Against the Blues, you honestly think Tampa Bay is a tougher opponent than LA? Not counting anything else, I think it's clear which team gives us/would give us more problems. And with their past, why do people still judge LA by their regular season record? It means very little considering once the playoffs start they are one of the most dominant teams in the NHL (if not the very best). Yes at this point still more dominant than Tampa Bay until Tampa proves otherwise. They've done this before. They won a cup a couple years ago in this exact same spot. They are still good.
I also love how they are getting written off so easily. They are only 3 points behind Calgary with a game in hand and 4 points behind SJ with two games in hand. And that's with 28 games left. But okay sure, just count them out of the playoffs, which is just wishful thinking in my opinion.
Saying it isn't likely that the Blues will meet LA in the playoffs isn't the same as saying LA won't make the playoffs. LA needs to make the playoffs first, then both the Blues and LA would need to survive whatever matchups they have until they happen to meet. Seems unlikely to me. If you disagree, that's fine. I don't care to argue semantics.
I've already stated that I'm not afraid of LA this year. They haven't shown much of anything at all so far. Certainly not any consistency, any sustained success on the road, or any real stretches of dominant play. I supervise their forum, so I watch a lot of their games. I've not been impressed.
Last year when the won the Cup, they finished 10th overall in points, and 7th in goal differential. In 2012 they were 13th and 11th, respectively. This year they're currently 18th and 16th. (The Blues are 3rd and 1st.) Last year LA was 3rd in ES goal differential. This year they are tied for 10th. (Blues are 2nd.) It's not a fluke that LA is on the fringe for a playoff spot...that's exactly what their level of play has warranted.
Teams can't just magically flip a switch when the playoffs start and become some sort of unstoppable juggernaut. The league is too demanding, and the quality of competition is too high. You need to be playing well when the playoffs start, or you won't be playing for long.
If LA turns it around with 15 games left and enters the playoffs on a tear, then that's one thing...but they haven't done that yet, and they've done nothing
this year to suggest that they will. Doing it three years ago doesn't mean it will happen again. Last year they played better pretty much the entire season. This year they've lost Voynov, waived Richards, and Quick has the SV% of a backup goaltender (.908). Things change fast in this league.
