Topic: The Hockey/Stanley Cup Playoffs Thread

[Khushrenada]

Hey, just a general thread to talk about anything hockey/NHL related. If you want to cheer on your team or jeer the opponents, I guess you could do that here to. Well, lately, I've been talking a bit about the playoffs in the Mafia game I've been running and since there seems to be quite a few people who also follow hockey a bit, I figured I'd set this thread up.

And since this is playoff season, I'll give you a quick rundown of the teams I hope to see advance to the next round.

Western Conference

Detroit beating Calgary
Anahiem beating Minnesota
Vancouver beating Dallas
Nashville beating San Jose

Eastern Conference

Buffalo beating New York Islanders
Tampa Bay beating New Jersey
New York Rangers beating Atlanta
Pittsburgh beating Ottawa

For the most part, things are going pretty good this year for the playoffs. It's just the Pittsburgh versus Ottawa part that worries me.
 

[NuclearSpeed]

A hockey thread, I can chime in here, these are the one playoffs that I watch as much of as possible.

Looks like most of those picks will hold up, though I am going to root for the Islanders to win over Buffalo, and Pittsburgh better get on their horse. San Jose may be one to throw those off as well, seems like they have been playing nashville tough, I haven't gotten to watch any of those games though.

[Khushrenada]

Yeah, I'm surprised that, for the most part, the teams I want to see advance are defintiely looking like they will.

When it comes to San Jose and Nashville, I'm really not that big a fan of either. I just don't like the Sharks because of the coach Ron Wilson and because the Sharks are rival of Anahiem. Nashville I just feel so-so on. I like the fact that they have worked hard to develop players and have really created a good team on their own without a lot of trades. At the same time, the fact that they get low attendance despite having a good team and they have Peter Forsberg playing for them are some negatives against them. (I just think Forsberg is so over-rated these days.) Still, they do have Paul Kariya and I still root for him even though he left the Ducks so that's why I made Nashville my choice to advance.

Same goes for Buffalo and New York. There's positives and minuses to both and in the end. Although an upset of Buffalo would be huge and that would be quite the thing to see.

[Ian Sane]

Last night the Canucks went up on Dallas 3-1 so hopefully on Thursday we can put them away and go on to round two.  After years of watching goofs like Cloutier in net watching playoffs with Luongo is a totally different experience.  In the past I used to get nervous with every shot.  You never knew when a weak goal would go in.  But with one of the best goalies in the NHL in goal I don't get worried.  The guy is just going to make the save.  It makes it easier to watch and allows me to be optimistic about Vancouver's chances without sounding delusional.

In my playoff pool at work I've got players from five teams: Buffalo, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, Anahiem and San Jose.  I didn't pick anything to do with Vancouver because as a fan I feel my opinion is biased.  To often the home team fan gets burned hard in pools.  So far I'm in third and was in first yesterday so I'm doing good but I'm really worried about Pittsburgh (I have five players from that team) and New Jersey should not be losing to f*cking Tampa Bay.  It's Martin Brodeur.  The guy's won three cups and just beat the record for most wins in a season.

But then I hate Tampa Bay because they're in a market that doesn't give a sh!t about hockey while places like Winnipeg and Hartford no longer have a team.  While I want Vancouver to win all I really care about is a real hockey market winning the cup.  Tampa Bay and Carolina winning the last two cups was depressing.  The players on the team were good and deserved to win but most of the local citizens in the area probably have no idea what the Stanley Cup even is.  It just doesn't seem fair to see a market like that win it while Vancouver and Buffalo both joined the league in 1970 and have never won the cup despite being strong hockey markets.

Nashville apparently had to threaten to black out games in order to sell out PLAYOFF games.  If you can't sell out playoff games then you're in the wrong market.  Every team should be able to sell out playoff games and there are enough major cities in Canada and the Northern United States to make up a 30 team league of healthy hocket markets.  There's only about five NHL teams in bad locations anyway.

[Khushrenada]

Tampa Bay winning isn't that surprising to me since if you look at their games in the regular season, Tampa beat New Jersey three times out of four. So, this was an upset I was expecting.

I agree with you about the recent teams winning the cups. Tampa wins the cup when teams like the St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres have yet to win despite all having been to cup finals before, in some case multiple times. With Carolina, the arguement can be that they were once the Hartford Whalers but does anything from their Hartford days still exist with that team. It is still a new team. The worst part was though both those teams won against a Canadian team and us Canadians have been wanting to have the cup claimed by Canada finally after what, 13 years?

