WSH vs. PIT 2009 - where was the hype

[Cursed Lemon]

Looking back on this series, where exactly was the hype? It was only a semi-final match, sure, but it featured the CLEAR three best players in the NHL at that time at the top of their acts, and went to seven games - there were even dueling hat tricks by the two NHL goldenboys.

Am I remembering this wrong, or does it seem like this series didn't generate a lot of hype, nor does it elicit a lot of reverence from people in retrospect?

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[ArGarBarGar]

I remember a ton of hype for that series.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Looking back on this series, where exactly was the hype? It was only a semi-final match, sure, but it featured the CLEAR three best players in the NHL at that time at the top of their acts, and went to seven games - there were even dueling hat tricks by the two NHL goldenboys.

Am I remembering this wrong, or does it seem like this series didn't generate a lot of hype, nor does it elicit a lot of reverence from people in retrospect?

I think you misremembered.

 

[K Fleur]

I think you have misremembered.

I remember this being one of the most hyped series post '05 lockout, and it was incredibly fun to watch.

 

[seventieslord]

Absolutely there was a ton of hype for this series. It was a blast to watch. Anticlimactic end, of course.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The dueling hat trick game was an instant classic.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

I dunno, maybe I just wasn't as connected in 2009 with everything, but it seems like no one mentions that series anymore and nobody I knew cared about it at the time, nor did I see any big promotions about it.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

There was definitely a lot of hype for that series.

 

[K Fleur]

I dunno, maybe I just wasn't as connected in 2009 with everything, but it seems like no one mentions that series anymore and nobody I knew cared about it at the time, nor did I see any big promotions about it.

You might have been more focused on the Red Wings/Ducks series going on at the same time which was also really good.



(Just assuming that you're a wings fan from your avatar)

 

[Cursed Lemon]

You might have been more focused on the Red Wings/Ducks series going on at the same time which was also a really good series.



(Just assuming that you're a wings fan from your avatar)

It's literally impossible for Wings fans not to focus on that series, as it is one of Dan Cleary's only redeeming moments.

Maybe. I'm not saying that the series wasn't exceptional, because it was a GREAT series, but that's just the point I'm making in that I feel like nobody recognizes it as being one of the great playoff matchups of the post-lockout era. Unless it's one of those things where it's just understood and that's why nobody bothers to talk about it.

 

[MXD]

The hype was all around the planet.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

I vaguely recall people complaining about the hype for this series, people bemoaning a "forced rivalry" concocted by Bettman to get people to care. Now we're looking back and suggesting there was no hype?

This site...

 

[Pominville Knows]

It was great, and the two main cats played their very best after the hype had just gone upwards since their 2005/06 rookie season. God knows how i truly hated OVI at that stage, but it has mellowed since about then. Fun forefest to the Cup parade later.

 

[bambamcam4ever]

It's literally impossible for Wings fans not to focus on that series, as it is one of Dan Cleary's only redeeming moments.

Maybe. I'm not saying that the series wasn't exceptional, because it was a GREAT series, but that's just the point I'm making in that I feel like nobody recognizes it as being one of the great playoff matchups of the post-lockout era. Unless it's one of those things where it's just understood and that's why nobody bothers to talk about it.

Living in California, it was the only series in the past 10 years I would hear people talking about that didn't involve the Sharks.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

I vaguely recall people complaining about the hype for this series, people bemoaning a "forced rivalry" concocted by Bettman to get people to care. Now we're looking back and suggesting there was no hype?

This site...

I wasn't here in 2009.

 

[Big Phil]

No, lots of hype. It was Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Malkin vs. Ovechkin. Not to mention, ironically every game was intense other than Game 7. Game 6 is one of the finest hockey games you'll ever watch. I can remember in the summer of 2009 watching Game 6 of this series again on ESPN Classic.

It was everything we wanted in a hockey series. End to end, lots of talent and the winner of this was going to the Cup final. Which they did, and won.

The sad thing is, neither has played each other since. I think 2009 was a time when I figured both of these teams would be back year after year against each other. I never thought the Pens and Caps would have such poor playoff showings the 5 years after this, you just didn't think that at the time. This series had the top 3 scorers in the NHL - and top 3 players as far as I am concerned.

 

[The Panther]

My main memory of this series is the hype.

I remember broadcasters after the double hat-trick game going on about how it was one of the greatest performances in history blah, blah, blah. Even The Onion (satirical news site) had an article joking about how the NHL was going to 'fix' future series to always have Crosby and Ovechkin head-to-head.

 

[Big Phil]

Another thing about this series, a little side note, was Malkin. I remember lots of criticism of him earlier on in the series. But Game 5-7, he was excellent.

I also think this series was most responsible for Mike Green not making the 2010 Olympic team. Think about it, in 2009 he scored 31 goals and 73 points. First team all-star, 2nd in Norris in voting. First time in 16 years that a defenseman got 30 goals. Then in 2009-'10 he had 76 points. Eventually another first team all-star and 2nd in Norris voting. But Yzerman didn't pick him, and I'll admit I pretty much had him pencilled in and didn't think a thing about it. I honestly think that how he played against Pittsburgh affected this. He was horrible defensively that whole series. Overmatched.

 

[billybudd]

In terms of EC non-SCF series, that's probably the most talked about since the 05 lockout. Couple other contenders. The Maple Leaf choke job. Boston-Montreal. The Philly/Pittsburgh clown show where every game ended 8-5 or 10-6 or something like that. If Philly had gone on to win the cup, their comeback against the Bruins would have been up there, but as it is, they lost and Boston won the next year, rendering the choke narrative moot.

As far as hype at the time, it was deafening. That was at the height of the Crosby/Ovi debate, with Malkin gaining ground on both. Semin and Green were at their apex, too. Bylsma and Boudreau were two cinderella coaching stories. Both teams were looking like superpowers in the making.

It was seen as an irresistable force meeting an immovable object.

It's a shame neither team really ever did anything in the playoffs after that. I'd have liked to watch 3 more of those and not just as a Penguins fan.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

I wasn't here in 2009.

I wish I wasn't here - it was embarrassing to see people go out of their way to find a problem with the two best players on the planet in a series against one another. If the Pens and Oilers (in the 80s) or the Pens and Kings (in the 90s) ever went head-to-head in the playoffs, it would have been the biggest thing since the invention of the toaster.

 

[quoipourquoi]

I still can't believe the NHL didn't put it on DVD after the Penguins won the Cup. They were putting out a lot of big box sets at the time, and somehow just skipped the most marketable one.

 

[Terry Yake]

there was tons and tons of hype for that series

where were you?

 

[Kyle McMahon]

If anything, other great series got buried by the hype of that one.

Boston-Carolina went 7 games in the other East semi-final, ended by Scott Walker's OT winner after the Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit in games.

Anaheim-Detroit was a 7-gamer as well. I don't remember a ton of specifics, but I remember it being great hockey.

The Chicago-Vancouver rivalry was born that round as well, culminating with a wild back-and-forth Game 6 in the series-deciding game.

 

[Sentinel]

I was watching the Ducks series. That's what ultimately done us in.