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The Everything NHL Thread
- Thread starter Jackal
- Start date
As any Oilers fan would agree, MacT has played his last game. Despite his effort in 06', it's just not consistent enough. (sorry for beating a dead horse, but he fucked up BIG this year.)
My new avatar depicts my favorite to win, though Columbus v Vancouver is going to be really fun to watch.
My new avatar depicts my favorite to win, though Columbus v Vancouver is going to be really fun to watch.
Your friends from Edmonton were chanting "early exit" after their loss to the flames, until I asked very loudly what their playoff strategy was...in retrospect it's not smart to taunt dejected fans from a city that riots when it wins.
Everyone in Calgary is hoping MacT sticks around for many years...
Everyone in Calgary is hoping MacT sticks around for many years...
I'd say it'll be St. Louis vs. Vancouver as St. Louis should win this game against the Avalanche. Thus setting up Columbus vs. Detroit and San Jose vs. Anaheim.
Some great series' in the West. All should be exciting and perhaps even close(?).
Unfortunately I can't speak for the city of Edmonton, but we generally hate when Calgary makes the playoffs and we don't. Not surprisingly everyone in Calgary KNOWS MacT sucks monkey nuts, and the longer he sticks around, the less often we will win, sadly. I think the flaw was in the construction of the team: young and lightweight. The coach can only work with what he has. The real blame is on Lowe, but he's had good moves as well in the past. I say let Tambellini have some time to mold the team the way he sees fit.
Actually, Vancouver vs St. Louis would be equally fun to watch. St. Louis just plays better during the playoffs.
Actually, Vancouver vs St. Louis would be equally fun to watch. St. Louis just plays better during the playoffs.
Fantasy Team
Finishing 4th this season. Compared to 3rd last season.
As last year, I played only Québécois players all through the year, trying to make up quality by quantity with attempts at effective streaming.
Here is by position the players I had on the ice during the season and for how many games.
Centermen
Mike Ribeiro 81
Patrice Bergeron 36
Matthew Lombardi 28
Éric Bélanger 27
Derick Brassard 22
Daniel Brière 18
Éric Perrin 15
Maxim Lapierre 13
Maxime Talbot 13
Marc-Antoine Pouliot 10
Joel Perrault 1
Alexandre Bolduc 1
Alexandre Giroux 1
As this shows, I was clearly stuck with one potent Centerman this season. Brassard was my number 2 guy until he got hurt and Brière I could only get late in the season, while he was injured.
Great Season
Brassard, up until the injury. He started off my 3rd centerman after Bergeron, but his great start quickly had him win 2nd spot. He would have had a run for Calder along with his teammate goaltender if it wouldn't have been for this injury.
Disappointement
Daniel Brière didn't put up the numbers for the games I had him. Granted he came back from an injury which must have hurt his performance. Bergeron had a terrible season, a man clearly on the decline after his numerous injuries.
Left Wings
Simon Gagné 75
Alex Tanguay 49
Alexandre Burrows 44
Antoine Vermette 29
David Perron 28
Pascal Dupuis 10
Stéphane Veilleux 6
Donald Brashear 2
Steve Bégin 2
Alexandre Picard 1
That was a solid position, especially considering it is generally deemed as the forward position with the thinnest talent pool.
Great Season
Simon Gagné, no doubt those Flyers put on some heavy offensive stats this year. He came back brilliantly from his last season multi-injuries.
Alex Burrows had a breakthrough season, he seems to be a perfect fit for the Sedin twins and he pulls up a very good amount of PIMs on top of it.
Disappointements
None really, other than Tanguay getting hurt. I was expecting a little more from David Perron but he is still quite young. He'll eventually get the ice time, I know he's going to be a legit fantasy player one day.
In between
Vermette went from a disaster of a first half to being a very good fantasy player with Columbus. He picked up double eligibility (C + LW) and complemented the Jackets' first line very well. I'm going to put considerations on him next season.
Right Wings
Martin St-Louis 79
Jean-Pierre Dumont 77
Pierre-Marc Bouchard 53
Steve Bernier 32
Ian Laperrière 29
Guillaume Latendresse 17
Ben Guité 6
Georges Laraque 5
André Roy 3
Claude Lemieux 1
Good Season
Hardly anyone. Although St-Louis and Dumont didnt have a bad season, then both went below my expectations.
Disappointments
PM Bouchard. He quickly got double wings eligibility which had me play him many times but didn't pull numbers from it. He seemed to pick up late in the season however, salvaging what would have been a terrible one.
Defensemen
Easily my weakest position. I'll be honest, Québec does not produce tier 1 defensemen. My choice here was mediocre and limited at best.
Marc-Édouard Vlasic 70
Stéphane Robidas 56
Kristopher Letang 56
Marc-André Bergeron 55
Philippe Boucher 30
Patrice Brisebois 25
Alexandre Picard 21
Bruno Gervais 16
François Beauchemin 10
Denis Gauthier 6
Francis Bouillon 5
Good Season
Vlasic no doubt my best defenseman and quite a satisfying surprise. He is young and plays for the right team. A breakthrough season.
Dissapointments
Philippe Boucher had a terrible season. I may also be overrating Kris Letang.
Goalies
Starting off the season with 2 goalies, at some point I had one hurt and one that wasn't playing. That made playing under this theme very difficult as I was trying left and right to pick up games from Québécois backups, as most of the starters were already in a team and I couldnt get a trade done. The situation ended up fixing itself thankfully.
José Théodore 49
Martin Brodeur 28
Dany Sabourin 10
Yann Danis 8
Patrick Lalime 4
Mathieu Garon 3
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers 3
Good Season
Nobody had a really good season.
Dissapointments
Brodeur, my 1st round pick (4th total), being hurt all season and Theodore for nearly losing his starter position. Garon for managing to lose what we though he won last year.
