Anyone following the NHL Playoffs?
#165
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Get the golf clubs out. Montreal's got an 8:00am tee time.
Congrats to Philly. They really were the better team.
Can't wait to see the Chicago/Philly series. Should be a great cup series.
I'm changing the tv station now. WWE Raw is on. lol.
Congrats to Philly. They really were the better team.
Can't wait to see the Chicago/Philly series. Should be a great cup series.
I'm changing the tv station now. WWE Raw is on. lol.
#167
![Default](/forum/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Oh and...
![](http://tvbythenumbers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/sweep-broom.png)
#168
![Default](/forum/images/icons/icon1.gif)
blah, blah, blah, long story short! I'll be rooting for the Blackhawks this year ![Cool](https://montecarloforum.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif)
![Cool](https://montecarloforum.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif)
Penguins fans worst nightmare - Hossa and the Blackhawks vs. the Flyers
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
![](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201005/20100525hossa_330.jpg)
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa is making his third consecutive trip to a Stanley Cup final.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
![](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/201005/20100525hossa_330.jpg)
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Blackhawks forward and former Penguin Marian Hossa is making his third consecutive trip to a Stanley Cup final.
Haven't we suffered enough?
I mean, really. It isn't even Memorial Day and the Penguins are out of the playoffs. Now we're going to have to watch the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers play for the Stanley Cup?
Please say it isn't so.
What name would you rather see etched on the precious chalice? Marian Hossa or Scott Hartnell?
Not much of a choice, is it?
This is the Penguins' fault, you know? They badly underachieved against the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs and were beaten in seven games by an inferior team. Shame on them. Unlucky us. About now, we should be enjoying watching the Penguins wrap up a successful series against the hated Flyers for the third consecutive year. We should be anticipating a terrific matchup with the Blackhawks in the Cup final.
And we're going to get Flyers-Blackhawks?
Hey, no one said life is fair.
The Blackhawks are in the final for the first time since 1992 when they were swept by Mario Lemieux's Penguins. They look very much like the team to beat this time after taking out the San Jose Sharks in four games in the Western Conference final. They'll beat the Flyers in five, six games tops.
Note to Cup engraver:
It's spelled H-o-s-s-a.
Yes, this will be the year. The third time is the charm. Good things come to those who wait. Blah, blah, blah ...
I have to be honest. I've never been able to work up much dislike for Hossa. But I know I'm in the minority around here. Penguins fans loved him after he joined their team at the 2008 trade deadline and scored 12 goals in 20 games and helped it reach the Cup final where it lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. They still loved him right up until the minute free agency struck that summer and he turned down a seven-year, $49 million offer to re-sign with the Penguins -- not to mention a nine-year, $81 million deal from the Edmonton Oilers -- to take a one-year, $7.4 million contract with the Red Wings.
"When I looked at it, I wanted to have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, and I felt Detroit is that team," Hossa said famously at the time.
Ouch.
Many here still haven't recovered from that pain even though the Penguins foiled Hossa's plans by beating the Red Wings in seven games last season to win the Cup. In a perverse way, Penguins fans should thank him for leaving. He cleared cap room for the team to do new deals with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Brooks Orpik, among others, and bring in veteran winger Bill Guerin at the '09 trade deadline. Then, he had a miserable final with no goals.
Hossa, who had 24 goals for the Blackhawks this season after signing a 12-year, $62.8 million contract as a free agent last summer, has had a quiet postseason with two goals in 16 games, although one came in overtime to beat the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of the first round. He had just one assist against the Sharks but still shares his team lead as a plus-8. Here's guessing he can't wait to take his best shot at the Flyers.
Tell the truth.
Wouldn't you really rather see Hossa win than the Flyers?
The Flyers made it to the Cup final by exposing the Canadiens again Monday night, winning, 4-2, to take the Eastern Conference final in five games.
I'm thinking even the Cup engraver would have a hard time chiseling out H-a-r-t-n-e-l-l.
Let me toss out a few reasons why it would be so hard to see the Flyers win it all:
The Broad Street Bullies. 0-39-3. Flyers fans. "Crosby [stinks]!" Hartnell. Daniel Carcillo ...
Did I mention Flyers fans?
The fortunes of the Penguins and Flyers have changed greatly since the Penguins ended 15 years of misery and that 0-39-3 streak against the Flyers early in 1989. The Penguins have won three Cups since then, the Flyers none. Somehow, the Penguins' Cup last season seemed better because they smacked down the Flyers in six games in the first round. Heck, their loss to the Red Wings in the Cup final the year before didn't seem so painful because they had eliminated the Flyers in five in the Eastern Conference final.
But, though the teams have changed, Flyers fans never change. They were rude and crude in the '70s. They're still rude and crude today.
"Crosby [stinks]!"
