GDT: 2016-17 NHL Playoffs Thread

[Fenway]

Take it easy Jack, you ll get used to finishing somewhere around 10th - 12th place.

Someone is going give him an offer sheet after next season.

 

[Fenway]

NBC announcing assignments for Game 1's

Game 1 Matchup Play-by-Play Analysts

NYR-MTL Gord Miller Ray Ferraro
BOS-OTT Bob Cole Greg Millen (NHL Network)
CBJ-PIT Mike “Doc†Emrick Pierre McGuire
STL-MIN John Forslund Brian Boucher
SJ-EDM Brendan Burke Mike Johnson
TOR-WSH Dave Strader Brian Boucher
NSH-CHI Kenny Albert Pierre McGuire
CGY-ANA Rick Ball John Garrett

Great to see Dave Strader's name on the list

 

[Fossy21]

Montreal over NYR in 6. Under Julien, and with all the tough guys he brought in, Kreider won't be running Price in this series.

I still don't buy that "running" narrative. Habs want him to fall head first into Price for some reason, there's no reason whatsoever he should do that. If he lands on his skates, he can soften the impact significantly, reducing injury risk both for himself and Price. Go head-first and it's even more likely you both get injured.

Even if he made a conscious split-second decision to try and injure Price, he never would've if Emelin (and Weise? Can't remember if his attempted trip/slash connected) hadn't given him the opportunity. Don't trip one of the quickest guys in the league going towards your goaltender if you don't want to risk a collision between the two. So, either way he didn't "run" Price. And Weber's presence won't stop a guy from trying to take out a goalie if there's such a desire from the opposition.

Also, Tokarski outplayed Price and they lost anyway. If Price somehow avoided injury and got them past the Rangers, Kings would've likely swept them.

As for this series, it remains to be seen. Either team in 6 or 7 isn't unreasonable. Lundqvist had a horrible playoff last year, but if he returns to how he played in years prior, the Rangers likely have the edge in goaltending.
Price's career playoff stats are already mediocre compared to his regular season ones (.912 SVS% to .920% regular season)
Against teams not named the Boston Bruins, they're outright horrid (.901%)

 

[Gee Wally]

ouch...........that gotta hurt.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A person with direct knowledge of Jack Eichel’s contract confirms to The Associated Press the Buffalo Sabres’ second-year forward missed out on collecting a $2 million performance bonus in his contract by a mere decimal point.

The former Boston University star would have collected the bonus by finishing among the top 10 in the NHL in points per game, the person said Monday speaking on the condition of anonymity because the contract clause is not public.

Eichel had 57 points in 61 games to finish 11th by averaging 0.934 points per game. Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl edged him out by averaging 0.939 points per game with 77 points in 82 games
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/b...llion-bonus/xB1B1OnNDmgSwCnwIktb5O/story.html

 

[Estlin]

Someone is going give him an offer sheet after next season.

Boston will. (Fenway, I think that you even floated this idea a while ago.)

Sweeney has built up the prospect pool with defensemen and wingers, but what is lacking is a first-line center prospect. Maybe the Bruins sacrifice the four first-round picks and have Eichel anchor the team down the middle. Imagine having this in a couple years:

Eichel
Frederic
JFK
Bergeron

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

The mascots are all on deck in the battle for Stanley. Blades is looking pretty menacing. Fear the Bear!
At a loss to see the connection for the Leafs, Habs and Blues representatives. Others are very good indeed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSvuhH2h3DT/

 

[Glove Malfunction]

NBC announcing assignments for Game 1's

Game 1 Matchup Play-by-Play Analysts

NYR-MTL Gord Miller Ray Ferraro
BOS-OTT Bob Cole Greg Millen (NHL Network)
CBJ-PIT Mike “Doc†Emrick Pierre McGuire
STL-MIN John Forslund Brian Boucher
SJ-EDM Brendan Burke Mike Johnson
TOR-WSH Dave Strader Brian Boucher
NSH-CHI Kenny Albert Pierre McGuire
CGY-ANA Rick Ball John Garrett

Great to see Dave Strader's name on the list

Even better not seeing Eddie Olczyk's name on there. Though he'll probably be there with Doc and Pierre. And I won't watch, mostly because of him.

