Series Discussion: The less important playoff series' (non-Caps ones) Part the First

[hb12xchamps]

Saw the Reeves/Kane tilt this morning. Kane did very well for giving up the size and weight advantage. Plus, Reeves was fresh off a line change and Kane was out there for a bit.

The Sharks though look rough. Martin Jones has been awful all year long (Had him on my fantasy team and couldn’t drop him, thanks ESPN!) and Dell is super unproven. It’s crazy that he’s been that bad given the team in front of him and the fact that he has a SCF under his belt.

 

[tenken00]

The East is in shambles and I love it

 

[hb12xchamps]

Aaron Dell has been just as bad this year but I don't see how they can go back to Martin Jones in Game 4.

Also Mark Stone has a chance to be the best TDL acquisition in years. What a player.

And they get to add Gusev on top of it. They can make their way back to the SCF for sure, especially with Nashville and Winnipeg looking like they are having down years

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

The West stinks. Winnipeg and Nashville are paper tigers and Dallas and Colorado aren't very good either. Calgary may provide a speedbump but Vegas is likely going to sleepwalk to the SCF.

 

[895]

Man I absolutely hated it when people put the choker label on Ovechkin all those years so I'm loathe to do the same to anyone else...

But, holy hell, Stamkos is choking.

 

[StrikingDistance]

Epiphany:

The Bolts extended Cooper while Coach Q was on the market.

Q now works for the Panthers. Missed opportunity for Bolt's execs.

Good for us in the future.

 

[RandyHolt]

Epiphany:

The Bolts extended Cooper while Coach Q was on the market.

Q now works for the Panthers. Missed opportunity for Bolt's execs.

Good for us in the future.

Their fans will want blood if they lose this series... and it will probably start with Cooper

 

[kicksavedave]

Their fans will want blood if they lose this series... and it will probably start with Cooper

Firing Cooper after extending him a few months ago would be an epic management failure. All that committed money, but just the egg on the face look will be priceless!

Honestly I doubt they fire him. But this failure is glorious.

 

[Empty Goal Net]

The West stinks. Winnipeg and Nashville are paper tigers and Dallas and Colorado aren't very good either. Calgary may provide a speedbump but Vegas is likely going to sleepwalk to the SCF.

Idk, but if Binnington can stay sharp the Blues may be the best challenge to VGK.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Whilst the Caps are a legitimate up threat I will always go for the team that better suits us. Go Vegas.

I don't know, this is not the same Vegas team the Caps handled in 2018. I might rather face WPG or STL.

 

[Silky mitts]

Tiger won the Masters, the Caps are up 2-0, the Pens are down 0-3. Might be the best weekend of all time.

Womens World Championship worked out insane too

 

[tenken00]

Ottawa shifted the entire landscape in both the East and the West this year.

 

[kicksavedave]

I don't know, this is not the same Vegas team the Caps handled in 2018. I might rather face WPG or STL.

Its not the same team as last years, but all 6 of their goals last night were by either offseason or TDL acquisitions(Stone 3, Stasny 2, MaxPacs 1). Granted for a franchise not fully 2 years old everyone is new, but the adds GMGM made last summer and at the TDL seem to be helping.

 

[Silky mitts]

I truly don't understand this paranoia garbage. It's bordering on pathetic. The Caps are the defending champions and gave the Bluejackets the blueprint for breaking the Lightning into little pieces. These are the playoffs -- there are no bad teams playing and every round is going to be tougher than the last regardless of who they play. This team has shown they can beat any takers but if they go out and get beat by a better team then you tip your cap to them and say well done. This is the hardest trophy to win in sports for a reason.

I don't think there any question the Caps have a better chance of repeating because they drew Carolina over Columbus 1st round. The difference between the Pens and Isles or Bs/Leafs/CBJ/or even Tampa seems less impactful.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Man I absolutely hated it when people put the choker label on Ovechkin all those years so I'm loathe to do the same to anyone else...

But, holy hell, Stamkos is choking.

Ovechkin ranks 27th all time in total goals scored in the playoffs and 16th all time in goals/game at .502, and he averages almost a point per game (.097 points/game) in the postseason. He scored the Caps only goal in G7 in 2015 vs the Rangers. Ovechkin's choker label was always a garbage, forced (and false) narrative.

 

[Devil Dancer]

Ovechkin ranks 27th all time in total goals scored in the playoffs and 16th all time in goals/game at .502, and he averages almost a point per game (.097 points/game) in the postseason. He scored the Caps only goal in G7 in 2015 vs the Rangers. Ovechkin's choker label was always a garbage, forced (and false) narrative.

Pretty sure he scored the Caps only goal in the 2009 G7 loss to Pitt, though it was in garbage time.

 

[RandyHolt]

It looks like Vegas has learned a thing or 2. Team building. This is what I want to see after a cheapshot... not expecting the closest guy to fight.

 

[kicksavedave]

Ovechkin ranks 27th all time in total goals scored in the playoffs and 16th all time in goals/game at .502, and he averages almost a point per game (.097 points/game) in the postseason. He scored the Caps only goal in G7 in 2015 vs the Rangers. Ovechkin's choker label was always a garbage, forced (and false) narrative.

Pretty sure he scored the Caps only goal* in the 2009 G7 loss to Pitt, though it was in garbage time.

If anything, the narrative may have started when he didn't score on the breakaway early in that G7, and the Pens went on a tear right after that. Its taken him a long time to share the reputation, but rightly or wrongly a team's reputation and its captain's reputation will always be intertwined. He had a HUGE series, including the dueling hat tricks, but he didn't have a huge game 7.

* They lost that one 6-2 but he scored one of the 2. Still it was not a clutch performance.

 

[kicksavedave]

It looks like Vegas has learned a thing or 2. Team building. This is what I want to see after a cheapshot... not expecting the closest guy to fight.

Heh, yeah good response for team building, but all three of them could have gotten a penalty for their part in that. Two cross checks and one punch to the face. Playoffs baby!

 

[RandyHolt]

Heh, yeah good response for team building, but all three of them could have gotten a penalty for their part in that. Two cross checks and one punch to the face. Playoffs baby!

Events like that are never dolled out properly. Even if they did get a penalty, it may be net positive in the end, as it will cause others to come out from hiding behind the bench.

 

[Calicaps]

Heh, yeah good response for team building, but all three of them could have gotten a penalty for their part in that. Two cross checks and one punch to the face. Playoffs baby!

Vegas gets away with shit.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

It looks like Vegas has learned a thing or 2. Team building. This is what I want to see after a cheapshot... not expecting the closest guy to fight.

Could have been worse, they could have tossed his track suit in to the shower.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

Hopefully Las Vegas get mauled a bit. The West is very weak and I don't want them to waltz to the Finals.

 

[4thTierSport]

Kane held his own, solid fight. Landed a couple big shots, left a mark on Reeves cheek.

Kane can actually fight. Like legit learned to box, fight. Reaves is a fat bully.

 

[895]

My bet on Kadri is 6.