2011-12 N.H.L. season...

Ok gophers.... now that we have the Christmas break.. a few surprises for sure..

After a really slow start as a result of the so called Stanley Cup hangover the Bruins have roared back to the top level.. same can said for the finalists, Vancouver Canucks.. holy cow.. Florida Panthers, wtf? They are at the top level of the Eastern Conference but I wonder how long they can do it.. will see in the weeks to come...Washington Capitals, having some issues with players not scoring enough and the coach fired.. but lately it seems the Caps are trying to be a top team once again as is in the case of the last few years. What a surprised that the Pittsburgh Penguins are contending, even with Sid Crosby out with concussion problems and etc.. he did come back for a few games then went out.. ouch is all I can say about Sid the Kid...Minnesota Wild among the Western Conference top teams? Ohh interesting one for sure but I wanna see how the Wild does later on.. could it be possible the Detroit Red Wings are starting their slide down? I hoping they wont be so damn dominating for so long after many years now (hate how they dominate and then ehh whatever) so blah to them lol.. I could say some things about the other NHL teams but one more team I wanna mention.. that is my beloved Winnipeg Jets and what a big story the Jets are both in Winnipeg and all of Canada after 15 years absence the NHL returned to Winnipeg in a massive way that is really impossible to see how it was done but wow what a huge huge response the Jets have generated here in Winnipeg (I am so damn happy the Jets are back so I can cheer on them rabidly and howl good hehe) and we might see a few more Canadian cities back in the NHL .. oh yes... Quebec City is the frontrunners for a NHL team to move to (rumored to be Phoenix Coyotes or NY Islanders) and maybe Hamilton (only thing that might crap on that one for Hamilton is the Toronto-Buffalo objections over territorial rights and fans and etc..) Also a subsurb of Toronto (Markham) is rumored to be a location for a 2nd Toronto team to come (no joke!!) so it gonna be wild soon enough in the next few years thanks to the Jets and their big successful return to Winnipeg..

We will have the NHL Winter Classic coming up on January 2, 2012 and it is to be played at Citizen Bank Park (home of the MLB Philadelphia Phillies) when the Philadelphia Flyers host the New York Rangers .. Both Philly and NYR will wear Winter Classic jerseys (will find the pics and post in here later ok?) and also 2 days before that, Dec 31 2011 Philly and NYR will have alumni players play a game there (both games will be televised for sure the alumni game at 1 pm est on CBC, NBC and the Winter Classic game also at 1 pm est on CBC, NBC) should be fun to see both games and enjoy the sights on tv..
 
Return of Nordiques???? Really????

Yes it is entirely possible.. what I do know is Quebec City and the politics have reached an agreement on a new building to be built soon.. they will start construction soon in the spring of 2012 or so.. and then if an available NHL team, could be the Phoenix Coyotes, be bought and moved to Quebec City, the team will play in the famous Le Colisee for a few years till the new Colisee arena is ready to be going by probably 2014-15 or so.. so we will have to wait and see what is up there for Quebec City.. if we do see QC back in the NHL, possibly we might see the name Nordiques return somehow.. dunno if we will ever see the traditional N logo or the husky logo that was unveiled back in 1995 before the original Nordiques moved to Denver a few months later... would be cool to see the new age Quebec Nordiques battle the legendary Montreal Canadiens and etc.. also would be a hoot if I ever get to see both Quebec and Winnipeg battle each other lol...

Will keep updated on any team rumored to be moving.. Phoenix Coyotes are the one, I think Florida Panthers, NY Islanders are also rumored for moving.. dunno about other teams but will look for any articles related to that rumor of team moving to other cities..
 
OK gophers... now that we are about a month and a half away from the end of the 2011-12 regular season.. what come next?? Yep ya got it, the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs... I would think several teams will be battling for position and etc in both the Western and Eastern Conference... should be fun to see who finally get in and then see what the hell happens.. I often wonder if Boston can repeat as Cup champions.. but will have to look at other teams who might be able to go all the way, like Vancouver (always a big chance to see them back in the Stanley Cup Final and maybe win it all finally?) and a few other teams who havent been in any playoff games for a long time would finally get in..