Finishing 4th this season. Compared to 3rd last season.
As last year, I played only Québécois players all through the year, trying to make up quality by quantity with attempts at effective streaming.
Here is by position the players I had on the ice during the season and for how many games.
Centermen
Mike Ribeiro 81
Patrice Bergeron 36
Matthew Lombardi 28
Éric Bélanger 27
Derick Brassard 22
Daniel Brière 18
Éric Perrin 15
Maxim Lapierre 13
Maxime Talbot 13
Marc-Antoine Pouliot 10
Joel Perrault 1
Alexandre Bolduc 1
Alexandre Giroux 1
As this shows, I was clearly stuck with one potent Centerman this season. Brassard was my number 2 guy until he got hurt and Brière I could only get late in the season, while he was injured.
Great Season
Brassard, up until the injury. He started off my 3rd centerman after Bergeron, but his great start quickly had him win 2nd spot. He would have had a run for Calder along with his teammate goaltender if it wouldn't have been for this injury.
Disappointement
Daniel Brière didn't put up the numbers for the games I had him. Granted he came back from an injury which must have hurt his performance. Bergeron had a terrible season, a man clearly on the decline after his numerous injuries.
Left Wings
Simon Gagné 75
Alex Tanguay 49
Alexandre Burrows 44
Antoine Vermette 29
David Perron 28
Pascal Dupuis 10
Stéphane Veilleux 6
Donald Brashear 2
Steve Bégin 2
Alexandre Picard 1
That was a solid position, especially considering it is generally deemed as the forward position with the thinnest talent pool.
Great Season
Simon Gagné, no doubt those Flyers put on some heavy offensive stats this year. He came back brilliantly from his last season multi-injuries.
Alex Burrows had a breakthrough season, he seems to be a perfect fit for the Sedin twins and he pulls up a very good amount of PIMs on top of it.
Disappointements
None really, other than Tanguay getting hurt. I was expecting a little more from David Perron but he is still quite young. He'll eventually get the ice time, I know he's going to be a legit fantasy player one day.
In between
Vermette went from a disaster of a first half to being a very good fantasy player with Columbus. He picked up double eligibility (C + LW) and complemented the Jackets' first line very well. I'm going to put considerations on him next season.
Right Wings
Martin St-Louis 79
Jean-Pierre Dumont 77
Pierre-Marc Bouchard 53
Steve Bernier 32
Ian Laperrière 29
Guillaume Latendresse 17
Ben Guité 6
Georges Laraque 5
André Roy 3
Claude Lemieux 1
Good Season
Hardly anyone. Although St-Louis and Dumont didnt have a bad season, then both went below my expectations.
Disappointments
PM Bouchard. He quickly got double wings eligibility which had me play him many times but didn't pull numbers from it. He seemed to pick up late in the season however, salvaging what would have been a terrible one.
Defensemen
Easily my weakest position. I'll be honest, Québec does not produce tier 1 defensemen. My choice here was mediocre and limited at best.
Marc-Édouard Vlasic 70
Stéphane Robidas 56
Kristopher Letang 56
Marc-André Bergeron 55
Philippe Boucher 30
Patrice Brisebois 25
Alexandre Picard 21
Bruno Gervais 16
François Beauchemin 10
Denis Gauthier 6
Francis Bouillon 5
Good Season
Vlasic no doubt my best defenseman and quite a satisfying surprise. He is young and plays for the right team. A breakthrough season.
Dissapointments
Philippe Boucher had a terrible season. I may also be overrating Kris Letang.
Goalies
Starting off the season with 2 goalies, at some point I had one hurt and one that wasn't playing. That made playing under this theme very difficult as I was trying left and right to pick up games from Québécois backups, as most of the starters were already in a team and I couldnt get a trade done. The situation ended up fixing itself thankfully.
José Théodore 49
Martin Brodeur 28
Dany Sabourin 10
Yann Danis 8
Patrick Lalime 4
Mathieu Garon 3
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers 3
Good Season
Nobody had a really good season.
Dissapointments
Brodeur, my 1st round pick (4th total), being hurt all season and Theodore for nearly losing his starter position. Garon for managing to lose what we though he won last year.
Interesting team as usual Vineon, I wish you would have played in our league but with our streaming stipulations this strategy wouldnt have worked, though it would have been nice if we could have let you in and played with a gentlemans rule or something. Or you could draft a normal team :P
I commented briefly in #smogon about that great deal for the wings, along with lamenting how they are good at everything (besides securing a #1 goalie :P)
4.35 mil as an average hit for Franzen is a steal for a sniper who players so well in your system. The scary part is that your "lock up hossa" comment is now not even facetious...they could seriously lock up Hossa for 8+ years with a little bit of cap manipulation =(
That's scary. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Hossa for a bajillion years.
4.35 mil as an average hit for Franzen is a steal for a sniper who players so well in your system. The scary part is that your "lock up hossa" comment is now not even facetious...they could seriously lock up Hossa for 8+ years with a little bit of cap manipulation =(
That's scary. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Hossa for a bajillion years.
I think how Detroit is running its cap is really interesting - it seems almost a given they manage to lock Hossa up at this point, he wants to stay, they want to keep him, and they have ridiculously good deals for Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Franzen. I think having all 4 of them forever can be as bad as it is good - DiPietro is less of a proven quantity, but the same kind of thing can happen - if one of them develop recurring injury issues (like, say, Zetterberg's back) it's a decision they're stuck with long term. They're good players and good people, though, so as a Wings fan I like the moves so far. I like to point out that this isn't as surefire of a slam dunk as maybe we'd like to think, though. I just hope we don't sign Samuelsson and Chelios for another 12 years...