I mentioned Nashville's low attendence in the last post and agree with all you've added. That's why I would like to see Nashville at least advance one round. If they could make some noise in the playoffs, I wonder if that might get people to the games. I doubt it would make much difference but at least that way, it would prove that hockey wouldn't work there and they might move the team to a different market. It's one thing if the fans aren't coming if the team is lousy. Look at Colorado and St. Louis. Fan attendance has been down because the teams have been struggling of late. But when the team is fighting for first in the conference and even holds the number one spot for awhile, it's really sad that they can hardly get anyone to watch.

What is your list of the 5 bad locations Ian? I'm curious to know.

And finally on Vancouver there. I never followed Vancouver that closely before. I'd catch the odd game here or there and watch them in the playoffs but that was about it. But, I didn't think Cloutier was that bad of a goalie. A lot of times, the losses didn't seem to be his fault. But, with the season he's had in L.A., I guess that proves otherwise. It's interesting to hear from someone in Vancouver about their thoughts on Cloutier.

[Kairon]

YESSS! Go Canucks! I grew up in Vancouver!

I... I consider myself a BAD, BAD Canadian for not following Hockey closely ever since I moved to the States.

/hangs head in shame

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Ceric]

On the radio and the news all you hear about lately is the Preds and Pacman Jones here in Nashville. Though I don't really keep up

[IceCold]

Yay for Smashville!

About time one of these threads got made.. I remember there was one about the playoffs over here a few years ago, then there was one about the lockout ending, but nothing since then. I seem to remember TheOmen being a hockey fan, but I think he's with Philly.. bad luck for him. And I believe Bill cheers for either Detroit or Carolina. And apparently Shift Key watches some games.

Anyway, here were my pre-playoff picks - I'll write down which team I would choose if I were to bet, but I'll bold the teams I want to win.

Buffalo over NY Islanders
Tampa Bay over NJ Devils
NY Rangers over Atlanta
Ottawa over Pittsburgh

Detroit over Calgary
Anaheim over Minnesota
Vancouver over Dallas
San Jose over Smashville

~~
About Tampa Bay, I sort of agree that they are fairweather fans, but I'm with them because of Lecavalier and Richards. Those two are so damn awesome - two of my five favourite in the NHL. Also, I would have chosen them to win even if I was betting - I looked at their head-to-head versus New Jersey, and they had won 9 of the last 12 meetings. The matchup was good for them, even if they are the underdogs.

Of course, none of this matters as much as the Canucks. I watched every minute of the quad-overtime game.. and all their other games too. It's definitely sweet for them to be contenders again, but at the same time, I long for the old days. When Naslund and Bertuzzi were second and third in scoring. When their style was fast and exciting. As it is, Vigneault has made the team into the '03 Flames team which I hated so much. Now, we rely nearly completely on Luongo (like they did on Kiprusoff), we play defensive-minded hockey with many one-goal games.

I guess you need this to be successful in the playoffs, but it's been pretty bad in this series. Sometimes it's just frustrating to see them not get a good scoring chance for half a period.  

[Spak-Spang]

I don't pay too much attention to sports until playoffs of any sport...and then I am not really a fan.  But I do enjoy Hockey.

My first Hockey experience was years ago when Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup.  I was driving home from school (a long evening drive) and would listen to the games.  Ralph and Razor were the announcers and are quite good.  

However, I knew very little about the sport and couldn't keep up with what was going on.  But I was completely captivated by the story being told on the radio.  I switched to TV and really began to see and feel the games.  Dallas was playing a team in double over time, and my heart was on a roller coaster ride.  They had to win this game...and whomever got the next point was going to win.  

When the stars were on the offensive and shooting my heart soared, but soon it was breaking with the other team taking attempts at our net.  I couldn't stand the suspense, and rather than continue my heart attack I tried to sleep...but couldn't.

Ever since that night I have been a Hockey fan, even though I don't watch many sports.  The games are just so fast and intense, it truly is one of the greatest sports ever created.  

I do not know how my Dallas Stars are doing this year.  But I hope they make it far so that I can once again go on the Roller Coaster ride, and once again feel my heart either burst for joy or break with sorrow.

