Western Conference Round Robin (Blues, Avalanche, Golden Knights, Stars)

What will the final standings be?

  • 1. Blues

    Votes: 97 32.9%
  • 2. Blues

    Votes: 108 36.6%
  • 3. Blues

    Votes: 69 23.4%
  • 4. Blues

    Votes: 11 3.7%
  • 1. Avalanche

    Votes: 160 54.2%
  • 2. Avalanche

    Votes: 86 29.2%
  • 3. Avalanche

    Votes: 38 12.9%
  • 4. Avalanche

    Votes: 10 3.4%
  • 1. Golden Knights

    Votes: 33 11.2%
  • 2. Golden Knights

    Votes: 64 21.7%
  • 3. Golden Knights

    Votes: 115 39.0%
  • 4. Golden Knights

    Votes: 58 19.7%
  • 1. Stars

    Votes: 14 4.7%
  • 2. Stars

    Votes: 17 5.8%
  • 3. Stars

    Votes: 47 15.9%
  • 4. Stars

    Votes: 195 66.1%

  • Total voters
    295
  • Poll closed .

Crossfire Hurricane

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If we break this down, how much talent do the Avs really have?

MacKinnon=elite first liner (top 3 in the league)
Rantanen=elite first liner
Makar=highly skilled D but defensively unproven
Landeskog=average first liner
Kadri=good 2C
Nichushkin, Donskoi, and Burakovsky =all consistent 30 point players in years past

Where else is the talent? Just questioning this narrative that the Avs have much more talent than everyone else in the Western Conference.
What teams would have a better list?
 
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Unspecified

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Apr 29, 2015
6,106
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Dobby had a shit game but was still 100% better than Bishop was. Let's go down the invisible list that has been a thing the entire season.

Invisible:
Benn
Seguin
 

Del Preston

Registered User
Mar 8, 2013
63,171
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Are these round robin games playoff-like or is it glorified exhibition? I haven't watched one yet.
 

Richard88

John 3:16
Jun 29, 2019
19,163
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Blues, Dallas and VGK are the smartest teams, likely still get overrun by the brutal dumb talent of the AV's...

Experience is on blues side, but I still believe AV's can take them, just based on the last match.
The idea that Colorado is a dumb team is just laughable.

The other teams play more defensive systems, especially Dallas and St Louis, but that doesn't necessarily make them smarter.

Colorado's transition system is pretty technical too and is built to flood the offensive zone with waves of attacks requiring smart and coachable players to make it work.
 

AMDZen

ME in the RED Circle
Apr 7, 2010
4,409
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Denver
Home.Page.ZeN
Radulov had a great game despite not much offense. Only so much you can do with linemates that floated all day.

Benn especially looked like a joke of a hockey player. He has almost all year but man is that guy bad
 

LOFIN

Registered User
Sep 16, 2011
13,421
18,018
Haven't seen one except for highlights. Seems more like exhibition. Couldn't care less about the outcoming.
Disagree. I would say the level of play has been higher than in your average regular season match. At least the St.Louis-Colorado match was, although there was some rust on both teams. But the intensity is there.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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Haven't seen one except for highlights. Seems more like exhibition. Couldn't care less about the outcoming.


Thankfully the teams certainly dont share this mentality.


Whatever team gets the 1 seed is going to have a real chance to play Chicago right now in the first round. That's should be motivation enough to treat these like real playoff games because that Hawks team is really bad.
 
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Miri

Lavinengefahr!
Aug 13, 2013
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Just wait til you meet Mr. Byram, Mr. Newhook, and Mr. Timmins.

Look, the Avs still have to prove it on the ice. A lot of things have to go right to win a Cup in any one individual season. However, when you look at the roster construction, the fact that the Avs have star players just entering their prime at multiple positions and more top-end talent on the way, combined with the fact that the Avs had by far the best goal differential in the West this season, it's obvious to me that the organization is loaded with talent. We'll see if they can translate that talent into winning a Cup.