Although to touch on it, sorry I didn't make the fantasy finals more interesting, but I felt like it was a pretty good season overall. Much more competitive this year, the playoff race was good and there was a lot of good matches - hopefully next year is interesting as well.
I'm usually more captivated by the real playoffs this time of year and there should be some really awesome matches (but I fully expect 2 of my 3 teams to lose round 1), but I'll get predictions up later...
Although to touch on it, sorry I didn't make the fantasy finals more interesting, but I felt like it was a pretty good season overall. Much more competitive this year, the playoff race was good and there was a lot of good matches - hopefully next year is interesting as well.
I'm usually more captivated by the real playoffs this time of year and there should be some really awesome matches (but I fully expect 2 of my 3 teams to lose round 1), but I'll get predictions up later...
Predictions
East
Montreal vs Boston
Who I want to win : Montreal
Who will win : Boston
Mtl is 1-5 this season against them and they are coming off 4 straight losses. Boston will destroy a very mentally and physically fragile team in 4.
Rangers vs Washington
Who I want to win : Caps
Who will win : Caps
Haven't been able to trust the Caps as a dominant team so far even though they've pulled the numbers this season. Theodore is a shaky goalie. That said, the Caps will still win, in 6.
Carolina vs New Jersey
Who I want to win : Devils
Who will win : Canes
I believe in momentum. The hurricanes are steam rolling and the Devils will get caught up in the eye. A quick finish and early exit to what used to be an east favorite, somewhen during the season. Hurricanes in 5.
Philly vs Pittsburgh
Who I want to win : I'm fine with either
Who will win : Pens
Repeat of last year. Pens will make anyone that doubted them eat their words. Pens in 6.
Round 2
Carolina vs Boston
Hurricanes in 6
Pittsburgh vs Washington
Pens in 7
East Final
Carolina vs Pittsburgh
Canes in 6
West
Anaheim vs San Jose
Who I want to win : Sharks
Who will win : Sharks
Although I am predicting a tougher serie than most would expect. Sharks in 6.
Columbus vs Red Wings
Who I want to win : Jackets
Who will win : Wings
As much as I love Nash, Vermette and cie, the Red Wings is a machine. I'm glad the Jackets get their play-off birth. Now is the time to see if that market can developp into an actual hockey hot spot like I believe it can. Wings in 5.
St. Louis vs Vancouver
Who I want to win : Canucks
Who will win : Canucks
Expecting blowout. I don't see an aspect in which the Blues are superior. Canucks, fast and easy, in 4.
Chicago vs Flames
Who I want to win : Hawks
Who will win : Hawks
The Hawks are my favorite team in the west right now I will be fully supporting them. The Flames don't look to be burning too hotly atm and will likely get extinguished. Hawks in 6.
Round 2
Hawks vs Sharks
Sharks in 5
Canucks vs Wings
Canucks in 7
West Final
Canucks vs Sharks
Sharks in 6
Stanley Cup Final
CAROLINA HURRICANES
vs
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Sharks easily keep it in the west. It ends quickly, in 5.
East
Montreal vs Boston
Who I want to win : Montreal
Who will win : Boston
Mtl is 1-5 this season against them and they are coming off 4 straight losses. Boston will destroy a very mentally and physically fragile team in 4.
Rangers vs Washington
Who I want to win : Caps
Who will win : Caps
Haven't been able to trust the Caps as a dominant team so far even though they've pulled the numbers this season. Theodore is a shaky goalie. That said, the Caps will still win, in 6.
Carolina vs New Jersey
Who I want to win : Devils
Who will win : Canes
I believe in momentum. The hurricanes are steam rolling and the Devils will get caught up in the eye. A quick finish and early exit to what used to be an east favorite, somewhen during the season. Hurricanes in 5.
Philly vs Pittsburgh
Who I want to win : I'm fine with either
Who will win : Pens
Repeat of last year. Pens will make anyone that doubted them eat their words. Pens in 6.
Round 2
Carolina vs Boston
Hurricanes in 6
Pittsburgh vs Washington
Pens in 7
East Final
Carolina vs Pittsburgh
Canes in 6
West
Anaheim vs San Jose
Who I want to win : Sharks
Who will win : Sharks
Although I am predicting a tougher serie than most would expect. Sharks in 6.
Columbus vs Red Wings
Who I want to win : Jackets
Who will win : Wings
As much as I love Nash, Vermette and cie, the Red Wings is a machine. I'm glad the Jackets get their play-off birth. Now is the time to see if that market can developp into an actual hockey hot spot like I believe it can. Wings in 5.
St. Louis vs Vancouver
Who I want to win : Canucks
Who will win : Canucks
Expecting blowout. I don't see an aspect in which the Blues are superior. Canucks, fast and easy, in 4.
Chicago vs Flames
Who I want to win : Hawks
Who will win : Hawks
The Hawks are my favorite team in the west right now I will be fully supporting them. The Flames don't look to be burning too hotly atm and will likely get extinguished. Hawks in 6.
Round 2
Hawks vs Sharks
Sharks in 5
Canucks vs Wings
Canucks in 7
West Final
Canucks vs Sharks
Sharks in 6
Stanley Cup Final
CAROLINA HURRICANES
vs
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Sharks easily keep it in the west. It ends quickly, in 5.
dude we fucking need Visnovsky more than anything. In fact the whole reason Edmonton missed the playoffs is really based on the fact that we have almost nothing remaining in terms of ANYTHING BETTER THAN A 40 YEAR OLD GOALIE >8(. Souray is really one of those guys who shines one game and does fuck all the next.
Oilers related shit aside, my playoff pics are really similar to Vin's, but I think Columbus will make a better showing than most people think. While their lines are okay, what truly makes or breaks a team in the playoffs is their goalie, and Columbus has that going for them more than any other team in the west. A 2.29 GAA is nothing to scoff at, after all.
