bobholly39
Registered User
- Mar 10, 2013
- 22,501
- 15,321
I find it weird how no one is really talking about Tampa this season and as we near the playoffs.
For the longest time - every single season entering the playoffs Tampa seemed like the #1 favorite team to win the cup.
They were favorites in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022...not sure about last year, maybe/maybe not, but here we are again about to start playoffs. And for most of the year, they were fairly disappointing, often being out of playoffs vs in in the standings, and often depending a bit too much on Kucherov to get anything done.
But they've certainly been firing on all cylinders lately. They are in the playoffs now - as a wildcard true, but already with 96 points, and could reach 100.
Vasi hasn't exactly been great this year - but he pretty publicly stated last year he felt a bit burnt out/overworked, with 3 straight finals and 60 games played last season. He's played less this year, should be entering the playoffs healthier and fresh.
Is any forward in the league better in playoffs than Kucherov? You might argue for a few, but he's always stellar. Hedman has done great in playoffs. Point. They stlll have that fantastic core that won those cups. And they are well rested, unlike last 2 years.
They are definitely underdogs though. We also don't know their round 1 matchup yet. They will play Boston maybe. Or Florida. Maybe Rangers or Carolina. Does it matter? They've beaten all those teams in the playoffs before. So it's not like any of those teams has Tampa's number - it's usually been the other way around.
So - all that being said - how far does Tampa go in the playoffs this year? Make a prediction.
For the longest time - every single season entering the playoffs Tampa seemed like the #1 favorite team to win the cup.
They were favorites in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022...not sure about last year, maybe/maybe not, but here we are again about to start playoffs. And for most of the year, they were fairly disappointing, often being out of playoffs vs in in the standings, and often depending a bit too much on Kucherov to get anything done.
But they've certainly been firing on all cylinders lately. They are in the playoffs now - as a wildcard true, but already with 96 points, and could reach 100.
Vasi hasn't exactly been great this year - but he pretty publicly stated last year he felt a bit burnt out/overworked, with 3 straight finals and 60 games played last season. He's played less this year, should be entering the playoffs healthier and fresh.
Is any forward in the league better in playoffs than Kucherov? You might argue for a few, but he's always stellar. Hedman has done great in playoffs. Point. They stlll have that fantastic core that won those cups. And they are well rested, unlike last 2 years.
They are definitely underdogs though. We also don't know their round 1 matchup yet. They will play Boston maybe. Or Florida. Maybe Rangers or Carolina. Does it matter? They've beaten all those teams in the playoffs before. So it's not like any of those teams has Tampa's number - it's usually been the other way around.
So - all that being said - how far does Tampa go in the playoffs this year? Make a prediction.