(1) Vancouver Canucks vs (5) Nashville Predators - Series Thread

[jstewismybastardson]

The Canucks had a great regular season. They're deserving of being in the Conference finals. 8 more wins & Luongo will be able to SHUT A LOT OF CRITICS UP.

Of course they'll just say is he any better than Chris Osgood?: I mean Luongo has an extremely talented team in front of him just like Osgood did.

is Luongo surrounded by hall of famers?

of course he's no Rick DiVietro lol

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

is Luongo surrounded by hall of famers?

Well the Sedins have a shot. The way Kesler is playing there might be a possibility depending on how many years he can keep this up.

You know your teams defense is stacked when you don't have to dress Keith Ballard, who you gave up a 1st round pick, Steve Bernier & MICHAEL GRABNER for.

 

[BlueandWhiteForever]

Bolts, don't be bitter, seriously. Your team had Luongo but let him get away. That was a long time ago now. You can make excuses about him not being dedicated or bailing on them, etc. In the end, it was your dumbass management that traded him.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Well the Sedins have a shot. The way Kesler is playing there might be a possibility depending on how many years he can keep this up.

You know your teams defense is stacked when you don't have to dress Keith Ballard, who you gave up a 1st round pick, Steve Bernier & MICHAEL GRABNER for.

hey he smartened up ... way to go Grabs ... too bad he was too busy breaking his ankle playing pregame soccer when he was with the canucks

i fully expect him to start off slow thanks to his poor work habits next season

 

[Curtrain]

I was very impressed with the fans in Nashville tonight. Well done Preds on a hard fought series.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

Bolts, don't be bitter, seriously. Your team had Luongo but let him get away. That was a long time ago now. You can make excuses about him not being dedicated or bailing on them, etc. In the end, it was your dumbass management that traded him.

The bottom line is this. I will give him the credit he deserves when he leads his team to the Stanley Cup. Like I said earlier he's been compared to one of the best goalies in the game for a long time. This is his time now to prove those people were correct. If his team wins 8 more games he will do just that.

 

[BlueandWhiteForever]

The bottom line is this. I will give him the credit he deserves when he leads his team to the Stanley Cup. Like I said earlier he's been compared to one of the best goalies in the game for a long time. This is his time now to prove those people were correct. If his team wins 8 more games he will do just that.

I agree but you can't blame Luongo for the mishaps in this series. He gave up 4 fluke goals from behind the blueline that not many other goalies could have prevented either. Add to that the fact his D men laid the puck on a Nashville stick more than a few times. Other than that, he was clutch.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

I agree but you can't blame Luongo for the mishaps in this series. He gave up 4 fluke goals from behind the blueline that not many other goalies could have prevented either. Add to that the fact his D men laid the puck on a Nashville stick more than a few times. Other than that, he was clutch.

We shall see how Clutch he is in the next series. Like I said earlier in the thread the Predators don't have ONE legit sniper on their entire roster. The Wings & Sharks are loaded with snipers.

 

[WestEndVol]

Congrats to the Canucks, good luck the rest of the way.

 

[puckhead]

just throwing some numbers out there

Lou vs. Det this year: 2-0-2, 2.66 GAA, 0.925% (granted, they were missing some guys early on)
Lou vs. SJ this year: 1-0-1, 0.96 GAA, 0.975%, Schneider was 2-0 vs SJ this year (3.38 GAA, 0.918%)


both pretty good numbers.




/thread isn't closed until the fireworks, right?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

jeff patterson puts things in perspective ... points out they are through with Duncan Keith and now Shea Weber ... still possible they will have to go through Nick Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara

all 3 of the Norris finalists

only halfway up the mountain

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

just throwing some numbers out there

Lou vs. Det this year: 2-0-2, 2.66 GAA, 0.925% (granted, they were missing some guys early on)
Lou vs. SJ this year: 1-0-1, 0.96 GAA, 0.975%, Schneider was 2-0 vs SJ this year (3.38 GAA, 0.918%)


both pretty good numbers.




/thread isn't closed until the fireworks, right?

The Red Wings are beat up now so there isn't any difference. I don't know what to make of the Sharks. Do they have a fragile psyche?? When will Marleau play up to his ability? Thornton has been great these playoffs like Marleau was last season. The one thing they have going for them is Niemi. He's never lost a playoff series in his career. Granted this is only his second year in the league & there's always a first time.

 

[DaBoltsNIsles]

jeff patterson puts things in perspective ... points out they are through with Duncan Keith and now Shea Weber ... still possible they will have to go through Nick Lidstrom and Zdeno Chara

all 3 of the Norris finalists

only halfway up the mountain

Dan Boyle isn't anything to sneeze at either. However the Canucks have Erhoff, Edler, Hamhuis & Bieksa. It's not like their defense is chopped liver. Erhoff, a former Shark had 14 goals this season.