Oilers related shit aside, my playoff pics are really similar to Vin's, but I think Columbus will make a better showing than most people think. While their lines are okay, what truly makes or breaks a team in the playoffs is their goalie, and Columbus has that going for them more than any other team in the west. A 2.29 GAA is nothing to scoff at, after all.
fantasy playoffs and nhl playoffs
So, fantasy playoffs basically went the opposite of what I expected ._.
In the Yahoo Public league I thought I was going to dominate and "win for sure," I got dominated 6-3. The Yahoo's winner's league where I thought my chances were 50-50 I dominated and got first. The other custom league I'm in I got third place.
And then, finally, for Smogon League, in which I thought I was a severe underdog to Teifu's team, I won 9-0 pretty handily.
Here are the scores for each league (http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1840139#post1840139 My rosters post if you are curious):
Yahoo Public Winner's League, first place:
Glorious_Shizzle....23 25 17 54 17 210 6 3.20 .889 0 5
Houston Gamblers 19 39 -5 50 14 216 4 2.76 .903 0 4
Now I know you are probably like, "what's he talking about, 'dominated'?"
Those are the stats with Mr. Houston Gambler's streaming 10 skaters every day ._. Which is why I think it is domination.
Yahoo Public league, second place:
Glorious_Shizzle 29 35 19 40 18 205 6 2.94 .907 1 3
RMI1188...........19 39 -8 53 33 173 6 1.83 .934 2 6
The last two days are what made this even somewhat respectable. I was dominated through and through.
My other custom league, third place:
Glorious_Shizzle ...........14 42 3 51 4 19 0 172 164 7 2.60 341 .905 1 6
youfuckedwhenufaceme 14 40 5 38 2 19 1 178 105 6 2.56 287 .917 1 5
The categories are, in order, Goals, Assists, +/-, PIM, PPA, PPG, SHP, SOG, FOW, W, GAA, Saves, save%, SO
This was a weird league for me all year. That's my only comment lol.
Finally, here is the Smogon Fantasy League, first place:
Glorious_Shizzle ...28 45 7 63 23 244 9 1.81 .926 9
Team Fantabulous 18 37 6 51 21 .202 .3 2.65 .903 .0
If you check out the rosters, you'll understand why I thought I was an underdog. Props have to go to Ovechkin, Khabibulin, Nash, Doan, and Havlat for carrying my ass all year. With the extreme disappointment that my initial three goalies were (ugh Budaj, Gerber, and Bryzgalov...awesome predictions Aldaron ._.), and Boucher, Kaberle, and Jovanovski not performing to their usual standards of defensive fantasy stat excellence, I really counted on those 5 to carry me all year.
Khabibulin is probably the MVP of my team, as he allowed me to make the goalie stats respectable all year, and then he pretty much single-handedly won me the goalie stats in the championship round (though Chris Mason was super for giving me a shutout on the last day, but most importantly for getting me through the round against Gr33n).
Anyway, I have to say that Smogon league was easily my most competitive, and therefore most fun. In spite of the slight drama regarding different interpretations of the basic gentleman's rules, I think it was a pretty fun season, and thank Teifu, Psycho, Gr33n, Jackal, Articuno64, WER, Zerowing, Bender, Carl, and Stall (I think you were active, Stall) for remaining active and for keeping this league as competitive as possible throughout the entire season. Super slops to moi for not being active. He had 3 top 10 centers and other good players that suffered on an inactive team. We need someone who is more active to replace him next year.
GG and let's do this again next year! ^_^
Anyway, onto the NHL playoffs' predictions.
EAST:
Bruins vs. Habs - Bruins. The Bruins got over their post ridiculously win streak slump, Tim Thomas is playing as incredibly as ever in front of that underrated defense, and the Bruins stocked up in much needed leadership (Recchi) and grit (Montador) for the playoffs. The Habs have been a team in decline for sometime now, and matched up awfully against this Bruins this season. I don't expect this to be a close series. Bruins in 5.
Caps vs. Rangers - Caps. SUPER excited for this series. First of all, Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Green, and Federov in the playoffs is exciting itself. But the Rangers got their skilled grit in Avery, who is an entire level of exciting by himself, and have a playoff tested goalie in Lundqvist (which the Caps do not have). I fully expect this series to go 6 or 7 games, with all of them incredibly exciting. I wonder what Don Cherry will say when his two favorite players, Ovechkin and Avery, start messing with each other :P I have it as Caps in 7.
Devils vs. Hurricanes - Hurricanes. UGH. Just UGH. We HAD to get the Canes, the hottest team going into the playoffs, while we ourselves are not doing so well. The Hurricanes, btw, own us in recent playoff history as well. My only hope is that we beat the Canes recently, 3-2, and that will make what seems like a series destined for an "upset" not go down that path. I can only hope that a refreshed and healthy Brodeur is over his end season slump and will perform like he did when he came back from the injury. Right now, I have it as Canes in 6.
Pens vs. Flyers - Pens. The Pens are another team on a streak going into the playoffs. I really like the additions of Kunitz and Guerin as well, as they give Uber Centermen Malkin and Crosby the obvious skilled wingers they need along with plenty of grit to match with the Flyers. The key to this series is pretty obvious: Marc-Andre Fleury. If the good version shows up, the Pens will be able to stand up to the bully Flyers and out skill them to victory. If the average version shows up, I think the overall grit of the Flyers will quickly destroy the Pens' morale (I'm not confident in the leadership of Crosby, Malkin OR Guerin just yet), so long as their skilled players in Briere and Carter maintain their recent hot streaks. Also, another X-factor in this series is Mike Richards. I am HUGE on Mike Richards. I remember when he pretty much singlehandedly kept Ovechkin "in check" last year. I think he'll be pit against Malkin this time and asked to do the same. I am really impressed by his combination of skill, leadership and grit, so even if Fleury does show up, I think the Flyers have a shot simply due to him. I have it as Pens in 6.