I will post who do gets in for both Western and Eastern Conference once the regular season ends and yep ya will get the playoff histories between teams before the first round start...
 
OK gophers... now that we are about a month and a half away from the end of the 2011-12 regular season.. what come next?? Yep ya got it, the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs... I would think several teams will be battling for position and etc in both the Western and Eastern Conference... should be fun to see who finally get in and then see what the hell happens.. I often wonder if Boston can repeat as Cup champions.. but will have to look at other teams who might be able to go all the way, like Vancouver (always a big chance to see them back in the Stanley Cup Final and maybe win it all finally?) and a few other teams who havent been in any playoff games for a long time would finally get in..

I will post who do gets in for both Western and Eastern Conference once the regular season ends and yep ya will get the playoff histories between teams before the first round start...


Go Boston!
 
I finally get to go to my first NHL game since 1995.. saw my Jets host the Carolina Hurricanes.. boy I was so excited as I snagged a ticket off someone at a good price I wanted so I did go.. enjoyed everything and the arena was so loud!!! hahaha .. oh yeah my Jets lost a close game 4-3 but that was so great!! I even bought a Jets jersey so gonna have to customize that one much later on... still so glad I went and still smirking from ear to ear haha
 
OK gophers.. the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs will start soon on April 11.. we will know who will play who and I will post a new topic and post playoff series and histories later after the final games are played today.. might be Monday or Tuesday at least till we know for sure the games to play on days and etc..
 
OK gophers.. sorry for the delay in this... will do a bit more later with additional posts...

In case to know this..

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
#1 New York Rangers vs #8 Ottawa Senators
#2 Boston Bruins vs #7 Washington Capitals
#3 Florida Panthers vs #6 New Jersey Devils
#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs #5 Philadelphia Flyers

Western Conference Quarterfinals
#1 Vancouver Canucks vs #8 Los Angeles Kings
#2 St. Louis Blues vs #7 San Jose Sharks
#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs #6 Chicago Blackhawks
#4 Nashville Predators vs #5 Detroit Red Wings

Will post playoff series history and my opinions later when I have plenty of time..
 
OK hockey gophers.. sorry for the delay in this.. so here goes! BTW I have the team playoff series history for each team in here so...

Eastern Conference

NY Rangers vs Ott Senators

NYR and Ott are meeting for the first time but I found out something that goes way way back when the Rangers were just starting out in their infancy on way to legendary franchise history and there was another team named the Ottawa Senators (yes the one and only original one also known as the Silver Seven back then!) did meet in the playoffs.. with NY prevailing 1 game with 1 tie vs Ottawa so there ya go...

Wsh Capitals vs Bos Bruins

Boston is the defending Stanley Cup Champs and will have to deal with Wsh for a 3rd time...

1990 Bos 4 Wsh 0 Wales Conference Final
1998 Wsh 4 Bos 2 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal

NJ Devils vs Fla Panthers

New Jersey get back into the playoffs after a year absence but what makes this also amazing is Florida is finally back in the playoffs after, get this, 13 years!! Last time was 2000...

2000 NJ 4 Fla 0 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal

Phil Flyers vs Pitt Penguins

OHH WWOOO!!!! Philly and Pitt hate each other's guts so much recently a week before the regular season both teams were involved in a nasty and wild ending of the game that resulted in some coaches from both teams snipping at each other via the beaches top and got ejected for that.. plus some dirty stick work and pushing near the end of the game at the time as well..

1989 Phil 4 Pitt 3 Patrick Division Final
1997 Phil 4 Pitt 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal
2000 Phil 4 Pitt 2 Eastern Conference Semifinal
2008 Pitt 4 Phil 1 Eastern Conference Final
2009 Pitt 4 Phil 2 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal

Western Conference

Van Canucks vs LA Kings

Both Van and LA are meeting for the 5th time and I'm sure the Canucks & Kings will be at war for this...

