Postseason sentiments.

[Jakeybonz]

The only teams i can see us beating are Toronto and whoever finishes 8th, so im ok with the matchup. I think its 50-50. After that i dont think we beat anyone.

 

[Idiot Stick]

Yeah I'm cautious. We've been one of the best teams in the league this season. But whoever we face in the 1st round is gonna be a pretty rough opponent. A lot of what made our run possible last season is likely not going to be repeated either.

Tkachuk has been worse this season not just on a production level, but he's been noticeably less physical.

Montour's was our best defenseman in the regular season and arguably the playoffs right behind Tkachuk and Bobrovsky for MVP. He hasn't been close to as impactful this year.

Bobrovsky has actually been pretty elite this year. But yeah what he did last season is a once in a career type of performance.

And of course, our play the past month or two doesn't exactly inspire any confidence.

My two biggest concerns, Chucky shows some flashes but not the same. Montours shoulder surgery messed up his shot and his defense has been bad. Despite all of of kulikovs bad gaffs, Montour leads us in NEGATIVE +/- despite providing a lot of assists. He saved us in game 7 vs Boston, i really hope he can just be even 50% of that.

Kulikov and OEL are bound to mess something up but theyre the bottom d pair so that doesnt bother me as much and are overall solid.

Bobs been playing great all season plus our defense has been much improved (hopefully they lock it down in the playoffs. Even this year hes been god bob - both Vegas games especially the 2nd one, avs, dallas etc. More elite games than bad games by a wide margin, i really cant point to a game outside maybe Tampa & Toronto where he had such a bad game we lost cause of it, and honestly i blame our defense more than him.

We have better depth than last year and our overall team is better, plus another year under Maurices system.


Players that need to step up in the playoffs for us to really go somewhere;
Barkov: Absolute elite player that if he shares some of that elite offense he likes to hide, well do good
Bennett: Slowly coming back to form after a quiet year but came off injuries.
Lundell: Flashes offensively, good defensively but would need some more consistant offense to really help that 3rd line, guy has the talent to do so.
OEL: Hard ask for his age but beginning of this season he looked amazing offensively, and since then has been really quiet with the addition of Ekblad and Montour.

Reino and Swaggy hopefully keep their playoff clutchness going. Hopefully Tank still has that extra gear, was watching some recent highlights of him and he still has that nasty wrister, did good for the rangers depite them losing to NJ.

 

[I am not exposed]

I think Toronto get their revenge. Unfortunately. However, if we do somehow get by them, I see us getting to the finals again.

 

[austropanther]

We are a more defensively sound and deeper team than last year - even with the occasional Kuli f*ckups and Monty far away from last year's Monty. We have to rely less on guys like MT and Bob this year.

To me it depends on guys like Tarasenko, ERod, Lundell, Stenlund and Luostarinen to make a real difference. In this case, we can be as successful as last year. Just a reminder: we went to the SC final with 2 Staals and Colin White as regulars last year, with Bob standing on his head and MT putting in every puck he got a chance to bury.

Writing this feels strange and not as reassuring as I would hope for. Bottom line like every year: anything is possible once you make the POs.

 

[KW]

A couple of concepts to keep in mind.

1) Unlike fans, the players and coaches don’t really spend lots of time (if any) hoping for the optimal lineup of opponents through the playoffs. Instead, they know that they will need to go through 4 teams to get the cup, and most of those teams are going to be tough - the best teams of the league. So the order in which you face them doesn’t matter much, their own preparation matters way more.

2) They learned to play playoff style hockey through this season. But they learned last season and playoffs that fatigue and injuries at the end are major factors. So I think the team is trying to accomplish both. And they have, so far - they now have the luxury of having made the playoffs at a good position, and can rest some people and play a little less heavy for the last couple of weeks. Maurice said they’d put their playoff face on again vs Boston… they did. Actually they did already against Ottawa. There’s been no panic. I think they know what they’re doing. They’ve learned how to maximize success with this team.

 

[Felidae]

We are a more defensively sound and deeper team than last year - even with the occasional Kuli f*ckups and Monty far away from last year's Monty. We have to rely less on guys like MT and Bob this year.

To me it depends on guys like Tarasenko, ERod, Lundell, Stenlund and Luostarinen to make a real difference. In this case, we can be as successful as last year. Just a reminder: we went to the SC final with 2 Staals and Colin White as regulars last year, with Bob standing on his head and MT putting in every puck he got a chance to bury.

Writing this feels strange and not as reassuring as I would hope for. Bottom line like every year: anything is possible once you make the POs.

We are screwed if we are relying on those 3 to be the difference that puts us over the edge.


You also have to consider the expectations and pressure are much different when you're the underdog as opposed to the favourite. Panthers last postseason were the underdog against every team they faced. It's gonna be the opposite this year.

I will say though, our 4th line is much improved with the addition of Stenlund, and Tarasenko has been one of our best forwards since his arrival.

 

[FrolikFan67]

Im kinda hoping Matthews gets 70 because I feel like that’ll be their big celebratory moment and then lulling them rifhr before the playoffs begins which could put them into a different mindset. A bit of a “started the party a little too early” sorta thing.

 

[austropanther]

We are screwed if we are relying on those 3 to be the difference that puts us over the edge.