[Ian Sane]

"What is your list of the 5 bad locations Ian? I'm curious to know."

Top of my head: Phoenix, both Florida teams, Nashville, Atlanta, Carolina.  Okay that's actually six.  I was just guessing the five number.  If you can establish a strong fanbase in a non-traditional hockey market that's great.  From everything I've heard about it Dallas has done this.  But it's kind of silly for a team, particularly a talented one like Nashville or Tampa Bay, to be in an area where there isn't much interest when places like Seattle, Portland, Milwaukee, Hamilton or Winnipeg (all of which have an arena) don't have a team but are more interested in hockey.  Phoenix is especially annoying because they moved from Manitoba, where they care about hockey, to Arizona where they don't.  Are the Coyotes honestly better off in Phoenix finishing at the bottom of the league in front of an audience that doesn't care if they exist?  I figure if they were still the Jets they would still suck but at least the area would be annoyed that they suck.  Do they make a ton more money as a losing team in non-traditional hockey market?  I figure at the very least a losing team in a traditional hockey market would make more.

Recently there were talks about moving the Pittsburgh Penguins.  This is a talented franchise with a rich hockey tradition in an area that cares about hockey.  I'm aware of the arena problems but if Kansas City of Oklahoma wants an NHL franchise why aren't franchise in areas where interest isn't really catching on considering it?  It seems like there are too many politics involved, like they don't want to admit that the expansion into the Southern US wasn't the best idea.  They would rather have a team losing money and struggling and making the NHL look like a f*cking joke rather than admit that a certain franchise was not put in an ideal spot.  And when the idea of expansion comes up (there has been talk of changing the divisions around and expanding to 32 teams) why are places like Las Vegas considered over stronger hockey markets?  What does the NHL accomplish by continuing to pursue an idea that was a mistake?  If there are struggling franchises in non-traditional hockey markets then maybe it would be a good idea for the next expansion to be in traditional hockey markets.  Wait until the current expansion proves a success before trying to expand in those kinds of areas again.  32 healthy franchises does the league and the sport of hockey as a whole a lot more good than 20 something healthy franchises and a handful of struggling ones in the Southwest.  They shouldn't care about where these teams are but rather whether or not they're making money.  If in order to accomplish that a geographical chunk of the US is ignored so be it.  

[Khushrenada]

I was wondering if you would mention New Jersey but you didn't. New Jersey is actually having trouble getting fans to the games as well. Like Nashville, they were having problems selling out their opening playoff games. In fact, I'm still not sure if they sold them out or not. They are going to have a new arean next season but I'm not sure that is going to make much of a difference. Most people don't seem to realize it but the Devils have trouble in their market despite winning 3 cups.

I know about Pittsburgh's troubles this year. It's my favorite team and I followed the story closely. The reason why Kansas wanted the Penguins is obvious. If you could take the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Florida Panthers, which team would you want to bring to your city? That's why they pursued the Penguins. They'd get an instant winning team with lots of young talent. It would be like the Nordiques going to Colorado. The Avalanche have made the playoffs every year since they came into the league except for this year. This is the first time that organization failed to make the playoffs. It's too bad because I think they deserved to make the playoffs more than Calgary. The current thinking now is that Kansas is going to go after Nashville, especially if the fan attendance stays low. Apparently, the owners of the Preds have the option to pull the team out of Nashville if the attandance isn't there and so that's what everyone is thinking might happen.

Frankly, Bettman has said that they are not planning to add more teams anytime soon. The focus is to just get all the markets healthy and if need be to relocate some teams to a different market. But, the reason why the NHL wants to expand to a city like Las Vegas is because they have the money there to support a team. Also, Las Vegas has no actual sports teams located there. Any team that goes there is basically going to have no competition. I also think that part of the reason they expanded down south so much was an attempt to generate more interest in hockey across all the States instead of the more northern ones. But, that doesn't seem to have worked. Frankly, it's hard to move some teams now that they have won the cup also. No team that has won a cup has ever moved or ceased to exist. At least, not since the cup was awarded by the NHL. That will look really great if Tampa and Carolina got moved.

As for Phoenix, I hope that franchise continues to rot because that's what Gretzky deserves. Hey, thanks for taking a Canadian hockey franchise out of Canada and putting it in the Arizona desert. Way to Gretz. You really are the great one.

