NHL: Around the League 52

[deytookerjaabs]

I'm higher than most on EDM this year. The dynamic Hyman's style/chemistry with McD adds is huge, before you knew a certain amount of points would come from Draisaitl/McDavid and you just contain the bleeding, avoid a track meet, grind them down. Not so much now, they can score when the other team puts on a defensive clinic. This series they won a track meet type game and won a grind fest. 13 even strength goals against one of the top goals-against teams in the league in 5 games. They don't have better depth than other teams but they just need that depth to show up and not totally suck.

 

[ChiHawks10]

I'm higher than most on EDM this year. The dynamic Hyman's style/chemistry with McD adds is huge, before you knew a certain amount of points would come from Draisaitl/McDavid and you just contain the bleeding, avoid a track meet, grind them down. Not so much now, they can score when the other team puts on a defensive clinic. This series they won a track meet type game and won a grind fest. 13 even strength goals against one of the top goals-against teams in the league in 5 games. They don't have better depth than other teams but they just need that depth to show up and not totally suck.

They live and die by the powerplay's success. They had 9 "official" powerplay goals on 20 attempts, in a round where there are more penalties called than the later rounds, when refs tend to swallow the whistle more. They had 3 more that were scored within seconds of a PP ending, while still having a man advantage within the offensive zone. Two of those came last night, alone, both being scored literally as the PP expired. That makes for 12 "powerplay" goals, and 10 ES goals, essentially. That's not a recipe for success in later rounds.

 

[JaegerDice]

How could anyone not want to see McDavid win a Cup?

I'm just tired of being told by 'experts' and pundits every pre-season about how the Oilers are clearly favorites to win the cup when they are clearly not.

It gives me flashbacks to 2012-2015, when Crosby and the Penguins were held up as contenders even when they were very much not compared to the likes of LA, Chicago, Boston, etc.

Ironically, as soon as the experts and pundits started floating the idea that it might be time for Pittsburgh to blow it up, they won back to back cups.

I want to see McDavid win the cup, cause he's great, and the more big moments in the spotlight he gets, the better. I don't like the feeling of entitlement floated by some that he 'should'. He'll win if he wins, and that will be great. But I don't consider it a failure of the league or some great cosmic injustice every year he doesn't. Winning a cup is hard.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

They live and die by the powerplay's success. They had 9 "official" powerplay goals on 20 attempts, in a round where there are more penalties called than the later rounds, when refs tend to swallow the whistle more. They had 3 more that were scored within seconds of a PP ending, while still having a man advantage within the offensive zone. Two of those came last night, alone, both being scored literally as the PP expired. That makes for 12 "powerplay" goals, and 10 ES goals, essentially. That's not a recipe for success in later rounds.

Even with a few of those expiry PP goals, 10 EV's isn't bad against the Kings in 5 games.

 

[BobbyJet]

They had a pretty damn good one but some of the players wanted him gone

Its time for that core to be blown up, its not the coaching that is issue

What issue is this you speak of? That they don't win the cup every season? How can any hockey fan not appreciate watching the Avs play the game?

 

[ChiHawks10]

Even with a few of those expiry PP goals, 10 EV's isn't bad against the Kings in 5 games.

2 goals per game is bad by any NHL metric. It's atrocious, actually. For arguments sake, the teams with the best goals against per game this year were Florida and Winnipeg tied at 2.42 GA/GP. LA gave up 2.57 GA/GP and were in the top 5. Edmonton scored 3.56 G/GP. The Hawks were worst in the league(and we know how bad they were at scoring) and even THEY were above 2, with 2.17 G/GP. These are obviously total goals, not separated for PP/ES, but it gives a pretty good indicator of how poor 10 ES goals actually is, and how they live and die by the PP. I mean... more than half their goals in the series were scored on the PP, basically. That's not good for future rounds. Not even a little bit.

What issue is this you speak of? That they don't win the cup every season? How can any hockey fan not appreciate watching the Avs play the game?

He's talking about the Jets, not the Avs.

 

[JaegerDice]

What issue is this you speak of? That they don't win the cup every season? How can any hockey fan not appreciate watching the Avs play the game?

