OT: Eastern Confrence Playoff team 2010-11 season.

[nwfisch]

I need some questions for each of the 8 teams in the eastern conference of NHL who made the playoffs last year.
Washington
Philly
Boston
Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh
Montreal
Buffalo
New York Rangers

Thanks and rep are given for serious answers.

 

[DMelt36]

What kinds of questions?

 

[nwfisch]

Just any questions about what they did in the offseason, how close they are to the Cup?

 

[Everyday I'm Byfuglien]

Do you need questions or do you need answers? I'm confused.

Whatever the case, I like Pittsburgh to come out of the East. Crosby was playing unbelievable hockey last season before he got his brain scrambled and the team still put up a fight even with him and Malkin out. I really hope Crosby gets to play a full, injury free season. I really like the idea of James Neal playing on a line with Crosby.

Washington made nice additions with Vokoun Brouwer and Ward. I'm kind of curious which Washington team is going to show up this year- the offensive powerhouse of 09/10 or the defense first mindset from last year. The defense first thing kinda worked, but between their 8 game losing streak, Ovechkin having a down year and another early playoff exit- it was obvious that the team was trying to be something it wasn't. Maybe another year of sticking with that gameplan will pay off in the post season.

I dumped on Philly the past two years for the shit show they call goaltending. They were a strong team with a complete mess in net. Now they have a real number 1 goalie and now I don't like the changes they made to their forward corps. I imagine they'll still be good, but I'm curious to see exactly how good. I don't think Jagr will hold up.

Buffalo spent a shitload of money this offseason and added some good dudes to their already good team. Whether or not it all comes together for them, I don't know. If it does- they should have a really strong year. Miller in net... that's good stuff.

Montreal - I don't know. They bore the hell out of me.

Rangers - Same as Montreal.

Tampa is good, but counting on Roloson for another season? I don't like that idea at all.

 

[Everyday I'm Byfuglien]

Yes, I hate the term "Cup hangover", but we've all seen it first hand and it's a real thing.

-The summer of ridiculous partying. Besides the toll that the partying (booze) can take on your body, the reduced rest and the reduced dedication to physical fitness in the summer has to hurt when the puck drops. You just played the longest hockey season of any team and now you're partying when you should be taking it easy and training.

-Having everyone (press, fans, etc) constantly talk about last year for at least the first half of the new season. I think this is a vastly overlooked aspect of the hangover theory. How can you really move on from your championship and focus on the new season when all you ever get asked about is the championship?

-Target on the champs. Everyone wants to beat the champ.

-Motivation to do it again. Champions just went through hell to reach the ultimate goal. They know how hard and painful it was. As much effort as it took the first time- it's going to take even more the second time. Thinking about that has to be tough.

Boston smells like at least a minor Cup hangover to me. They excel when they play a hard nosed, physical game. If they take the night off- they can't really count on copious amounts of skill to put pucks in the net and just outgun the opponent. If they're going to win- they need to be on the body. That takes effort and can wear down a body that isn't in great shape.

Of course, the Bruins do have a strong roster, an incredible goalie and a smart coach. They seem like a strong team... a good group of guys (like the 10' Hawks). I think they'll still be in the top half of the Eastern playoff bracket, but repeating is just so hard.

 

[Everyday I'm Byfuglien]

And hey- there are currently 34 guests reading this thread.

What's up with that?

 

[nwfisch]

I'm co-writing an article with someone, and they think I'm an hockey expert. :lol: I'd just like some thoughts like Byfuglien gave about each team.

 

[Jntg4]

Philadelphia: Will the addition of Bryzgalov (and whoever else they got, I forgot already, lol) be enough to counteract the losses of Richards and Carter?

 

[DMelt36]

I think the biggest question with Washington is whether or not they ever commit to playing defense instead of just talking about it, as they've done for the last few years. They can score like few teams in the league, but they can't stop anyone, and that's always their demise.

And does anyone else feel like, at some point in this decade, there's going to be a Penguins/Blackhawks Cup series? I feel like it's an inevitability. Toews/Kane vs. Sid/Malkin. I'd love it.

 

[Everyday I'm Byfuglien]

A Hawks Penguins finals would be incredible.

Their regular season match ups the past few years have been the best games of the season by far.

 

[BlackHawkPaul]

A Hawks Penguins finals would be incredible.

Their regular season match ups the past few years have been the best games of the season by far.