Sharks vs. Ducks - Sharks. I actually don't think this'll be that competitive. You can't underestimate a team with 2 super elite tier 1 defenseman along with the offensive prowess of Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne and Ryan, but I just don't see anything good coming out of that goalie situation. The sharks should have a healthy backline, and their big boys can easily stand up to Pronger and the Bullies. Sharks in 5.
Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets - BLUE JACKETS. 3-3 in the regular season. A town (Columbus) absolutely in a buzz regarding this team. This, along with the Devils vs. Canes, is the other upset potential series. Rick Nash in the playoffs excites me. Hitchcock has ALWAYS played the Red Wings well, and I think he will be the difference in a super close, super fun series. Jackets in 7, in a thriller.
Canucks vs. Blues - Blues. I don't think this will be an upset. No one is underestimating the Blues or possessing particularly high expectations for the Canucks. The Blues are another hot team, with a hot goalie and a young skilled line that is complementing its more experienced skilled line. I'm glad they didn't trade Tkachuk this year. I kind of want the Canucks to win, if only because I love Mats Sundin and I want him to succeed, but I just don't see them pulling off the win here. Blues in 6.
Blackhawks vs. Flames - Blackhawks. This is going to be a joke of a series. I don't expect this to be competitive at all. Kind of like the Bruins Habs series. The Flames are a mess, and the Blackhawks are over whatever slight slump they had a while back. Khabibulin is hot and they have a #1 backup in Huet. Havlat is healthy and clicking ridiculously well on that new line of Havlat - Toews - Kane. Hawks in 5.
So, fantasy playoffs basically went the opposite of what I expected ._.
In the Yahoo Public league I thought I was going to dominate and "win for sure," I got dominated 6-3. The Yahoo's winner's league where I thought my chances were 50-50 I dominated and got first. The other custom league I'm in I got third place.
And then, finally, for Smogon League, in which I thought I was a severe underdog to Teifu's team, I won 9-0 pretty handily.
Here are the scores for each league (http://www.smogon.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1840139#post1840139 My rosters post if you are curious):
Yahoo Public Winner's League, first place:
Glorious_Shizzle....23 25 17 54 17 210 6 3.20 .889 0 5
Houston Gamblers 19 39 -5 50 14 216 4 2.76 .903 0 4
Now I know you are probably like, "what's he talking about, 'dominated'?"
Those are the stats with Mr. Houston Gambler's streaming 10 skaters every day ._. Which is why I think it is domination.
Yahoo Public league, second place:
Glorious_Shizzle 29 35 19 40 18 205 6 2.94 .907 1 3
RMI1188...........19 39 -8 53 33 173 6 1.83 .934 2 6
The last two days are what made this even somewhat respectable. I was dominated through and through.
My other custom league, third place:
Glorious_Shizzle ...........14 42 3 51 4 19 0 172 164 7 2.60 341 .905 1 6
youfuckedwhenufaceme 14 40 5 38 2 19 1 178 105 6 2.56 287 .917 1 5
The categories are, in order, Goals, Assists, +/-, PIM, PPA, PPG, SHP, SOG, FOW, W, GAA, Saves, save%, SO
This was a weird league for me all year. That's my only comment lol.
Finally, here is the Smogon Fantasy League, first place:
Glorious_Shizzle ...28 45 7 63 23 244 9 1.81 .926 9
Team Fantabulous 18 37 6 51 21 .202 .3 2.65 .903 .0
If you check out the rosters, you'll understand why I thought I was an underdog. Props have to go to Ovechkin, Khabibulin, Nash, Doan, and Havlat for carrying my ass all year. With the extreme disappointment that my initial three goalies were (ugh Budaj, Gerber, and Bryzgalov...awesome predictions Aldaron ._.), and Boucher, Kaberle, and Jovanovski not performing to their usual standards of defensive fantasy stat excellence, I really counted on those 5 to carry me all year.
Khabibulin is probably the MVP of my team, as he allowed me to make the goalie stats respectable all year, and then he pretty much single-handedly won me the goalie stats in the championship round (though Chris Mason was super for giving me a shutout on the last day, but most importantly for getting me through the round against Gr33n).
Anyway, I have to say that Smogon league was easily my most competitive, and therefore most fun. In spite of the slight drama regarding different interpretations of the basic gentleman's rules, I think it was a pretty fun season, and thank Teifu, Psycho, Gr33n, Jackal, Articuno64, WER, Zerowing, Bender, Carl, and Stall (I think you were active, Stall) for remaining active and for keeping this league as competitive as possible throughout the entire season. Super slops to moi for not being active. He had 3 top 10 centers and other good players that suffered on an inactive team. We need someone who is more active to replace him next year.
GG and let's do this again next year! ^_^
Anyway, onto the NHL playoffs' predictions.
EAST:
Bruins vs. Habs - Bruins. The Bruins got over their post ridiculously win streak slump, Tim Thomas is playing as incredibly as ever in front of that underrated defense, and the Bruins stocked up in much needed leadership (Recchi) and grit (Montador) for the playoffs. The Habs have been a team in decline for sometime now, and matched up awfully against this Bruins this season. I don't expect this to be a close series. Bruins in 5.
Caps vs. Rangers - Caps. SUPER excited for this series. First of all, Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Green, and Federov in the playoffs is exciting itself. But the Rangers got their skilled grit in Avery, who is an entire level of exciting by himself, and have a playoff tested goalie in Lundqvist (which the Caps do not have). I fully expect this series to go 6 or 7 games, with all of them incredibly exciting. I wonder what Don Cherry will say when his two favorite players, Ovechkin and Avery, start messing with each other :P I have it as Caps in 7.
