2017 Playoffs

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

I actually think Edmonton has nothing to lose, and they've already overachieved this year. There is no way Anaheim is not feeling the pressure of losing again in Game 6, and then having Game 7 at home. This will be year 5 that they've been up 3-2 in a series, and then lost Game 6 on the road and then Game 7 at home. And that was not the Game 6 that they wanted to have in order to move past their demons.

 

[smackdown380]

I agree that Edmonton has nothing to lose although I do think the Ducks should win on Wednesday because they are better overall and more experienced. However, as Stunner mentioned the pressure of past demons coupled with that game 6 performance or lack thereof could undo them. Would love to see the Ducks collapse but we shall see...

 

[PuckinUgly57]

If you think Anaheim fans talk big about Gibson, you should hear Gulls fans down here in LoCal. Dude played less than 15 games here in SD to start last year before getting called up to NHL. Gulls fans (not mention the announcers) think he's the second coming. And I'm not referring to Ducks/Gulls fans. I mean just Gulls fans: i.e., transplants who have strong allegiances to the various NHL teams they grew up with, who are now Gulls season ticket holders because its local hockey here in SD.

Color me shocked.

I have an an awesome SD Gulls jersey from 2003 or 2004 when they were not affiliated with Anaheim - they were still in the WCHL or the ECHL when I got it and had no NHL affiliation.

My buddy was in law school at USD and lived in Miramar so I would head down there often when he had time and we would attend the games. I got so tanked at a game I met some girl, ended up screwing her in the parking lot and left again with my buddy. Sadly I do not remember this epic moment.

Now of course I can't wear it. Bastards.

=)~~

 

[histkng23]

I think the most obnoxious thing about typical Ducks fan is that they have no other knowledge about hockey other than the Ducks. A buddy of mine who is a season seat holder to the Kings pointed out a theory he realized that those that are Ducks fans, are JUST Duck fans, and that's it. They don't learn the NHL, or any of its history. I've begun to put this theory to the test and I have a coworker who is a Duck fan, and he had absolutely no clue about older players like Hasek, Theo Fluery, Scott Stevens, etc. He got a huge hard-on when I told him to look up the fight between McSorley & Probert that went on for 3 minutes one night in Detroit back in '94 (?).

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I think the most obnoxious thing about typical Ducks fan is that they have no other knowledge about hockey other than the Ducks. A buddy of mine who is a season seat holder to the Kings pointed out a theory he realized that those that are Ducks fans, are JUST Duck fans, and that's it. They don't learn the NHL, or any of its history. I've begun to put this theory to the test and I have a coworker who is a Duck fan, and he had absolutely no clue about older players like Hasek, Theo Fluery, Scott Stevens, etc. He got a huge hard-on when I told him to look up the fight between McSorley & Probert that went on for 3 minutes one night in Detroit back in '94 (?).

Your buddy is pretty spot on. This is something I noticed in the late 1990s//early 2000s, before they hit their 10 year anniversary.

Most Duck fans tend not to learn about the sport in a comprehensive fashion, which has always baffled me. Personally, when I dive into something I want to learn everything, as much as possible, to be an expert and trusted advisor (so to speak) in that subject. I can’t just learn what I need and leave the rest, I need to know it all so I am well armed, educated and can have a rational conversation and create critical thinking. Maybe that’s just me being a geek, but I have always been that way.

I work in sales as you guys know, and a common misconception people have is they always say “sales people are people people”. It couldn’t be farther from the truth, 90% of us can't apart from family and friends. I can’t stand people mostly because of the sentence I just typed out above so I am well armed, educated and can have a rational conversation and create critical thinking. Most people do not think this way so it is very hard to have a conversation, explain something, or make a valid point. Some prospects I meet are dumber than doorknobs, it makes me not want to do business with them.

I noticed this about Ducks fans early on, and it hasn’t really stopped. It’s like 29 other NHL teams (except the Kings, whom they hate but really know nothing about) don’t exist. The AHL doesn’t exist. European leagues don’t exist. Strategy doesn’t exist. It’s bizarre.

True story and I’ll leave you with this: I attended a Ducks/Thrashers game solo in 2000 (got a picture and autograph of Vishnevski, I really liked him because he was a solid hitter). Sitting next to a Ducks fan, Guy Hebert gets pulled on a delayed penalty, gets to the bench and the extra skater comes on. This guy starts screaming to the people around me that Hebert is out of the net, the Thrashers are going to score and he didn’t understand why they did that (there was almost a period left in the game). I had to explain to this man (yes, man – he was in his 30s/40s, I was 25) what was going on and that the second Atlanta touched the puck the play is dead.

