third period! This is why I picked Calgary in 7.

 

[Sami Kallio]

You can still spot a great goalie, just watch Luongo the next time Panthers play.

Quite a lot is riding on the goalies in this series. Penalties cost this one for Calgary. 2-0, still hope, 4-0 not that much. To be honest, TB should have been called on a few more times during the game, Khabi is getting more protection from the refs than Kipper is. Could have been that I missed something on the plays, some of them I only saw partial replays.

 

[Micheal]

Of course! I'm not disputing that. My only point was that "The Team" wins the series, not just the goalie. Why do you think goalies hate playing in the All Star game.

Back to the series...
It should be one hell of a game in Calgary on Saturday!
Can't wait!!

 

[Sami Kallio]

And my point was that while there are a few Canadians on both teams the key guys are from somewhere else...

Speaking of goalies, there is another youngster out there that will be awesome. Maybe even better than Luongo. Kari Lehtonen. I have seen many young, promising goalies but IMHO this guy is special.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Wow does Calgary's power play suck...they just never seem to look inspired on the power play and get something going...and its not like they weren't given oppertunities given the number of penalties called. Oh well here's to a better game in Calgary

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Unfortunately, I'm a bigger Lakers fan than I am a hockey fan and since games 1, 2, and at least 3 have fallen on the same night as Laker games...I've only caught a few minutes of each so far.

I think at this point the powerplay for the Flames would actually have to get better just to be awful. I've really liked what I've seen from Kiprisoff so far in the playoffs, of course I missed what happened tonight, which may or may not have affected my view of him.

 

[nolesrule]

If you are watching on TV, you don't get to see much of what goes on away from the puck. I was at the game, so I can tell you right now what I saw.

The Lightning were called for 4 penalties in the first period. Other than the too many men on the ice penalty, the rest were rinky dink calls of the kind that are usually let go even in the regular season. Calgary, on the other hand, got away with some really "callable" penalties behind the play on several occassions in the first period.

In the second period Calgary was not doing that as much, as the game was speeding up both teams tried to turn up the heat.

The power plays weren't even fairly evened out by the officials until that cheap shot penalty early in the third period. That penalty was the most flagrant hit in the entire game and the only penalty warranting of a game misconduct. It was charging, cross-checking and more all rolled into one. The cheapest of cheap shots. Totally unnecessary and classless. I'm glad no one got hurt on that one.

Until that moment, I thought Calgary had some class (getting away with penalties isn't their fault, so they take advantage, nothing wrong with that.

Oh, and even the ESPN announcers said that the Lightning were being unfairly over-penalized while Calgary was not being called, according to someone I know who watched the game on TV. And believe me, those announcers had a great view of the action.

I'm going to watch the replay to hear exactly what they said about it.

 

[nolesrule]

As for the Lightning, if they can score first, they'll be able to maintain their aggressive style of play, which is to their benefit because Calgary has to be aggressive when trailing, which can lead to occassional mistakes. And no team is better at taking advantage of mistakes than the Lightning.

If Calgary scores first, they'll drop into the neutral zone trap which gives the Lightning some trouble, but will generally prevent Calgary from scoring more goals (Game 1 non-withstanding), keeping it close enough for the Lightning to come back if they can break the trap.

So, most likely, the team that scores first has a better than average chance of winning each game.

Off to Calgary, where the Flames have had some trouble winning in the playoffs. And the Lightning was the best road team in the NHL this year.

Go Bolts!

 

[nolesrule]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention my thoughts about the game in general.

The Lightning played much better than game 1...an obvious remark of course. Finally got the offense going. Since they are a skill/speed team, the better condition of the ice certainly helped. Smart move to put the #1 scoring line on the ice for the opening faceoff rather than line #3. It really set the tone for the game and took advantage of the improved ice. And Brad Richards got hid record-tying 6th GW goal of the playoffs...unbelievable.

Defense was also greatly improved. Dan Boyle played a great game after a sloppy game 1, despite the damage to his home caused by an electrical fire during the waning moments of game 1. Also got the 3rd goal. Captain Dave played some great defense and assisted on 2 of the goals.

Bring on game 3 Saturday.

Go Bolts!

 

[Bob-N]

I also thought the Lightning appeared to stay fast and kept the pace up through most of the game (I missed the first period). Should be a knock down, drag out series. I just want to see some good hockey.

I have to comment on the rough play after the third goal. Calgary did the same thing in the Sharks series in both games at the Saddledome. I would have definitely rooted for Calgary (Go Sutter and Kipper) but I absolutely hate they way they resort to thugery (sp?) once the game gets to far out of reach. It really degrades the game IMHO regardless if it "fires them up" for the next game. One fight and a couple scrums are ok, but it should be against a couple of tough guys and not just Simon going after the nearest opposing player. That cross check was uncalled for even if that one Lightening hit was a bit high. That happens all the time during the game. This annoys me just as much as dives and faking injuries to draw penalties.

 

[Micheal]

And once again we disagree. I guess the leading scorers in the playoffs (who are Canadian for the most part) are not considered "key guys". Let's just agree to disagree on this one.

 

[Sami Kallio]

I should have said key 2 guys, one for each team. Would that make a difference?

I agree that it is not only the goalies but that will be the key to this series, which goalie raises his game more than the other. Whether I'm right or wrong remains to be seen. As for leading scorers, there are so many on both team that are close that it is hard to pick one over the other. But if I had to, it would be Fedotenko for Tampa and Iginla for Calgary. I didn't pick Fedotenko just because he isn't Canadian, and I also didn't pick them because they are the leading goal scorers.

 

[BryanZ]

As a reminder, a couple years ago Khabibulan pitched a shut out in the third period of the All-Star game. Kiprusoff played excellent. If he hadn't been standing on his head the Bolts could've easily had 8 or more goals. The Flames still only have one scoring line whereas Tampa has two. Here's hoping Bolts in five.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

As for simon's fight at the end he had no choice but to stick up for his goalie. I'm not sure it was an intentional trip but either way he has to step up and punish the offender....in general though I agree there was too much fighting going on at the end of the game.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Why wasn't that trip called as goalie interference, which it most certainly was? Can't say I'm too impressed with the officiating (BIG surprise), but it does look like Tampa is at least going to put up a fight. We'll see how things look on Saturday, but I would bet that Kippers will shut the door like he has in the past. It does look like the first goal is pretty important in this series.

Go Flames!

 

[Mark Dubbelboer]

counting down the minutes. at least i'm not stuck at work for this one.

No matter who wins I hope it isn't another lopsided affair and both teams decide to show up for this one.

go flames go

 

[Greg*go]

Seems like you'll have to wait for another game Mark. It's amazing how polar all 4 of the final teams are playing (or played) when it matters most. Maybe that's a testament to how good all the teams are (were,) that they can shut each other down like this. But I say it's more of playing horrible on the loser's part then great game play by the winner.