Frankly, I think another location that might be good is Seattle but it's hard to say for sure since they have baseball and football there already. Still, it might be great for a rivalry with Vancouver. Anyways, I'm doing talking about relocations for now.

[Khushrenada]

In the meantime, way to go Rangers! That was great. I like watching the Rangers Arena. They play a lot of classic organ music and hockey themes. They don't have many modern songs. It gives off a great classic atmosphere. Well, let's see how Maggie The Monkey is doing:

Maggie's Picks:

Detroit
Minnesota
Vancouver
Nashville
Buffalo
New Jersey
Atlanta...........Wrong
Pittsburgh......Wrong

Not so good. Spun the wheel wrong on that one. Well, I still hope the monkey was right about Pittsburgh. I got a lot riding on that one.

Well, Canucks, Anahiem, and Ottawa could all advance. Here's hoping Ottawa doesn't. I really hope Pens can win this and go back to Pittsburgh. I would love to see the Pens win at least one game for the home crowd. If they can take it to seven games, mission complete.  

[Ian Sane]

"No team that has won a cup has ever moved or ceased to exist. At least, not since the cup was awarded by the NHL."

The Ottawa Senators (not the same as the current franchise) and Montreal Maroons both won the cup after the formation of the NHL and after the NHL became the sole holder of the cup.

The problem with Las Vegas isn't just the fact that it isn't a traditional hockey market but also issues with gambling.  That's been the main reason why no major sports league has gone there.  Players or coaches might bet on games they're playing in have an effect on the outcome of.  Or there could be a Black Sox scandal kind of deal.  If I was going to pick a non-traditional hockey market to go to I think Oklahoma would be better since they have the same "never had a team" factor that Vegas does without the controversy.

I figure New Jersey's problems are because there are three teams in the same area and the Rangers and Islanders were there first (with cups wins as well) and grabbed all the hockey fans before the Devils moved in.

Today I need Pittsburgh to make a big comeback for my pool and I want the Canucks to finish off the Stars.  Mike Modano is in the paper making excuses and whining about how tough it is to play against the Sedins and then have to get past Mitchell and then past Luongo.  He sounds like a defeated man and I think the Stars may have given up.  The thing is Vancouver has only won by one point in each game.  It has been difficult to get shots by Turco.  The only team to have anything resembling a dominating victory in this series has been Dallas.  Modano should be using that to inspire his team but instead he's all "golly gee this is tough".

[Guitar Smasher]

Why did everyone pick Pittsburgh over Ottawa?  If you're going to say because Ottawa has a history of choking, then what does Pittsburgh have a history of?

[Khushrenada]

I chose Pittsburgh because it's my favorite team in the league. I just want to see them win. I was just glad to finally see them in the playoffs since Mario's comeback. Also their last year with Jagr. What a time. Plus, I really don't like Ottawa. Especially now that they have knocked out Pittsburgh. There were a couple other factors also.

First, Pittsburgh did beat Ottawa three times this year and those three time came in the last month and a half or so before the season. I felt going in, they had a good shot since they already had these victories so close to the playoffs.

Second. Everyone talked about the lack of playoff experience but Tampa Bay had a lack of playoff experince a few years ago but they made it to the second round even though it was their first time.

Third. Even though he was fine in the game today, I'm still unconvinced that Emery is a great goalie. I think Fluery is still better. Yeah, game one he was awful but so was the whole team. Frankly, Fluery kept the Pens in this series and for the most part, he is finally showing why he was the number one draft pick.

Fourth. I really don't like Ottawa. Man, that chanting of Roberts at the end was so irritating. Good for you Senators. You finally beat Gary Roberts. How many tries did that take?

Fifth. I don't care what you say, Ottawa still has trouble winning the big games. I can't believe they won tonight. Two five on threes in the opening minutes. Pittsburgh has the most power play goals this year and they can't score a thing? How many power plays did Pittsburgh get? Just a sickening game to watch.

Oh well. Even thought Toronto didn't make it in the playoffs, at least Ottawa's second biggest enemy did. That's right. I'm talking about Buffalo. Toronto has won all four match-ups against Ottawa in the playoffs and Buffalo has won all three of its matchups against Ottawa in the playoffs. This year might make it four.

Man, I really hate that Alfredsson.  

