Before the series started:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Tampa in 4.
I can't believe that anyone is giving Columbus a chance in this series.
Yeah, yeah, "It's the playoffs, anything can happen!"
B.S. Tampa is a runaway favorite to go to the cup final. In a league full of parity, they established throughout the year that they were operating on another plane of existence.
Tampa Bay in 4, and it will be 4 very decisive wins. ZERO chance for the inconsistent Blue Jackets.
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After game 1:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Well CBJ gets a gift from Tampa. I can guarantee that won't happen again in this series. A team as good as Tampa Bay won't be blowing 3 goal leads on a regular basis.
That being said, momentum is everything. The Jackets have it now, so Tampa is going to have to have a very strong next game to turn it back in their favor.
I still think Tampa wins this series walking away, but I've been wrong before.
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At least the bolded was true. Did Tampa have a lead again at any point in the series?
But that momentum shift was major. I said Tampa needed to have a strong 2nd game or they could be in trouble. They didn't, and they got in serious trouble.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathgod
This series has made idiots out of a lot of people.
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True Mathgod, very true. Me = Idiot.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan
Here's the problem with making predictions: It's based on past information. Since there was countless evidence to suggest that the first game from Tampa Bay was an aberration, it wasn't ridiculous to make the claims I did. I don't know why I'm being singled out for those thoughts when they would be perfectly rational at the time, but go ahead, pile on.
Hands up those of you who had Tampa Bay suddenly forgetting how to play hockey. A team that dominated everyone in the league, including the Flames who were the 2nd best team and the top team in the West. This was a team that had everything a team needs to roll through the playoffs. They still do. If they figure out how to respond to this situation appropriately and fix their mental approach/effort level etc., they will be their old unstoppable selves.
It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Tampa storm back in this series. It also wouldn't surprise me at this point to see the Blue Jackets win the series in 5 or 6 games. The landscape has shifted drastically for the Lightning, but I don't think anyone should have logically expected this to happen, at least not to this extent.
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I honestly thought the Bolts would win at least one game, but momentum is an unpredictable thing. Every team should be scared of the other team gaining unstoppable momentum and confidence. It doesn't happen in every series, but when it does, it's nearly impossible to turn it around the other direction. This is what makes me most nervous about the Flames series at the moment.
That first game destroyed the confidence of Tampa Bay since they lost a game they normally easily win. Columbus was able to play loose since they grabbed a game that they probably should have lost. That does a lot to the psyche of a team, and Tampa could never turn the momentum the other way. Columbus plays well in the next couple, and now it's too late, so Tampa basically gives up.
It's not that I'm unfamiliar with this phenomenon in the NHL playoffs, it's just that I fully didn't expect it with this particular series. Who could have honestly predicted a complete collapse by Tampa? One of the worst choke jobs in NHL history, dare I say, all of sports history. This is one for the record books.
It's also scared me off from making any predictions whatsoever. What's funny is that most of my other series predictions are on track to be true so far, but this one looks sooooooo bad in hindsight.
I don't mind eating crow, but I'd prefer it in a Jamaican jerk sauce if that's okay with everyone.