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

Anyone up for watching the Bruins playing in the finals?

Sportsnet uses 3 analytics writers to do a review of the brackets and how they see them playing out and why.
At least one sees a really long run in store for the B's. The others see them as team to keep an he on. Not to many bookies taking the Bruins - Wild in a cup final I'm guessing.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnets-analytics-experts-share-stanley-cup-playoffs-brackets/

 

[caz16]

Anyone up for watching the Bruins playing in the finals?

Sportsnet uses 3 analytics writers to do a review of the brackets and how they see them playing out and why.
At least one sees a really long run in store for the B's. The others see them as team to keep an he on. Not to many bookies taking the Bruins - Wild in a cup final I'm guessing.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnets-analytics-experts-share-stanley-cup-playoffs-brackets/

Well that's more than any analyst in 2011. No one picked the B's from what I can remember. It's a long road and there are always upsets.....if we can get past the Sens with the injuries and then get healthier, you never know.

 

[Dellstrom]

Anyone up for watching the Bruins playing in the finals?

Sportsnet uses 3 analytics writers to do a review of the brackets and how they see them playing out and why.
At least one sees a really long run in store for the B's. The others see them as team to keep an he on. Not to many bookies taking the Bruins - Wild in a cup final I'm guessing.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sportsnets-analytics-experts-share-stanley-cup-playoffs-brackets/

Interesting. I saw that as well. Our odds definitely increased significantly by finishing 3rd in the Atlantic.

Ottawa is 50/50. I'd say NYR/MTL is pretty close to 50/50. Against the Caps? No way... but we play very well against the Pens and have the tools to shut down their stars. Our depth is way worse than in 2013 and the Pens have crazy offensive depth, but I think we would have at least a fighting chance against them.

It's possible, which is weird. But it's also very possible we're out in the 1st round quickly. The East is very weird. The new seeding is great for us this season, but all the metro teams must be screaming for the 1-8 seeding to come back... The other side of the East is just so stacked, only one will survive and by the time they get out of that bracket they'll be on life support.

 

[jgatie]

Ok, I apologize to Leaf fans for ever saying they may be worse than Habs fans. Leaf fans are still obnoxious, that's true. But I just read a couple pages of the Habs/Rags thread on the main board and wow, they are the most delusional, most obnoxious, most nauseating fan base in all sports. This includes Colts, Yankees, Giants, and Seahawks fans.

Man I hope we get a chance to meet those frauds, and then pick them apart like monkey bread.

 

[Rubber Biscuit]

Feels like both conferences are completely wide open this year, imo.

 

[KnightofBoston]

The mascots are all on deck in the battle for Stanley. Blades is looking pretty menacing. Fear the Bear!
At a loss to see the connection for the Leafs, Habs and Blues representatives. Others are very good indeed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSvuhH2h3DT/

Uhm, shouldn't the leafs be a leaf that looks similar to towlie from South Park and a toilet bowl seat for the Habs, isn't that their symbol? Instead we have a polar bear and some kind of skeletor looking thing

 

[Gee Wally]

DETROIT — Late Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert has been given a little more time in the penalty box at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.

Probert's widow, Dani, sprinkled some of the forward's ashes in the box on Sunday, when the Red Wings played their final game in the stadium.

Probert's daughter, Brogan, tweeted Sunday that she "can't think of a better place" for her father's ashes.

Probert logged hours in the box as one of the NHL's most penalized players. During the 1987-88 season, he led the league with 398 minutes in penalties. He is fifth all time with 3,300 total penalty minutes in his 16-season career. Nine of those seasons were spent in Detroit.

Probert retired in 2002 and died of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 45.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...hl_enforcer_bob_probert_spread_in_penalty_box

 

[Dueling Banjos]

DETROIT — Late Red Wings enforcer Bob Probert has been given a little more time in the penalty box at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.

