2011 Stanley Cup playoff thread (golf, playoffs, finals, Bruins)
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Win the cup or not, it was much more than just another series win. This was, up to this point, the biggest victory in Sharks' history.
The national and even much of the Bay Area media have been all over the Sharks the last few days...labeling them "chokers" and then you have JR's unprofessional "gutless" comment about Marleau. All this, even before the series was over..
Really all the pressure was on the Sharks. Were they to have gone down last night, not only would it have had the historical significance no NHL team wants to be associated with, but there would have been calls to blow up the team, fire GM Doug Wilson and even Todd McLellan. True Sharks fans have all gotten used to that kind of talk over the past few years, but it would have reached a crescendo had they lost last night. The future direction of the franchise was literally at stake.
Since entering the league, the Sharks have become quite a thorn in the in the Red Wings' side. I don't blame you for trying to downplay what was a tremendous character win..
I thought Game 7 vs Detriot in 1993-94 was the biggest?
Sharks need one more solid defenseman for next year.
It was only great to Sharks fans. Ducks (8th) sweep of Wings (1st & prior year cup winners & lineup full of hall of famers) in 2003 was a bigger upset, in my opinion.
They finished just one point ahead of the Wings, just like they finished one goal better last night. These two teams were equals. The Sharks got the final win.
Sharks dominated the Wings in the regular season though and Neimi is just a better goalie then Howard.
Neimi is clutch and I think it was a steal that Sharks got Neimi from the Hawks. He is not like Nabby yet but he is going there.
I was at the tank watching the game on the big screen with my friends on that game 7 and when the final buzzer sounded, the crowd went crazy and celebrating in the streets.
Irbe, Irbe!
Defense was excellent and Sharks were patient to get their chance on offense.
Makarov, Larianov, Wilson, Falloon. Sharks took Toronto to game 7 also that year.
Big upset of Calgary in Game 7 the following year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Finger Laker
I don't think some of you were around for the 93/94 playoffs ..... that was huge news that a #8 seed in their 3rd year in existence and first ever playoff series beat the red wings - who were a favorite to win the cup (they had the 3rd most wins in the NHL, most in the western conference ..... they also were the highest scoring team in the league and the only team to average over 4 goals per game
The sharks had the fewest wins out of any playoff team (they were 3 wins behind the #15 team in this category)
The 2nd highest scoring team in the league still fell 50 goals behind the wings - their season goal differential was +81 .... the only team better was NJ with +86 due to the incredible play of brodeur and the neutral zone trap ....... no team in the league was close to these two teams in differential
SJ was -13 on the season
Federov was an absolute beast that season picking up 3 trophies and finishing 2nd in overall points (10 behind gretzky)
Detroit hadn't hit their cup stride yet - but they were definitely a formidable team ..... 2 seasons prior they had the 2nd most points in the NHL .... the season prior they had the 4th most points
Speaking of the 92/93 season the redwings were +79 points over SJ .... the sharks and sens were by far the league doormats ..... then the very next season SJ sneaks into the playoffs and clips the wings (the sens remained the doormat with a 20 point gap to the 2nd worse team) .... their first two years they had 63 combined points, their 3rd season they eclipsed that # but still had a losing record
That was a huge upset and unlike the huge upset between kings/oilers (which IMO is probably the largest upset) this series was 7 games, not 5
I would like to add that despite some posters comments to the contrary, I think both teams played relatively clean hockey (as clean as it ever gets), and while the officiating was mediocre, at least it was fairly evenly so. Both teams did their share of dubious things, but it never got out of hand. That was nice to watch.
This was one of the better officiated series that I can remember. Last year was awful reffing, but this year was way better. Can't blame the refs this time.
I hope they don't come out flat, after being Idle for a week.
the B's have won 8 of 9 since dropping the 1st two games in the Montreal series.
The Lightning have been off even longer, so I would worry about that. At least both teams have gotten a change to heal their injuries a little. They should be fresh and this should be a good series.
Sharks dominated the Wings in the regular season though and Neimi is just a better goalie then Howard.
Neimi is clutch and I think it was a steal that Sharks got Neimi from the Hawks. He is not like Nabby yet but he is going there.
Neimi is a better playoff goalie than Nabokov ever was...Nabby not only had a low save %, but he was always being outplayed by the opponent's goalie come playoff time. Hiller in the Anaheim series a couple years ago comes to mind. Plus, Nabby let in more than a few killer goals.
Remember, I think it was in 2007, the Sharks were less than a minute away from taking a 3-1 series lead on the Red Wings in the Western Conference semis..and Nabby goes and allows an unscreened Robert Lang goal, he should never have let in, tying the game. The Sharks lost in OT and never won another game in the series..
That kind of stuff just can't happen if you expect to challenge for the Stanley Cup. The Sharks should have dumped Nabby years ago..
The Lightning have been off even longer, so I would worry about that. At least both teams have gotten a change to heal their injuries a little. They should be fresh and this should be a good series.
*Wouldn't*
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