Now granted this was 7 years into their existence and most people in OC/SoCal didn’t know hockey but this type of example happens every friggin single year I attend a Ducks game. Happened again when I took my son to see Minnesota in January against Anaheim (I raised him better – not sure why he is a Wild fan) and this time it was a guy in his 50s.

Anaheim fans simply don’t get it and think the NHL revolves around The Pond. It’s maddening.

 

[Psych3man]

I really think the Ducks' horrible announcers contribute to the deep hockey ignorance among Ducks fans. The Ducks tv duo is consistently rated at the bottom or right near the bottom of the league by neutral observers. I grew up in LA with 4 Hall of Fame Announcers (Miller/Fox, Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, Dick Enberg) who taught me the intricacies of the games in addition to what was happening on the field/ice/court. Much of my knowledge and interest came from their phenomenal teaching.

Ducks fans cannot learn anything from their announcers because the announcers are both incompetent idiots and completely obnoxious homers. Hayward is absolutely unlistenable, the play-by-play guy is terrible.
We have been SO BLESSED by LA's announcers through the years.

 

[Vegas]

I've been a Kings fan since I moved to LA in 1985 (live in Las Vegas now). I was a season ticket holder for a few years. I have to say that I heard some real ignorance in the forum back in the day.

Example: In the first game Gretzky played as a King, there was no score in a good game a few minutes in. Some moron sitting near me started screaming, "Come on, Gretzky. Fight!"

 

[histkng23]

I think it also has something to do with the OC "mindset." The go to sporting events, Angels/Ducks more as an event to go and socialize at with their friends/coworkers/etc. Even Angel games, the fan base really only has knowledge of the Angels, and that's about it. But going back to my situation with my Duck fan coworker, he also had no clue about hockeydb.com. I can spend vast amounts of time engulfed in the website looking up teams & stats. I see him tomorrow, so will be interesting to see what he has to say given the controversy of game 5, and the way the Ducks played in game 6.

Having been a Kings fan since the early 80s, I agree the announcers that LA sports franchises have employed seem to be more educated in the nuances of the game, as opposed to the broadcasting teams of the Angels & Ducks. LA teams have also employed color analysts that truly try to break down the game on the tv so we, the viewers, have a more informed knowledge of the sport, let alone our teams. Hayward, as an example, truly is horrible at that aspect of his job. Fox, whom was terrible, and annoying as hell the first few years with Bob, truly has owned his craft and as a result, become the standard for color analysts in the league, IMO.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I think it also has something to do with the OC "mindset." The go to sporting events, Angels/Ducks more as an event to go and socialize at with their friends/coworkers/etc. Even Angel games, the fan base really only has knowledge of the Angels, and that's about it. But going back to my situation with my Duck fan coworker, he also had no clue about hockeydb.com. I can spend vast amounts of time engulfed in the website looking up teams & stats. I see him tomorrow, so will be interesting to see what he has to say given the controversy of game 5, and the way the Ducks played in game 6.

Give it to him – the Ducks are lucky to be tied in this series, they definitely shouldn’t have won Game 5 and Game 4 who knows what happens if Perry doesn’t pull a Perry and accidentally bump Talbot on the GW goal.

I remember Big Serg giving us grief saying how easy it was for LA in 2012, facing the least amount of competition because players were hurt on the teams they faced, blah blah blah. Pot meet kettle, if the Ducks do not make the SCFs their label as playoff chokers is nothing short of complete considering who they have had to and will face.

The socializing thing is hit or miss, I have met some very attentive Ducks fans but also exactly what you are saying too. People taking selfies during play in front of me, on their phones texting, watching You Tube videos, the list goes on.

I live in OC and I’m there for the game no matter what arena I visit, unless I’m with my kids in which case I educate them when they have questions. Then again, I am not originally from OC as you guys know, OH and then the South Bay before moving to OC in 1989. My house is the only one on our street that flies the black and silver during hockey season and my neighbors and I joke about it.

And HockeyDB is the devil, horrible idea to look at it at 11:30pm when in bed and you can't sleep.

