*Closed* 16 years of Champions Bracket [R1] - 7. TAMPA 2021 vs 10. PITTSBURGH 2016

[Tufted Titmouse]

Pick which team you think would win in a 7 game series.


I think this is the most intriguing match up of the entire 1st round. I would imagine, if seeded differnetly, both of these teams would go deep.


Playoff stats

TAMPA 2021						PITTSBURGH 2016
Player	GP	G	A	PTS		Player	GP	G	A	PTS
Nikita Kucherov	23	8	24	32		Phil Kessel	24	10	12	22
Brayden Point	23	14	9	23		Sidney Crosby	24	6	13	19
Steven Stamkos	23	8	10	18		Evgeni Malkin	23	6	12	18
Victor Hedman	23	2	16	18		Nick Bonino	24	4	14	18
Alex Killorn	19	8	9	17		Carl Hagelin	24	6	10	16
Ondrej Palat	23	5	8	13		Kris Letang	23	3	12	15
Anthony Cirelli	23	5	7	12		Patric Hornqvist	24	9	4	13
Blake Coleman	23	3	8	11		Chris Kunitz	24	4	8	12
Erik Cernak	21	1	9	10		Conor Sheary	23	4	6	10
Ryan McDonagh	23	0	8	8		Bryan Rust	23	6	3	9
Yanni Gourde	23	6	1	7		Brian Dumoulin	24	2	6	8
Tyler Johnson	23	4	3	7		Olli Maatta	18	0	7	7
Ross Colton	23	4	2	6		Matt Cullen	24	4	2	6
Barclay Goodrow	18	2	4	6		Ben Lovejoy	24	2	4	6
David Savard	20	0	5	5		Trevor Daley	15	1	5	6
Pat Maroon	23	2	2	4		Tom Kuhnhackl	24	2	3	5
Jan Rutta	23	2	1	3		Eric Fehr	23	3	1	4
Mikhail Sergachev	23	0	3	3		Justin Schultz	15	0	4	4
Mathieu Joseph	6	0	2	2		Ian Cole	24	1	2	3
Luke Schenn	8	1	0	1		Beau Bennett	1	0	0	0
Andrei Vasilevskiy	23	0	0	0		Marc-Andre Fleury	2	0	0	0
						Matt Murray	21	0	0	0
						Derrick Pouliot	2	0	0	0
						Oskar Sundqvist	2	0	0	0
Player	GP	SV%	GAA	Gs_above_avg_po		Player	GP	SV%	GAA	Gs_above_avg_po
Andrei Vasilevskiy	23	0.937	1.9	12.8		Matt Murray	21	0.923	2.08	3.6
Team Total	23	0.937	1.9	12		Jeff Zatkoff	2	0.908	3.07
						Marc-Andre Fleury	2	0.875	3.03

Updated bracket; teams seeded by regular season win%

Click to read more...

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Tampa walks them

 

[WarriorofTime]

The 2010-11 Lightning needed 7 games (1-0 final) to beat the Crosby AND Malkin-less Penguins. They were horrible in 2010 and horrible in 2012, so I think the Conference Finals run in 2011 was a fluke.

 

[J T Money]

The 2010-11 Lightning needed 7 games (1-0 final) to beat the Crosby AND Malkin-less Penguins. They were horrible in 2010 and horrible in 2012, so I think the Conference Finals run in 2011 was a fluke.

OP made a typo in the poll options because the 2011 Lightning didn’t win the Cup. The rosters show it is actually the 2021 team.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

The 2010-11 Lightning needed 7 games (1-0 final) to beat the Crosby AND Malkin-less Penguins. They were horrible in 2010 and horrible in 2012, so I think the Conference Finals run in 2011 was a fluke.

OP made a typo in the poll options because the 2011 Lightning didn’t win the Cup. The rosters show it is actually the 2021 team.

Oops, good eye! It's definitely 2021 Tampa Bay. I'll ask if a mod can change it, as it's locked from being changed now.

 

[JaegerDice]

I think the Pens win this one.

The 2020 Tampa team was the better team by performance.

The 2021 team relied pretty heavily on Vasi to cover up their lackluster defensive and lesser possession.

Worked against the mediocre teams they went through on the way to their cup win, not so much against a team with the speed and offensive potency of the 2016 Penguins.

 

[leafsfan5]

Didn’t 2016 PIT need 7 to be the Bolts that year?

Think the 21 Bolts win in 6

 

[bambamcam4ever]

Didn’t 2016 PIT need 7 to be the Bolts that year?

Think the 21 Bolts win in 6

They also completely dominated TB. Outshot them by 10+ shots per game on average

 

[LightningStorm]

I'd go Lighting in 6 in what would probably be the most entertaining series of R1. Pens had insane speed and a relentless forecheck, while the Bolts could beat you in any type of game. In the end I think the clear positional edge TB has on both defense and goaltending would win them this series.

