Second Round - Who do you want (and think) the Flyers to play?

[Digityman]

Click on the image to enlarge:

[DaGreatGazoo]

Panthers....

[orange_crush]

Anyone but the Rangers..they killed us all year..

[Bertmega]

I would like the Devils and am not too sure where this will go, but I can say this; this has been by far the best opening round I have seen in years.

I almost want to say the Caps and the Rangers win and somehow the Devils figure out how to beat Florida.

Time will tell, but the week off should get this team nearly healthy for the next battle.

[AJgoal]

Second poll needs an "any team" button.

[jkearse123]

If we play the Caps, it means FLA beats NJ, Caps beat Bruins and Senators defeat Rangers. Sign me up

[Mad Dog]

Anybody but the Rangers - terrible matcup for us. Plus, Lundqvist is the best goalie on the league. The Bruins are not the best matchup but better than NY.

[phlfly]

even I voted for Florida, but in the end I think Florida is going to win over NJ, Caps will beat Boston, and Rags will win over the Ott (I hope not). So we will get florida

As long as Ott beat Rags I don't care who is next, at least neither Rags or Pens win a cup

[hf101]

I want to play the Debbies. Send Brodeur into retirement with a sweep.

[sarsippius]

I think it's going to be Boston....Rags win tonight pushes to Game 7 at MSG, Lundqvuist will be the difference.Holtby has been great for the Caps but it won't last. Florida sucks I can't believe they've got a three to two lead in the series.

As far as which oppoenent do I want.....easiest win see above, Florida sucks, cheese champ of a lousy division. But it would be fun to play NJ......

[Mad Dog]

Florida will really be a gift. The Flyers will sweap them. I think the Devils would be easy too, and so will be the Caps... I just think with our luck, we are going to draw the Rangers, unless Ottawa finishes them off. I don't want to play Boston either, but will take them over the Rangers.

[AJgoal]

I think Rags get bumped tonight. Alfredsson returning, chance to advance on home ice against a New York team that's struggling to score... I think the Sens put a couple quick ones in and the Rangers can't keep up. I even bet all my tokens on it.

[pilldoc]

Could the stars align just right again?? Both Rags and Bruins eliminated??? Doubt it. I do think the Sens upset the Rangers and Boston will come back and beat the Caps. Devils / Pens?? It is a crap shoot.

[Spinorama]

I just guessed what I think will happen. I haven't been following the other series' close enough to get a good read on how things are going with the exception of glancing at what the series' are at.

As far as who I want. I voted Panthers.

[Mad Dog]

It starts looking more and more like wre are playing the damned Rangers. Both the Bruins and Rangers are returning home for game 7 and both are in good shape to win. Damn! The only hope is that the Devils will come back and beat the Panthers and we'll play the Bruins. Still better than NY, I think...

Edited April 24, 2012 by Mad Dog

[canoli]

Could the stars align just right again?? Both Rags and Bruins eliminated??? Doubt it. I do think the Sens upset the Rangers and Boston will come back and beat the Caps. Devils / Pens?? It is a crap shoot.

Well it comes down to Thursday night at the Garden, see if the Rags can improve on their G7 record, which is a losing one - I think they're 5-7 all-time.

We don't need much help but the Sens knocking out the Rangers would be on the top of my wish list.

If any of the lower seeds win their series we won't have to play them next round...that'd be nice, at least get to the ECF. Frankly though, seeing how well the Flyers played Sunday I'm not afraid of any team now. Even Lundqvist, as solid as he is...we can get to him. The games we dumped to them this year weren't blowouts - not all of them. A break here, a bit of luck there...we can take a 7-game series from them.

[doom88]

Bring any team. Flyers will be fine if their goalie plays anything close to reasonable.

I'd rather exorcize the Rags in the process, and take the best teams available down in the process. Less excuses like so and so was eliminated so you had it easy crap. The kids can play, and I think they fear nobody.