He's talking about the Jets.

But I doubt a rebuild is going to happen, they just re-signed Schieffle and Hellebyuk to long-term contracts.

If KD can get Morrissey out of Winnipeg, I'd be fine with it though.

 

[BobbyJet]

He's talking about the Jets.

But I doubt a rebuild is going to happen, they just re-signed Schieffle and Hellebyuk to long-term contracts.

If KD can get Morrissey out of Winnipeg, I'd be fine with it though.

Oh....As for Morrissey: he is as close to untouchable as you're gonna get, IMO.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

2 goals per game is bad by any NHL metric. It's atrocious, actually. For arguments sake, the teams with the best goals against per game this year were Florida and Winnipeg tied at 2.42 GA/GP. LA gave up 2.57 GA/GP and were in the top 5. Edmonton scored 3.56 G/GP. The Hawks were worst in the league(and we know how bad they were at scoring) and even THEY were above 2, with 2.17 G/GP. These are obviously total goals, not separated for PP/ES, but it gives a pretty good indicator of how poor 10 ES goals actually is, and how they live and die by the PP. I mean... more than half their goals in the series were scored on the PP, basically. That's not good for future rounds. Not even a little bit.


He's talking about the Jets, not the Avs.

The average even strength goals in last year's playoffs was 2.3/game, which of course includes any goal right after the power play.

Taking that stat at face value?

The Oilers averaged 2.6 even strength goals per game in the King's series.

 

[ChiHawks10]

The average even strength goals in last year's playoffs was 2.3/game, which of course includes any goal right after the power play.

Taking that stat at face value?

The Oilers averaged 2.6 even strength goals per game in the King's series.

Again, I know they're categorized as ES, but they really weren't, outside of the technical aspect of the stat sheet. On two just last night, the door to the box wasn't even open yet when they scored them. And in all actuality, they had THREE scored less than 4 seconds after the penalty expired, while still up a man in the offensive zone. Calling them truly ES goals would be disingenuous. Essentially they scored 10 "true" ES goals in 5 games, for a total of 2 ES G/GP. They also won one of those games 1-0, with 13 shots, and... that goal was scored on a PP.

I'm not sure why it's so controversial to say that Edmonton lives and dies by the PP, and when they're in the late series, where refs swallow their whistles more often, they're going to get into trouble by having to rely on it. It's really not controversial. Almost 1 in 4 goals that the Oilers scored this past season was on the PP.

 

[Hawkaholic]

Getting 2goals/GP @ ES vs. the Kings is good.

They were one of the best teams in the league in the second half of the season/post all star break at keeping the puck out of their net 5 on 5. They only allowed 50GA in their last 34GP, so I'm not sure I would be too worried about Edmontons "inability" to score at 5 on 5. Edmonton was also the 3rd highest scoring team at 5 on 5 during the regular season.

 

[deytookerjaabs]

Again, I know they're categorized as ES, but they really weren't, outside of the technical aspect of the stat sheet. On two just last night, the door to the box wasn't even open yet when they scored them. And in all actuality, they had THREE scored less than 4 seconds after the penalty expired, while still up a man in the offensive zone. Calling them truly ES goals would be disingenuous. Essentially they scored 10 "true" ES goals in 5 games, for a total of 2 ES G/GP.

I'm not sure why it's so controversial to say that Edmonton lives and dies by the PP, and when they're in the late series, where refs swallow their whistles more often, they're going to get into trouble by having to rely on it.

Yeah, their PP is certainly important and was everything last year. I just think the way they're playing 5v5 this year looks like a team more equipped for playoff hockey than in prior years. I also thought Perry would help in that aspect but he didn't get much done against the Kings, we'll see. If they can hold serve 5v5 with good teams they are in a good position to go deep.

 

[ChiHawks10]

Yeah, their PP is certainly important and was everything last year. I just think the way they're playing 5v5 this year looks like a team more equipped for playoff hockey than in prior years. I also thought Perry would help in that aspect but he didn't get much done against the Kings, we'll see. If they can hold serve 5v5 with good teams they are in a good position to go deep.