Devils vs. Hurricanes - Hurricanes. UGH. Just UGH. We HAD to get the Canes, the hottest team going into the playoffs, while we ourselves are not doing so well. The Hurricanes, btw, own us in recent playoff history as well. My only hope is that we beat the Canes recently, 3-2, and that will make what seems like a series destined for an "upset" not go down that path. I can only hope that a refreshed and healthy Brodeur is over his end season slump and will perform like he did when he came back from the injury. Right now, I have it as Canes in 6.
Pens vs. Flyers - Pens. The Pens are another team on a streak going into the playoffs. I really like the additions of Kunitz and Guerin as well, as they give Uber Centermen Malkin and Crosby the obvious skilled wingers they need along with plenty of grit to match with the Flyers. The key to this series is pretty obvious: Marc-Andre Fleury. If the good version shows up, the Pens will be able to stand up to the bully Flyers and out skill them to victory. If the average version shows up, I think the overall grit of the Flyers will quickly destroy the Pens' morale (I'm not confident in the leadership of Crosby, Malkin OR Guerin just yet), so long as their skilled players in Briere and Carter maintain their recent hot streaks. Also, another X-factor in this series is Mike Richards. I am HUGE on Mike Richards. I remember when he pretty much singlehandedly kept Ovechkin "in check" last year. I think he'll be pit against Malkin this time and asked to do the same. I am really impressed by his combination of skill, leadership and grit, so even if Fleury does show up, I think the Flyers have a shot simply due to him. I have it as Pens in 6.
Sharks vs. Ducks - Sharks. I actually don't think this'll be that competitive. You can't underestimate a team with 2 super elite tier 1 defenseman along with the offensive prowess of Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne and Ryan, but I just don't see anything good coming out of that goalie situation. The sharks should have a healthy backline, and their big boys can easily stand up to Pronger and the Bullies. Sharks in 5.
Red Wings vs. Blue Jackets - BLUE JACKETS. 3-3 in the regular season. A town (Columbus) absolutely in a buzz regarding this team. This, along with the Devils vs. Canes, is the other upset potential series. Rick Nash in the playoffs excites me. Hitchcock has ALWAYS played the Red Wings well, and I think he will be the difference in a super close, super fun series. Jackets in 7, in a thriller.
Canucks vs. Blues - Blues. I don't think this will be an upset. No one is underestimating the Blues or possessing particularly high expectations for the Canucks. The Blues are another hot team, with a hot goalie and a young skilled line that is complementing its more experienced skilled line. I'm glad they didn't trade Tkachuk this year. I kind of want the Canucks to win, if only because I love Mats Sundin and I want him to succeed, but I just don't see them pulling off the win here. Blues in 6.
Blackhawks vs. Flames - Blackhawks. This is going to be a joke of a series. I don't expect this to be competitive at all. Kind of like the Bruins Habs series. The Flames are a mess, and the Blackhawks are over whatever slight slump they had a while back. Khabibulin is hot and they have a #1 backup in Huet. Havlat is healthy and clicking ridiculously well on that new line of Havlat - Toews - Kane. Hawks in 5.
aldaron said:
And that is what worries me about winner's leagues - I am concerned about how people won the first time, not much fun to play against streaming. Bah, whatever, maybe I'll try next year. Kind of neat that I think 4 of our 6 playoff teams (not sure if green makes it 5) have won Publics too, clearly we're representing out of smogon.
I am not too torn up about our playoffs either way, but it's a little disappointing seeing how badly my team collapsed in the last 2 weeks. Turco being hurt really hurt me, but it was more people who didn't get injured who sucked that was an issue - Alfredsson only had 2 points (who admittedly was playing hurt), 0 from Barker, 0 from Brown, 3 from Hemsky, 5 from Zetterberg and Richards... none of them produced close to their averages or close to what they should be giving for their draft positions. My whole team collapsed outside of Sedin, Kozlov, Ribiero, Green, and Boyle. Annoying, but what are you gonna do? lol
Anyway, playoff predictions...
8 ANA @ 1 SJ
This will be a lot better than 1/8 matchups are supposed to be. The Sharks are just too good, but the Ducks are playing really well in front of Hiller (who I really like seeing displace the diving "duck" Giguerre) and the Ryan/Getzlaf/Perry line is dominant now that Carlyle is actually giving Ryan more than fifty seconds of ice time a game. The Sharks are big and fast and mean and skilled and an infinitely better team, but I think this'll be a fairly taxing round 1 for them, and having watched I think 4 of the 6 regular season games they were all pretty close. I think this'll be a pretty good series. Sharks in 6.
7 CLB @ 2 DET
Oh boy. I'm glad to see Columbus instead of Anaheim, but I would sure have rather seen St. Louis as a Michigan native. The season series has been pretty even, but Mason has a winning record against us and Osgood has been absolutely terrible against them. I wouldn't be surprised to see Conklin in net by the middle of this series. Detroit is healthier than it's been in a while even though we rested some people the last week, and if everyone is playing well there are just too many good players for Columbus to keep up. However, this is my prediction:
Columbus in 5
Columbus is not that much better than Detroit, or better at all, but I fully expect Mason to steal one of the first two and Osgood to choke the other and that is a hole I'm not sure even this veteran team is going to do much to get out of. Goaltending is likely the story here, lots of youngster on Columbus, however - if they lose the two at the Joe I expect them to fold. Short series, imo.
It's worth noting Brassard is probably back for round 2 if they make it.