There has to be a reason that vile chant repeatedly vibrates through the Wachovia Center every time the Penguins play in Philadelphia. It can't just be because the fans think Penguins star Sidney Crosby is a whiner. All he ever did there was have the nerve to complain to the referees about Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher using his stick to carve up his lip and knock out three of his teeth during his rookie year.
It has to be more than that. Flyers fanatics have to be jealous that the great Crosby doesn't play for their team. They'll always be jealous about not having him.
Do you really want to see those people celebrate as Hartnell and Carcillo hoist the Cup?
I didn't think so.
Suddenly, Hossa doesn't seem like such a bad alternative, does he?
Marian Hossa and Scott Hartnell
I mean, really. It isn't even Memorial Day and the Penguins are out of the playoffs. Now we're going to have to watch the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers play for the Stanley Cup?
Please say it isn't so.
What name would you rather see etched on the precious chalice? Marian Hossa or Scott Hartnell?
Not much of a choice, is it?
This is the Penguins' fault, you know? They badly underachieved against the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs and were beaten in seven games by an inferior team. Shame on them. Unlucky us. About now, we should be enjoying watching the Penguins wrap up a successful series against the hated Flyers for the third consecutive year. We should be anticipating a terrific matchup with the Blackhawks in the Cup final.
And we're going to get Flyers-Blackhawks?
Hey, no one said life is fair.
The Blackhawks are in the final for the first time since 1992 when they were swept by Mario Lemieux's Penguins. They look very much like the team to beat this time after taking out the San Jose Sharks in four games in the Western Conference final. They'll beat the Flyers in five, six games tops.
Note to Cup engraver:
It's spelled H-o-s-s-a.
Yes, this will be the year. The third time is the charm. Good things come to those who wait. Blah, blah, blah ...
I have to be honest. I've never been able to work up much dislike for Hossa. But I know I'm in the minority around here. Penguins fans loved him after he joined their team at the 2008 trade deadline and scored 12 goals in 20 games and helped it reach the Cup final where it lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. They still loved him right up until the minute free agency struck that summer and he turned down a seven-year, $49 million offer to re-sign with the Penguins -- not to mention a nine-year, $81 million deal from the Edmonton Oilers -- to take a one-year, $7.4 million contract with the Red Wings.
"When I looked at it, I wanted to have the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, and I felt Detroit is that team," Hossa said famously at the time.
Ouch.
Many here still haven't recovered from that pain even though the Penguins foiled Hossa's plans by beating the Red Wings in seven games last season to win the Cup. In a perverse way, Penguins fans should thank him for leaving. He cleared cap room for the team to do new deals with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and defenseman Brooks Orpik, among others, and bring in veteran winger Bill Guerin at the '09 trade deadline. Then, he had a miserable final with no goals.
Hossa, who had 24 goals for the Blackhawks this season after signing a 12-year, $62.8 million contract as a free agent last summer, has had a quiet postseason with two goals in 16 games, although one came in overtime to beat the Nashville Predators in Game 5 of the first round. He had just one assist against the Sharks but still shares his team lead as a plus-8. Here's guessing he can't wait to take his best shot at the Flyers.
Tell the truth.
Wouldn't you really rather see Hossa win than the Flyers?
The Flyers made it to the Cup final by exposing the Canadiens again Monday night, winning, 4-2, to take the Eastern Conference final in five games.
I'm thinking even the Cup engraver would have a hard time chiseling out H-a-r-t-n-e-l-l.
Let me toss out a few reasons why it would be so hard to see the Flyers win it all:
The Broad Street Bullies. 0-39-3. Flyers fans. "Crosby [stinks]!" Hartnell. Daniel Carcillo ...
Did I mention Flyers fans?
The fortunes of the Penguins and Flyers have changed greatly since the Penguins ended 15 years of misery and that 0-39-3 streak against the Flyers early in 1989. The Penguins have won three Cups since then, the Flyers none. Somehow, the Penguins' Cup last season seemed better because they smacked down the Flyers in six games in the first round. Heck, their loss to the Red Wings in the Cup final the year before didn't seem so painful because they had eliminated the Flyers in five in the Eastern Conference final.
But, though the teams have changed, Flyers fans never change. They were rude and crude in the '70s. They're still rude and crude today.
"Crosby [stinks]!"
There has to be a reason that vile chant repeatedly vibrates through the Wachovia Center every time the Penguins play in Philadelphia. It can't just be because the fans think Penguins star Sidney Crosby is a whiner. All he ever did there was have the nerve to complain to the referees about Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher using his stick to carve up his lip and knock out three of his teeth during his rookie year.
It has to be more than that. Flyers fanatics have to be jealous that the great Crosby doesn't play for their team. They'll always be jealous about not having him.
Do you really want to see those people celebrate as Hartnell and Carcillo hoist the Cup?
I didn't think so.
Suddenly, Hossa doesn't seem like such a bad alternative, does he?
Marian Hossa and Scott Hartnell