| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| TheRC |
Posted - 03/29/2011 : 20:54:50
As the season winds down, and we have a clear picture of which teams are contenders, which are on the playoff bubble, and which are down and out, I want to ask the question: What teams have surprised you this year, being either much better or much worse than you expected? For that matter, if you want to gloat, who performed exaclty as you predicted?
I'm going to have to say that I was surprised by both Buffalo and New Jersey. They each picked it up since the All-Star break, but I expected both to be solid playoff teams at the start of the year. Buffalo is just hanging on to 8th, and NJ is out.
"If at first you don't succeed, you fail" |
| 11 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Oilearl |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 21:11:25
My first surprise was how Dallas dominated early they were scary good there for 20 games.
Colorado's meltdown and the trades that basically killed their desire to compete??
but mostly the Penquins play has been inspiring not expected full kudos to the coaches and players for not mailing it in.
Kovalchuk and the great8??? wow no words for them.
Heres to some great drama and action in the playoffs and down the stretch.
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| foolpittier |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 16:56:36
Jeff skinner was a surprise and crosby sitting out since the all star break was also. |
| Alex116 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 15:27:28
quote:
Originally posted by Beans15
Before you start capping then season with images of a d-bag holding the Cup, you might want to consider the image of me smoking a $25 cigar and drinking a $25 case of beer on my patio before the West Finals.
That would not be boring to me.
LOL...gotta give you credit for that response. It made me chuckle like some of FER's best!  |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 11:25:29
quote:
Originally posted by Alex116
Beans, it's a good sign for us Canucks fans that this season's been a drag for you. What a capper it would be for you to have to watch Burrows carry the cup around the ice! It almost seems like destiny now?
Lol, i have a feeling, your tv would be turned off by then.....
Before you start capping then season with images of a d-bag holding the Cup, you might want to consider the image of me smoking a $25 cigar and drinking a $25 case of beer on my patio before the West Finals.
That would not be boring to me.
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| Alex116 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 10:48:43
Beans, it's a good sign for us Canucks fans that this season's been a drag for you. What a capper it would be for you to have to watch Burrows carry the cup around the ice! It almost seems like destiny now?
Lol, i have a feeling, your tv would be turned off by then..... |
| Beans15 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 08:27:21
Nothing has really surprised me other than how bored I am with this NHL season. I have been dealing with a garbage Oilers team for a long time so don't tell me that is the reason. Frankly, once Crosby got hurt I lost a ton of interest in hockey this year. I am also sick of the word concussion every 2nd word.
I think it's great that the +40's are representing but I am not surprised by that. We are talking about HOF players, of course they are good. I am not surprised by the Canucks, they are solid on paper and their performance this year has been based on Kesler actually playing hockey rather than what he was doing in the past.
Nothing has suprised me other than how bored I am with hockey this year. I sure hope the playoffs are better. |
| Alex116 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 08:20:36
Ryan...i'm guessing that there's been little to no talk of St. Louis for the Hart because up until a couple weeks ago, all the Hart talk in TB was about Stamkos!
The bigger surprise for me when talking about C. Perry is not so much him leading the goal scoring race, but the fact he did so well with Getzlaf out of the lineup!
Thomas is a shocker! Not so much that i didn't think he was capable, it's just that he went from Vezina, to back up, to likely another Vezina! Crazy stuff! Is it Rask's turn next year? When we hear of a shared crease, it's usually game to game, not year to year! 
Kovalchuk 62nd? Imagine he'd be 100+ if he didn't have a decent last couple months?
Slozo....Ovechkin has to be one of the top surprises of the year for sure. Not many would have expected a 30ish goal season!
Selanne, as has been discussed, is very surprising! Throw in Iggy's 35+ and Lidstrom's stellar year and the old guys are represtenting!
I'm surprised personally at just how well the Canucks have done. I expected them to win their division, but not to run away with it and the conference like they have. Certainly wasn't "expecting" them to win the President's trophy (i know, they haven't yet) but it's not completely shocking they've done all this as i knew they had a good team.
Ottawa, as bad as they are, i didn't see. In fact, there was a poll a few months back asking which team is most likely to make a surge for a playoff spot between Calgary, Ottawa and one other team (can't recall). I picked Ottawa. Boy, was i wrong.