100%. I just don't think they're capable of not relying on the PP as much as they do. Just an opinion, nothing more.

Getting 2goals/GP @ ES vs. the Kings is good.

They were one of the best teams in the league in the second half of the season/post all star break at keeping the puck out of their net 5 on 5. They only allowed 50GA in their last 34GP, so I'm not sure I would be too worried about Edmontons "inability" to score at 5 on 5. Edmonton was also the 3rd highest scoring team at 5 on 5 during the regular season.

And it doesn't really add to either side, but one of those games was actually a 1-0 game they won with... you guessed it... a PP goal, and only 13 shots. Series could be entirely different if not for their PP. We'll have to wait and see what they do when the refs swallow their whistles more later in the POs.

Even if you don't take into account the ES goals scored at the penalty expiration, they still went what... 9 for 20 on the PP? That's obviously not sustainable, nor is it a recipe for success late in the POs.

 

[Hawkaholic]

100%. I just don't think they're capable of not relying on the PP as much as they do. Just an opinion, nothing more.


And it doesn't really add to either side, but one of those games was actually only a 1-0 game they won with... you guessed it... a PP goal. Series could be entirely different if not for their PP. We'll have to wait and see what they do when the refs swallow their whistles more later in the POs.

I don't think the series would be any different, they were still the better 5 on 5 team. They aren't a dominate team by any means, so they will struggle against the best teams, and the best teams will struggle to keep Edmonton from scoring, PP or 5 on 5.

 

[ChiHawks10]

I don't think the series would be any different, they were still the better 5 on 5 team. They aren't a dominate team by any means, so they will struggle against the best teams, and the best teams will struggle to keep Edmonton from scoring, PP or 5 on 5.

One game(a pivotal game 4 where LA dominated) was decided by a lone PP goal. They went 8/19 in the rest of their opportunities for a 42% PP%. And 45% on the series. It's not exactly a reach to say the series could have been way different if not for their PP. Going 45% is ridiculous. Even if it drops to around the normal 25%, that's a huge difference in the series.

 

[ClydeLee]

I didn't understand why the Kings were ao excited to get to OT in the last game vs thr Hawks. The matchup was never working out in a full 7 games series

 

[x Tame Impala]

nd when they're in the late series, where refs swallow their whistles more often

Are we really sure this is the case or is it just narrative?

Let’s talk about penalties in the NHL playoffs | TSN

To say officiating has been under fire during the Stanley Cup Playoffs would be an understatement. Travis Yost takes a closer look at the numbers behind the calls.

www.tsn.ca

I didn't dig very deeply here but the few sites i checked out suggest the penalties/game are generally equal to above what it is in the regular season. I think playoff hockey just gets more aggressive, nasty, physical, mean, etc...and it looks like more things should be called that aren't.

I think Edmonton could and will beat Nashville/Vancouver and they'd have a shot against Colorado if Georgiev is off his game, which is a realistic possibility as well. It is fair to say though they rely a lot on McDrai and their powerplay. Edmonton doesn't have the best depth, defense, or goaltending.

 

[Hattrick Kane]

Marchand vs Tavares in the battle of worst captains in NHL history.

 

[Joemoe]

I will be very surprised if either of these teams take out the Panthers next round.

 

[Wally1112pac]

I will be very surprised if either of these teams take out the Panthers next round.

Florida would annihilate either team.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

f***ing B's are looking pathetic right now

Wake up

If they cant come back tonight I dont like chances for them in game 7

Leafs have all the momentum in series right now and well this B's core (Some like Marchand even longer as core) has choked in playoffs several times

B's fail to score into open net with Woll down

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

If B's lose this series, Montgomery has to be out of there with major changes to B's core

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

The Bruins lost their top two centers and haven't missed a beat. Firing the coach would be a mistake.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Last year
65-12-5, Blow 3-1 series lead in 1st round

This year
47-20-15, On verge of blowing 3-1 lead in 1st round

Sorry but there is no defending Montgomery and B's if they blow it again

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

I just don't think the Bruins are as good as their record.