Boston Vs Florida - Who's the better team?

[Chips]

Seems overwhelmingly Boston, so I’ll go with Florida. Every year there’s some accepted prediction that goes wrong. I don’t think it’s so outlandish to think Florida passes Boston, even if it’s just because of injuries to the Bs

 

[bukwas]

I've noticed i'm a fair bit higher on Florida than most. I think they're on the verge of joining the top teams.
A bigtime goalie and they're set.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Reminds me of the “who finishes 3rd in Atlantic” poll from last year that left out Toronto.

I’m waiting for the “who finishes 2nd in Atlantic” poll that leaves out Toronto

 

[bigdog16]

I thought Boston would be average last season and they shoved it in my face, so im not making that mistake again

 

[BladeRunner66]

???

Panthers have yet to prove they're better thans the Bruins, anything else is just pure speculation at this point.

PlayStation much?

 

[GodEmperor]

I love that right after your post @Nizdizzle these two show up.

Yeah hilarious because both posts outline why Boston will have a tough time securing third, but instead of rebutting it, you just try to act as if they are ridiculous posts.

 

[Nithoniniel]

This is Boston for me. Their forward depth is just ridiculous. The best line in the league backed up by a middle six filled with guys like DeBrusk, Heinen, Krejci, Backes and Donato? That's a killer top nine.

If McAvoy takes another step, I think they can be just as good as last year. Chara has declined, but he is still a d-man capable of playing really tough minutes successfully. Krug is maybe the best second pairing d-man in the league. I would have liked Grzelcyk to get a spot on defense, I think he's better than Moore. Either way, that's still a fine bottom pairing. Rask is quite overrated in my book, so I think Florida is likely better in goal, but that's it.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I don't necessarily think the Panthers are going to be the better team, but they can have a better 18-19 regular season if that makes sense.

Last year Boston was coming back in games left and right and rode that wave plus the next man up mentality. I remember when they blanked a healthy Tampa on the road with Nick Holden and Kevan Miller playing over 20 minutes in that game and they didn't even have Bergeron. When stuff like that happens you know it's a special season. Im not sold on them being a top 5 team without working their asses off and getting that excitement from new young guys making contributions. Top 5 team shouldn't have Sean Kuraly competing for a 3C spot.

I think the Panthers are going to be more determined this year, Bruins rarely took nights off and i honestly thought they looked a bit tired down the stretch, maybe this year they take their foot off the gas at times especially with all the bad teams in the conference not really being a threat to stealing a playoff spot. They swept the Isles and Habs for example, this year they're considered bad teams and combined with last years sweeps you can expect some uninspiring efforts. Meanwhile the guys in Florida are already saying every point counts after missing out by 1 point, it's a group that's not going to need much to motivate them and i'd imagine that helps with consistency.

So if the Bruins come down a bit and end up as a, say, 105 point team, it's completely possible for Florida to edge them in the standings after a tight battle. I look at the two teams on paper for this upcoming season and don't see a major difference. Bruins are slightly better but on the flip side there are some young guys realistically battling for spots on the Panthers this year who might end up making an impact and that be a huge lift like we saw with the Bruins last year.

So yeah i think how the Panthers bottom 6 shapes up and what the young guys can potentially bring to the mix is going to determine how good they can be. If it ends up looking good for them, i can see Florida sneaking into the top 3. And for what it's worth after the Panthers got better in the 2nd half they actually took the season series 3-1 so there's some confidence to draw from for the season series this year.

 

[wintersej]

Yeah hilarious because both posts outline why Boston will have a tough time securing third, but instead of rebutting it, you just try to act as if they are ridiculous posts.

People have already refuted your posts multiple times the last few months. It’s a waste of time on repeat.

 

[GodEmperor]

People have already refuted your posts multiple times the last few months. It’s a waste of time on repeat.

There's nothing to refute, it's a basic fact, we saw how far Chara, Marchand, Krejci, Spooner, Krug and Rask (Boston's core) can fall two years ago, they were out of the playoffs.

They barely got by a Leafs team that did it's best to lose and got spanked by Tampa, Tampa and Toronto got better and have more excellent in prime players than Boston and Florida added Hoffman and their core players are younger and still getting better.

Florida will be a tough battle for them, yes Pasta, Mac and to a lesser extent Heinen and Debrusk are good-excellent young players, but Florida's young core is even better. Boston is in no way crushing Florida.

 

[SunDevilHockeyFan]

I don't necessarily think the Panthers are going to be the better team, but they can have a better 18-19 regular season if that makes sense.

Last year Boston was coming back in games left and right and rode that wave plus the next man up mentality. I remember when they blanked a healthy Tampa on the road with Nick Holden and Kevan Miller playing over 20 minutes in that game and they didn't even have Bergeron. When stuff like that happens you know it's a special season. Im not sold on them being a top 5 team without working their asses off and getting that excitement from new young guys making contributions. Top 5 team shouldn't have Sean Kuraly competing for a 3C spot.

