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Post by hockey1981 on Mar 16, 2014 10:57:33 GMT -4
Game 1 - Thur March 20 @ BBA 8pm Game 2 - Fri March 21 @ BBA 8:30pm Game 3 - Mon March 24 @ MON 7pm Game 4 - Tues March 25 @ MON 7pm Game 5 - Thu March 27 @ MON 7pm ** Game 6 - Sun March 30 @ BBA 5pm ** Game 7 - Mon March 31 @ BBA 8pm **
** If Necessary
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Post by SteveUL on Mar 16, 2014 11:47:07 GMT -4
Just need one win to get that 3rd home game ... that would have to be considered a small success in this series.
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Post by npsh on Mar 16, 2014 14:42:24 GMT -4
Just need one win to get that 3rd home game ... that would have to be considered a small success in this series. I going out with BBA in six..........
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Post by fireball on Mar 16, 2014 23:59:44 GMT -4
Armada in 4 straight .
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Post by WildcatMapleLeafs on Mar 17, 2014 5:25:57 GMT -4
Armada in 5 games.
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Post by SteveUL on Mar 17, 2014 8:07:24 GMT -4
TVA has a game scheduled for Thursday ... no teams assigned to it yet (as of yesterday when I checked). Anybody know yet how many teams are playing Thursday ? TVA showed the game Friday night from BBA so maybe they'll go back there again this Thursday.
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Post by CrazyJoeDavola on Mar 17, 2014 8:16:53 GMT -4
I would think Dubeau could be good and the russians could put up some points, enough to take at least 1 game in this series. BBA are a pretty good matchup for Moncton given that they aren`t too dynamic offensively.
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Post by Arnold Slick on Mar 17, 2014 9:11:44 GMT -4
As much as I'd like to think that the Cats could win a game or two in this series I'm not sure that will happen. Yes, BB is probably the weakest of the top 8 teams, but let's also take into account the division they play in and remember that the Cats have floundered pretty badly down the stretch. Seemed like anytime they played a good team it wasn't pretty.
Now all indications are that the Cats will have a full line-up for Game 1, which hasn't happened in quite some time if ever. That's certainly a bonus. If they can find a way to play like they did against Halifax all year I can definitely see the Cats winning a game or maybe even two. However, I won't be overly shocked if this is a sweep either.
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Post by SteveUL on Mar 17, 2014 10:32:50 GMT -4
Yup. According to Shannon we have never had our full lineup available for even one game this year. Now that lineup has changed several times as the season has moved along. I guess you could say that up until Tkachev's arrival, every game prior to that (48 games) we didn't have him and he was expected (and committed) to be here. Caissie missed an extended period with injury (15) ... Barbashev has been injured and away at WJC to the tune of 20 games ... Johnston missed 9 games ... Simpson missed about 20 ... Garland has missed 17 games.
We are down to 2 OA players but that is by choice so that does not count as an absence. But Campagna was a key offensive contributor and that offense will be missed.
But the team we have now is not really the same team that started the year in September and October when we couldn't win 2 in a row. Down the stretch we have been missing Garland and Barbashev ... two top offensive producers ... and for a team with limited depth that is a huge loss. Missing Garrett Johnston was also a big loss.
So if we are healthy enough to ice our full lineup, we'll be back to having two lines that can score and our best group of Dman we can ice. Nobody has ever seen that team play.
Lines might look like this ...
Caissie-Barbashev-Tkachev Garland-Simpson-Lalonde Pugsley-Johnson-Smith Seegar-Bower-Olivier ... with Halabi in and out as needed
Defense
Johnston-Sweeney Donnelly-Holwell Haas-Klebanskyj ... with Nicholson, and White in the stands.
I certainly don't expect us to win this series ... and a sweep is certainly possible. BBA is a more veteran team and highly favoured to win ... nobody is picking Moncton to win. But we could surprise, and if Dubeau is sharp we could win this series. I would never bet on it because that is stupid ... but upsets happen almost every year in Rd 1 under the current format (division setup and playoff rankings). BBA isn't a high octane team and are more of a well rounded team from back to front ... with a strong defensive game like many Wildcat teams of previous years. We've seen those teams get upset in the playoffs many times.
Realistically ... I'm just hoping to get 3 home games and I think we can make that happen. But if we go up there and split games 1 and 2, it could get interesting. Everything depends on Dubeau.
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Post by anaberration on Mar 17, 2014 11:33:23 GMT -4
BBA in 4....but wish upset Cats in 5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 17, 2014 12:07:32 GMT -4
I think it will go 6 games. But BBA will be too good defensively to overcome. BBA goaltending may be a weak point though...strictly judging from stats. I would have expected better save numbers from a good defensive team.
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Post by jimmy on Mar 17, 2014 12:34:42 GMT -4
To me, our chances of an upset hinge entirely on Dubeau ... His second half stats have not been that impressive, compared to his first half. If he can play the way he did in the first half, we have enough offense with everyone healthy to hope for an upset - but if he is anything less than stellar, we have no chance IMO.
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Post by WildcatMapleLeafs on Mar 17, 2014 13:10:07 GMT -4
What's the story with Marcoux this seasons. He was one of the best goalies the past couple of seasons but seems to be struggling and in front of a very defensively solid team. Injury ?
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Post by Arnold Slick on Mar 17, 2014 14:22:02 GMT -4
To me, our chances of an upset hinge entirely on Dubeau ... His second half stats have not been that impressive, compared to his first half. If he can play the way he did in the first half, we have enough offense with everyone healthy to hope for an upset - but if he is anything less than stellar, we have no chance IMO. I find that he's looked a bit off in a lot of games in the second half of the season. Certainly not bad, but not quite what we saw in the first half. That's honestly a big reason why I won't be surprised if it's a sweep.
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Post by curtis on Mar 17, 2014 15:18:59 GMT -4
To me, our chances of an upset hinge entirely on Dubeau ... His second half stats have not been that impressive, compared to his first half. If he can play the way he did in the first half, we have enough offense with everyone healthy to hope for an upset - but if he is anything less than stellar, we have no chance IMO. I'm sure having pretty much a full week off will do him some good. That being said, I'm not worried about Dubeau so much as I'm worried about the team's mistakes in front of him...seems like almost every mistake finds its way into the back of the net, and Blainville isn't going to let them off the hook. Dubeau hasn't bailed out the players in front of him as much in the second half, but they need to find a way to limit turnovers and bonehead plays. I'm not worried about the forwards...having Garland back will be huge...the PP would be much improved, and he gives them two lines that can keep the puck in the opposite zone a good amount of the time. Two lines that have good puck possession, especially with Simpson taking a lot of faceoffs, a pesky 3rd line of Smith-Johnson-Pugsley, and a 4th line that can take a regular shift....as a group they are good enough to be part of an upset. It's the D that worries me....this is not a strong group. Donnelly has been disappointing overall, and Nicholson/White just shouldn't be taking shifts in the playoffs. Johnston has been good, but seems to make at least one play per game that ends up hanging Dubeau out to dry. Sweeney, Haas, and Klebnaskyj need to be excellent for this team to have a chance. If the Cats play good "road game" hockey...nothing fancy...I think they can hang with Blainville and push it to 5 or 6 games, and make it an entertaining series. Dubeau playing like he did before Christmas might give them a sliver of hope to cause an upset. If the Cats were playing Baie-Comeau or Val-D'Or, they'd be toast...no chance. But seeing them play well against Halifax so often makes me think that they can keep up with mid-pack teams...probably not win a series, but I would put the odds of a series upset at 20%-25%.
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