Kucherov and Crosby

[Coffey]

I know Tampa has the most arrogant fans in all of pro sports but I thought getting owned like you just did would at least make y'all a LITTLE humble.

Tough to be humble when you see the mental gymnastics they go through to justify Kucherov's "best in the world" performance.

 

[joestevens29]

I have a hard time really making any judgment at this point in time. Once playoffs are done you start hearing about injuries and such that could be playing a part.

That and it was only one series. Kuch was pretty good last year so it's pretty hard to bust on him. Crosby from what I heard was holding that team together all year and maybe just didn't have the energy for that second gear needed for playoffs.

 

[Hadoop]

Hope both superstars play in the world championships.

 

[orby]

Crosby had a very bad series, but he is already one of the greatest playoff performers of all time. Nothing he does or doesn't do in the playoffs for the rest of his career will diminish his legacy. Kucherov is a great player - likely a bit better now than Sid is considering their relative ages - but he hasn't proven what Sid has. In that sense, his performance is more damaging to his legacy than Sid's is.

Either way, Kucherov has a long career ahead of him and will have plenty of chances to make up for one lousy series, even if this one was a historic choke by Tampa.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

I loved watching Kucherov choke out hard, but he's got a long career ahead of him. Crosby's had more than one bum playoff series, coughBruinscough, and his reputation is perfectly intact.

 

[KevinRedkey]

Let's be real here...
Crosby is an all-time great who almost always shows up big in the playoffs. He sucked this series, and his team lost (partly) as a result of it. That has no negative impact on his overall resume.

 

[Coffey]

Let's be real here...
Crosby is an all-time great who almost always shows up big in the playoffs. He sucked this series, and his team lost (partly) as a result of it. That has no negative impact on his overall resume.

Do you think this is a sign that he's slowing down in the playoffs? Or an outlier?

 

[ToDavid]

One playoff series doesn't eliminate Crosby's 186 playoff points and two Conn Smythes (and two other Conn Smythe level performances).

Kucherov has never really had a reputation as a "fantastic" playoff performer. Still, he hasn't exactly been bad in the playoffs and 3 games doesn't influence my opinion on anyone. Tampa Bay shit the bed as a squad this year, trying to blame it on certain people is a waste of time.

 

[Mallard]

This series doesn't define Crosby at all that's ridiculous.

 

[ToDavid]

So just to recap:

Kucherov will win the Hart Trophy because he is the highest point producer on a team of high point producers that made the playoffs. Then he doesn't show up for playoffs. MVP.

It's an award for the regular season MVP. What are you confused about?

 

[Frank Drebin]

baffling how Kuch could get all those points in the RS and be essentially a non factor in the post season.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Do these series change peoples view on them as fantastic playoff performers?

Did Patrick Roy's last playoff series where his team blew a 3-1 lead including two overtime losses define his career as a playoff chocker? (the answer is no)

You can't change what already happened. Crosby has solidified his rep as a playoff stud with numerous performances. Kuch on the other hand...

 

[Demandedace]

The TKO line was insane and Kucherov continued his success outside of the past two playoff series - I would not be so down on him yet.

Crosby may not have lit the scoreboard but, from my watching of the games, it wasn't for lack of effort.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Crosby started to burn out at the end of the season, it's why he went from seemingly a lock for 105-110 points to only hitting 100 on the last game of the season. He hit a lull in about the last 10 games of the season and it carried over to the playoffs. It doesn't help that Guentzel was really, really bad in the playoffs this year, which is also shocking based on his 2 other playoff runs.

 

[Coffey]

Crosby started to burn out at the end of the season, it's why he went from seemingly a lock for 105-110 points to only hitting 100 on the last game of the season.

So he should have saved himself for the playoffs instead of padding his regular season stats?

 

[Oil Spill]

I thought McDavid did a pretty nice job in this year's playoffs keeping up with the production of Kucherov and Crosby......

Yeah he did lead lead the Oilers to as many wins in the playoffs as Pens and Tampa.

 

[Coffey]

Yeah he did lead lead the Oilers to as many wins in the playoffs as Pens and Tampa.

What a goddamn legend.

 

[BruinsFTW]

Yzerman took a lot of shit early in his career about his playoff performances...look how he turned out...

Kucherov is young and has plenty of time to turn around....he can be Yzerman....or Thornton....choice is his

 

[Beef Invictus]

The Pens roster has to be worn down. The series doesn't move the needle for me.


Lots of questions should be asked of TB right now though, but I wouldn't worry about Kucherov yet.

 

[jbobell98]

Kucherov in the playoffs: 0.94ppg. Mcdavid in the playoffs: 0.69ppg.

Kuch is still the best player in the world but sadly his team sucks. Can’t expect him to produce much when he is so alone.

Funniest thing is, Tampa fans were adamantly telling us how Mcdavid benefits from playing on a bad team but now Kucherov doesnt?

 

[filinski77]

Crosby: Has nothing to prove, and one bad series does not erase all his past playoff accomplishments

Kucherov: Has sucked for the last 2 postseasons. He was great in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. Sucked this postseason, and anyone saying he was good last postseason is out to lunch, he was only a point/gp because he had 10 points in 5 games against the Devils in the first round LOL. In the 2nd and 3rd rounds last year he had 7 points in 12 games against actual playoff teams

 

[Coffey]

baffling how Kuch could get all those points in the RS and be essentially a non factor in the post season.

He was just playing in the regular season for his own personal trophy case.

Funniest thing is, Tampa fans were adamantly telling us how Mcdavid benefits from playing on a bad team but now Kucherov doesnt?

Narratives are a funny thing. People become super self-unaware of what they are saying.

 

[ViD]

I mean seriously since Malkin years ago who was the last one to win a series by himself ?

 

[Icarium]

I mean seriously since Malkin years ago who was the last one to win a series by himself ?

Halak. He even added a new verb to the English language.

 

[Mick Riddleton]

Kuch is good but has that whiny diving attitude, thinks he cannot get checked or hit.