 

[LightningStorm]

Didn’t 2016 PIT need 7 to be the Bolts that year?

They also completely dominated TB. Outshot them by 10+ shots per game on average

About the 2016 ECF, the Pens were definitely the better team and it only went 7 because of Vasilevskiy keeping the Bolts in it when the Pens outplayed them all series. But Vasy is still her in this matchup, and IMO the 2016 Bolts were cup contenders, but it wasn't until 2018 when they reached cup favorite status. The 2016 ECF were Vasy's coming out party, and when he basically became the choice for the Bolts going forward despite Bishop having a great season.

2016 was before Hedman was a Norris contender, Kucherov an Art Ross contender, and before Stamkos had his career revival. McDonagh was also still in NY. Last, Point wasn't even in the league yet, and he's a player I really think could've helped against a speedy team like the 2016 Pens.

 

[leafsfan5]

They also completely dominated TB. Outshot them by 10+ shots per game on average

That's true, but the goalie who allowed Tampa to get to game 7 is still there. And this time he has a dominant supporting cast around him

 

[LightningStorm]

I think the Pens win this one.

The 2020 Tampa team was the better team by performance.

The 2021 team relied pretty heavily on Vasi to cover up their lackluster defensive and lesser possession.

Worked against the mediocre teams they went through on the way to their cup win, not so much against a team with the speed and offensive potency of the 2016 Penguins.

No question 2020 was better than 2021 for the Bolts titles. But I disagree with your last point about the 2021 Bolts facing mediocre opponents. The Habs were as easy a finals opponent as you could ever expect, but the other 3 were formidable.

Florida had a breakthrough year that season and finished pretty high in the standings. They were on their trajectory towards this past season when they won the Presidents Trophy. Even though the 2021 Panthers weren't as good as last season's team (well, actually better in the playoffs), you still saw in 2021 the gamebreaking talent that would help them win the 2022 PT.

Carolina has not only been a playoff team since 2019 but also one that regularly wins a series in each of the playoffs since then, with 2020 being the lone exception. Though by winning 2 in 2019 they've averaged a playoff series win the last 4 seasons. Not the most talented team, but you have to play a pretty good and disciplined series to beat them.

The Islanders had a really good 3 season run from 2019-2021. They were tied with the Bruins for 2nd in playoff series wins in that span with 5, only trailing the 8 won by the Lightning. They were a very tough defensive team who knew how to wear their opponents down over the course of a series.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

Recency bias. 2016 Pens would have skated circles around that slow ass 2021 TB team. 16’ Pens are one of the best, fastest, teams post lockout.

 

[LightningStorm]

Recency bias. 2016 Pens would have skated circles around that slow ass 2021 TB team. 16’ Pens are one of the best, fastest, teams post lockout.

Funny how in the round 1 matchups the B2B Lightning have been called too slow in one thread and too soft in another. Quite the miracle they went B2B.

 

[Snippit]

2016 Pens were one of my favourite teams in recent years. Their speed was too much to handle for everyone.

I'm thinking they take this in a tight series.

 

[banks]

2016 Pens were one of my favourite teams in recent years. Their speed was too much to handle for everyone.

I'm thinking they take this in a tight series.

Ya, that Pens team was a fun one. That's the year Kessel made Bonino look like a star.

I agree, the series would be tight. But I do still think Tampa would take it.

 

[Regal]

About the 2016 ECF, the Pens were definitely the better team and it only went 7 because of Vasilevskiy keeping the Bolts in it when the Pens outplayed them all series. But Vasy is still her in this matchup, and IMO the 2016 Bolts were cup contenders, but it wasn't until 2018 when they reached cup favorite status. The 2016 ECF were Vasy's coming out party, and when he basically became the choice for the Bolts going forward despite Bishop having a great season.

2016 was before Hedman was a Norris contender, Kucherov an Art Ross contender, and before Stamkos had his career revival. McDonagh was also still in NY. Last, Point wasn't even in the league yet, and he's a player I really think could've helped against a speedy team like the 2016 Pens.

I’d say Hedman was already a Norris level defenseman in 13-14, just reputation can take a couple years. The ‘15 playoffs were his big coming out party and he was still really good in ‘16. I’d argue he was better in ‘16 than the hobbled version he brought in the ‘21 playoffs (I guess this depends on whether we still get all the same injures or a clean slate).

Kucherov was also not 100% in ‘21, and while still elite on the PP, he was probably better 5v5 in ‘16. Fair points on Stamkos, Point and McDonagh, though Tyler Johnson was also much better in ‘16.