1982 Van 4 LA 1 Smythe Division Final
1991 LA 4 Van 2 Smythe Division Semifinal
1993 LA 4 Van 2 Smythe Division Final
2010 Van 4 LA 2 Western Conference Quarterfinal

SJ Sharks vs St. L Blues

San Jose and St. Louis figures to be an interesting series to see...

2000 SJ 4 St L 1 Western Conference Quarterfinal
2001 St L 4 SJ 2 Western Conference Quarterfinal
2004 SJ 4 St L 1 Western Conference Quarterfinal

Chi Blackhawks vs Phx Coyotes

Chicago might try to get back to the Stanley Cup Final after winning the Cup back in 2010 but will have a difficult time with Phoenix who just won their first ever regular season division title in franchise history (as the original Winnipeg Jets they never won a division title) BUT what might be possibly somehow ironic that the Coyotes might move somewhere after this season is over, either to Quebec City (biggest possibility) or Seattle (maybe if a new arena is approved) or somewhere else.. Chi and Phx meet for the first time ever in the playoffs...

Det Red Wings vs Nsh Predators

I must say Nashville is gonna be something to see and I have to wonder if Detroit is maybe at the end of a great run after so many years with the talented players for the Red Wings...

2004 Det 4 Nsh 2 Western Conference Quarterfinal
2008 Det 4 Nsh 2 Western Conference Quarterfinal

There ya go.. will update the series progress in a few days...
 
Next update, gophers..

Eastern Conference
NY Rangers and Ottawa tied series 2 games each... whoever wins Game 5 tonite will have a big chance to finish off the series next week.. should be fun..

Boston and Washington also tied series 2 games each.. man, the Caps and Bruins sure are something..

New Jersey and Florida also tied series 2 games as well!!! Was sure NJ would sweep Fla out but the Panthers are determined to stay in somehow.. hats off to them.. and as fro Marty Brodeur, he's the shutout king in the playoffs as well.. whew!!

Philadelphia leads Pittsburgh 3 games to 2.. damn it, the Flyers and Penguins have imploded on each other so good with wacko games and penalties given out like hot candy!!! WOW .. think that series will go to game 7 for sure..

Western Conference
Los Angeles leads Vancouver 3 games to 1.. holy cow, the Canucks were gonna be so dominating but wtf? The Kings are trying to move onto the 2nd round.. should be interesting for sure..

St. Louis leads San Jose 3 games to 1.. StL can end the series tonite if they can do it and I dunno how SJ will be able to reply much so.. .

Nashville has booted Detroit out of the playoffs with a 4 games to 1 series win.. I knew for sure Nashville would kick Detroit out and am so damn happy.. hehe...

Phoenix leads Chicago 3 games to 1.. I thought Chicago would push Phoenix aside but the Coyotes seems to be able to rise to the occasion.. very impressive...
 
Will post end of first round series and the 2nd round series matchups after tonite's 2 Game 7 games (NJ vs Fla and Ott vs NYR)...
 
OK gophers...

End result of first round:

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

NY Rangers defeat Ottawa 4 games to 3.. what a wild and exciting series and the ending was something.. wow boy I think Ottawa did a good job pushing NYR so much..

Washington has sent the 2011 Stanley Cup Champions Boston Bruins home for the summer!!! With a 4 games to 3 series win.. holy cow.. no way man did I think the Caps would boot the Bruins out but wow they did it!!

New Jersey ended Florida's season in double overtime in Game 7!!! Ohh I was thinking the Panthers would be too much for the Devils, except that Florida hasnt been in the playoffs much, compared to New Jersey who has gone so often and have won 3 Stanley Cups as well..

Philadelphia put a cork in PIttsburgh's season with a 4 games to 2 series win.. oohh that Philly-Pitt series was the wildest and wackiest ever to the start.. wow man..

