Tuesday, April 01, 2008

 

Tough Call

Who had the worst night in the Northwest Division?
  1. Edmonton Oilers (mathematically eliminated from the playoffs)
  2. Vancouver Canucks (lost in regulation while the two teams they could most easily surpass to earn a playoff spot both won)
  3. Minnesota Wild (NW Title drama not resolved or reduced, with wins by both their pursuers)
I think the right answer is probably 2, because too much had to go right for the Oil anyway, and too much still has to go wrong for the Wild to relinquish the title.

And hey: hats off to Kipper tonight. I don't think he "stood on his head" or made any quote-unquote heroic saves, but good grief was he alert and sound. The nature of the Oilers scoring chances were such that if he were having a bad night, or a much lesser goalie was in his place, it would have been an Oiler win, it wouldn't have been close, and it would have been assured by about the 5 minute mark of the 3rd period.

Go Flames. And on Thursday, GOILERZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!;lkashf (style credit: Mike W)

Comments:

This whole night has been absolute garnage. I'm stuck in the middle of Toronto, by myself, and sober. I just want to be home, mourning and drinking with fellow fans. Godamnwdhabjk/QVnw s
 


For the curious, the Western Conference standings if there was no loser "well, that was a nice effort, have a participant ribbon" point.

GP W L P
7 Calgary Flames 80 41 39 82
8 Nashville Predators 80 40 40 80

9 Edmonton Oilers 81 40 41 80
10 Vancouver Canucks 79 39 40 78
 


lord bob...FYI, you're only supposed to post revisionist-point-allocation standings if those standings get your team into the playoffs.

Andy. Toronto, ewww. Sober, ewwww.
 


lord bob...FYI, you're only supposed to post revisionist-point-allocation standings if those standings get your team into the playoffs.

Well, it gets us into mathematical contention. Right now, that looks pretty frickin' sweet.
 


Listen' to Vancouver post game radio: No.1 gripe is the horrible play of the St Louis Blues??
 


Well now that Oil are done I now switch my allegiance to anybody but the Flames, then Ducks, then go Ovechin who knew I am closet Cap fan... Hope they lose to Nucks... but have high hit count on the Twins... The run was exciting
 


Cynical Joe

Havnt listened to the radio in a coons age, but it seems to match what the Nucks did tonight. It seemed like they expected to get in to the playoffs with Sundays win over the Flames. Wake-up call tonight, again!! Anyways, Thursdays dust-up should be an absolute gem of a game with both teams runnin hard...
 


Cynical Joe, I don't know what post-game show your dental work is tuning in to.

Back here in the real world, the Vancouver post-game show includes not one mention of the Blues. You think people are going to wait on hold 30 minutes to talk about freakin' St Louis?? After the Nucks blow ANOTHER lead against Colorado? And lose their 5th in 6? No way no how. People here can't understand why these Canucks play like crap at the worst time of the year. Typical comments include:
- Sedins suck
- Naslund sucks
- Vigneault sucks
- Nonis sucks
- Luongo is going to quit on this team if he hasn't already (followed by sly hints from radio hosts that aforementioned quitting occurred some time in January)
- Sedins still suck

Of the Blues, nary a whisper. Perhaps you heard criticism of Saint Luongo, and just thought folks were criticizing St Louis?
 


I'd have to go with #2 as you wrote it, but I think #1 is a bit soft. It wasn't mathematics that elimnated the Oilers, it was Calgary. Being eliminated by your provincial rivals has to sting a bit.

It would be nice if we could be responsible for eliminating Vancouver this year as well.
 


Oiler fans were playing with house money for the last month. It would have been utterly fantastic if they'd kept this run going a couple more games, but I find it very difficult to feel disappointed about how this season ended.
 


canuckfan: Something I heard "on the streets" here in E-town is that Luongo might pull a Pronger on the Canucks this offseason and ask for a trade elsewhere.

Now on the surfact this makes no sense, but on the other hand, after Prongergate, I don't throw these kind of rumors aside.

Is there ANY buzz whatsoever about such a possibility in Canuckland?
 


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Matt: What do you make of the Flames going forward?

I don't want to make all that much of what the Oilers did down the stretch -- or at least not at this point -- but I think they exposed a tonne of holes on the Flames in this last BTB set. Then again, the Oilers got outchanced last Fri in Col and I think that was one of the few times that happened to them in the last 12-15 games. So, be it a small stretch, maybe the Oilers were just that good heading for home.

Tanguay had a quote in one of the Southam papers today where he talked about how the Oilers outskated and dominated the Flames and that's the way I saw things as well; it also seems to be the way you saw things given how you lauded Kipper for keeping your boys in last night's match.