Probert's widow, Dani, sprinkled some of the forward's ashes in the box on Sunday, when the Red Wings played their final game in the stadium.

Probert's daughter, Brogan, tweeted Sunday that she "can't think of a better place" for her father's ashes.

Probert logged hours in the box as one of the NHL's most penalized players. During the 1987-88 season, he led the league with 398 minutes in penalties. He is fifth all time with 3,300 total penalty minutes in his 16-season career. Nine of those seasons were spent in Detroit.

Probert retired in 2002 and died of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 45.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...hl_enforcer_bob_probert_spread_in_penalty_box

Interesting fact: his most penalized season 87-88, was also his most productive one points wise 62 pts in 74 games and 21 pts in 16 games in the play offs later. That's a lot of points, knowing he sat in the penalty box more than often.

Great avatar btw.

 

[ap3lovr]

West
Nashville in 6
St.Louis in 5
Anaheim in 4
Sharks in 7

East
Montreal in 6
Boston in 4
Toronto in 6
Pittsburgh in 7

 

[Fossy21]

Why do five (three east, two west) series start tomorrow, and three (one east, two west) on Thursday? That irks me irrationally.
Was ours supposed to start Thursday, but we have country music to blame (as for so many other things)?

 

[smithformeragent]

Every year, I say I'll watch more non-Bruins playoff hockey.

However, every year once the Bruins are eliminated, I lose interest.

I need to try to stay up past 9pm for starters.

 

[bobbyorr04]

THIS DATE IN HISTORY: April 11

1971: Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins becomes the first defenseman since 1922 to have a hat trick in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Orr scores three goals in a 5-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens at the Forum in Game 4 of the Quarterfinals. He ties the game 1-1 midway through the second period and scores twice in the third to help the Bruins even the series at two wins each.

 

[Bad Puck Bounce]

 

[patty59]

With name like Will Butcher, the headlines write themselves.

 

[Fossy21]

With name like Will Butcher, the headlines write themselves.

Haha. If he will butcher (fail at) not signing, does that mean he will accidentally sign?

 

[Fenway]

Boston will. (Fenway, I think that you even floated this idea a while ago.)

Sweeney has built up the prospect pool with defensemen and wingers, but what is lacking is a first-line center prospect. Maybe the Bruins sacrifice the four first-round picks and have Eichel anchor the team down the middle. Imagine having this in a couple years:

Eichel
Frederic
JFK
Bergeron

Buffalo is a very sticky situation where the owners are trying to douse 2 dumpster fires with the Sabres and Bills at the same time. The Sabres were last in the playoffs in 2011 and the Bills you have to go back to 1999.

The ownerships priority will be the football team because they are trying to get a new stadium downtown and WNY fans are sick and tired of being a tomato can to the Patriots.

We forget that Eichel is still only 20 years old. It has to be frustrating for him not to be able to hang out with teammates after a home game as no bar owner in WNY is going to risk serving him a beer in this social media world. Losing this $2 million dollar bonus can't be sitting well with him either.

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

Friedmen's latest 30 Thoughts article among many things covers issues such as league awards, coaching and management moves this week.

What I found most intriguing were his thoughts on the Canes Hanafin as a player that may be moved in the off season. The return would have to be substantial obviously. Hard to resist thinking of a possible fit with the Bruins. The Canes are a young squad with lots of upside for success in the very near future. A veteran Centermen like DK may be of interest. Of course the many prospects available to Sweeney, especially on D, could help off set one D for another. Another roster player, prospect(s) and or pick(s) are possibilities in building an offer worth consideration. Likely overthinking the situation but it is intriguing piece for an area on the roster that is in transition.


http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-canucks-coach-criteria-good-news-green/

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

Post 33 of this thread spoke to Sportsnet analytics writers picking a Bruins - Wild final. TSN's Frank Servillie today follows up with his data used in reaching the same conclusion. It's all about the Fenwick he says.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/article/stats-say-bet-on-bruins-or-wild-to-win-the-cup-1.722723

Dare to dream. Place your bets!