Lesser of two evils? Pens? Caps?

by chillicothe20 on Mar 26, 2009 3:45 PM EDT

While games against the top-tier teams show we are capable of winning big games, games like tonight's against Florida are more telling, because we probably won't play Jersey or Boston or Washington in the first round of the playoffs. We'll likely be playing a Pittsburgh or Florida or the Rangers. We beat Pittsburgh recently. We looked strong and ready. They were on a big win streak too. In reference to tonight, Florida shut us out about a month or so ago. These are the games that show our capabilities the most. If we can't get out of playoff round 1, than whether we can beat the Devils or Bruins is moot. We are fairly destined to be the 4-seed, and that means worrying about the Panthers and Pens. Pittsburgh has always been a problem for us, and Florida is quite unfamiliar. Which is the lesser of two evils? Maybe after tonight, we'll know who we'd rather play. Or maybe we should hope to fall to the six or seven seed and play the Caps, who we are better against anyway. I would rather host our first round playoff series, but if I had to choose between home vs. the Pens and away vs. the Caps, it gives me much pause to say I'd rather host.

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ideally id like to play Carolina because i live in NC and i wanna talk some shit. beyond that, i dont want to play pittsburgh. id be fine with Florida or the Rangers

by njh3293 on Mar 26, 2009 4:30 PM EDT reply actions

I didn't realize until after writing this how far Florida has fallen lately.

Maybe Montreal is in the mix too.

by chillicothe20 on Mar 26, 2009 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions

It seems like a strictly hockey-type dynamic where saying something like “or maybe we should hope to fall to the six or seven seed and play the Caps, who we are better against anyway” might not be a joke, but in this case it’s very true. I think we match up better against Boston or Washington somehow, but youre right, tonight is a big test.

I want the Rangers in the first round.

by Have a Seat on Mar 26, 2009 4:58 PM EDT reply actions

Not to be that guy, but really, what does it matter who we play? We can beat anybody anywhere as evidenced by this past week. The only team that partially scares me is Pittsburgh, for obvious reasons, but two things: They already peaked and the Flyers definitely will be up for it after last year and the huge rivalry. There are positives and negatives wherever we wind up.

by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 26, 2009 5:10 PM EDT reply actions

An example of what I'm worried about...

a couple years ago (2007) in the NBA playoffs, the West #1 Dallas Mavericks got beat in 6 games by the #8 Golden State Warriors in the opening round of the playoffs. The reason? Golden State had beaten the Mavs several times that year, and the matchup favored Golden State 100%. Even analysts were saying Golden State can and should win this series. They did. I am not quite sure the Flyers have anyone who dominates them, but it still pays to play a team you do at least marginally well against.

by chillicothe20 on Mar 26, 2009 5:56 PM EDT reply actions

I share the same worries as most in playing Pittsburgh, but once you hit the playoffs it’s really not about the regular season anymore. I honestly hope Carolina holds onto the number 5 seed though. Pittsburgh or NY in the first round would be brutal. Whichever team walks away from a series like that is going to be beaten up and possibly playing tougher competition and probably against a team that may have swept or have played a less physically draining series. But in the end playoffs come down to who’s healthy, who’s got the hot goalie, and who wants it more. Who they play won’t make much difference cause at this point they know they’re capable of beating any team, just wether they execute or not.

by Pondhockey on Mar 27, 2009 10:05 AM EDT reply actions

in general you want to avoid playing a division rival in the first round, as youve already played that team 6 times in the regular season and they know all there is to know about you.

by njh3293 on Mar 27, 2009 1:23 PM EDT reply actions

And you know all there is to know about them.

by pintium02 on Mar 27, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

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Anything but the Devils I think we can handle early. The devils have had our number I feel since the days of the Legion of Doom. As for the Capitals and the Penguins I feel we would handle the Capitals just like we did last year, barely but efficiently. The penguins have more depth across their lineup and I feel they think that they had a poorer regular season than they had hope and will come on strong.

by Brockly on Apr 1, 2009 2:42 PM EDT reply actions