 

[BlueandWhiteForever]

Of all the Nashville fans, I have to give credit to Carrie Underwood, seriously. Pretty clear to me she wasn't there just to cheer on her husband or just smile like a lot of other celebrities do at sports games. She seemed really emotionally invested, even in tears after the Preds were knocked out.

 

[SuperFlyer13]

Bolts, don't be bitter, seriously. Your team had Luongo but let him get away. That was a long time ago now. You can make excuses about him not being dedicated or bailing on them, etc. In the end, it was your dumbass management that traded him.

Was this during a lockout year? I have no memory of Lou playing in Tampa?

 

[johnnytata]

congrats canuck fans!

 

[mattola]

Was this during a lockout year? I have no memory of Lou playing in Tampa?

he meant DaBoltsNIsles not the Tampa Bay Lightning (bolts).

 

[mattola]

We shall see how Clutch he is in the next series. Like I said earlier in the thread the Predators don't have ONE legit sniper on their entire roster. The Wings & Sharks are loaded with snipers.

so this isnt about Management moving him. this is about him to you alone. you just dont like him and want him to fail you cant even give him credit for one game and he was very very good in this last game. Hes in the conference Finals now. He did beat Chicago and they are a good team. I dont think you are giving credit to the Preds either. They were tenacious and the Canucks finally took one of their lessons and used it in a game. they stayed strong at the end and won the series.

if you want him to fail just because he was touted as the next best thing in junior and you lost him off your team then you are pretty bitter for the wrong reason. let it go man and enjoy the hockey.

also I just realized you nickname is in reference to both the Islanders and the Lightning. Are you a fan of both teams? or is in reference to something else entirely?

 

[jstewismybastardson]

youre a good man Hammer

Canucks? Hamhuis made time to visit special-needs friend in Nashville

NASHVILLE — There’s a long list of things to see in Music City.

The Grand Ole Opry, historic Fort Negley, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Jack’s Bar-B-Que, Tootsies — which to be honest is a little over-rated — but believe us when we tell you nowhere in those glossy magazines is there dare mention of the YMCA.

So when Vancouver Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis tells you he spent part of his off-day between Games 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinal against the Nashville Predators playing a game of pickup hoops with an old friend, you have to know there’s a story there somewhere.

And you’d be right.

Clay Butler is a local legend at the Y — but as much for his personality than his ability to sink the trey. The longtime Nashville native lives with Down syndrome and first met Hamhuis through the Best Buddies Tennessee program while the latter was a member of the Predators. So, just like he would with any other friend he hadn’t seen in a while, Hamhuis called Butler up last Wednesday to shoot some threes before sitting down for a slice of pizza to catch up and reminisce about old times.

“He’s a great guy — just the simplest things make him happy,” says Hamhuis, prior to Game 6 between the Canucks and Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Monday. “He lights up every ones world. It’s just so amazing to see him at the Y, everyone there knows him by name and he knows them. He’s certainly an inspiring person to be around.”

Best Buddies is a nationwide, non-profit organization dedicated to building one-to-one friendships for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hamhuis first learned of the program during the 2007-08 season through Predators head coach Barry Trotz, whose 10-year-old son, Nolan, also lives with Down syndrome.

“Often, people with disabilities as young adults only have friends with disabilities and that to me isn’t right,” says Trotz. “The greatest human need is the need to feel you’re wanted or you’re useful and that’s what Best Buddies is trying to do. When you see guys like Clay, who have a best buddy like Hammer, those people just blossom. It changes their life and gives them a sense of purpose, just like you or I.”

Butler was a regular at Nashville games during Hamhuis’s time in Tennessee — although no occasion was more exciting than the time in late March when, with Hamhuis out of the lineup with a concussion, the two were able to watch the Predators and Canucks together from a suite, courtesy of the defenceman.

And like all good relationships, it goes both ways. Butler introduced the 28-year-old Smithers, B.C., native to college basketball when he took Hamhuis and his wife, Sarah, to a Vanderbilt women’s game in 2009.

“We’re friends because we’re friends, not out of charity,” stresses Hamhuis. “Maybe at first it was because I wanted to help out, but once I got to know him, hanging out is something I always look forward to and still do to this day.”

Predators captain Shea Weber and goalie Pekka Rinne are continuing what Hamhuis started with the Best Buddies program. And like anyone who has dealings with someone with special needs can attest, the return on the investment is 10-fold.

“What it does is it brings a lot of clarity to what’s important in life,” says Weber. “You think you’re giving the other person the gift, but it’s really the other way around.”

 

[mattola]

Great for Hammer. class act.