Western Conference Quarterfinals

Los Angeles has shocked the world with a 4 games to 1 series win over the favored Vancouver Canucks.. I was sure Vancouver would sweep LA aside but my hats off to the Kings on this..

St. Louis made short work of San Jose with a 4 games to 1 series win.. never thought St Louis would let down for a while and it showed.. Guess San Jose will have to figure something to get back to their top showings from years ago...

Phoenix has made franchise history by winning a series for the first time in the Coyotes's 15 years in Phoenix with a 4 games to 2 series win over Chicago .. last time the Coyotes won a series was back in 1987 when they were known as the original Winnipeg Jets.. can Phoenix do it again or is it done? PLUS there's a uncertainty about how the Coyotes will survive in Phoenix since there's rumors of the team moving to Seattle or Quebec City.. will see in the days to come

Nashville did me a HUGE favor by booting Detroit out with a 4 games to 1 series win.. is that the last time we will see Nic Lidstorm? Will he retire (I think he will since his family might go back to Sweden due to the fact his 2 sons are playing there now).. can Nashville go farther or what??

2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals

NY Rangers vs Wsh Capitals

Phil Flyers vs NJ Devils

2012 Western Conference Semifinals

St. Louis Blues vs LA Kings

Nsh Predators vs Phx Coyotes

Well there ya go.. the 2nd round starts tonite with Nsh vs Phx!!!
 
Oh yeah forgot this..

Playoff histories for all 4 series...

Eastern Conference

NY Rangers @ Wsh Capitals
1985 NYR 3 Wsh 2 Patrick Division Semifinal
1986 NYR 4 Wsh 1 Patrick Division Final
1990 Wsh 4 NYR 1 Patrick Division Final
1991 Wsh 4 NYR 2 Patrick Division Semifinal
1994 NYR 4 Wsh 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
2009 Wsh 4 NYR 3 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
2011 Wsh 4 NYR 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
2012 NYR ? Wsh ? Eastern Conference Semifinals

Phil Flyers @ NJ Devils

1978 Phil 2 Colorado Rockies 0 Stanley Cup Preliminary Round (Col Rockies the former name for the Devils)
1995 NJ 4 Phil 2 Eastern Conference Finals
2000 NJ 4 Phil 3 Eastern Conference Finals
2004 Phil 4 NJ 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
2010 Phil 4 NJ 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals
2012 Phil ? NJ ? Eastern Conference Semifinals

Western Conference

LA Kings @ St.L Blues

1969 St.L 4 LA 0 Stanley Cup Semifinal
1998 St.L 4 LA 0 Western Conference Quarterfinal
2012 St.L ? LA ? Western Conference Semifinal

Phx Coyotes @ Nsh Predators

First ever meeting in the playoffs

There ya go.. I think Wsh/NYR and Phil/NJ series gonna be wild for sure.. StL/LA series might go 4 or 5 fast with St.L coming on top... Phx/Nsh series will be so interesting to see how both Nsh and Phx's goalies does.. ohhh
 
Playoff update...

Eastern Conference Semifinals

NYR vs Wsh - series tied 1-1.. wow guess NYR and Wsh are gunning for each other good with some stuff.. should be interesting to see who win game 3 later

Phil leads NJ 1 game to 0.. Game 2 is tonite so will NJ bounce back with a win or will Philly lead 2 games to 0 soon?

Western Conference Semifinals

LA leads St.L 2 games to no.. WTF?!?!?! the Kings are doing the same to the Blues like they did to Van Canucks in the first round!!! Could LA do the impossible and knock off the 2 top seeded teams of the Western Conference or will St.L roar back with a win?

Phx leads Nsh 2 games to 0.. holy cow what is Phx up to and why is Nsh not going well?? I suspect Nsh will have to try something to turn the series around or it gonna be over like hell...
 
Next playoff update...

Eastern Conference Semifinals

NY Rangers and Wsh Capitals are tied 3 games apart.. with Game 7 scheduled for tonite and the winner of this series will take move on to the Eastern Conference Final...

