So far the playoffs been surprising

[BMOK33]

So far it has been boring as compared to previous years.

There are just too many lopsided matchups...typically one or two of those end up in shockingly close series but this time it is not

 

[PROUD PAPA]

Most things are going as predicted which to me is making the 1st rd a bit boring when it's usually the most interesting round of all.

 

[TheTechNoir]

I think, in every single series there been surprises
(i could use a Maple Leafs pun here, but... over used pun is over used pun and i think Leafs and their fans deserve better)

Stars?... wtf... 2 home games, 2 losses to Vegas
Rangers are struggling vs Capitals, yes they lead 2-zip but Rangers have not impressed me, they have not played well
Jets D and G, their strength's, been their weaknesses so far, i don't think WPG nor COL goes far at these playoffs
Canucks.. oh no...what ya doing? Nashville might be wanting more the W
Islanders been the better team in both games vs 'Canes, but personal errors has cost Isles 2 games
Oilers Oilers Oilers... every year, at some point you fail, this time the 1st round?, Kings recovered fast from game #1
Honestly.. i thought Panthers would destroy Tampa... 2 x 1 goal W's... not good enough for a long playoff run
Boston vs Toronto, surprising that Bruins have the lead? no, surprising how Leafs have played? yes and no,
surprising that Marchard been the most talked player in this series? no, - okay.. there's nothing surprising in this one

I'm surprised these are considered surprises. Very good team (Vegas) leading a series against a team that they match-up stylistically favourably versus - expected, IMO.

Rangers-Caps is a bit surprising, but it's only been 2 games - and they won them both.

I don't think Colorado, the team that scored more goals this season than any other team being an offensive threat, or Helle not being proven in high pressure play-off games is overly surprising.

I don't think the best team in the league since February being tied after 2 games in round 1 is very surprising.

IMO losing games as a result of errors doesn't tend to translate to that team was the better team.

Oilers are a really flawed organization against a pretty good team that is a lot better balanced and more play-off built. If McDavid doesn't carry Edmonton to a win via lots of points, then Edmonton loses. McDavid hasn't been able to carry Edmonton for entire playoff runs without being shut down adequately. The surprise would be Edmonton winning the cup, the non-surprise would be seeing them lose to any given team, whenever they do lose. Whether that's LAK or not, I don't think it's a surprise.

 

[Patdud]

Im still surprised Vegas is up 2-0, split maybe but Dallas is a #1 seed for a reason. Biggest surprise is FLA/TPA, I thought that would be close like BOS/TOR.

 

[letsgrowcactus]

Im still surprised Vegas is up 2-0, split maybe but Dallas is a #1 seed for a reason. Biggest surprise is FLA/TPA, I thought that would be close like BOS/TOR.

To be fair, while I'd say the Panthers have been the better team in all 3 games, they've still been very close. A couple bounces the other way and it could've been 2-1 or 1-2.

 

[TheTechNoir]

Im still surprised Vegas is up 2-0, split maybe but Dallas is a #1 seed for a reason. Biggest surprise is FLA/TPA, I thought that would be close like BOS/TOR.

I'll be honest, it was one of the series I was most confident in who would win (Vegas). Of course, it's far from over currently, but that's how I felt. I did however think that *if* Dallas won, they would likely go to the Cup Finals. I just think it's a bad match-up for Dallas.

[Mentality before series' began]

Vegas beats Dallas, due to match-up specificity, but if Dallas does win the series, they go to the final.

Really unsure about Winnipeg/Colorado. I picked Colorado, part of that just being hopeful, as a fan. But I think Colorado will need to score buckets of goals potentially to win the series. Granted, they are a team capable of that, but they are against a team it is really hard to do against. Easily see either team winning this. Not sold on Helle in high pressure playoff situations yet.

Van-Nsh is another really tough one. I give it to Van, but Nsh has been the best team in the league in 2024 IMO.

Edm-LAK I think ppl really underrate LAK. After they traded for Pierre-Luc Dubios, they have been inconsistent, and that trade definitely hurt them, but they are a misleadingly good team. IF they can contain McDavid, they can win. And McDavid can be contained - one thing McDavid isn't known for, to me, is a consistent game breaking excellence for an entire play-off run/being clutch for a whole playoff-run. Edmonton is going to need that for a cup hope. I pick Edmonton, but I think this is a major upset candidate (major as in major candidate for it to happen - I would consider it a light upset, not a significant one, because I don't think Edmonton is a very good hockey team)

Picked Florida over Tampa with pretty high confidence; Florida's game translates well to the playoffs, and guys like Hedman in Tampa had an unusually bad season defensively, and in general along with some of their top players declining, they lost tons of depth. Tampa is far from a lightweight, though.

