Stanley Cup Semi's - Post comments here
 

My Lightning are still not getting any love !!!

Hey Betty Melrose - Nobody gets this far by being lucky.

Oh, they've only won eight in a row. Hitchcock blames the ice and the refs. Uh huh. Roenick says 'they really aren't that fast, in fact we're faster'. Uh huh. 'We outplayed them most of the game' Last time I checked, you don't get style points in hockey. 'The Tampa fans don't know anything about hockey'. I know this, the team with the most goals when the siren goes off wins, right? 'Hockey isn't a warm weather sport' Better watch out then Flyer fan - forecast is for 87 in Philly on Thursday.

Eshe is a rebounding machine. Khabibulin is a black hole.


BTW, the Flames looked tough. They know how to finish.

Tampa was my pick for Champion at the outset of the playoffs

they are shaping up to be quite the dominating team

Tampa's a team to be respected, that's for sure. For my part, I hope Philly beats them, cause I think they'd be an easier team for the Flames if they make it past the Sharks.

Wow. I didn't see that one coming. Tampa just got their asses handed to them by Philly. They were down 6-0 at one point.
This series just got a whole lot more interesting.

Yeah they got spanked.

They got there asses kicked like no other.

Re: Stanley Cup Semi's - Post comments here
 

Umm yah, you JINXED them sooooo bad. :( tsk tsk....

that was bad, but Tampa will be back to atone for that dismal showing

GO FLAMES

Tampa looks like they didn't belong in the game last night.. think it was down to nik shaving his beard (shouldn't he be benched for that? ) and that the rest of the team didn't even try to play till the end of the game and by then it was too late.

Well, I must admit I don't feel as bad today as I did last night at the game listening to Philly fans rubbing it in.

No one (me included) expected them to go undefeated. But man, 6-2?. Anyway, it's just one game, and I don't think the Flyers can win three more.

There was lot's of analysis and teeth gnashing but I think it just came down to Khabibulin finally having an off night. He has carried us through the playoffs and he was just due for an off night. I mean, they scored on three of the first five shots. The other two could have went in too. That just changes the whole complexion of the game from there on.

The Flyers knew they had to win, and all credit to them, they came out with fire in their eyes and executed.

All the fighters got their work in and now we can get back to typical fast skating, clean hard hitting playoff type hockey.



Not a very good pic...it's from my phone camera...but you get the point - 6th row, blue line.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Da...60_08May04.jpg

nice seats. are they season tickets? Too bad about the outcome of the game for ya.

Not really seson tix, but a playoff strip. Same seats for all playoff games. Good news is they have home ice for this series and (hopefully) next.


Flames looked good last night. Sharks had their chances but just couldn't finish. Good goaltending always wins the day.

Flyers! Flyers!

Assuming they make it to the finals, they have home ice advantage. Do you have to pay more if they make it to the finals, or did you already pay a flat fee??



ps. go flames

Actually, you get all the tickets for all possible games. Dates and times TBA. They charge your credit card after each game. So, you pay for what they play. I you can't or don't go, tough.

Are the seats more for the finals? What do you think? :)

Of course.

you MF bastard DDDDave.... nice seats..... I've had 12 rows from behind the net.... Saw Nickolai Zherdev's first NHL goal.... then it was called back..... and then he scored one that counted..... anyways...... I'm looking for a Lightning vs. FLames final

Oh this is getting good now.....


As if it wasn't officially a series already, Lightning-Flyers is really on now. The Bolts fell to the Flyers Monday night 6-2, but how his team played isn't what head coach John Tortorella was talking about at Wednesday's morning practice.

Torts called Philadelphia head coach Ken Hitchcock "gutless" and twice advised him to "shut his yap" in a heated response to what happened during Monday's game -- Hitchcock's talking to the Lightning players during the course of the contest. Apparently, the specific incident was Hitchcock's telling Brad Lukowich that he was going to send Donald Brashear after the Lightning. Tortorella's comments came after the team's practice at Brandon Ice Sports Forum before Tampa Bay jumped an afternoon flight to Philly for Thursday's Game 3.

"I don't see him on the ice. He's back there in a suit, the same type I wear. He's not in the battle," said Tortorella. "It's wrong, and it's not for the series. Philly does it all the time. They like to hear themselves talk about this, that, and the other thing. That's not going to effect us, but when it comes to a coach to a player, that's just so disrespectful.... I've never talked to a player on the ice. I never will. I'm not in the battle. He isn't in the battle. Shut your yap!"

"That's got to stop. Park your ego. Shove it in your pocket," he continued. And the topper? Most likely it was when Tortorella said, and without hesitation we might add, that Hitchcock's methods were "disrespectful, wrong.... it's gutless.... chicken (spit)."

His rancor was not reserved for Hitchcock either. "We knew going into this series (Flyers GM)Bobby Clarke was going to be working as hard as he can behind the scenes as far as whining about this, that, the other thing."

Clarke's response was to call Tortorella a "pathetic little man looking to get some publicity for himself."

Later Wednesday when the Bolts arrived in the City of Brotherly Love and Hitchcock was informed of the words, his response was "Tell him to mind his own business."