Having been a Kings fan since the early 80s, I agree the announcers that LA sports franchises have employed seem to be more educated in the nuances of the game, as opposed to the broadcasting teams of the Angels & Ducks. LA teams have also employed color analysts that truly try to break down the game on the tv so we, the viewers, have a more informed knowledge of the sport, let alone our teams. Hayward, as an example, truly is horrible at that aspect of his job. Fox, whom was terrible, and annoying as hell the first few years with Bob, truly has owned his craft and as a result, become the standard for color analysts in the league, IMO.

I am not a baseball or basketball fan so I never really listed to Scully or Hearn but from my understanding they were two of the best. Add in Miller who I obviously know and it’s easy to see why LA fans are spoiled. Fox has really stepped up his game the last 5 years or so, he was originally a pretty bad homer if I recall especially in the mid 1990s during the Dark Years. he didn’t want to accept that the Kings just flat out sucked. He is more objective these days and calls it as he sees it even if it is something about the home team that doesn’t settle well.

Hayward has gotten better but he still justifies Ducks actions/behavior out there, he doesn’t call an objective game. And Ahlers, that dude looks like he smokes blunts during commercials constantly.

 

[Kings4OT]

Watching Lucic meander around the ice during game 7 vs the Ducks was quite eye opening. I dunno how you can give so little effort in a game 7...or any game your paid to play....he looked Pencake like

 

[Vegas]

Watching Lucic meander around the ice during game 7 vs the Ducks was quite eye opening. I dunno how you can give so little effort in a game 7...or any game your paid to play....he looked Pencake like

He had a reputation in Boston of playing hard when he felt like it.

 

[smackdown380]

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Brutal performance by the Oilers when they needed it the most. Also agree, Lucic looked awful almost all series long. I didn't see that snarl he is known for, he even showed that when he was in LA.

Inexperience ultimately did them in like we all said it would, now comes Anaheim's toughest challenge. It's a been a cakewalk to the WCFs so far.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

Yep. That Lucic effort on the Game-Winning Goal was pretty comical. One-hand stick-check and then just cruised around covering no one. He showed flashes of being effective in the Playoffs (Especially against San Jose), but he definitely did not have a good Game 7.

The reason Edmonton lost was mostly because of the lack of production from Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins. But overall, Oilers did much better down the stretch and in the Playoffs than I expected.

Hard to not see Nashville being favorites in this next series, but who knows? I would just like to see some great hockey.
Maybe I've always doubted Ottawa, but I really don't see it. I could see that series being Pittsburgh in 5.

 

[smackdown380]

Edmonton did do themselves in with that crap they put out on Game 7 but the Ducks, they should be worried. Their biggest victory in 10 years was a game 7 victory at home vs an inexperienced team. It took them 7 games to beat an inexperienced team. Further, there shouldn't have even been a game 7. They got two favorable goalie interference calls which prolonged the series.

In the end these are lackluster matchups and the NHL, I would think, has got to hate it. There really isn't a major TV market for these series. Nashville is at least has the country superstar connection.

Overall, I am really hoping the Ducks don't get close and it's not a repeat of 10 years ago Ana/OTT for the SCF.

 

[smackdown380]

 

[davnlaguna]

I really think the Ducks' horrible announcers contribute to the deep hockey ignorance among Ducks fans. The Ducks tv duo is consistently rated at the bottom or right near the bottom of the league by neutral observers. I grew up in LA with 4 Hall of Fame Announcers (Miller/Fox, Vin Scully, Chick Hearn, Dick Enberg) who taught me the intricacies of the games in addition to what was happening on the field/ice/court. Much of my knowledge and interest came from their phenomenal teaching.

Ducks fans cannot learn anything from their announcers because the announcers are both incompetent idiots and completely obnoxious homers. Hayward is absolutely unlistenable, the play-by-play guy is terrible.
We have been SO BLESSED by LA's announcers through the years.

My wife is a ducks fan.
She is married to me so she has a more broad sense of the game.
She knows the ducks better than I do, with the Kings second best.
She hates Brian Hayward. She thinks by his biased calling it makes it hard for fans to learn the rules. He has actually gotten slightly less horrid recently. Jim Fox has gotten worse.
Also she hates when another fan starts talking Ducks to her and can't hold a conversation.
Yesterday a "Ducks fan" asked her what she thought about Eaves. She went on about him wearing a boot and that he may have a stress fracture, from before he was traded. The other fan didn't know Eaves had missed a game.
Being in south OC, we see lots of cars with flags on them but half these people can't tell you who is playing in the East right now.