Boston over Toronto, but any team can win that one. Toronto's d-core is a major weakness and goaltending is a question mark, but that team can be night and day different between games sometimes, or even periods. It isn't a good trait, but when they are on, they are on. They can win, or make it close, but they can also get completely slaughtered, or choke.

Rangers over Caps. My most confident pick, it's still no guarantee, but Washington is the oldest team in the league, New York has depth and super-star power at Forward, Defense, and Goaltending, as well as a bit of experience now as a group, while Washington is definitely past it's prime for this core.

Carolina over NYI. This series could go either way, and Carolina lacks the superstar power of some teams, but they are the most balanced team in the league, and the best team at special teams, something they will need to maintain through a play-off run.

 

[TheTechNoir]

Losing Demko does not just hurt, it’s absolutely crippling, they lost their best player, in the most important position.

Definitely a major weakness to have such dependence on one player. It would be lovely to have one of the best goalies, some of the super star power at offense and defense like a Colorado, and the balance of a team like Carolina. Every play-off run with any decent number of games played has a really good chance of multiple injuries of varying severity, including scenarios like being down to your 3rd goalie being your starter, having 1 or more star players injured, etc. Obviously, you predict based not on assumptions of specific players getting injured, but with awareness of the reasonable probabilities. It's a bummer for sure, you like to see the best players out there.

Some teams are good enough - well rounded, deep, balanced, that they can brush off key loses, particularly in earlier rounds.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Can we talk about Brady Skjei having 3 points in 2 games?

If you say this three times, @super6646 will appear

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Definitely a major weakness to have such dependence on one player. It would be lovely to have one of the best goalies, some of the super star power at offense and defense like a Colorado, and the balance of a team like Carolina. Every play-off run with any decent number of games played has a really good chance of multiple injuries of varying severity, including scenarios like being down to your 3rd goalie being your starter, having 1 or more star players injured, etc. Obviously, you predict based not on assumptions of specific players getting injured, but with awareness of the reasonable probabilities. It's a bummer for sure, you like to see the best players out there.

Some teams are good enough - well rounded, deep, balanced, that they can brush off key loses, particularly in earlier rounds.

The series is tied 1-1. Let’s see how it plays out before talking about depth or a lack thereof.

 

[Lt Dan]

I have loved this playoffs, especially the Colorado/Winnipeg series. That's some badass playoff hockey

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

LA is a practice round. They play well enough as a team to win a game or two but don't have enough talent to ever beat the Oilers. It's the perfect warm up series for the Oilers to get firing and the D to get used to playoff intensity.

Nashville NYI Washington and Colorado should not even be considered playoff teams. They're not even a good practice round for the real contenders since they won't be any challenge.

 

[MrazeksVengeance]

To be fair, while I'd say the Panthers have been the better team in all 3 games, they've still been very close. A couple bounces the other way and it could've been 2-1 or 1-2.

Same with NYI and Canes tbh.

Počet lidí kteří čekali úspěch Islanders mě nepřestává fascinovat.

 

[TheTechNoir]

The series is tied 1-1. Let’s see how it plays out before talking about depth or a lack thereof.

It is tied 1-1, yes, and I have no idea who will win. I pick Vancouver, but I think it will be a hard match-up. If I shouldn't talk about the traits and qualities of a team, such as depth, except in hindsight, then I wouldn't have picked Vancouver to win the series. I use things like roster, coaching, playstyle, etc. to inform my belief of how things will play-out, I find it fun to discuss it with others, not only in a post-series reflection and discussing what you think were the things that contributed to a series win or series loss.

 

[2ndGenIslander]

Isles were better than the Canes in game 2? Was there another game 2 the rest of us don't know about that you're referring to?


