I've played NHL games since 1999, and never won the Stanley Cup with a team nearly as bad (on paper) as this one.
Because I like a challenge in franchise mode, I started one with the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL 22). I was gonna prepare a rebuild, but the team somehow snuck into the playoffs (4th seed in the metro) and, despite much adversity, went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Lineup:
Nyquist (83) - Jenner (84) - Bjorkstrand (83) +2
Voracek (84) - Sillinger (79) - Sanford (79) +2
Robinson (80) - Roslovic (82) - Texier (81) 0
Johnston (77) - Kuraly (80) - Studenic (77) 0
Gavrikov (84) - Boqvist (82) +2
Werenski (88) - Pysyk (79) +1
Bean (83) - Sustr (78) +2
Merzlikins (85)
Korpisalo (79)
Rules:
* All star difficulity
* Always playing locked position (I like the gameplay better this way)
* I played every 10th game or so in the regular season, simmed the rest.
* In the playoffs, I can only play game 1, 4 and 7. Rest must be simmed.
Road to the cup:
Beat Carolina 4-3
Beat New Jersey 4-0
Beat Toronto 4-2
Beat St. Louis 4-1
Okay, now you might wonder, where is Laine? Let me tell you, he got injured two games into the postseason. Out until august. The following game, Andrew Peeke (81) would go down the same path.
If that wasn't bad enough, Elvis Merzlikins missed the first six games in the opening round against Carolina, and only came back (played injured) in game 7. Voracek also missed three games in this series.
On top of it all, I accidently simmed too many games. So despite the series going to game 7, I only played two of the games when I was actually allowed to play three.
What else? Werenski didn't record a point until the 9th game of the playoffs. The commentators made sure to bring up his drought.
Furthermore, Boqvist and Robinson both missed the two last games of the conference finals, as well as the first game of the finals.
And in every series, the opponent had home ice advantage.
So how could I win the Stanley Cup with this roster and under these rules and conditions? I have no idea. Somehow, the AI went absolutely nuts, both in the games I simmed and in the games I played.
In games when I simmed, Ross Johnston had two 2 goal games. Sustr also had a 2 goal game, and also scored the game winner with four seconds remaining of regulation in the game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
And in one of the finals I played, Marian Studenic scored two goals within two minutes. He was controlled by a bot and I had nothing to do with either goal.
Playoff stats:
Forwards:
Defensemen:
Goaltenders:
I was supposed to do a rebuild, but somehow this team won it all in the first season.
Conclusion: Forget all star teams. Build around guys who perform, no matter the overall.
Because I like a challenge in franchise mode, I started one with the Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL 22). I was gonna prepare a rebuild, but the team somehow snuck into the playoffs (4th seed in the metro) and, despite much adversity, went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Lineup:
Nyquist (83) - Jenner (84) - Bjorkstrand (83) +2
Voracek (84) - Sillinger (79) - Sanford (79) +2
Robinson (80) - Roslovic (82) - Texier (81) 0
Johnston (77) - Kuraly (80) - Studenic (77) 0
Gavrikov (84) - Boqvist (82) +2
Werenski (88) - Pysyk (79) +1
Bean (83) - Sustr (78) +2
Merzlikins (85)
Korpisalo (79)
Rules:
* All star difficulity
* Always playing locked position (I like the gameplay better this way)
* I played every 10th game or so in the regular season, simmed the rest.
* In the playoffs, I can only play game 1, 4 and 7. Rest must be simmed.
Road to the cup:
Beat Carolina 4-3
Beat New Jersey 4-0
Beat Toronto 4-2
Beat St. Louis 4-1
Okay, now you might wonder, where is Laine? Let me tell you, he got injured two games into the postseason. Out until august. The following game, Andrew Peeke (81) would go down the same path.
If that wasn't bad enough, Elvis Merzlikins missed the first six games in the opening round against Carolina, and only came back (played injured) in game 7. Voracek also missed three games in this series.
On top of it all, I accidently simmed too many games. So despite the series going to game 7, I only played two of the games when I was actually allowed to play three.
What else? Werenski didn't record a point until the 9th game of the playoffs. The commentators made sure to bring up his drought.
Furthermore, Boqvist and Robinson both missed the two last games of the conference finals, as well as the first game of the finals.
And in every series, the opponent had home ice advantage.
So how could I win the Stanley Cup with this roster and under these rules and conditions? I have no idea. Somehow, the AI went absolutely nuts, both in the games I simmed and in the games I played.
In games when I simmed, Ross Johnston had two 2 goal games. Sustr also had a 2 goal game, and also scored the game winner with four seconds remaining of regulation in the game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
And in one of the finals I played, Marian Studenic scored two goals within two minutes. He was controlled by a bot and I had nothing to do with either goal.
Playoff stats:
Forwards:
| Name | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gustav Nyquist (83) | 22 | 13 | 9 | 22 | +13 | 4 |
| Boone Jenner (84) | 22 | 6 | 15 | 21 | +8 | 36 |
| Oliver Bjorkstrand (83) | 22 | 7 | 13 | 20 | +10 | 2 |
| Zach Sanford (79) | 22 | 6 | 8 | 14 | +5 | 15 |
| Sean Kuraly (80) | 22 | 7 | 6 | 13 | +9 | 19 |
| Jack Roslovic (82) | 22 | 6 | 6 | 12 | +5 | 4 |
| Jakub Voracek (84) | 19 | 5 | 5 | 10 | -4 | 4 |
| Cole Sillinger (79) | 22 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -2 | 6 |
| Marian Studenic (77) | 22 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +7 | 6 |
| Ross Johnston (77) | 21 | 4 | 5 | 9 | +6 | 12 |
| Alexandre Texier (81) | 22 | 3 | 5 | 8 | +1 | 2 |
| Eric Robinson (80) | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | +1 | 2 |
| Brendan Gaunce (77) | 10 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
| Patrik Laine (87) + | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 |
| Yegor Chinakhov (78) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 |
Defensemen:
| Name | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Werenski (88) | 22 | 6 | 7 | 13 | +2 | 4 |
| Vladislav Gavrikov (84) | 22 | 2 | 10 | 12 | +15 | 16 |
| Adam Boqvist (82) | 19 | 1 | 11 | 12 | +12 | 4 |
| Jake Bean (83) | 22 | 0 | 8 | 8 | +6 | 0 |
| Mark Pysyk (79) | 22 | 3 | 3 | 6 | +1 | 4 |
| Andrej Sustr (78) | 18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | +11 | 4 |
| Andrew Peeke (81) + | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Gabriel Carlsson (78) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goaltenders:
| Name | GP | W | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elvis Merzlikins (85) | 16 | 13 | 1 | 91.2% | 2.13 |
| Joonas Korpisalo (79) | 6 | 2 | 0 | 89.8% | 2.94 |
| Daniil Tarasov (78) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 91.8% | 2.42 |
I was supposed to do a rebuild, but somehow this team won it all in the first season.
Conclusion: Forget all star teams. Build around guys who perform, no matter the overall.
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