6 STL @ 3 VAN
While they didn't get nearly as much attention in doing it, the only team that has been almost as hot as St. Louis the past couple months has been Vancouver. After picking up Sundin and Luongo recovering they've been really, really hot. And St. Louis, for their part, have been about 7-2-1 in their last 10 since the All-star break, putting up really ridiculous marks since then. I expect a goaliefest in this one, and I have to put my trust in Luongo in that one. Sundin, the Sedins, Kesler, etc. is slightly better scoring in my eyes than McDonald, Tkachuk, and their legion of kiddies, but as with Columbus regardless of the results in this series the experience should really help them. Vancouver in 6
4 CHI @ 5 CGY
Very little to say about this one that hasn't been mentioned to exhaustion already. Hot team plays cold team it might be better than anyway. I'm a little concerned by how cold a lot of Chicago's players are (Barker hasn't scored a point in three weeks, among others) but they should have some time to wake up against Calgary, here. Chicago in 5
--
8 MON @ 1 BOS
I want to say 'lol montreal sucks sweep' but rivalry series don't tend to work that way. Future Vezina winner Tim "I start every rush on my ass" Thomas and friends are going to be way too much for Habs but I expect them to take a couple. Boston in 6
7 NYR @ 2 WSH
I'm really bummed these two ran into each other since I find myself rooting for the Rangers for Torta... Torto... the coach and Avery. The Rangers are significantly better since adding those two individuals as well as Morris, but probably still not really on par with the caps. Three former MVPs (Ovechkin, Fedorov, Theodore), the guy who should but won't win this year's Norris, Backstrom and his playmaking skills(and ability to score in his own net)... I don't know, the caps look really dangerous this year. I think this'll be fun but Ovy should finally see round 2. Caps in 6
6 CAR @ 3 NJ
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Hurricane(s) in 6
4 PIT vs. 5 PHI
there is no @ here they can probably walk to each other's stadiums ok
This is another interesting series, but with Pittsburgh cresting while Philly is falling I think the Pens will slide into round 2. This is backing up the comments made by some players (Recchi and some other guy I think) that Therrien was one of the worst coaches on earth, since they've been about a billion and two since the coaching change. I really hate the Pens but they're a team it is good for the league to do well, and this could set up an interesting round 2...
Penguins in 6
Additionally, gotta feel for the Florida Panthers - held Boumeester to make the playoffs and then ended up with an identical record to Montreal in 8th and lost the tiebreaker. Ouch.
?? What is you be meaning ??
Well since aldaron was curious about playoff teams in other leagues, I'm sure at least he will be interested in some results! (so at least one person will read this..)
I'll start with the league that was mine to lose since draft day (no not smogon's league, the other one): Pookar's mini 6 person league. I had all the best players to begin with and the free agent pool was deep plus the league remained fairly inactive. It was a gimme fantasy league championship if there ever was one. However, despite being the top seed I was actually losing after the first week of the finals to pookar of all people! Good thing my team pulled their collective heads out of their asses by the middle of week two and secured first place with a solid 7-3 win. Now the numbers:
Carl's Crosscheckers: 24g 43a +12 60pim 22ppp 226sog 8w 3.22gaa .895sv% 0so
(136-61-23 .670 295pts 18moves)
pookar: 20g 25a -4 55pim 19ppp 177sog 7w 2.19gaa .924sv% 2so
(102-89-29 .530 233pts)
As you can see, my goalies blew. Luckily for me, my skaters didn't need help and were able to post a pretty convincing set of stats to secure the come from behind win. Anything less would have been an embarassment so I'm pleased with the result.
The other finals team was in a public league that teifu was a part of. After the first week I was losing here as well. In the end it was super close contrary to what my 7-2 victory margin indicates:
the villager carls:
20g 35a +6 54pim 21ppp 184sog 8w 2.91gaa .892sv% 1so
(101-65-24 .595 226pts)
the legend:
19g 34a +4 57pim 21ppp 174sog 7w 3.14 .897sv% 0so
(102-68-20 .589 224pts)
As you can see I was lucky enough to just barely edge him out of almost every single stat which was awesome. A good team win. Oh and for those wondering, if teifu had made it to the finals I still would have won 6-4 ;)
So yeah I went 2/3 in fantasy hockey this year. And I didn't even make playoff in smogon league.. :(
I'll start with the league that was mine to lose since draft day (no not smogon's league, the other one): Pookar's mini 6 person league. I had all the best players to begin with and the free agent pool was deep plus the league remained fairly inactive. It was a gimme fantasy league championship if there ever was one. However, despite being the top seed I was actually losing after the first week of the finals to pookar of all people! Good thing my team pulled their collective heads out of their asses by the middle of week two and secured first place with a solid 7-3 win. Now the numbers:
Carl's Crosscheckers: 24g 43a +12 60pim 22ppp 226sog 8w 3.22gaa .895sv% 0so
(136-61-23 .670 295pts 18moves)
pookar: 20g 25a -4 55pim 19ppp 177sog 7w 2.19gaa .924sv% 2so
(102-89-29 .530 233pts)
As you can see, my goalies blew. Luckily for me, my skaters didn't need help and were able to post a pretty convincing set of stats to secure the come from behind win. Anything less would have been an embarassment so I'm pleased with the result.
The other finals team was in a public league that teifu was a part of. After the first week I was losing here as well. In the end it was super close contrary to what my 7-2 victory margin indicates:
the villager carls:
20g 35a +6 54pim 21ppp 184sog 8w 2.91gaa .892sv% 1so
(101-65-24 .595 226pts)
the legend:
19g 34a +4 57pim 21ppp 174sog 7w 3.14 .897sv% 0so
(102-68-20 .589 224pts)
As you can see I was lucky enough to just barely edge him out of almost every single stat which was awesome. A good team win. Oh and for those wondering, if teifu had made it to the finals I still would have won 6-4 ;)
So yeah I went 2/3 in fantasy hockey this year. And I didn't even make playoff in smogon league.. :(
Fixed. Your leading goalscorer had only 23 goals this season, defensemen isn't the whole reason the oilers can't do a thing.
