NHL Thread

[Mickey]

Haven't watched any of the last four games but from the box score and the recaps it seems like the wheels just fell off, MacKinnon with zero goals and only two points in the last four games, Grubauer giving up five in an elimination game. I thought this was their year.

[Mickey]

That's false. Carlo & McAvoy are arguably top 2 anywhere.

Correct only insofar as you can argue anything, even if you're wildly wrong! They're good defensemen, both of them, and maybe they make the top four of some of the remaining teams, but are they replacing the top pairing on Tampa, Colorado, Vegas? No, no, and no.

Tuukka has benefitted from good teams. He's really good, but he's missing a key ingredient to be great. Their depth was fine provided 5 guys didn't go down. Carlo, Miller, Zboril, Moore, and Kampfer were all out. The first two being the most significant losses.

I think that's true. And yet the same could be said of someone like Holtby, who I think of as a very similarly good, not great, goaltender. So I think both you and snd are correct, to an extent. The Bruins blue line was decimated by injuries--Carlo is massive hole! And yet it's also a thinner back-end than they've had in previous years, so while it's impossible to predict those kinds of things, not going after a defensive upgrade (the way the Lightning grabbed Savard) might look like a mistake, in hindsight.

fair points both. I am fine with the Bs top pair being 4th best in the league and I also wished the Bs had circumvented the cap to go all in. I don't mention it because I'm sour, I say it wholeheartedly: I want the Bruins to spend beyond the cap however they need to in order to win a cup.

By all means, if you think the Bruins could make the playoffs losing Marchand for the season and Bergeron for the final third, you can suggest that idea to the front office.

[Mickey]

Gonna revise my picks for the second round:

Colorado over Vegas, 4-2
Tampa over Carolina, 4-3
Boston over NYI, 4-2
Winnipeg over Toronto, 4-2

Not great! Third round:

Lightning over NYI, 4-1
Vegas over Montreal, 4-2

Tampa repeats in a seven game series.

[elliseamos]

That's false. Carlo & McAvoy are arguably top 2 anywhere.

Correct only insofar as you can argue anything, even if you're wildly wrong! They're good defensemen, both of them, and maybe they make the top four of some of the remaining teams, but are they replacing the top pairing on Tampa, Colorado, Vegas? No, no, and no.

Tuukka has benefitted from good teams. He's really good, but he's missing a key ingredient to be great. Their depth was fine provided 5 guys didn't go down. Carlo, Miller, Zboril, Moore, and Kampfer were all out. The first two being the most significant losses.

I think that's true. And yet the same could be said of someone like Holtby, who I think of as a very similarly good, not great, goaltender. So I think both you and snd are correct, to an extent. The Bruins blue line was decimated by injuries--Carlo is massive hole! And yet it's also a thinner back-end than they've had in previous years, so while it's impossible to predict those kinds of things, not going after a defensive upgrade (the way the Lightning grabbed Savard) might look like a mistake, in hindsight.

fair points both. I am fine with the Bs top pair being 4th best in the league and I also wished the Bs had circumvented the cap to go all in. I don't mention it because I'm sour, I say it wholeheartedly: I want the Bruins to spend beyond the cap however they need to in order to win a cup.

By all means, if you think the Bruins could make the playoffs losing Marchand for the season and Bergeron for the final third, you can suggest that idea to the front office.

Outperforming Detroit, Chicago, Columbus, and Dallas didn't seem that tall a task.

[Mickey]

Like I said, by all means!

[Mickey]

I'd probably be wary of talking shit about the competitiveness of another division when you played the Sabres and the Devils 16 times, but what do I know

[elliseamos]

I'd probably be wary of talking shit about the competitiveness of another division when you played the Sabres and the Devils 16 times, but what do I know

It turns out Tuukka couldn't move his legs fully.

It could be because of his free agency & history of bowing out he forced their hand or they were scared to play Swayman. Either way, Sweeney & Cassidy should be ashamed of themselves.

That said, they've got their LTIR-cap-circumventing money right there! I wonder if Krejci could do the same?!

[Mickey]

You can't put a guy on LTIR just for being old.

[elliseamos]

You can't put a guy on LTIR just for being old.

By all means try and stop them!

[elliseamos]

Prediction day has arrived.

TB (in 4) vs Vegas (in 4)

TB cup (in 5)

Kucherov Conn Smythe.

[Mickey]

I'd be pretty surprised if Tampa took Vegas in five games but I am feeling pretty confident right now, and Kucherov would be the obvious Conn Smythe winner with his storyline (though I think the real MVP has been Vasilevskiy)

[elliseamos]

I'd be pretty surprised if Tampa took Vegas in five games but I am feeling pretty confident right now, and Kucherov would be the obvious Conn Smythe winner with his storyline (though I think the real MVP has been Vasilevskiy)

I contemplated a longer final, but then figured DeBoer will do something stupid like juggle goalies and squander it.

[elliseamos]

Any surprise that I'm already wrong? Any?

[Mickey]

Technically I am not wrong yet, but not a good start. Tampa looked asleep at the wheel for the first 58 minutes.

[Mickey]

jesus, all bruce cassidy does is whine whine whine

I regret to inform you that Bruce Cassidy was right, the officiating tonight was awful again and it cut both ways.

[elliseamos]

jesus, all bruce cassidy does is whine whine whine

I regret to inform you that Bruce Cassidy was right, the officiating tonight was awful again and it cut both ways.

HA. See, Peeps, you suck! HA, I say.

[Mickey]

Terrible call for goalie interference that led to the first NYI goal, followed by a missed SEVEN dudes on the ice for Tampa's second. On top of multiple bizarre make-ups and ghost penalties. Maybe one of the worst officiated games I've ever seen.

[Mickey]

Bruce Cassidy still a lil bitch tho

[elliseamos]

Terrible call for goalie interference that led to the first NYI goal, followed by a missed SEVEN dudes on the ice for Tampa's second. On top of multiple bizarre make-ups and ghost penalties. Maybe one of the worst officiated games I've ever seen.

I turned it off after that 7 man powerplay. Brutal.

[Mickey]

I'd be pretty surprised if Tampa took Vegas in five games but I am feeling pretty confident right now, and Kucherov would be the obvious Conn Smythe winner with his storyline (though I think the real MVP has been Vasilevskiy)

I contemplated a longer final, but then figured DeBoer will do something stupid like juggle goalies and squander it.

DeBoer blaming Fleury for the Game 3 loss, here we gooooo