Tampa just won 4-1 in Philly. Go Lightning!!

Good job Lightning. Now goodluck to the Flames..

Way to go Lightning, god I hate Philly

Damn, we lost. But a great hockey game I thought.

If tampa didn't give up that shortie who knows what would happen. Definatly something tampa needs to work on, they have given up two short handed goals to philly, in the 2 games philly has won.

Getting jazzed for tonight !!!!

Game 5. Key game. But the Lightning have already shown they can win in Philly so no worries. :)

Primeau has been a one man wrecking crew. The Lightning cannot let one guy beat them. They need to do whatever they have to, I mean whatever, to make sure Primeau isn't 'the man' tonight.

Eshe is there for the taking. Mr. Rebound. Man, the hitting in this series has been so much more intense than the Flames/Sharks series. Whoever survives will be battle tested, that's for sure.

Isn't playoff hockey great ?!?!

The sharks better win the next 2 games... argh

Holy shit Philly pushes it to seven! What an overtime. And what a goal!

shitty, hope Tampa pulls it off, have I mentioned I hate Philly?

GODDAMMITT

a minute and a half from the finals. Game 7's are fun, but anything can happen.

GODDAMMITT

In game seven, we can seperate the men from the boys. Who can handle it. Players like St. Louis and Lecavelier, or players like Primeau and Roenick. Most people would probably say Primeau and Roenick. But let me assure you, St. Louis and Lecavelier are out to prove everyone wrong. And you can't forget about the goaltending...

Unless the second line steps up for tampa i don't think they will win. They are going to have to play one hell of a game to beat phily.

I'm hoping Philly wins so I can watch Calgary kick their butt. I hate that team. Primeau is alright but the rest of them are cocky assholes, to put it bluntly.

It will be a war, that's for sure. Lots of storylines....

Goaltending...Esche hasn't had a good game yet. The ESPN fags are saying ' oh, he played great'. What? He gets beat from every possible angle. High, low, off his glove, 5 hole... At least to score on Khabi you have to have a good shot. Gagne's goal in the third period was the only bad play he has made. The Flyers just capitalized on Lightning turnovers, Sydor's was inexcusable.

I can't believe they fell back into a defensive shell like they did. That is so totally not their style. I think there were some nerves involved. They cannot do that in game 7. If they are up 3-0, they need to think 4-0. Not hold on until 3-2.

I think the Lightning are going to come out in game 7 like they did in game 5 in Tampa and just blitz the Flyers non-stop for the whole game. Esche will give up a couple goals early and then he will be done. The Flyers are running on fumes right now. They are nursing injuries up and down their lineup. The Lightning are completely healthy. As they say in Vegas, the race does not always go to the strongest and the fastest, but that is the way to bet.

I know hockey is over in every town but three at this point but I will tell you, Tampa is electric right now. It feels like when the Bucs are on a playoff run. And we intend on making the Flyers our beeothches just like the Iggles are.

GOOOO LIGHTNING !!!!

FLAMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are exactly 6 people in Tampa who would be able to correctly describe a two line pass without mentioning the word "cocaine". Go have fun at the melanoma festival.

The lightining are going to have to. Also if the lightining can even out the offensive zone time between the two teams they should beable to win. It takes philly a long time in their zone to set up and get a goal, while the lightining can do it quickly in the other teams zone. Also the second and the first line are going to have to play big for tampa to win. Also, priemeu (sp?) is going to have to play well for philly to win, so tampa needs to keep him quiet big time. Hopefully torts will put perrin back in, he may be small, but atleast he can pass the puck, unlike cibak, which is what the lightining need to keep the put away from philly.

Forgive me, but all will be settled in game seven.
Primeau will hit everything that moves and he alone will carry the Flyers to the cup.
The best teems in all of sports have a leader that motivates them to play above their skill level and ego's.
Also many of these players know they are too old and will never be this close again. Look for the Flyers to come out strong and if they carry the first period they win.

No, forgive me, :) one player will not carry anyone to the cup.

Primeau has not been the player in Tampa that he has been in Philly. Could be the crowd, more likely it's that he is the last player on the ice. Torts can make sure he has the matchup he wants and Primeau will not be the deciding factor.

Exactly six huh? "Go have fun at the melanoma festival." WTF?

OK. On to the finals.

The Flyers played hard and valiantly but lost to the younger, faster, better conditioned team. After all my dissing of Esche, he really proved himself in the last couple of games. he almost singlehandedly kept them in the game. Basically still a rookie, the Flyers have a keeper for a while now.

After 8 or 9 minutes of nervousness, the Lightning basically 'did what they do' for the rest of the game. At about the ten minute mark I kept saying 'don't even look at the clock, just keep playing like you are, the refs will tell you when to stop'. The atmosphere was unbelievable. Fans were on their feet for the last 5 minutes solid. Certainly a game 7 that lived up to the hype.

A couple of photos.....

Final Score
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Da...74_22May04.jpg

Trophy Presentation
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Da...73_22May04.jpg

Lightning girl (gotta love that profile ! )
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Da...69_18May04.jpg