The REAL Playoffs ... THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Tequilla
Member Posts: 20,007
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
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
Edmonton vs LA for the what, 3rd year in a row?
Jesus Fuck that league is stupid.
4th year in a row … and they're going to lose 4 years in a row
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.
Tuesday Playoff Review
Toronto continues its trend of not being able to finish a series during the Matthews/Marner era … now 1-13 in series clinching games. An absolute solid game tonight by Ottawa and that's going to set up a really interesting Game 6 on Thursday
Carolina came back from 3-0 down to finish off New Jersey in 5 games. With how grueling the path to the Cup is it's important to take care of business when you can as you just never know what happens if you play unnecessary games. Toronto hasn't figured out this lesson.
Vegas pulls out another OT game to send Minnesota home for Game 6 in a must win game. Minnesota had the game in their hands with a minute to go but had the goal pulled back for being offsides by a fraction of an inch … the little details are often game changers … this series still has all the feel of going 7 games
As I said Edmonton was bound to outplay LA for a game and tonight was it … after what has transpired in this series it just feels like LA has been kicked in the nuts and may not be in a position to recover
Wednesday Playoff Preview
Montreal is officially on their backup goalie for the rest of the postseason and the rest of the postseason will end in Game 5. It's always good to have Montreal in the playoffs but this is the start of them figuring it out … they just aren't ready yet to make any kind of noise.
Ekblad is suspended for 2 games for his hit on Hagel (he won't play in Game 5) continuing the trend of dirty hits dominating this series … big picture Tampa hasn't shown any answers for Florida and I'm just not sure that I expect that to change … it just feels like everything in Tampa is falling apart and crumbling and I expect Florida to finish the series tomorrow
Game of the day tomorrow is in Winnipeg where the Jets are looking to rebound from a disastrous 2 games in St Louis … lots of playoff demons swirling around for the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck with a ton of pressure staring them in the face … this is the definition of a must win game for Winnipeg … I like St Louis to continue their strong play and steal Game 5 in Winnipeg
I see what you're saying but the history of the NHL has sort of highlighted some form of constant change
In the Original 6 era where there were 4 teams that made the playoffs it was 1 vs 3 and 2 vs 4 instead of 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3 …
That continued into the expansion era where after the first few years post expansion where St Louis went to 3 straight Finals and were swept each time the format became a bit of a cross matrix trying to fix the Finals
Then as the 70s progressed you had 1st round series as best of 3 and the league largely seeded from top to bottom based on points such that you'd have first round series of NY vs LA … to me that's a bit messy
Then in the early 80s the league switched to the division playoff format that is basically what we have today but those playoffs were a bit diluted in the sense that 16 of 21 teams made the playoffs … there were a lot of teams that didn't really deserve to be in the playoffs and the 1st round being 5 games to me was meh
The seeding of 1-8 by conference with the division winners getting the top 2 spots … I get that it makes the LA vs Edmonton situations less frequent but the other side of it is that you lose some of the better rivalries that you can get in this format (Tampa vs Florida, Boston vs Toronto) … the presence of the Wild Cards to me is a decent tweak vs what was in place in the 80s to ensure that deserving teams get in the postseason
If the playoffs were in the 1-8 format this year:
Eastern Conference
(1) Washington vs (8) Montreal
(2) Toronto vs (7) New Jersey
(3) Tampa vs (6) Ottawa
(4) Carolina vs (5) Florida
Western Conference
(1) Winnipeg vs (8) St Louis
(2) Vegas vs (7) Minnesota
(3) Dallas vs (6) Edmonton
(4) Los Angeles vs (5) Colorado
The elephant in the room for some of this stuff is that in the current playoffs once matchups are largely set then you might get teams that decide to punt on the rest of the regular season whereas in a 1-8 format perhaps they keep playing all 82 games to lock in matchups that they want (for example I suspect that Edmonton would have fought a little harder to get the LA matchup and Colorado probably plays siome of their guys to avoid Dallas)
If I look at the difference in the above vs what actually happened, I'd say that Toronto vs Ottawa is more compelling than them playing New Jersey and likewise Tampa vs Florida is a superior option … that said Carolina vs Florida has some compelling elements to it as well. In the West, if I'm being neutral I'd say that a Dallas vs Colorado series is worth it if that means Edmonton vs LA. In the 90s it seemed like Dallas and Edmonton played in the postseason every single year in much the same way that LA and Edmonton play now. So it can happen in either format.
Toronto hasn't finished a series since the 60s
I remember my hockey phase.
I know some people like the sport, and I do like going to games (I went to a dozen Silvertips games a year about 8 - 10 years ago), but it doesn't translate very well through tv. You have to really be into hockey to watch on tv.
It doesn't help that the Kraken have been pretty awful thus far.
Wednesday Playoff Summary
Washington taking care of Montreal was no surprise and will set up what should be an interesting Round 2 series against Carolina … a team that matches up quite well with Washington. That should be a very intriguing series with some of the very bad blood that they had at the end of the year.
Florida completing the series against Tampa really puts Tampa at an organizational crossroads … Tampa's invested a lot in their core and it's come at some the expense of draft capital for the future (those future picks the Kraken acquired could become interesting) … they don't have any motivation to tear it all down but I wouldn't be shocked if they go for a different voice behind the bench. As for Florida, getting a bit of rest leading into a matchup with Toronto or Ottawa will be important … assuming it's vs Toronto you have to think that Florida has too much toughness (both physical and mental) for them
Winnipeg came out and dominated a must win home game to send the series back to St Louis at 3-2 but it came with a big cost … news that Winnipeg's most important forward (Mark Schiefele) will not be traveling for Game 6 (and there's reason for concern that the absence will stretch beyond that) makes this likely that the series will return to Winnipeg for a Game 7 … this is one of the biggest dangers of not handling your business in a series (particularly in Round 1) where the war of attrition can have devastating implications in the present or the trickle effect in future series
Thursday Playoff Preview
Toronto gets another chance to finish a series in Ottawa and with Toronto's history I just get the feeling that this is destined to go 7 games with an Ottawa win tonight setting up a country-wide panic come Saturday night … low key Ottawa was playing really good hockey to end the season and they are a team that had been teasing for the last couple of years and the youthful talent grew up this year
Vegas has won 2 straight OT games and it feels like they are just holding on in this series with Minnesota arguably outplaying them … I expect Minnesota to send this back to Vegas for Game 7 with a fairly comfortable win tonight
This Dallas/Colorado series is so very interesting because everybody gravitates to the star power of Colorado but it's their depth that has doomed them in recent playoff runs (Round 1 vs Seattle in 2023, Round 2 vs Dallas in 2024, and now this year vs Dallas) … Colorado has made so many roster changes this year to try to matchup to what they were going to be facing in the postseason and as this series has progressed there continue to be signs that they aren't as connected as a team when adversity strikes … my expectations are that #MyStars will win an OT game tonight (similar to last year) to eliminate Colorado with Jake Oettinger being the best player on the ice tonight
As I've been saying about LA, the games that they blew early in the series were going to come back to bite them and it did in Game 5 … it's a roster that has not responded well historically to adversity in its series against Edmonton and at this point you have to think its mental … I think there's a really good chance that Edmonton blows them out tonight and wins the series in 6