Archive for the ‘Stanley Cup Playoffs’ Category

Best of 2011: Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 Running Diary

Posted: December 27, 2011 by Keith Stone in Best of 2011, Boston Bruins, BOSTON SUCKS, hockey, NHL, running diary, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver, Vancouver Canucks
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It’s the end of the year so let’s look back at some of the best moments in The Suite (and give Stone a break). This was originally published on June 15 with the Stanley Cup hanging in the balance.

It’s time to finally, finally end hockey season. I’m coming to you live from the Rainman Suite with Charlie Sheen, Jenna Haze, Lanny Barby, Tiffany Taylor, Alexis Texas, and briefcase full of cocaine. OK, actually I have a belly fully full of Chinese food and a six-pack of Labatts. This game is huge. Neither team has won the Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years and Vancouver has never won it. Also, the last time they lost a Finals Game 7, there was a massive riot. As John Davidson would say, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh baby!” GAME 7!

8:02-We see the Stanley Cup make its grand entrance into the arena in a silver SUV. You’d think it’d be rolling in a Hummer limo or something.

8:03-Dan Patrick is hosting the pregame show because……………

8:04-Pierre McGuire interviews Patrice Bergeron who has a massive playoff beard. Yet another reason to love hockey. Playoff beards.

8:06-A Boston fan told Dan Patrick, “We didn’t lose to the British, and we’re not losing to British Columbia.” Those Bostonians are so clever.

8:11-There’s so much at stake tonight. If Boston wins, they’d have won every Championship in the past seven years. The last thing we need is those pink hat-wearing frontrunning douchebags to pull off the feat. Let the negative karma flow.

8:13-There’s an exterior shot of the arena. The streets are entirely packed. It’s only 5PM in Vancouver. It’s going to be wild tonight no matter what. Imagine leaving work and hitting that traffic. Did they even work today?

8:16-A guy in a tux sings the American national anthem. There’s a smattering of boos. Don’t boo the anthem, people.

8:17-They have a separate guy for “O Canada.” He’s a disheveled, fat man. I think he’s homeless.

8:18-My friend Naitch just showed up. He’s the only Canadian I know in New York. We are wearing identical shirts with the Canadian maple leaf on them from Bret Hart Appreciation Night at the Garden. He brought Tim Horton’s but I stopped short of hanging up a Canadian flag.

8:20-Naitch likes Pierre McGuire’s early intensity. He thinks he’s the best sideline reporter since Mike Adamle.

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Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 Live Running Diary

Posted: June 15, 2011 by Keith Stone in BOSTON SUCKS, hockey, NHL, running diary, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs
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It’s time to finally, finally end hockey season. I’m coming to you live from the Rainman Suite with Charlie Sheen, Jenna Haze, Lanny Barby, Tiffany Taylor, Alexis Texas, and briefcase full of cocaine. OK, actually I have a belly fully full of Chinese food and a six-pack of Labatts. This game is huge. Neither team has won the Stanley Cup in nearly 40 years and Vancouver has never won it. Also, the last time they lost a Finals Game 7, there was a massive riot. As John Davidson would say, “Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh baby!” GAME 7!

8:02-We see the Stanley Cup make its grand entrance into the arena in a silver SUV. You’d think it’d be rolling in a Hummer limo or something.

8:03-Dan Patrick is hosting the pregame show because……………

8:04-Pierre McGuire interviews Patrice Bergeron who has a massive playoff beard. Yet another reason to love hockey. Playoff beards.

8:06-A Boston fan told Dan Patrick, “We didn’t lose to the British, and we’re not losing to British Columbia.” Those Bostonians are so clever.

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Important Programming Note

Posted: June 14, 2011 by Keith Stone in hockey, NHL, Stanley Cup, Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Suite
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Tomorrow, someone is going to raise the Stanley Cup. It’s been a wild Finals so far and every game in Vancouver has been decided by one goal. Continuing with our award-winning hockey coverage, I will be conducting the first ever Rainman Suite live running diary for Game 7. Check back at 8 Wednesday night. I promise it will be one of the best Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 live running journals you will ever read.

Greatest Road Trip Ever?

Posted: June 2, 2011 by Keith Stone in hockey, NHL, road trip, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver Canucks
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Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals was pretty epic. I love low-scoring games. The tension is unbearable. The Canucks and Bruins were scoreless for over 59 and a half minutes until Jannik Hansen made a pretty feed to Raffi Hansen for the game-winner. The fans in Vancouver were delirious, but perhaps none more than these guys, who drove 15 hours to watch the Canucks play in San Jose in the Western Conference Finals and ended up drinking with the owner of the team, making a hospital visit, and scoring comps for the next game. It’s a good read.

Deadspin

Loser Dies: 2011 Stanley Cup Finals Preview

Posted: June 1, 2011 by Keith Stone in BOSTON SUCKS, hockey, Stanley Cup Finals, Stanley Cup Playoffs
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The Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins have each gone almost 40 years without hoisting the Stanley Cup. In Vancouver’s case, the franchise has never won it. Both teams have passionate fans and recent playoff disappointment despite regular season success, and have finally managed to get over the hump to reach the Finals. Unfortunately, only one team will walk away with the Ultimate Prize and all the tail and debauchery you can imagine while the other gets a summer of heartbreak and despair.

The Canucks rode high all season. The Presidents’ Trophy winners have the reigning MVP in Henrik Sedin and a finalist for this year’s award in his twin brother Daniel. These guys have ESP like Bill Cosby in Ghost Dad. How the Bruins defense, led by Zdeno Chara, handles them will play a large role in the outcome of the series. The Canucks also have Ryan Kesler playing at a high level and Roberto Luongo mixes brilliance with incompetence in net. It will be interesting to see how the team handles itself if things don’t go well, considering the magnitude of the games for the city of Vancouver and Canada in general.

