71 replies to this topic

[JWomp]

Ive never understood people who pick against their own team.

As far as I'm concerned, if you're a fan of a team, you should pick them because you believe they'll find a way to win, even if you think they might be over-matched.

Are you kidding me? Give me a break. When I predict the Devils are going to lose a series, I'm not rooting against them - I'm just being realistic, and there's nothing wrong with that. The Flyers are a strong team, and even though I would love nothing more than for the Devils to win, I don't see it happening. Does that make me a bad fan? Not at all. I'll still be watching every second of every game rooting the Devils on. Blindly picking your team to win even when they are outmatched doesn't make you any better than those of us who predict the Flyers will win the series.

[CarpathianForest]

Every single person on this board who has picked the Devils to lose, whether it was in the last round or this one, has come at it with the caveat of "I hope to God and Batman that I'm wrong". There's a difference between wanting your team to win and recognizing that winning will be a tall order.

Can the Devils beat the Flyers in a seven-game series? Well, sure, anything's possible, but will they? Coming into the series, it didn't look like it; the Flyers just beat the stuffing out of Sidney and the Penguins, and the Devils had just barely squeaked by the Panthers. After the first period, it looked like it would be a cakewalk. Taking the rest of the game into account, it's back to being an uphill battle.

And before anyone thinks of it, picking the Flyers to win the series is nothing like being fervently anti-Kovalchuk or anti-Brodeur. Both situations are the poster in question being honest, but the difference is that those who pick the Flyers aren't being trolls about it; rather, they're almost apologetic about it.

Thank You for the level headed post. While I think nothing would be more awesome than having the Devils win the series, the Flyers have us ovr a barrel in offense, defense.

[Devilsrock01]

bryzgalov just sucks put it that way. Just get shot on net he'll let those out those juicy rebounds and get shots from the point..

[RowdyFan42]

My heart says devils in 6 or 7 but my mind says flyers in 6.

This.

bryzgalov just sucks put it that way. Just get shot on net he'll let those out those juicy rebounds and get shots from the point..

And that's what we can hang our hats on right now. The Flyers are beatable; the Devils need to get to Bryzgalov and keep the defensive/goaltending brainfarts to a minimum.

[overtime98]

Flyers are sooo beatable..... they didnt out play us all that bad, we got this.... its a 7 game series ....

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Flyers are sooo beatable..... they didnt out play us all that bad, we got this.... its a 7 game series ....

I'm all for optimism, I really am, but the Devils were pretty clearly outplayed from the second period on.

Here's what I'm tying my hopes to:

Bryzgalov and that this was only one game.

[iamtheprodigy]

Are you kidding me? Give me a break. When I predict the Devils are going to lose a series, I'm not rooting against them - I'm just being realistic, and there's nothing wrong with that. The Flyers are a strong team, and even though I would love nothing more than for the Devils to win, I don't see it happening. Does that make me a bad fan? Not at all. I'll still be watching every second of every game rooting the Devils on. Blindly picking your team to win even when they are outmatched doesn't make you any better than those of us who predict the Flyers will win the series.

I think the whole idea of making predictions is kind of silly, really. I'd much rather just hope for the best and let the teams play. So many things can change over the course of a series, so I see no real purpose in saying "Devils in 7" or "Flyers in 5" before the series starts. They're just guesses, so what's the point? Do I think the Flyers are the better overall team? Yeah, they probably are the better than us, especially with some of the players we have visibly playing hurt. But if somebody came up to me and said "Who do you think will win the series?" I wouldn't say "the Flyers, because they're better". I would say that I expect it to be a close series and I think the Devils can win it. If the series could be played out a thousand times, I have no doubt that the Flyers would win the majority of them. But this is just one series. Anything can happen, so why not pick your team and hope for the best? Just my mindset. Never said you were a bad fan. But I don't think picking your team even if the odds are against them is such a bad thing either.

Edited by iamtheprodigy, 29 April 2012 - 09:10 PM.

[NJDevs4978]

Every single person on this board who has picked the Devils to lose, whether it was in the last round or this one, has come at it with the caveat of "I hope to God and Batman that I'm wrong". There's a difference between wanting your team to win and recognizing that winning will be a tall order.