[IceCold]

Well, like it or not (and I don't either), Ottawa simply outclassed Pittsburgh. This was shown best by that series where Fisher had two huge hits, and someone else had another for Ottawa, then Pittsburgh turned it over and there was a 2 on 1 rush, with Fleury having to make a spectacular glove save on a nearly sure goal. Pittsburgh had their moments, but they never clicked as a team.. I was very impressed by Crosby's play in the series, though. Not so much Malkin and especially Gonchar.

Gonchar was just terrible defensively. He just floated around the whole series, and made many serious mistakes. He's a great talent but he really needs to improve on defense.

About the Roberts thing, I was actually surprised the crowd was so into it. Ottawa has the most ungrateful and apathetic crowd of all the Canadian teams - with a team like they have, they should be much more enthusiastic.

The only good thing to come out of this is that we could see a Buffalo/Ottawa series soon. That will be one amazing series. The last two games they traded wins with both of them having a score of 6-5. Plus, there was that huge brawl in one of them. I won't miss a game of that series if it happens - one of the best matchups you could hope for.

---

Vancouver had better close up their series in Dallas..

[ryancoke]

This is Ottawa's year.  Or Vancouver.  Being an Oilers fan, I can't really cheer for the Calgary Lames

[Ian Sane]

Dang the Pens and the Nucks both lost.  Bad night for me.  Though the Flames won which is good.  I actually hate the Flames BUT if they win and Vancouver wins then THEY'LL be the ones to face Anaheim instead of us.  The Ducks are looking pretty scary and I'd rather avoid playing them if possible.

With the Pens out I lose five players from the pool at work which leaves me currently with the lowest amount of players left.  I picked the Pens for two reasons:

1. Picking Ottawa has burned me in the past since they never seem to get it done in the playoffs.
2. Despite reason 1 many people at work usually pick them so I figured by picking Pittsburgh I was being clever.  I would have a group of players that few others had while those who picked Senator players would lose a bunch of guys.  The last few years picking the oddball team has paid off (Carolina and Edmonton last year).  I was trying to pick the safest chance for an upset and the gamble didn't pay off.

But at least I got some good points out of every Pen player I had.  Some people in the pool recently lost Atlanta players that got NO POINTS thus making the pick completely worthless.  If a player gets eliminated you might as well least get some points out of him first.

Buffalo/Ottawa sounds like must see stuff.  Those two teams hated each other in the regular season.  Canucks/Sharks would be good too since the last regular season game between the two was vicious.

[Ian Sane]

So the Canucks have not scored in over TWO WHOLE GAMES!!!  WHAT THE HELL?!  So now it's game 7 and either team can win this and the way the Canucks played tonight they don't look like favourites to do it.  Today it was like they didn't play.  It was like they didn't care.  HELLO!  It's the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Everyone who plays hockey should care.  I talked about Modano sounding like he's giving up, he didn't.  He scored the game winner today.  The Stars are playing hard.  Vancouver looks lost.

This comes up in the Vancouver media a lot but I am questioning Markus Naslund's leadership as captain.  The guy is a statue.  He never shows emotion.  He barely smiles when he scores and seems indifferent to losing.  He was playing great in the first game.  He was scoring, he was hitting and when it was in fourth overtime he was still playing hard.  Since then he hasn't done much of anything.  He doesn't seem to have any heart.  Heart, desire and drive wins cups.  When the team isn't playing well he needs to step it up and take the team on his back.  That's what Stanley Cup winning captains do.  Too often he disappears.

This core lineup of the Canucks has been around for a while and they've always done quite well in the regular season and then crappy in the playoffs.  The one time this core made it to the second round they got eliminated after blowing a 3-1 lead, something this year's lineup is possibly one game away from doing.  Goaltending was a common problem and it was solved with Roberto Luongo who has been great.  He was the only guy who showed up to play today.  And I'm realizing it's not just his skill that makes the difference.  He never gives up.  Some of the other key Canuck players do and no team will ever go anywhere with quitters.  Regardless of what happens to the Canucks this post-season they need a Ryan Smyth type of player.  They need that guy who when facing elimination would take a shot off his teeth in the first period to stop a goal and then come back to play in the second.  I see heart in Luongo and in many of the defensemen.  But it seems the only forwards who have no quit in them are all third and fourth line guys.  The top line is talented but lacks passion.

[Spak-Spang]

GO STARS!!!!

I completely counted them out...and now I can't believe we actually have a chance to move forward to round 2.  

