Thoughts on TBL drawing Pittsburgh in the first round?

[sittler rules!!!]

Be Tampa's worst nightmare to draw Pittsburgh in the first round. With all of that playoff savvy and grit the Penquins have , and they still have the best player in the world.....What are the Pens chances of pulling an upset? Or also, Montreal. If they draw the Habs and face a hot Carey Price?

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[OVO16]

Pens have a legit chance of knocking the Tampa out if this happens.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

I doubt Tampa cares because they should win either way, but Montreal would be a much easier matchup

 

[StreetHawk]

If it was straight division it would be Montreal. In a 1-8 match they could draw Pitt depending how things shake down.

Not an enviable matchup given the playoff success of Pitt the past 3 seasons. TB the better team this year but in playoffs it all about matchups.

No different than back in 2011 when Vancouver drew Chicago in round 1.

 

[K Fleur]

Pittsburgh has to make the playoffs first.

 

[Empoleon8771]

The Penguins only have a 13% chance of ending up in the 2nd WC spot. They are nearly as likely to win the Metro (9%) as they are to get the 2nd WC spot. I don't see much of a reason to expect that to happen, the Penguins are playing well right now and teams around them (namely the Habs, Jackets and Islanders) are stumbling.

My guess is that the Lightning either get the Jackets or Hurricanes in round 1, neither of which are easy matchups for them. The Canes have been on fire recently and the Jackets added a ton to a good roster at the deadline.

 

[Halla]

this would be the worst case scenario for the lightning.

Pens: Sid,Malkin,Kessel,Letang etc
Habs: Price, Domi, Gallagher,Weber etc


i know who they would rather play

 

[Hoek]

I would hate it. Still confident, but that would make our run harder than we deserve for being top seed and might cost us later on if we have to expend a lot to get past the first round.

 

[jetsfan91]

No team wants to matchup with Pittsburgh round one.

 

[Five Alarm Fire]

I'd be fine with it. Sometimes you need a tough series to get the motor going. We had a lot of things go right our first two series last year and we were totally out-hustled by a team that came out of a full out war. Eventually you have to beat good teams.

 

[DFC]

No fear of Montreal. I don't think there's a goalie who can shut us down over a 7 game series, regardless how hot, without a good team and system in front of him. ...Which is why the Isles are my biggest fear this year.

I think any of the better teams CAN beat us. We're definitely not invincible, and I do worry about a team clogging us to death. More specifically, I worry that Jon Cooper won't have a response for it.

I think we match up a lot better against the Pens than in 2016, but it's hard not to be a little intimidated by all that success. And Washington just always seems to have our number in the regular season, and obviously in the playoffs last year, but I think at least part of the reason they were SO much better than us last year was Trotz vs. Cooper (and Bowness wasn't exactly helping).

The coaching shake up we underwent (firing Bowness, moving Richards, hiring/promoting Halpern) has paid off in the regular season, but we'll have to wait to see just how real the results have been.

 

[dkd]

As a Habs fan, Tampa would celebrate facing MTL in the first round if we were to make it. They are a much better team.

 

[bukwas]

Don't think there are any easy outs in the East.
Going to be a long hard road for whichever team gets to the final.

 

[DFC]

The Penguins only have a 13% chance of ending up in the 2nd WC spot. They are nearly as likely to win the Metro (9%) as they are to get the 2nd WC spot. I don't see much of a reason to expect that to happen, the Penguins are playing well right now and teams around them (namely the Habs, Jackets and Islanders) are stumbling.

My guess is that the Lightning either get the Jackets or Hurricanes in round 1, neither of which are easy matchups for them. The Canes have been on fire recently and the Jackets added a ton to a good roster at the deadline.

CBJ has been kind of an easy night for us so far this year. I don't think their additions closed the gap nearly enough. I don't have much fear of Carolina either. I think we'd just be too deep for them to handle.

 

[Liferleafer]

No team wants to matchup with Pittsburgh round one.

Leafs fan here....I'll take the Pens over the Bruins....thanks.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

CBJ has been kind of an easy night for us so far this year. I don't think their additions closed the gap nearly enough. I don't have much fear of Carolina either. I think we'd just be too deep for them to handle.

Hard to say with Columbus now.

But you take back what you say about the House of Lord TMFVR. Fear him, praise him, pray that we do not face him and his brethren.

 

[Lindemann]

Leafs fan here....I'll take the Pens over the Bruins....thanks.

Great, as a Caps fan we will take Boston over Pitt

 

[Pi]

No team wants to matchup with Pittsburgh round one.

Why not? They are injured and don't have a lot of depth.

I would much rather face Pittsburgh over Boston any day. Doesn't mean it's a guaranteed win, it's definitely an easier series though.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

I pray for the opportunity to send Pittsburgh home early, and I just can’t trust other teams to do so.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Lightning must be dreading that thought. They are definitely hoping for Carolina or Montreal instead.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Pittsburgh will finish 2nd in the Metro behind Washington. The Islanders are fading and I think they fall to one of the WC spots while Pittsburgh and Carolina finish 2nd and 3rd in the Metro, respectively. Washington and Pittsburgh will meet in the 2nd round and the winner will represent the East in the Stanley Cup Finals.

 

[Liferleafer]

Great, as a Caps fan we will take Boston over Pitt

Deal. Pleasure doing business with ya!

 

[heynowbababooey]

After all the hype its gonna be great seeing tampa lose in the playoffs. If I'm wrong I'll print out these words and eat em.

 

[Lukin1978]

My thoughts are the pens have to make the playoffs first.

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

whatever team plays to make it into the playoffs will be a team on a roll playing playoff hockey before the playoffs actually start. these teams are the most dangerous regardless of the opponent.