So, how do you feel about the Flames heading into the playoffs? You think there's any chance -- outside of the opp suffering major in-series injury - that Cgy could take three games off say the Wings or Sharks? I must admit that I don't think they could beat Ana or Dal either but I think there's a huge difference between the top teams and the Flames.

I'm sure I'm not the first to say this but what is exactly is missing with this squad? Despite the fact they lean too much on Iggy, I mean?

If you wanted to -- and I'm not prepared as of yet -- to make the declaration that the Oilers will pass Cgy in '09, your biggest reason why would have to be because of depth.

If Calgary's drafting doesn't improve, you'll wind up with a super TB team.

Minus the Cup, of course;)
 


HBomb: I haven't heard anything suggesting Luongo would pull a Pronger... which sounds like one of those Letterman Top Ten Phrases That Sounds Rude But Really Isn't: shaking hands with Abraham Lincoln, windsurfing on Mount Baldy, skating through the crease, etc.

The general view here in 9th-place-land is that everyone on the team EXCEPT Luongo is tradable. My suspicion is that if Luongo went to Nonis and said "trade me", Nonis would say "not yet." I think Luongo is gone after next year, even though his contract lasts for another year beyond that.

I'm so pissed off at my Nucks I can't even be happy about the Oil missing the postseason. Crap.
 


I'm so pissed off at my Nucks I can't even be happy about the Oil missing the postseason. Crap.

I'd be pissed at your GM. Outside of the Sedins, there is simply not enough at forward on that team. Without Luongo, to put it bluntly, even with a nice blueline, they'd be in LA Kings territory.

Complete sham that the guy didn't win the MVP last year. Most important to his team, he even blew away Sid the kid in that regard.

Maybe if Montreal flops out early in the playoffs, offer Luongo to Montreal for Price and see if the Habs get caught up in the allure of a homegrown superstar goaltender? Or see if Ottawa is willing to ship Alfredsson plus one of their goalies out for Bobby Lu, thus giving the Sedins a top-flight RW to play with?

Luongo is valuable to the Canucks, but I could see a few levels where trading him would make sense. Just don't deal him for a soft RW, a 20 year old defenseman with zero NHL experience, and three draft picks.....that tends to not work out so well.
 


Just don't deal him for a soft RW, a 20 year old defenseman with zero NHL experience, and three draft picks.....that tends to not work out so well.

That's a lowe blow.
 


The Canucks simply Have to trade some of their defense for offense.
 


I havnt heard any Luongo "pronger" rumblins. I wouldnt be surprised though, and actually thinkin about it today. I would trade Luongo for say Malkin and Fleury. We would be way behind in goaltendin, but if we could find another Garon somewhere, it might just work out. Plus, it would make Pittsburgh an instant contender for the cup for a few years.
Anyways, its all ramblins for now. I cant wait to see the Nucks blow the Oil out tomorrow night. I cant see the Oil puttin up to much of a fight, i'm sure they are a little disheartened after there elimination,
 


I cant see the Oil puttin up to much of a fight, i'm sure they are a little disheartened after there elimination,

Prepare to be surprised, methinks. I get the idea tonight's game is going to be quite the battle on a few levels. I think the Oilers would like to do nothing better than to deal a blow to the playoff hopes of one of their chief rivals.
 


I think the Oilers would like to do nothing better than to deal a blow to the playoff hopes of one of their chief rivals.

I agree.

We're f-ing sunk. Honestly, I think the Nucks are going to stink out GM place tonight. So depressed. Ughdsfgaskjd.....
 


We're f-ing sunk. Honestly, I think the Nucks are going to stink out GM place tonight. So depressed.

Somehow I doubt Vancouver lays an egg, just like I doubt Edmonton rolls over and dies.

Then again, the Oiler players may want to screw over Calgary.....but on the flipside, I've heard it in a few Oiler interviews over the past few seasons that the on-ice rivalrly between the Canucks and Oilers is generally hotter/nastier than the one with the Flames, and apparently Flames players say that too.

From the departed (Ruutu, Cooke, Bertuzzi), to the present (Burrows, Kesler), the reasons for this are easy to figure out. Even the existing skill guys (Luongo, the Sedins, Naslund), as a fan, I find those guys a lot easier to get a hate-on for than the majority of the Flame players (with the notable exception of one Dion Phaneuf).
 


I find those guys a lot easier to get a hate-on for than the majority of the Flame players (with the notable exception of one Dion Phaneuf).

I for one absolutely despise Iginla, not so much for who he is but for what he is not (an Oiler).

So yeah, that guy can go fuck himself.
 

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