Shaman464
No u
Larkin has to be a darkhorse for the Hart. Without him this team wouldn't be in any position to repeat their yearly tradition of the first round exit.
Dylan Larkin
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Cyborg Yzerberg
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Shaman464
No u
I'm not saying it will happen, but I am saying that he should get consideration.
He's not even leading his team in points and he's playing a winger role. He leads in goals and shots but there are a number of players that have had a much bigger impact on their team. He's been great but in my opinion Zetterberg and Mrazek have been more important to our success. I'd put Larkin third.
hyduK
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I don't see why people are so quick to say we're a first round exit this year.
Not saying we have a chance at a cup, but the division is the definition of mediocre...hell, outside of Washington the conference as a whole is pretty mediocre. Last year we were 1 game away from beating the team that would eventually represent the East in the Finals. In fact, despite it being in the first round, we gave them a much better run than the other two teams they had to go through, and the difference could have been as simple as Luke not getting injured towards the end of game 4...or Kronner not being suspended for game 7.
Outside of us ending up in a wildcard and getting stuck in the Metro half of the playoffs, and facing Washington, there's a fair chance we can get through the first round....and maybe even the second. At that point you have no idea what could happen...injuries start to pile up and the team you face isn't necessarily the same as the team they're icing right now.
SpookyTsuki
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hyduK
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Exactly. In a 7 game series against anyone else we have as good a shot as any.
Florida? Montreal? Tampa? Boston? Ottawa? None of these teams scare me at all. Not saying we would win for sure...but I certainly think the chances are good enough that I wouldn't "rather be outside of the playoffs getting a better draft pick" as some people around here would have it.
And if we were to beat those teams and end up facing Washington, who knows what state they'll be in at that point. You're talking about half a regular season and two playoff series. Lots can happen, people can get injured (obviously some of those people could be our players, but there's no certainty in that).
We should know that better than anyone. How many times have we lost to a HUGE underdog over the years? Calgary, Anaheim, Edmonton?
SpookyTsuki
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I'm not even scared of Washington cause they can never pass the 2nd round next or right now are the San jose
And I could see Mrazek getting in the Caps' heads. He's played well against them this year, I think he'd be up for the challenge.
hyduK
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Not to mention we've had a Win, an OTL and a SOL against Washington this year. They're hardly out of our league.
Something isn't exactly working (consistently) with our forwards right now. I think the talent is there for that to change, it's been displayed in the past. Datsyuk hasn't been as incredible as he has previously...obviously age has something to do with that, but I still believe he has another gear left in him, if he can get to the playoffs healthy-ish (which he wasn't really last year) we could see that. Same goes for Kronner. Nyquist/Tatar have had ups and downs this year, some of that may be due to D/Z declining a bit, but again that could change. Sheahan has been playing incredible lately, hopefully he keeps improving.
We're not firing on all cylinders, but we're not in some disaster scenario either. Will we fire on all, or more, cylinders in the playoffs? Maybe, maybe not. I'd rather have the chance to do that then not though.
Maybe Kenny comes bearing gifts at the TDL. (yeah, that's a lot less likely).
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SimplySolace
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hyduK
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hyduK
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And yeah, as mentioned above, Mrazek has the potential to steal a series if he's on. I'm talking Mikka Kiprusoff, J.S Giguere level of potential. You can never underestimate the impact of a hot goalie in the playoffs.
We've struggled on the PP too, and that's one of those things that can absolutely be fixed over time.
We've struggled on the PP too, and that's one of those things that can absolutely be fixed over time.
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Well Larkin leads in both points and +/-
You never really know.I think Larkin is right up there with Z and Mrazek. Actually he is in 1st place IMO.
Good one
This is the Ericsson thread.
We give up more goals than we score? We have the worst goals diff of any team in playoff position? Our system is not one that will work at all in the playoffs? We will be very lucky to get in at all?
Congrats to Larks for making it to the AS game. Kind of a bummer though because this kid could use the rest as the grind sets in.
You're the only one that keeps parroting this stuff yet the team has remained in a divisional spot essentially since day one.
Henkka
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We give up a lot of goals because our special teams (especially PK) are bad. Miller injury put the PK on a mess.
At Playoffs, special teams are smaller factor. 5-on-5 hockey is everything there and we are pretty good shape on that. Better than at last season.
At Playoffs, special teams are smaller factor. 5-on-5 hockey is everything there and we are pretty good shape on that. Better than at last season.
hyduK
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Yeah true. How could I be so stupid? We will never win a series with Blashill as our coach.
joe89
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To me our PK is also not as good as it could be because we don't play our best forwards there. For various reasons, obviously.
Best ranked teams and some of their regular pk forwards:
ANA: Kesler, Silfverberg
NYI: Nielsen, Kulemin
STL: Backes, Steen
MTL: Plekanec, Pacioretty
Goaltending helps, too..
Anyway, guys who can do a lot more than skate and dump the puck away there. Every team uses grinders to fill up the minutes but few of the best ones use them exlusively like we do. Z & D will never PK again(maybe in a cup moment), but Larkin could make a difference down the line.
aemoreira1981
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Coming from another board in peace---I have to ask: how did Dylan Larkin fall to where he fell in the draft (did it have to do with the fact that he was a collegiate instead of a CHL player)? His maturity is unreal beyond his years...and that isn't something you can necessarily teach. At this point, I see the Calder as his to lose.
Frk It
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Mostly because he was buried behind Eichel and Matthews on USA's depth chart. There was also some question marks on his ceiling, primarily on the offensive side. Some of the scouting outlets voiced concerns over his hands for example, notably Pronman.
I don't think people evaluated him wrong entirely per se, I just think he did A TON of developing in the span of about a year. Like maybe one of the biggest improvements that I can remember a prospect doing within a year of being drafted.
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