A mild surprise for me is Montreal. I keep thinking they're going to struggle when i look at their lineup? Price, while not surprising me considering i was one who picked him to play well, is a huge part of the reason, but i still saw them fighting for the playoffs. They seem pretty much locked in now.
There's a lot of other surprises that occurred including:
- Pittsburgh hanging in there without it's two superstars, including not being ruled out of winning their conference. Sure, unlikely, but they've still got a shot!
- C. Giruox, not just leading the Flyers in scoring, but in the top 12 in the league.
- Visnovsky being the top scoring dman (as of right now)
- Lundqvist having 11 SO's and counting on a 7th place team
And the one that still has be absolutely baffled.....M. Grabner's +16 on the NYI. I really wish the Canucks could have found room for this kid!
Lastly, and this is prob the biggest surprise, not just this season, but ever....would be the St. Louis Blues, not reaching the playoffs this season after.....ah, forget it.
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| n/a |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 05:52:31
Well, I'll gloat about Ottawa - I picked them to drop - but Buffalo has actually over-performed in my mind. Miller had a very strong season, their defence held up, no sophomore jinx with Meyers, and their offence without Roy has been surprising. I also had Toronto and Tampa Bay right.
I certainly had New Jersey wrong though . . . and I expected Phoenix to fall out of the playoffs, and they have been so strong this year, a real darkhorse IMHO. No other teams have truly surprised me in the west though, althuogh if Chicago actually isn't in the playoffs this year, that would be surprising to me.
For me, the biggest surprise (other than giving no suspension for a head shot on the game's biggest star) was Ovechkin this year, who will be life and death to get 30 goals. The most dominant and consistent scoring machine to come on the scene since a few greats in the 80s, and suddenly he falls to a lower "second tier" scorer . . . it certainly puts away his 50 and 40 goal consecutive year streak, and who knows, he may not even get 30 this year. Weird, especially since he should be just reaching his prime years right now.
"Take off, eh?" - Bob and Doug |
| ryan93 |
Posted - 03/30/2011 : 04:59:19
Looking at the standings right now, honestly i don't really see many surprises. The majority of the teams that i expected to be in the top 8 are. The only real exceptions would be the New Jersey Devils in the East, and the Dallas Stars in the West. No way did i see the Devils struggling as much as they did in the 1st half. As for Dallas, i thought they should of been a playoff team the past 2 seasons, and i'm surprised to see them again on the verge of missing the post season.
As far as individuals go...
Cory Perry...i certainly didn't see him leading the league in goals with 5 games to go.
Martin St.Louis...not really surprising since he had 94 points last year, but still, anyone here think St.Louis would be 2nd in points this year? Surprised there hasn't been much mention of him for the Hart...
Tim Thomas...i fully expected Tuuka Rask to be the main man in Boston this year, not Tim Thomas rebounding to his Vezina Trophy form
Ilya Kovalchuk...the NHL's $100 million man is tied for 62nd in scoring! He's been much better in the last few months, but what a brutal 1st half he (and the rest of the Devils for that matter) had!! |
| semin-rules |
Posted - 03/29/2011 : 23:23:40
Great thread Rc !!
Definately lots of surprises this year, I'll name a few right now and will post more as I remember.
1. Teemu Selanne - at 40 years old, and getting 75 points. wow I can't believe the level he is playing at still. Congrats Teemu!
2. Concussions - I am astonished as to how Many headshots/ concussions there have been this year, it upsets me and it is more clear than ever that something has to be done about them.
3. Vancouver Canucks - this year van city has broken multiple franchise records and are having a dream season. They could not have asked for anything better. Now let's hope they can finally carry it past the second round !! |
| nuxfan |
Posted - 03/29/2011 : 21:18:11
As well as yours, I have been surprised by:
- DAL - in Sept, I had them pegged in the bottom 3 in the conference. They may not make the playoffs, but they will likely finish top-10, and will only be a few points out of a top-8 finish
- PXH - suprised that they managed to do it again. I thought last year might be a flash in the pan, but they proved that it is not. They look destined to finish 4th in a very competitive conference.
- TOR - the fact that they are in a playoff race (any sort of playoff race) is surprising. I had them picked to be bottom of the east.
- OTT - did not think they would be bringing up the rear this year |
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