The bigger issue for the Pens is protecting Crosby.
Lindross was amazing, but the hits to the head turned his good career into a good, short stint.

Tampa was very close last season, but the addition of Garon will be a huge help to an aging Rolo. They also lost Gagne-- who was a big contributor late last year offensively.

NYR? We'll see if the Richards splash is worth it. I still think Gaborik can score 80+ points if he's healthy. The Rangers always find a way to piss it all away at the end. I thought Del Zotto was the next big blue liner for the blue shirts, but he may struggle to even find a roster spot if he's not careful. It seems that when Del Zotto is on the ice, he can't help his netminder out.

 

[nwfisch]

Can I get some help with Buffalo, Montreal and New York?

 

[TheChicagoFan]

Washington:
I really like their chances to win the cup this year. Last year they didn't play like the Capitals play. They were defensive minded, but that's not how Ovechkin plays. Now that they have Vokoun they can go back to being an offensive power house. A good goalie on that team makes them very dangerous.
Philly:
They always seem like a good team. The only thing they have been missing is a goaltender. I'm not 100% sure that Bryzgolav will be good for them. If he is good, they can be one of the better teams in the east. Losing Carter and Richards obviously hurts but they have almost made up for it.
Boston:
They are the reigning Stanley Cup champs with most of their players returing. Mark Rechhi won't be on the team any longer and that's a large loss. Thomas probably won't be as good, but he will still be good. Seguin will be better as long as Julien lets him do what he does best (breakaways and using his speed). Lucic, Krejci, Horton, and Chara are still there. That's a good core.
Tampa Bay:
They were so close last year, but Roloson is a year older and I'm not sure if he will be as good as he was last year. They need a good goalie. Otherwise, I like this team and they were very close to winning it all last year.
Pittsburgh:
They have a great coach and Crosby should be back to playing good hockey. As long as their key players stay healthy they can be a major threat in the east.
Montreal:
Carey Price is amazing. They are another team that came very close to beating the Stanley Cup champs. Good goaltending is the key to winning and they have that. They also have players like Camarelli (I think I spelled that wrong)
Buffalo:
Ryan Miller is awesome. They were a good team last year and I think they will keep improving. I don't know if they'll be a playoff team again this year but they have a good chance. (I really don't know very much about the Sabres)
New York Rangers:
I don't really know what to think about the Rangers. They got Richards, but I don't know how good he will be. He is old and is probably on the decline. Who knows if Gaborik will play well. They have a lot of question marks.

 

[TheChicagoFan]

Hope that helps. There are certain teams that I don't know very much about AT ALL, but some of the other ones I actually know a little bit about.

 

[nwfisch]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU7JjJJZi1Q]‪The Beatles - Help‬‏ - YouTube[/ame]

 

[TheChicagoFan]

‪The Beatles - Help‬‏ - YouTube

You said you needed help with Buffalo, Montreal, and New York? Well, I have a few people I can ask that might be able to help if you want.

 

[Charlie Roumeliotis]

Washington - They had one of the best offseasons of any team acquiring ROLE players and even added grit to their team. Can they finally put together a Cup run and can Vokoun lead them to the promiseland?

Tampa Bay - Can 41-year old goaltender Dwayne Roloson carry the load in goal? The offense is obviously there, but do they have enough power/depth at the blue-line?

Boston - They lost little this offseason and can surely repeat, but can Tim Thomas repeat the historic year of 2011?

Philadelphia - No Richards, Carter, Leino. Can Giroux and Van Riemsdyk take over the leadership at the forward position?

Pittsburgh - Simple one: Can they stay healthy this year?

New York Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist bolstered that team last year and their defense is really going to have to give him more support next year if they want to make a deeper run in the playoffs. They added a superstar this season and re-signed Dubinsky and are on the verge of re-signing Callahan.

Montreal - Their defense was banged up last year (Spacek, Gorges, Markov, etc) and didn't do much to replace them. They are the smallest team in the league, for sure, and need to get a little physical on their deep ends.

Buffalo - They definitely got stronger on the blue-line, but lost Tim Connolly and didn't really get better up front. The Sabres overpaid Ville Leino, in my opinion, but will he click in their system? The defense is there, but I'm questioning where the scoring is going to come from.

 

[TheChicagoFan]

More about the Rangers:

Lundqvist is a good goalie and if the defense is better they have the chance to make it past the first round, which they never seem to be able to do. They need a center to help feed Gaborik and they're hoping that Richards can fill that whole in the team.