They got an earl 3-0 lead... yes... that was the first 25 minutes. There was another 35 that needed to be played as well. Take a look at the game stats and tell us again how the Isles played better... wtf

Saying the isles were better in game 2 is the most unbelievable take i've ever read on here. I guess he didnt review any of the statistics at all

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

I don’t see how Vegas being up on Dallas is surprising. They are the reigning champs and have gotten even stronger at the deadline.

And people shouldnt be surprised the Rangers aren’t thumping the Caps.


Rangers barely try when faced with “inferior” opponents, they do the bare minimum to get the win.

Their goal differential against bottom feeders this season might even be in the negatives.

Very irritating as a fan.

 

[HolyHagelin]

Which part is surprising?

Also the rangers have twice as many goals as the capitals. How much are they supposed to be outscoring them by?

 

[BCNate]

-The biggest surprise for me has been how flat Dallas has been against Vegas.
-Florida beating up Tampa like this is surprising as well, but I expected the Panthers to take this one pretty quickly.
-Helle has been awful in the first two games, but could still steal a couple games.
-Canucks dominated game 2 against Nashville and came out of it with 4-1 loss. I didn't think they would play that well against them.

Other than that things have gone about as expected. Gonna be a fun 10-14 days as theese series play out.

 

[super6646]

If you say this three times, @super6646 will appear

I do it not for myself, but for the ethos of Brady skjei.

Can we talk about Brady Skjei having 3 points in 2 games?

This doesn’t surprise me. He would’ve had 2-3 pts last night if the islanders rink wasn’t blatantly stealing points from him. They’re so upset at the upcoming sweep that they are making it personal! Bastards!

No.

Rangers fans told me it was a fleecing. They were right, it was an all time fleecing by the canes.

 

[JohnnyBerts]

-The biggest surprise for me has been how flat Dallas has been against Vegas.
-Florida beating up Tampa like this is surprising as well, but I expected the Panthers to take this one pretty quickly.
-Helle has been awful in the first two games, but could still steal a couple games.
-Canucks dominated game 2 against Nashville and came out of it with 4-1 loss. I didn't think they would play that well against them.

Other than that things have gone about as expected. Gonna be a fun 10-14 days as theese series play out.

Good points! The one that surprised me the most is Helly. Even though I thought the Avs would take the series, I thought Helly would keep it close.

Also surprised how Dallas seems flat. I did pick Vegas to win but only because I think the cap additions are massive and they’re the defending champs who in my opinion got better. Expected it to be closer though.

 

[JP Mick]

Lol, Finnish Trans Am here has never watched the Bolts before. They always give it their all. Whining because the Panthers haven't blown them out only tells me you don't watch much hockey. Tampa will always battle to the end.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

Like I said. Nashville and Colorado and Washington tonight showing why they shouldn't even be in the playoffs.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

This is something that the Rangers board and myself included need to remember. You're not going to get many blowouts in the playoffs. As is there are three series where teams are up 3-0 even though you said those teams aren't impressive. Another series where a team is up 2-0.

 

[Zalos]

I think it's the opposite. There has been zero surprise for me so far. No cinderella teams, no surprisingly amazing goaltenders, no random player putting up insane numbers, no upsets. It's been a little boring... although I do enjoy watching the Edm/LA and Win/Col series.

 

[nyrallday]

Rangers are struggling against Washington? Struggling to stay awake maybe. Washington is awful to play and watch. 3-0

 

[Connor McConnor]

I think, in every single series there been surprises
(i could use a Maple Leafs pun here, but... over used pun is over used pun and i think Leafs and their fans deserve better)

Stars?... wtf... 2 home games, 2 losses to Vegas
Rangers are struggling vs Capitals, yes they lead 2-zip but Rangers have not impressed me, they have not played well
Jets D and G, their strength's, been their weaknesses so far, i don't think WPG nor COL goes far at these playoffs
Canucks.. oh no...what ya doing? Nashville might be wanting more the W
Islanders been the better team in both games vs 'Canes, but personal errors has cost Isles 2 games
Oilers Oilers Oilers... every year, at some point you fail, this time the 1st round?, Kings recovered fast from game #1
Honestly.. i thought Panthers would destroy Tampa... 2 x 1 goal W's... not good enough for a long playoff run
Boston vs Toronto, surprising that Bruins have the lead? no, surprising how Leafs have played? yes and no,
surprising that Marchard been the most talked player in this series? no, - okay.. there's nothing surprising in this one

This aged as well as most of your essays