Around the NHL 2019-20

[sparkle twin]

Ugh. Vegas and Dallas for the West. It's gross that one of them will be in the SCF.

I guess I'm definitely rooting for an Eastern team because I will not root for a team with Perry on it and I don't want Vegas to get a cup before us.

 

[PredsV82]

Colorado choked. Woof.

 

[King Weber]

very Freddy Gaudreau-like performance by Kiviranta

 

[hockey diva]

Vegas doesn’t bother me like Dallas does. Corey Perry and Radulov getting their names on the Cup, And yes, I know Perry won a Cup with the Ducks but that was before he became a Grade A azzhat.

 

[Armourboy]

Colorado choked. Woof.

I thought the same thing until I saw their injury list. Seems like it was 7-8 guys.

 

[PredsV82]

I thought the same thing until I saw their injury list. Seems like it was 7-8 guys.

They still had a lead with less than 4 minutes to go and immediately let the Stars tie the game

 

[Mass]

Colorado let a 24 year old prospect in his second playoff get a hat trick in a game 7. By HF standards he pretty much has creaky bones at this point.

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Well our household is all Victory Green of course. I can live with that because it's easier to deal with than the grumpy alternative. Colorado was just too banged up... good for them to make it as far as they did and pull back into Game 7. And Vegas was just out-classing the Canucks all the way... that was a 7-game series in name only. Vegas and Dallas are legitimate and worthy Conference finalists, I'd say. I hope Dallas wins, but Vegas is the better team, I believe.

And Vegas may well win the Cup. That's quite the entrance for Seattle to try to follow up on. But I don't think it reflects in any way on our team or expansion cohort... they're getting better odds, by design. And don't forget, Vegas and Seattle paid $500M or $650M for that... compared to what was it, $80M for us? That's a quantum leap.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Final four are Tampa, Islanders, Stars, and Vegas. Probably will be going for the Islanders, they haven't seen success in a long time.

 

[drwpreds]

Final four are Tampa, Islanders, Stars, and Vegas. Probably will be going for the Islanders, they haven't seen success in a long time.

First time the Islanders have been to the conference final in TWENTY-SEVEN years.

I always try to remind myself of stuff like that when I gripe about the Preds results...

 

[drwpreds]

Final four are Tampa, Islanders, Stars, and Vegas. Probably will be going for the Islanders, they haven't seen success in a long time.

Have talked about this before, but it never ceases to amaze me how weird the NHL is, and how in the playoffs it at times almost feels just completely random.

Going into the playoffs the Islanders had lost their last 7 games before the season was shut down. They were a complete mess, and had the shutdown not occurred, it is entirely possible they might not have even made the playoffs.

Same with Dallas- they had a 6 game losing streak before the shutdown and had just about the worst offense in the entire league down the stretch. Then lost 3 of their first 4 in the bubble. The Preds of all teams shut them out 3 times in a row spanning the regular season and bubble. 1-9 in 10 games. And now, inexplicably they are suddenly an offensive juggernaut

And yet here we are with both of those teams in the conference finals.

You just never know what is going to happen.

 

[Armourboy]

No doubt in my mind the playoffs are totally different if the season had gone on. We were 2 points back of Dallas for the 3rd spot and they were sinking quick. Teams like Montreal and Chicago were basically out of it already and got in.

 

[FossilFndr]

Find myself wondering who I want to lose move, Vegas or Dallas.

 

[Armourboy]

Find myself wondering who I want to lose move, Vegas or Dallas.

Can the building just fall in?

 

[PredsV82]

Can the building just fall in?

No doubt. The thought of Raduturd hoisting a Cup makes me want to vomit.

Now that Philly is out I'm for whoever comes out of the east

 

[BigFatCat999]

I'm looking for a player analytical evaluation tool. Think Mimico Hero's HERO chart but more in depth.

I think it's called SKATR. google has not been a friend.

EDIT: found it

 

[BigFatCat999]

f*** Radulov

 

[Mass]

Man, Dallas is lame.

 

[hockey diva]

Blah Dallas up 3-1.

 

[BigFatCat999]

Blah Dallas up 3-1.

Looking at the WCF it's like choosing which cancer you'd like. Rooting for the East is chemo. Hilarity would be Dallas v NYI and NYI wins.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

I'd rather have Dallas win than Vegas. Yeah Radulov and Perry winning would suck but Perry has already won a Cup so it's not like we can cheer against him to keep him from doing that and just f*** Vegas. I don't want a franchise that was born on 3rd base to be balked home easily and have the joy in a few years that other fan bases have had to wait decades to experience or haven't experienced at all.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Dallas is the latest in the line of San Jose, Perds, Winnipeg, St. Louis...pretty good team having a fairly unexpected run and probably not really in the top tier of contenders again after this. I'm more frustrated in the way they are winning, which was Preds 101--tight D and solid goaltending--than who is on their roster. I'm less bothered with them winning than the Blues again, the Bruins, the Laffs, or the new hockey hype darlings--Colorado. That said, Go Isles!

 

[Legionnaire11]

Dallas is the latest in the line of San Jose, Perds, Winnipeg, St. Louis...pretty good team having a fairly unexpected run and probably not really in the top tier of contenders again after this.

Which is why I think not nearly enough emphasis is placed on the President's Trophy. Obviously you can't take anything away from a Stanley Cup champion, but at least in the roughly three decades that I've been watching hockey, teams have always found a way to get hot at the right time and make a deep run after an unremarkable regular season. That deserves applause for what it is, but being the best over 82 games is criminally underappreciated among NHL fans. It should really be seen as a much greater accomplishment than what it currently is.

 

[Bringer of Jollity]

Which is why I think not nearly enough emphasis is placed on the President's Trophy. Obviously you can't take anything away from a Stanley Cup champion, but at least in the roughly three decades that I've been watching hockey, teams have always found a way to get hot at the right time and make a deep run after an unremarkable regular season. That deserves applause for what it is, but being the best over 82 games is criminally underappreciated among NHL fans. It should really be seen as a much greater accomplishment than what it currently is.

It's how European soccer does it (though playoffs for promotion from lower leagues have become a norm), though I think this suffers from no more than a handful of teams ever having a legit chance to win and 90% of teams being out of contention for half the season or more.

Bottom line is winning a Cup is hard and more than just having the best talent. It's why I particularly loathe the "Cup or bust" or "we're not the best roster, time to sell all and tank" mindsets. Build the best team with what you have, try your hardest, a slim shot at the Cup is better than none. Signed -also a fan of a one-time 8th seed that ran the table and got a ring.

 

[drwpreds]

Which is why I think not nearly enough emphasis is placed on the President's Trophy. Obviously you can't take anything away from a Stanley Cup champion, but at least in the roughly three decades that I've been watching hockey, teams have always found a way to get hot at the right time and make a deep run after an unremarkable regular season. That deserves applause for what it is, but being the best over 82 games is criminally underappreciated among NHL fans. It should really be seen as a much greater accomplishment than what it currently is.

Absolutely, positively, 100% spot on.

Winning the President's trophy, in my opinion, is harder than winning the Cup, and just as great of an achievement.

And if you are a die hard fan and especially a season ticket holder, I can almost make the argument that a fan gets just as much, if not more, excitement and fun from a long 6 month season in which your team is the best out of 31 teams. You get about 50 or so days of pure joy.

After experiencing it with the Preds, I won't ever take regular season success for granted again