[IceCold]

That was such a relief.

I can safely say that this was one of, if not the, only game that Vancouver outplayed Dallas. Having those powerplays definitely helped, but the Canucks finally showed some heart, and the Sedins showed up.

The fans were just amazing. Looking at the towels at the end of the third period, it reminded me of why I love the Canucks so much.

[Ian Sane]

Scary game to watch last night.  After the first period I thought the Nucks were finished as even eternal optimist "Canadian team X is going to win it" Don Cherry looked like he thought they were going to lose.  They played the first period like they played the last game.  Then in the second they just poured it on and start playing like hell.  It was great!  Still was intense to watch and I didn't relax until the open netter.

Anaheim is next and they're pretty damn good so I don't know if Vancouver can beat them.  All the experts are picking the Ducks and that makes sense.  Vancouver winning would be an upset.  But if they played like this did for the last two periods last night then they've got a chance.  You can talk about how the refs called all sorts of flimsy stuff but they did that to both teams (Hansen gets called for running into Turco right after the tieing goal even though Dallas had been running into Luongo all series but never got called for it).  The Canucks were playing hard and driving towards the net.  If you outrun the other team they're forced to hook you and get a penalty.  I don't really think those all should be penalties but there's a way to draw them and the Canucks did that last night.

My lucky co-worker got to go to the game.  How do these people get tickets?  The arena is always packed in the playoffs and I always wonder who these people are because it seems impossible for me or any of my friends to get tickets without paying out of our ass to a scalper.  

[Ian Sane]

Well if you're going to suck I guess game 1 is the game to do it.  Anaheim just walked all over the Canucks.  Vancouver's top players are just being too inconsistent.  They only show up some nights.  Well you can't win a cup doing that.  The way the Canucks have played in these playoffs so far them winning the cup would actually seem like a blemish on the cup's history.  A team that shows up only once in a while doesn't deserve to win the Stanley Cup.  Doing so would seem unfair because of all the deserving teams that do play hard nearly every night.

Still this is just game 1 so I'm not freaking out yet.  Game 2 is much more important.

And man does the Anaheim crowd have no life to it at all.  Here there team is just rolling and putting on a good show for their fans and the audience is sitting on their hands.  In Vancouver the reaction to the away team's goals is louder than Anaheim's reaction to their home team's goals were.  If Vancouver was crushing a team in the playoffs that bad at home the fans would be roaring like wild animals.  Hell we were cheering like nuts for a second redundant open-net goal in game 7 with Dallas.  The Anaheim audience didn't even sound that excited for their first goal.

[IceCold]

Dammit. You're so right about that - Anaheim's crowd doesn't deserve such a good team. It was like a library there.. the whole stadium was lifeless.

Naslund really needs to step up. What happened to the guy with the killer wrist shot and the fire in his eyes? I still wonder how things would be if the Bertuzzi thing never happened. Even though that year they weren't doing as well before the suspension, afterwards the whole team (and especially Naslund and Morrison) haven't been the same.

Here's hoping they bounce back.

[Khushrenada]

Anahiem does just fine. When they beat Minnesota in Game 5, the crowd was cheering. They were doing the wave. There was energy in the air and you could feel the giddyness.

I think the problem is, they have been too successful and so the crowd doesn't need it has to cheer as much. When the team is always winning, you just sit back and enjoy it. When I watch Anahiem, I'll cheer a little when they score a goal or give a good hit. But, I don't see the need to keep going on and on. It's different when your team doesn't have much success. Then you cheer loudly for every little thing. Franbkly, we all know Nashville's crowd isn't the best. They are the ones who don't deserve a good hockey team.

Ahh, the Ducks. Western Conference finals 3 times in four years. Yes, that's right. It's time for my votes for the second round.

I'm hoping:

Detroit beats San Jose
Anahiem beats Vancouver
NY Rangers beats Buffalo
New Jersey beats Ottawa.

By the way, I also miss the days of Naslund, Bertuzzi, and Morrison. The Canucks just aren't the same too watch anymore. Then again, niether are the Ducks. Since they've got Chris Pronger, they seem to be moving slower and sitting on leads they get. Last year, they were much faster and would just swarm after the puck. I think that since they changed their uniforms to black, removed WildWing and got rid of the Mighty moniker, the Ducks have lost some of their heart.