Competition, bring it.

[brelic]

LOL, based purely on those stats, I'm sure EVERY team would want to draw the Flyers. But we all know stats don't tell the whole story..

Bottom line, I think every series going forward for the Flyers will require solid defense and goaltending. When you think about it, the Pens were probably the best draw for us in the 1st round. We owned them all year, and they play the same run and gun style as us.. we just do it better

[AJgoal]

At the same time, playing the "Best team in the NHL" with all their stars healthy, and beating them soundly, will give this team a lot of confidence. I just hate the layoff now. If we do play the Rangers, it likely will be after a week off. that's ridiculous when you consider that the Rangers will only play one more game than the Flyers did.

[NJSikkbreed]

LOL, based purely on those stats, I'm sure EVERY team would want to draw the Flyers.

That is until they get to the Flyers PP% --- a whopping 52% success rate! That's unreal....and downright scary....makes almost every illegal move a team makes

feel a huge amount of pressure that they just gave up a goal before the PP even happens..... that's pretty much what happened to the Pens.... but, they didnt

seem to "understand" that part w/ all their dumb "pen-ALL-teees" (as Max Talbot would say).

[Hexy27]

I like the idea of playing the Rangers and finally beating them, but I also think it would greatly reduce our chance of success in the rounds to follow. A series against the Ranger would probably beat us down badly (even if we win). The physical toll would likely be too high to overcome and proceed to a cup. Look at the aftermath of the Pens series. Too many injured players (that we know of) and likely more. I know other teams have injury too but it would be hard to win a cup with the Pens and Rangers back to back. Then there is the potential we would face Boston. I don't know that this team could beat both the Rangers and Boston to go on. Stranger things have happened and I would love to be wrong.

[Bakanekimiwa]

the rags really lucked out getting to gm7. they don't play until thurs!

[brelic]

I like the idea of playing the Rangers and finally beating them, but I also think it would greatly reduce our chance of success in the rounds to follow. A series against the Ranger would probably beat us down badly (even if we win). The physical toll would likely be too high to overcome and proceed to a cup. Look at the aftermath of the Pens series. Too many injured players (that we know of) and likely more. I know other teams have injury too but it would be hard to win a cup with the Pens and Rangers back to back. Then there is the potential we would face Boston. I don't know that this team could beat both the Rangers and Boston to go on. Stranger things have happened and I would love to be wrong.

As they say, you have to beat the best to be the best. So, if that means beating the Rags, bring'em on I say!

Of course, I'd much rather NOT face them, but it would be so much sweeter if they did it by beating the Rangers.

[mojo1917]

I just don't think the Rangers are so good that they can beat this team 12 times in one calendar year, until the last 2 games; the games against them were up for grabs, they kicked our fannies in March, no doubt, from my memory there were like 4 minutes where the Flyers played poorly against the Rags and the Rags made the most of it, and Lundquist made sure it held up. The Rangers looked pretty slow last night, the whole game looked slow last night compared to the Pens seriers.

I sweat the Rags the most of who is left, but I don't think they are unbeatable,

[terp]

The Rangers looked pretty slow last night, the whole game looked slow last night compared to the Pens seriers.

I don't want the Rags next and would like to avoid them altogether if possible. We match up better with anyone else.

That said, the Rangers do look a bit more beatable these days. They are being extended by a not so great Sens team, in part because they have a lot of trouble scoring goals. That could catch up with them at some point.

It is remarkable to see the style difference between the Flyers and the Rangers: the Flyers scoring depth, their speed and creativity, their defensemen with a perpetual green light to join the offense, and their deadly power play versus the Rangers, who are essentially the Devils of the 90's, a tight checking, physical team whose defensemen participate little in the attack and whose power play is among the weakest in the league. It begins and ends with Lundqvist: if he has a bad series, they are done. He held them in it last night, again.

Edited April 24, 2012 by terp