Eastern Conference QF: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning

[ClevelandUke]

Tampa getting massively overrated here, its insane.

 

[DJA]

Tampa in 5.

Coleman, Goodrow are huge adds. Every Tampa line is better (on paper)

Heard the same thing about Toronto just a couple times on these boards.

 

[Monk]

Tampa getting massively overrated here, its insane.

That was Toronto. Tampa has actually earned their rating... CBJ is getting underrated, though, if you ask me. I think they can hang with Tampa.

 

[thebus88]

3rd lowest percentage to make it to the 2nd round according to moneypuck. interesting.

Serious question, do the people who come up with these numbers have hockey knowledge?

 

[NotWendell]

So, we have a better chance of making it to the 3rd round than we did of winning the #1 pick.

 

[NotWendell]

I wonder what the Blues chances of winning the Stanley Cup were at this point in the season last year?

 

[LoveCBJ]

Forget about last year. Let's get on with this year. Can we just get one PP goal??

 

[Monk]

Forget about last year. Let's get on with this year. Can we just get one PP goal??

Am I crazy to think Foudy is gonna really help the PP?

 

[DarkandStormy]

Tampa had the 2nd-highest point % in calendar year 2020 before the pause.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Forget about last year. Let's get on with this year. Can we just get one PP goal??

Did we fire Larsen yet? /s

 

[Viqsi]

Lol! That’s adorable.

Hope springs eternal.

I mean, seriously, c'mon, it happened last year, so we know it's possible...

 

[Bobcat110]

Tampa had the 2nd-highest point % in calendar year 2020 before the pause.

They and Boston feasting on their crap division.

 

[majormajor]

Some of y'all are insane if you really think we could sweep Tampa again. We couldn't sweep Toronto- a highly skilled offensive team in their own right, but lacking in elements that Tampa has- but we're going to sweep Tampa?

Here's the elements of Tampa that didn't worry me about Toronto:

• Revenge factor (for this reason alone I wanted to play Tampa the least of any of the possibilities)
• Strong team oriented play (Generalizing here, but Toronto is a bunch of individuals that play like individuals)
• Experienced offensive depth (Beyond the big offensive guns, they have Johnson, Killorn, Palat, Cirelli, Gourde)
  • Those guys I listed above, 3 of them have 70 games of playoff experience, and Cirelli and Gourde, a couple of the least playoff-experienced Tampa forwards, have the same amount as any of the Leafs forwards outside of Spezza, Clifford, and Tavares.
• An all around massively better, more experienced defense.
• A more talented goalie (who admittedly played like shit last year, but still Vasy > Anderson)

That's a lot of stuff that Tampa has that Toronto doesn't have. I'm hoping we can take this one to game 6 or 7, just for the excitement of a long series and a game 7, but I'm thinking we win one game. Play like we did last night all series and we'll win two or hopefully three.

I think the odds are a lot longer this series. I was 50/50 last round, It won't be that easy this time. But from your tenor you make it seem impossible to pull out a series win, and I don't agree with that. We're still playing a game where anything can happen.

 

[majormajor]

Am I crazy to think Foudy is gonna really help the PP?

I think maybe yes. He doesn't move the puck quickly and his shot is not even average.

I know he had a bad series but we should get Bjorkstrand back on there. We need him going.

 

[DarkandStormy]

They and Boston feasting on their crap division.

They were 3-6-1 in their final 10 games, featuring two losses to Toronto, a SO loss to Detroit (LOL), a win against Montreal, and a win and a loss against Boston. Before that, they had won 11 in a row...none against teams from their own division.

 

[majormajor]

Congrats Blue Jackets. You did Canada a favour beating the Leafs. I wish a could find the post I made last year to you guys saying Foudy was a dandy. He really impressed me junior. Great wheels

Yes Foudy is a special player.

Were you a Cape Breton Oilers fan by chance? I grew up watching that team.

 

[Johansen2Foligno]

This will be a good series.

 

[GoJackets1]

I think the odds are a lot longer this series. I was 50/50 last round, It won't be that easy this time. But from your tenor you make it seem impossible to pull out a series win, and I don't agree with that. We're still playing a game where anything can happen.

No of course not, I believe we can, moreso than some series in the past as well. It's just not the most likely outcome. The main intention of my post was to point out that Tampa is a very different team than Toronto, and that as a fan, if you think you are going to sweep them again, it's probably best to temper expectations. I do believe we could win the series though.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

Lets play some hockey!!! Tampa Bay is one hell of a hockey team, I am looking forward to this series. I don't bet, so I don't really care about the odds, but I bet this will be a great series eh?

 

[Bobcat110]

They were 3-6-1 in their final 10 games, featuring two losses to Toronto, a SO loss to Detroit (LOL), a win against Montreal, and a win and a loss against Boston. Before that, they had won 11 in a row...none against teams from their own division.

They were 18-5-1 vs their division. 37 of 48 points or .771 percentage of available points. 25-16-5 vs rest of the league with a .598 percentage rate.

The CBJ were 13-2-5 vs the Atlantic. It’s a crap division. They were lucky Habs knocked out Pens to keep the Metro from owning 6 of 8 Eastern Conference spots.

Boston is lucky they had a bye. I think Canes may curb stomp them

 

[Monk]

I think maybe yes. He doesn't move the puck quickly and his shot is not even average.

I know he had a bad series but we should get Bjorkstrand back on there. We need him going.

It seems like he could play a small part of Panarin's role that is critically missing on the PP IMO - possessing the puck, skating it away from danger, and buying time.

 

[majormajor]

It seems like he could play a small part of Panarin's role that is critically missing on the PP IMO - possessing the puck, skating it away from danger, and buying time.

I think the Jackets PP is substandard even when it gets set up properly, what it needs is more quick puck movement after it gets set up, and Foudy can't help us there.

 

[Monk]

I think the Jackets PP is substandard even when it gets set up properly, what it needs is more quick puck movement after it gets set up, and Foudy can't help us there.

Well, gotta get set up properly, first, and feels like Foudy helps there since they're not good at that, either.

 

[ViD]

People need to chill out..

Tampa’s offense = Toronto’s offense

Tampa’s defense without Hedman = Toronto’s defense

Tampa’s goalie > Toronto’s goalie

there’s no indication that Tampa will roll over us in 5 games like some say

 

[majormajor]

Tampa’s defense without Hedman = Toronto’s defense

Tampa D without Hedman is still probably better, and it's much better than Toronto D without Muzzin. McDonagh is moving much better this postseason than he was a year ago, he is still a top quality defender when he is playing like this.