You also have to consider the expectations and pressure are much different when you're the underdog as opposed to the favourite. Panthers last postseason were the underdog against every team they faced. It's gonna be the opposite this year.

I will say though, our 4th line is much improved with the addition of Stenlund, and Tarasenko has been one of our best forwards since his arrival.

I agree with you that pressure this year in the POs will be much higher than last year. But these guys had all the pressure there could be to make it into the POs last year. And we are a better team this year than last year, with a crazy amount of experience gained. I like our chances.

About our 3rd line: the Matthews, Marners, Points, Kucherovs, Ahos, Guentzels, Pasternaks etc. (you get my point) will definitely score on us. Our star players have to keep up with them so in the end, it is kind of a washup goalscoring wise. If they don't we don't stand a chance (only with Bob being Bob, and I do not want to count on him as much this year like last year). If our stars perform well, we need our 3rd and 4th lines to be the difference makers.
Lundell, Luostarinen and Rodrigues are creating so much. If they had better hands, they'd be the best 3rd line in the league. If they score one or the other goal more than expected they can get us to the top.

I am sure though we will lose game 1. The players will want to force the engine to 100% again, resulting in too many penalties and Dmen pinching to often in the wrong moment. Whoever the opponent will profit of that.

 

[Ghoste]

If it’s Toronto, they’ll probably want to come out and be physical. They made a few of their moves in the off-season because of us. So I’m sure they’ll want to show that they’ll push back.

 

[Ekblast]

Voted Cautious.

 

[batting1k]

Voted unsure. It think we are certainly good enough to get back to the finals and win it, but I can also definitely see us blowing it in the first round because Panthers.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I think that this team has all of the personnel to do what they need to do. And most of the intangible stuff too (deep playoff run experience/playoff tested). The one (important) thing they were missing coming into the season was that they just needed to be that shut down type of team when they needed it. So if they can maintain their recent play, and show that they are over their stretch of struggles. I feel confident they can beat anyone.
Carolina does make me a little nervous though. They are the only team that I think might be able to beat the Panthers at their best. But it's not a big issue. I still think Carolina has to play their absolute best to have a chance to pull that off (beat the Panthers at their best).

 

[Dread Clawz]

Going to back to back finals is a tall task, not normally done, but this is as good as any team in the East. If they leave it all out on the ice, that's all I can ask for.

Yeah, pretty much this. Nothing is guaranteed in playoffs, but I like their chances for another deep run. We will play Toronto in all likelihood, and I think we take them again. So I think we make it to the 2nd round at least.

 

[Marco 85]

I’m rooting hard for the Bruins to win out.
I don’t want to play the Lightening.

Who do you want to face Kuch or Mathews?
Vasi or Samsonov and company?

 

[KW]

I’m rooting hard for the Bruins to win out.
I don’t want to play the Lightening.

Who do you want to face Kuch or Mathews?
Vasi or Samsonov and company?

If Boston loses to PIT and WSH… and then Boston is 1 pt behind us for their last game… and we play TOR for our and their last game… Will Boston want to win and hope TOR beats us so they play the Bolts? Or will they want to lose so they play TOR? And will TOR want to lose and play Boston instead of us?

So much hockey politics that nobody will ever admit to.

I just feel like Maurice and team don’t care who they play round 1.

 

[CatscratchFever]

Here is my stand. This is the time. If the Florida Panthers are going to.win the cup, this is their best window to do so. All in. Here we go people.

 

[KW]

Just scanning the bruins boards, looks like most would rather face laffs over bolts… nobody wants the bolts…

 

[Egblad]

Honestly I think our chances are tied to our health. How banged up is the team heading into round 1? We will never truly know. If they’re banged up now, it’s only going to get worse.

 

[KW]

Any updates on Swaggy and Ek?

 

[Last Rat Standing]

I was discussing this with my son the other day. Realistically, how long with this current core is the cup window open?

 

[Chaos2k7]

I was discussing this with my son the other day. Realistically, how long with this current core is the cup window open?

Barky Chucky and Forsling each have 6-7 contracred years a piece minimum, so around there currently.

 

[Last Rat Standing]

Barky Chucky and Forsling each have 6-7 contracred years a piece minimum, so around there currently.

I think we're in good shape if we can keep both Sam's and Verhaeghe. But I think one of those will be gone.

 

[Chaos2k7]

I think we're in good shape if we can keep both Sam's and Verhaeghe. But I think one of those will be gone.

The three I mentioned are only 25million.

We have more space than people realize I think. Also I love Benny but we will see what they do with him, 3-4 years max IMO

 

[Last Rat Standing]

The three I mentioned are only 25million.

We have more space than people realize I think.

I guess my feeling is that do we end up becoming what Tampa became in 2014 or will we see some wheels fall off in let's say 2025-2026? Our window was opened wide upon the arrival of Zito in 2020 and while all good things come to an end, I just don't want it to happen anytime soon. This is just based on what ends up happening after these playoffs are over.

 

[Chaos2k7]

I guess my feeling is that do we end up becoming what Tampa became in 2014 or will we see some wheels fall off in let's say 2025-2026? Our window was opened wide upon the arrival of Zito in 2020 and while all good things come to an end, I just don't want it to happen anytime soon. This is just based on what ends up happening after these playoffs are over.

Our window opened last season.

Before the Tkachuk deal that core would have never won anything.