Also since everyone else was doing it I wanted to be cool too.
So this one seems kind of interesting in that I think if the sharks had to play Columbus or even St. Louis they would have had a very rough time round one. However, I think the ducks, while usually giving these guys a good run, are going to roll over to them and the Sharks will take this one in 5.
Contrary to what everyone thinks, Montreal actually has a pretty good chance of competing and not giving Boston a free advance. I, personally don't think Montreal can stick with Boston though and I think it will end up With the Bruins taking the series in 6. 7 is a possibility but I just cannot see Montreal staying that long.
Oh lord, what a season. I was hoping in some way that the Sharks could have ended up against Columbus so that we could take Anaheim (I really hate Anaheim but that would be better than this). Needless to say, I think the Wings are definitely the better team minus goaltending, and while the playoff runs usually require your tenders to get hot, I think one of the two will finally do just that. I see Mason, not the Bluejackets, stealing 2 or maybe even 3 games, with the help of Nash of course, but overall, I see the Wings rolling on to round two in 6 or possibly 7, depending on how the first two games go, but we'll stick with 6.
This is not really a series I wanted to see. I have noted before when watching the eight thousand Rangers games that make it onto NBC Sunday games....that they play very fast paced and physically and I think it is about time for Zherdev to get back on his scoring horse. The Capitals can pick it up when they need to and I think they will do that, but it will be interesting to see who Avery goes after and gets underneath. Overall, I think someone on the Caps team is going to be very frustrated and I think that persons last name starts with and O and could almost be followed by a combination of the two words "Vector" and "Chicken" Overall, the Capitals are number two for a reason and I think they take the Rangers, but in a taxing 7 game series.
This one I do not have much to say about. I think the Canucks are a solid team and I think the blues are an alright team that is playing pretty well. Overall I think the better team will walk out with the win and that leads me to a Canucks win in a 5 game series.
What to say, what to say...The last time Cam Ward got hot before the playoffs Carolina won the Stanley Cup. I think New Jersey will push hard for this one but I think there is no denying they needed the better position they would have been in had Brodeur not been out ALL season(haha they would have played the Rangers). I think because of these two things, the Hurricanes will take the series in 6.
The match up of match ups for me. Being a Kings fan and a Blackhawks fan leads me to favor them if they are in the playoffs. However, only one of them will ever make the playoffs because the other plays like the Monarchs. In any case, I think the Hawks will lead Captain Hook to screwing with Kipprusof like he has been of late and just fucking his game up even more. Hot N Cold and I think the Blackhawks skate away with this one, in a 5 game series.
Last but not least, I think Synre said it best when he said "The Penguins are cresting and the flyers are falling" (Synre, The Everything NHL Thread) But in any case, after watching the Flyers play the Rangers I think this series will end up like that last game for them; desperation and 10 or 11 shots in the last minute, but for whatever reason they just dont play the whole game with that desperation and the Penguins will take advantage of that and take the series in 5.
So this one seems kind of interesting in that I think if the sharks had to play Columbus or even St. Louis they would have had a very rough time round one. However, I think the ducks, while usually giving these guys a good run, are going to roll over to them and the Sharks will take this one in 5.
Contrary to what everyone thinks, Montreal actually has a pretty good chance of competing and not giving Boston a free advance. I, personally don't think Montreal can stick with Boston though and I think it will end up With the Bruins taking the series in 6. 7 is a possibility but I just cannot see Montreal staying that long.
Oh lord, what a season. I was hoping in some way that the Sharks could have ended up against Columbus so that we could take Anaheim (I really hate Anaheim but that would be better than this). Needless to say, I think the Wings are definitely the better team minus goaltending, and while the playoff runs usually require your tenders to get hot, I think one of the two will finally do just that. I see Mason, not the Bluejackets, stealing 2 or maybe even 3 games, with the help of Nash of course, but overall, I see the Wings rolling on to round two in 6 or possibly 7, depending on how the first two games go, but we'll stick with 6.
This is not really a series I wanted to see. I have noted before when watching the eight thousand Rangers games that make it onto NBC Sunday games....that they play very fast paced and physically and I think it is about time for Zherdev to get back on his scoring horse. The Capitals can pick it up when they need to and I think they will do that, but it will be interesting to see who Avery goes after and gets underneath. Overall, I think someone on the Caps team is going to be very frustrated and I think that persons last name starts with and O and could almost be followed by a combination of the two words "Vector" and "Chicken" Overall, the Capitals are number two for a reason and I think they take the Rangers, but in a taxing 7 game series.
This one I do not have much to say about. I think the Canucks are a solid team and I think the blues are an alright team that is playing pretty well. Overall I think the better team will walk out with the win and that leads me to a Canucks win in a 5 game series.
What to say, what to say...The last time Cam Ward got hot before the playoffs Carolina won the Stanley Cup. I think New Jersey will push hard for this one but I think there is no denying they needed the better position they would have been in had Brodeur not been out ALL season(haha they would have played the Rangers). I think because of these two things, the Hurricanes will take the series in 6.
The match up of match ups for me. Being a Kings fan and a Blackhawks fan leads me to favor them if they are in the playoffs. However, only one of them will ever make the playoffs because the other plays like the Monarchs. In any case, I think the Hawks will lead Captain Hook to screwing with Kipprusof like he has been of late and just fucking his game up even more. Hot N Cold and I think the Blackhawks skate away with this one, in a 5 game series.
Last but not least, I think Synre said it best when he said "The Penguins are cresting and the flyers are falling" (Synre, The Everything NHL Thread) But in any case, after watching the Flyers play the Rangers I think this series will end up like that last game for them; desperation and 10 or 11 shots in the last minute, but for whatever reason they just dont play the whole game with that desperation and the Penguins will take advantage of that and take the series in 5.