Can the Devils beat the Flyers in a seven-game series? Well, sure, anything's possible, but will they? Coming into the series, it didn't look like it; the Flyers just beat the stuffing out of Sidney and the Penguins, and the Devils had just barely squeaked by the Panthers. After the first period, it looked like it would be a cakewalk. Taking the rest of the game into account, it's back to being an uphill battle.

And before anyone thinks of it, picking the Flyers to win the series is nothing like being fervently anti-Kovalchuk or anti-Brodeur. Both situations are the poster in question being honest, but the difference is that those who pick the Flyers aren't being trolls about it; rather, they're almost apologetic about it.

It's funny, when most of the board and their grandmother wanted to play the Panthers in the first round, people came out of the woodwork to say 'Oh no, can't anger the hockey gods by wanting a matchup and saying we're likely to win', now that the shoe's on the other foot, people are saying 'Can't pick against your own team otherwise you're not a real fan'...so which is it, are we not allowed to be confident, or not allowed to be realistic?

[lazer]

flyers always have a flat 1st period.

[iamtheprodigy]

It's funny, when most of the board and their grandmother wanted to play the Panthers in the first round, people came out of the woodwork to say 'Oh no, can't anger the hockey gods by wanting a matchup and saying we're likely to win', now that the shoe's on the other foot, people are saying 'Can't pick against your own team otherwise you're not a real fan'...so which is it, are we not allowed to be confident, or not allowed to be realistic?

It just makes me sick to see how confident most Flyers fans are that they will win in 4 or 5 games and it makes it worse to know that there are Devils fans are openly agreeing with them. Personally, I'd rather be wrong about picking my team to win than be right about picking them to lose.

[NJDevs4978]

There's a reason 98% of people are picking them...they're better, and healthier. Our only edge is in goal but that doesn't help when Marty's under siege and they're only allowing 100-foot shots in the OT (which Bryz still almost screwed up on Zajac's long shot).

Of course the better team doesn't always win in the playoffs, especially when the other team has a goaltending edge - but it's really hard to count on two-three bad goals a game from the other goalie.

[RowdyFan42]

It just makes me sick to see how confident most Flyers fans are that they will win in 4 or 5 games and it makes it worse to know that there are Devils fans are openly agreeing with them. Personally, I'd rather be wrong about picking my team to win than be right about picking them to lose.

Personally, I'd rather be honest with my opinions that say what I'm "supposed" to say.

Good for you that you picked the Devils to win. I don't know if you came to your conclusion out of blind faith or actual analysis of the two sides, but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that it apparently bothers you so much that there are Devils fans whose unbiased opinion is that the Flyers will come out on top.

Edited by RowdyFan42, 30 April 2012 - 01:46 AM.

[NJCroMag]

Every single person on this board who has picked the Devils to lose, whether it was in the last round or this one, has come at it with the caveat of "I hope to God and Batman that I'm wrong". There's a difference between wanting your team to win and recognizing that winning will be a tall order.

+INFINITY (AND TASTY BAKED GOODS)

[Eztarget]

flyers always have a flat 1st period.

Add to the fact that they hadn't played a game in a week ...

[Beetlebum]

I would rest Kovy the next game and go with this

Parise Elias Berner

Sykora Zajac Henrique

Poni Zubrus Clarkson

Carter Gionta Zharkov

[ZeroGravityFat]

flyers always have a flat 1st period.

so our strategy is clear. pound them in the first for 4 goals, hold on to dear life.

[ZeroGravityFat]

[Onddeck]

we gotta get shots and shots and shots.. like everyone here is saying.

im pissed that we lost, but im glad we were able to get it into OT on their home ice.. My only hope (and its a big one) is that its not a slippery slope now and that we are drained from it. Ive seen that happen often and I hope we come out tomorrow and play just as hard

[Legion15]

Philip J. Fry: You can't lose hope when it's hopeless. You gotta hope more, then put your fingers in your ears and go, "Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah!... "

[lazer]

so our strategy is clear. pound them in the first for 4 goals, hold on to dear life.

basically yeah, the two tie goals when we needed them from TZ and Syk changed the game...very clutch.

i hate to say it but parise would have sliced the same pass if it was from zajac...not hate, being realistic...parise scored in another loss.

edit:i do believe devils can win this series.

plus with the injuries and fatigue, the devils have one good push in them per game, frustrating but the GTGs changed all that

Edited by lazer, 30 April 2012 - 12:44 PM.