I think the Panthers are going to be more determined this year, Bruins rarely took nights off and i honestly thought they looked a bit tired down the stretch, maybe this year they take their foot off the gas at times especially with all the bad teams in the conference not really being a threat to stealing a playoff spot. They swept the Isles and Habs for example, this year they're considered bad teams and combined with last years sweeps you can expect some uninspiring efforts. Meanwhile the guys in Florida are already saying every point counts after missing out by 1 point, it's a group that's not going to need much to motivate them and i'd imagine that helps with consistency.

So if the Bruins come down a bit and end up as a, say, 105 point team, it's completely possible for Florida to edge them in the standings after a tight battle. I look at the two teams on paper for this upcoming season and don't see a major difference. Bruins are slightly better but on the flip side there are some young guys realistically battling for spots on the Panthers this year who might end up making an impact and that be a huge lift like we saw with the Bruins last year.

So yeah i think how the Panthers bottom 6 shapes up and what the young guys can potentially bring to the mix is going to determine how good they can be. If it ends up looking good for them, i can see Florida sneaking into the top 3. And for what it's worth after the Panthers got better in the 2nd half they actually took the season series 3-1 so there's some confidence to draw from for the season series this year.

This was the sort of response I was hoping for when I made the post. Wanted some outside perspectives. Thank you for sharing, very insightful!

 

[Albus Dumbledore]

I don't get why people say Tampa is a lock for 1st. I could see Boston finish just as easily 1st. They have some young players who are a year older. Imo I could see any of Boston Tampa or Toronto finish 1st and should be the top 3 in the Atlantic.

 

[Dicky113]

So Boston was pretty good last year (almost caught Tampa), they had like 5 rookies that have all matured another year, a core group of still relatively young guys including Bergeron who is the best all around player in the league.

Is the loss of Adam McQuaid that scary to people? Just not getting why they are going to fall off a cliff like most suspect?

 

[Zalos]

There are surprises every year. I am sure one of these four teams will not even be in the top 4. I see some people are overly confident before the season has even begun... Hockey is decided on the ice, not on paper.

 

[La Masse]

Tampa
Boston
Toronto

They are all interchangeable . Florida is 4th behind them quite comfortably barring injuries.

 

[puckIuck]

the bruins are getting a little long in the tooth down the middle. I wouldnt be surprised if florida overtakes them in a year or two.

 

[DJJones]

Boston is always better than they seem. Florida is always worse.

Gotta go with Boston until proven otherwise.

 

[b in vancouver]

So Boston was pretty good last year (almost caught Tampa), they had like 5 rookies that have all matured another year, a core group of still relatively young guys including Bergeron who is the best all around player in the league.

Is the loss of Adam McQuaid that scary to people? Just not getting why they are going to fall off a cliff like most suspect?

I don't really get it either.
I expect the Bruins to be the most consistent team in the Atlantic this year.
From top to bottom they're one of the best and deepest teams in the league with high end talent and a half dozen guys that would make most every other team that are going to the A.
The only real question the team has is at 3rd line centre - unless they shift Backes back to C.

Tampa's pretty much in the same boat. Just very few weaknesses you can point to.

Then there's Toronto and Florida.
Expect one of Buffalo, Montreal, Detroit or Ottawa to surprise - but honestly have no idea.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

Good to see Marchand working hard in the off season...




Didn't FLA win the season series pretty handily last year against BOS? Heads up I think it's pretty close. History would have most picking BOS, but I think FLA will be the better team come game 82

 

[Dustin]

Boston. They were second last year for a reason. Doubt they will be any worse this year.

 

[22Brad Park]

This is shaping up to be the biggest question in the Atlantic this year - the 4th spot, after all, is not guaranteed a playoff spot, and with the Metro being a far more competitive division there's always the chance they take both wildcards. Toronto and Tampa seem to be considered the top 2 teams in the division, but predicting which one of Boston and Florida is better: who you got?

Everyone just penciling in the Leafs.They have poor defence to say the least.Their saving grace will be 6 or 7 power plays a night

 

[22Brad Park]

Boston is overrated AF for some reason, they barely got through the Leafs who made major blunders in the series, disappearances from Andersen, Matthews, Nylander, God awful coaching decisions from Babcock and Naz being Naz and getting suspended, still needed the final 10 minutes of game 7 to close it out. They then got rekt by Tampa.

Would not be surprised if Florida surpassed them this year, Boston is not in the Toronto or Tampa tier anymore, both teams got better and Boston is relying on a 42 year old to anchor their D and yes Boston has good young players and a stud in Mac, but that's not enough to compete with the primed-prime talent in Toronto and Tampa while they only have effectively one line that can really produce for them.

You say disappearances regarding Matthews when what you should be saying is shutdown.

 

[boredmale]

Boston. I don't really get where the general thinking that Boston is going to fall off this year comes from.

Can't speak for other people but having your top 2 centers be 33 and 32 is a bit scary for all we know they fall off a cliff this year or have another good 5 years in them

 

[Nizdizzle]

Can't speak for other people but having your top 2 centers be 33 and 32 is a bit scary for all we know they fall off a cliff this year or have another good 5 years in them

I dont see anything that would suggest a fall off the cliff is likely. Bergeron is playing the best hockey of his career.

 

[boredmale]

I dont see anything that would suggest a fall off the cliff is likely. Bergeron is playing the best hockey of his career.

But even if he becomes 90% of the player this year that he was last year that could hurt