This, we (Avs) may have by chance the most talented roster, but that in itself does not guarantee the cup, not this year, not next year, never. Lot of randomness and pure puck luck involved. And in regard to those talent levels, even if it was true Avs are objectively most talented (its very, very questionable IMO, but they are definitely up there), its not like the other teams are somehow bunch of skill-less thugs. The talent/skill difference is IMO rather negligible, if i look at other team rosters, all of them have their own star players pretty much comparable to what Avs have. Even say Florida, who are not really that great supposedly, have guys like Barkov, Huberdeau, Dadonov, Hoffman, Ekblad, Bobrovskij....lot of individual quality - they just for whatever reason dont work as well as a team.
 
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Avelanche

#freeRedmond
Jun 11, 2011
6,963
1,290
Boston
If we break this down, how much talent do the Avs really have?

MacKinnon=elite first liner (top 3 in the league)
Rantanen=elite first liner
Makar=highly skilled D but defensively unproven
Landeskog=average first liner
Kadri=good 2C
Nichushkin, Donskoi, and Burakovsky =all consistent 30 point players in years past

Where else is the talent? Just questioning this narrative that the Avs have much more talent than everyone else in the Western Conference.
Describing landeskog as “average first liner” is extremely simple minded.

also are you trying to say burakovsky is a 30 point player.
 

Islay1989

Registered User
Feb 24, 2020
3,840
3,322
Describing landeskog as “average first liner” is extremely simple minded.

also are you trying to say burakovsky is a 30 point player.
Eh, he's only one of the best defensive wingers in hockey who basically plays the role of a center in his own zone. There's plenty of those around.
 
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MoPucks

Registered User
Feb 3, 2009
504
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It's a good thing we have all of these Blues fans to gatekeep 'having a cup-worthy roster' so that we know for sure that we're only 'pretty good' and not a potential cup squad so that we don't get our hopes up too much. I'm sure they wouldn't want us feeling the same pain they did after getting assblasted in the playoffs year after year, until last season. Thanks for looking out for us, guys!

Calm down. It's literally 2 posters. I've already posted multiple times about the respect I have for the Avs this year and view them as a top contender in the west and I'm pretty sure it's the matchup most want to avoid.
 

MoPucks

Registered User
Feb 3, 2009
504
330
Stl
Thankfully the teams certainly dont share this mentality.


Whatever team gets the 1 seed is going to have a real chance to play Chicago right now in the first round. That's should be motivation enough to treat these like real playoff games because that Hawks team is really bad.

I'm not so sure about that. I'd rather play the winner of Vancouver / Minnesota than Chicago right now. Flames & Jets also seem very flawed as well. Chicago may not be physical or have great team defense but they can light the lamp pretty darn well.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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I'm not so sure about that. I'd rather play the winner of Vancouver / Minnesota than Chicago right now. Flames & Jets also seem very flawed as well. Chicago may not be physical or have great team defense but they can light the lamp pretty darn well.


Agree to disagree on that front.


I mean, I dont rhink any of them pose much of a threat for the Blues/Avs/Knights.... But Chicago has a really awful defense and Crawford is a sieve as well at this point.


They can score against other bad defensive teams like Edmonton, but they'll be playing a much stronger defensive team in the Blues/Avs/Knights, they wont score 4-5 goals a game in those series, they'd be lucky to score 3 most games and on the flip side, Avs and Blues especially will feast on that Hawks defense.
 
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tucker3434

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Agree to disagree on that front.


I mean, I dont rhink any of them pose much of a threat for the Blues/Avs/Knights.... But Chicago has a really awful defense and Crawford is a sieve as well at this point.


They can score against other bad defensive teams like Edmonton, but they'll be playing a much stronger defensive team in the Blues/Avs/Knights, they wont score 4-5 goals a game in those series, they'd be lucky to score 3 most games and on the flip side, Avs and Blues especially will feast on that Hawks defense.

Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that matchup either. We wouldn’t get the scoring from MacKinnon/Rantanen that Edmonton gets from McDavid/Draisaitl, but I think we’re a good bit better than them in pretty much every other area. Chicago piling up goals against them doesn’t concern me too much.
 
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Stupendous Yappi

Any famous last words? Not yet!
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Aug 23, 2018
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Stars essentially clinched 4th with yesterday's loss, no?

Even if they beat St. Louis, they lose the tiebreaker against everyone.
St Louis needs to win a game for that to be true. If they lose in regulation to Vegas, the Stars/Blues game becomes the battle for 3rd/4th.
 

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