Although the Bruins won the Northeast Division, they were overlooked as contenders until recently. Goalie Tim Thomas has played great all year and has the ability to win games by himself. If the Bruins’ power play stays dormant, he may have to. The B’s have overcome adversity all season, recovering from their collapse in last year’s playoffs and winning two Game 7’s. They will not be scared of the Canucks and the most explosive offense in hockey. That does not mean the Bruins can stop them. Tim Thomas is going to have to play like a motherfucker.

Canucks in 5

Best Goal Ever

Posted: May 27, 2011 by Keith Stone in BOSTON SUCKS, hockey, Matteau, NHL, Rangers, Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals is tonight. I have three words for you.

Canucks 2, Sharks 0

Posted: May 19, 2011 by Keith Stone in bOObs, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Vancouver Canucks
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I’ve always said that Vancouver Canucks fans are some of the best out there. On top of being a major city with only one sports team (sorry BC Lions), it’s Canada and Canadians are crazy about hockey. Coverage of the NHL Draft makes the NFL Draft look like Nickelodeon. The Canucks have been in existence since 1970 and have never won the Stanley Cup, although the Vancouver Millionaires won it in 1915. They’re like the Red Sox and Cubs but without the Celtics and Bulls to soften the blow, respectively. In fact, the last time the Canucks made the Finals and lost in seven games to the Rangers, there was a full-fledged riot. This wasn’t a weak college-style riot. It was the real deal. Like in Philadelphia, except the participants were obviously better conditioned for maximum destruction.

So now with four first place finishes in the past five years and still no Cup, the fans are hungrier and crazier than ever. The Green Men heckle opponents in the penalty box and had the Canucks within three wins of a return to the Finals. Last night, they won again 7-3 over the San Jose Sharks, but the real news is that one of their fans may have put them over the top not only in their quest for the Cup, but in the discussion for best fanbase. Here she is, after the jump (NSFW).

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Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions

Posted: May 13, 2011 by Keith Stone in hockey, Jason Voorhees, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs
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It’s a little known fact that Jason Voorhees was a huge fan of the California Golden Seals and goaltender Gilles Meloche. When the team left Oakland for the greener pastures of Cleveland without ever advancing past the first round of the playoffs, Jason, inspired by Meloche’s badass dragon mask, started wearing his own and butchering camp counselors. My predictions are doing just about as well as those camp counselors. I’m 4-7 so far after going 2-2 in the Semis but I’m going to nail these picks if it’s the last thing I do. Like I said before, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the hardest to predict.

In the East, the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning have taken similar roads to get the Conference Finals. Both had solid seasons but neither was expected to reach this far. After sweeping favored teams in the previous round, the B’s and Bolts are rested and hot. Tim Thomas and Dwayne Roloson have been fabulous in goal, respectively. However, the Lightning have a trio of big-time scorers in veterans Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier and young gun Steven Stamkos, who was second in the league in goals during the regular season with 45. The Bruins, on the other hand, are without one of their leading contributors in Patrice Bergeron, who is still dealing with a concussion suffered against the Flyers. Don’t forget: St. Louis and Lecavalier led the Lightning to the Cup only seven years ago. If Thomas gets hot, it’s going to be tough, but Tampa Bay knows what it takes to get to the next level. Lightning in 6

Out West, the two best regular-season teams meet in the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks. Regular-season is the operative word because both are known for their past failures in the playoffs. Luckily, one will finally get over the hump and make the Finals while the other will have a long summer. These teams have strong offenses, with the magical Sedin twins leading the Canucks against the Sharks’ Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. They should have plenty of opportunities to score against a couple of goaltenders that have struggled a bit so far in the playoffs. Antti Niemi is an upgrade over the skittish Evgeni Nabokov for the Sharks and won the Cup last year in Chicago. The Canucks’ maddening Roberto Luongo has mixed brilliance with putridness throughout his career and is always good for a free goal. Hopefully, it won’t be an important one. The Canucks won the Presidents’ Trophy for a reason, while the Sharks always seem to go down in flames. I just don’t want to see another riot in Vancouver like in 1994. Canucks in 7

>Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals Predictions

Posted: April 28, 2011 by Keith Stone in hockey, NHL, Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Capitals over Lightning in 6
Bruins over Flyers in 7
Canucks over Predators in 7
Red Wings over Sharks in 7

>Rangers-Capitals Game 4 Quick Reaction

Posted: April 21, 2011 by Keith Stone in NHL, Rangers, Stanley Cup Playoffs, Washington Capitals
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Capitals 4, Rangers 3 (2OT)
Capitals lead series 3-1

That was brutal. Imagine the girl you had a crush on was like “I really just like you as a friend…wait actually…no just like a friend…wait actually…no just a friend.” That’s what this game was like. I didn’t think anything would be worse than the DeSean Jackson Eagles game but this was worse. Same scenario. We were up by three scores. First one they got back, it was because of a lack of effort. The second one was a bit of luck. And that third one. The backbreaker. They just worked for it. But then, they didn’t go for the kill right away. They let us hang around for an extra two periods. Gave us hope. And then pulled it away. It just hurts because after Boudreau’s comments the other day, we were really letting him hear it. It was personal. I can’t bear the thought of him leaving the Garden with a smile on his face. The Rangers were plain overconfident. They kicked ass in the second period but forgot the game was still going on in the third. The first goal they gave up was total carelessness and it gave the Caps the momentum to get back into the game. It’s going to be tough to win in Washington but that’s two third period-leads the Rangers have blown in the series so it’s far from being a beatdown. The Rangers have survived every time they’ve been counted out this season. Hopefully, this is another of those times.

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