NJ Devils defeated Phil Flyers 4 games to 1.. NJ had to know Philly would do the dirty games like they did to Pitt so the Devils played it smart and the Flyers have gotten bitten with some lame and doub penalties and etc.. ohh..

Western Conference Semifinals

LA Kings have swept St. L Blues out in 4 straight!!! Holy cow!! Seems LA is doing this well enough.. wow.. thought St.L would try to hammer LA off but ohhh....

Phx Coyotes have beaten Nsh Predators 4 games to 1.. never thought the Coyotes would advance past the Predators but hats off to them.. wow..

Eastern Conference Finals

NJ Devils vs NYR or Wsh

Western Conference Finals

Phx Coyotes vs LA Kings

Will provide playoff histories for both series later after tonite....
 
Playoff Update:

Final recap of Eastern Conference Semfinals

NY Rangers win 4 games to 3 vs Wsh Capitals

Now for this..

Eastern Conference Final (for the Prince of Wales Trophy)

New York Rangers vs New Jersey Devils

1992 NYR 4 NJ 3 Patrick Division Semifinal
1994 NYR 4 NJ 3 Eastern Conference Final (NYR went on to win Stanley Cup)
1997 NYR 4 NJ 1 Eastern Conference Semifinal
2006 NJ 4 NYR 0 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal
2008 NYR 4 NJ 1 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal
2012 NJ ? NYR ? Eastern Conference Final

NJ and NYR has faced each other a bit often and that 1994 EC Final was certainly memorable.. what's ironic is Marty Brodeur was playing in 1994 and still is playing now and he would love to go out a Stanley Cup Champion for a 4th time.. but I think NYR will have other ideas.. the series might go the whole way to a Game 7..

Western Conference Final (for the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl)

Los Angeles Kings vs Phoenix Coyotes

first ever meeting in the playoffs for both clubs.. LA is on the way to something special and so is Phoenix.. funny enough there were rumblings the Coyotes would be on way out to either Quebec City or Seattle or wherever but there is a buyer in place to come aboard and buy the Coyotes to ensure Phoenix is still in the NHL.. however that might be a bit dicey as there is one group that might block that one (Goldwater Instutite) that might object and get the Coyotes out of Phoenix for good.. the LA Kings are doing good and really are amazing everyone with stunning upsets over the 2 top seeds Vancouver and St. Louis.. can LA do a triple top seed upset?? Phoenix is seeded #3 FYI so.. ohh should be a good series and I think LA will come out on top over PHX...
 
Fast playoff update:

Eastern Conference Final

NY Rangers 1 NJ Devils 1 .. Game 3 is tomorrow so whoever wins Game 3 might try to edge out another win in Game 4..

Western Conference Final

LA Kings 3 Phx Coyotes 0... I think it might be official and LA is 1 win away from winning their first Campbell Bowl title in 19 years and will go to the Stanley Cup Final for the 1st time since 1993!! LA has a chance to end the series on Sunday and I hope to hell LA does it so Phx can be out.. go Kings go!!!
 
Playoff update...

Eastern Conference Final

New Jersey and NY Rangers series are tied 2-2 with the winner of Game 5 tonite which will have a chance to end the series for Game 6 on Friday... will NJ do it or will NYR roar back??

Western Conference Final

Los Angeles Kings are the 2012 Western Conference (Campbell Bowl) champions, having beaten the uprising (and soon to move) Phoenix Coyotes 4 games to 1.. with a Game 5 win in overtime after some controversial plays.. but hats off to LA and Phx for a good series!!

LA will now await either NJ or NYR to meet for the Stanley Cup...
 
Congrats to the 2012 Eastern Conference Champs, the New Jersey Devils!!!! Now they will face off vs the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup to start on May 30th... btw LA and NJ will meet for the first time ever in the playoffs.. I think the series will go 7 games but will see what happens!!!!
 
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