The REAL Playoffs ... THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Canucks out, so Bill is out
I watched a little of the Lightning/Panthers. Nothing sez hockey like a Florida series.
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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
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Monday Playoff Review
What a disastrous loss by Tampa last night. Get a 5 minute PP in the 3rd period up 2-1 and a chance to put the game on ice and you end up getting no shots on goal. Then a missed major penalty and game misconduct turns into that player scoring the game tying goal and then 11 seconds later your season gets put on the brink. Make no mistake, Florida is physical and difficult to play against and if you aren't prepared to match and absorb what they bring to the table you are going to be staring defeat in the face … that's table stakes against them. Tampa looks to be at a crossroads if this series goes south and there are rumblings that Cooper may be let go if Tampa loses in Round 1. If he is let go the Kraken would be wise to run towards him with a blank check to be their next head coach.
The novice hockey fan tries to sell the star power as an indication of what teams are better. The problem is that the best players still play at most half the game (25-30 minutes a game). That's not to say that you don't need star power but if you want to win in the postseason it's all about making sure that you have roster depth and have everybody connected on the common goal. This Colorado vs Dallas series brings the above into full focus and last night's 6-2 victory by Dallas puts Colorado on the brink. Dallas beat Colorado in the playoffs in the bubble in 2020 and they beat them last year as well. This series is looking to be similar to last year to me at this point
Tuesday Playoff Preview
All 4 series in the East are at 3-1 and tonight is the 1st opportunity to see some handshakes tonight
Carolina should send New Jersey home tonight … New Jersey just doesn't have enough with all of the injuries that they have.
The Toronto vs Ottawa series is far closer than the 3-1 series would indicate given that the last 3 games have gone to OT. I actually like Ottawa to bring a strong game tonight and actually expect that this series will go back to Ottawa. For whatever reason it's never easy for Toronto.
Minnesota vs Vegas has every indication of a series going 7 games. Through 4 games I'd say that there's a slight edge in the series to Minnesota with their best players playing better than the best players for Vegas (Eichel and Stone have 2 total points in the series and are a -11). This is a must win game for Vegas tonight.
Edmonton vs Los Angeles is an absolutely drunk series. The Kings have been the better team throughout the series and very easily could have swept Edmonton but are going home 2-2. What's getting exposed in this series is that the depth of LA isn't trusted by their coaching staff and the coaching staff frankly has panicked in this series. At some point in this series Edmonton will play a game that is better than LA … this is dangerous waters for LA who frankly has no business losing this series
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Edmonton vs LA for the what, 3rd year in a row?
Jesus Fuck that league is stupid.
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4th year in a row … and they're going to lose 4 years in a row
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That just shows how bad the league was changed. That's embarrassing, who the fuck wants to watch that 4 years in a row.
The old conference format and yes even having Detroit in the West, not fucking around with retarded expansion teams..
A rivalry matchup in the first round like that 2007 Sharks/Ducks is actually special. Now if both teams have good cores they play a series every season?
Still like playoff hockey deep into the playoffs but they ruined their league. Divisional "rivals" in 70+ game pro sports seasons and then you go play one of those teams 4-7 games in the first round is a terrible product.
