The REAL Playoffs ... THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Tequilla
Member Posts: 20,001
Since there are a bunch of whiny snowflakes around this place … separating from the "NBA" thread
A great night of playoff action last night led by #MyStars with another OT victory versus Colorado taking a grasp on the series despite missing 2 of their best players due to injury and despite leading in the series for just 62 seconds over 3 games. Last night was a tight checking game that would have looked the part as part of a Conference or Stanley Cup Finals game.
Crisis time in Edmonton as another absolute no show from the balance of the roster has the Oilers back against the wall. As I said on X before the start of the playoffs, this was going to be a tipping point for the Oilers organization as the Kings were well positioned to take advantage of the injury and depth issues of the Oilers and through 2 games that has played out. Before the series I had LA in 6 and now it's looking to be over in 5 at most. If this continues this becomes a very interesting offseason for the Oilers as McDavid will be entering the last year of his contract and between the lack of a prospect pipeline and the mortgaging of draft picks to support recent playoff runs the path for them to be championship caliber in the years to come is becoming increasingly narrower.
For tonight's action …
Low key huge game in Ottawa as the Leafs can take a stranglehold on the series. Ottawa has one of the better playoff crowds out there and it wouldn't shock me at all if Ottawa wins both of these games and turns it into a bit of a series. Ottawa started to right the ship in Game 2 and realize the difference between the regular season and the playoffs … plus it wouldn't be right if the Leafs didn't have some adversity to overcome
The Battle of Florida is a must win game for Tampa tonight … I suspect that they'll respond
Minnesota taking it to Vegas in Game 2 just sets up that this is a series going 6 or 7 games … I anticipate a split of these 2 games in Minnesota
Winnipeg and St Louis has been some tight old-time hard hitting hockey through 2 games where the Jets have been just a smidge better on home ice … I anticipate St Louis rebounding tonight and setting up a series defining Game 4
In the coming days I'll set up a thread on the Kraken's recent moves and a primer on what to anticipate over the offseason
Comments
4/24 Review
Huge win for Toronto to take a stranglehold 3-0 lead on the season … 2 straight OT wins is the difference between being up 3-0 and feeling great and being down 2-1 and a full on panic taking place in Toronto
The Stanley Cup champs stepped on Tampa's throat tonight winning a goalie duel … really hard seeing Tampa win 4 of 5 against the defending champs … a Florida vs Toronto series will be a must watch
Minnesota with a really solid home win to go up 2-1 over Vegas. 2 years ago Minnesota did the same thing in Round 1 versus Dallas and then lost the next 3 games. A series never truly starts in the NHL until somebody wins 2 games in a row … giant game on Saturday for Vegas
St Louis absolutely embarrassed Winnipeg and Winnipeg resorted to trying to goon up the 3rd period … an absolutely monumental Game 4 on Sunday afternoon as a St Louis win really changes the narrative in the series. As I said earlier, it could have been argued through 2 games that St Louis played pretty damn close to even. Should St Louis get a Game 4 win then ALL of the pressure is on Winnipeg to win Game 5 at home or stare all of their past collapsing demons in the face in a Game 6 elimination game. Big time tipping point game coming up
4/25 Preview
Should be a great atmosphere in Montreal but this series feels very similar to what has taken place between Toronto and Ottawa … Montreal is competing but they just don't have enough to get over the hump vs Washington
New Jersey just isn't the same team as they were during the season with the injuries that they have endured … Carolina offers too much pressure to think that this series isn't going to end in 5 … wouldn't shock me to see New Jersey find a way to win Game 3 though
Most compelling game is in Edmonton where it's really a tipping point moment for the Oilers organization. If they lose either of Games 3 or 4 they'll be done in 5 in Los Angeles. The way the series has gone so far would indicate that the series is over in 4. You're going to get the best out of McDavid and Draisaitl in Game 3 … is it enough?
😂
A couple at my kid's tee ball game was wearing Vegas Golden Knight shirts and I was wondering how stupid your league is if they're approving a franchise having a fucking Power Rangers helmet as a logo.
Probably won’t hear from tequila for awhile since he’s at 20k comments
I didn’t read a word of either of his 2 comments mostly because I haven’t much given a shit about hockey since Lake Placid games (80 Olympics for the young). I did go to an NHL playoff game 30 years ago and enjoyed the experience but I was never interested in learning the rules.
Canucks out, so Bill is out
I watched a little of the Lightning/Panthers. Nothing sez hockey like a Florida series.
Saturday Night Playoff Thoughts
Strange series in the battle for Florida with the road team winning all 3 games so far. The dirty hits in the series continue and we'll be interesting to see if Tkachuk gets a suspension coming out of his hit in Game 3.
Vegas with a huge OT win today to get things to a best of 3 series … in their franchise history Minnesota has never been up in a series 3-1 … that's actually pretty shocking … they kicked away a huge opportunity today
Toronto and Ottawa has been a far closer series than it looked going into today and Toronto's inability to close out series continues on … 3 straight OT games … don't be shocked if Ottawa wins Game 5 in Toronto
Colorado won what was an absolute must win game for them tonight against #MyStars … this series was always going to be a 6 or 7 game series and that's what we're going to get … I'd expect a strong response from Dallas on Monday night at home
Sunday Playoff Preview
Game 4 for Blues vs Jets and we'll see how Winnipeg handles the pressure as they historically haven't done so … going home tied 2-2 after losing 2 in St Louis and the pressure accelerates quickly … will be the best game of the day
New Jersey got their OT victory in Game 3 that I predicted that they would get but that's the high point in the series for them … Carolina will win Game 4 and finish the series off at home in 5
The temperature in the Washington and Montreal series blew up in Game 3 but the real story heading into Game 4 is that both teams will likely be without their starting goalies … advantage Washington but this will be a good popcorn game
Speaking of popcorn, the Kings vs Edmonton continues to be a raging alcoholic of a series with Edmonton's 3rd period in Game 3 aided greatly by one of the worst coach's challenge that I've ever seen … that mistake very well may have brought Edmonton back into the series … LA is still by far the most stable of teams but the more they continue to play into the chaos that Edmonton brings the more the series will continue to shift … a strong runner up for the game of the day tomorrow