Quote:
Originally Posted by blender
Jets WCF last year. First round exit
Flames tops in West. First round exit
Dallas miss playoffs last season. Looking good for second round.
Blues miss playoffs last year. Heading to second round
San Jose perennial contender. In trouble first round.
Pittsburgh. Swept in first round.
Should the Flames blow it apart? Or maybe just stay the course. It's a random game and you just have to be in the dance to have a chance. You can maximize your potential, but there are no sure bets.
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The Flames deserved to lose against the Avs but it appears that only 2/6 teams with home ice advantage to start the playoffs will advance from the first round. Part of this is due to parity but is this also a product of the officiating changing in the postseason? The NHL really has to get over calling games differently in the postseason as it's the only league that changes the definition of penalties from regular season to postseason. I get that Johnny whines a lot but a slash is a slash and a obstruction is obstruction. There were numerous plays in the Flames series where the officials were in position to call a penalty on the Avs but purposely turned a blind eye because in their minds it's playoff hockey and they didn't want to influence the game. Well not calling penalties on high sticks and slashes is in fact influencing the game. So dumb and backwards.