Official '19-'20 NHL Thread - v. Hedman is a cupman.

[TAC]

Maroon with a nice screen

I thought of you. It's funny, but I didn't notice Maroon all game. No way little Krugie was going to push his fat ass out of the way.


Going to be an interesting off season for the Bruins. I told Joe offline that Bergeron wears the C whether Chara comes back or not. The NBC crew seemed pretty sure about Chara being done in Boston, even saying that if he plays, he won't be wearing a Bostin sweater.

It was notable as Chara stormed directly off the ice after the handshake line. Usually, Chara and Bergeron stand at the door as the team exits the ice. Last night it was only Bergeron.  If that wasn't passing the torch, I don't know what is.


The Bruins with very little cap room will likely be unable to resign Krug (UFA). Debrusk is in line for his second contract, but he is barely a 2nd line winger. And Rask is entering the final year of his contract.

[jingle.boy]

That was one of those games where the better team more deserving of the win didn’t get it. Hey peppered Vasilevsky, but it didn’t seem like there were a lot of high quality chances. I got he sense that TB had more dangerous chances, and Halak was up to the task, as opposed to the last two games. And all without Kucherov. Wonder how long he’ll be out for?

If the Isle finish off the Flyers, it’ll be interesting to see if they can slow down the Bolts. They look like they’re on a mission.

[King Postwhore]

May not have to worry about that Tim if Chara retires and it sounds like that is a possibility.

[Nick]

Speaking of which, Tampa is hungry. They beat back the absolute shitshow that was last years postseason, got a quick punch against them when the Bruins took game 1, but got woken up and are not looking back. Bruins might muster enough to sneak another game in, but I have Tampa taking it in six at most.

To be fair, I think the Bs played well enough to win that last game, but sometimes things don't go your way. If the Islanders win tonight against a sputtering Flyers team Tampa should eat them alive, again in 5 or 6. That said if somehow the Flyers manage to right the ship this round they will give the Bolts a hell of a run next round.

[jingle.boy]

This is logic that I cannot comprehend.  If Isle win, they'll get manhandled by the Bolts.  But the Flyers could give them a run for their money, when they're on the verge of getting eliminated by a team that you think can't.

[Nick]

This is logic that I cannot comprehend.  If Isle win, they'll get manhandled by the Bolts.  But the Flyers could give them a run for their money, when they're on the verge of getting eliminated by a team that you think can't.

I'll do this in numbers to make it a bit easier to explain.

Tampa have played as a consistent 9, which is what you'd expect.

Isles have  played as a consistent 8, which is what you'd expect.

Flyers have been playing at 7 or 7.5 this round, which is why they are down to the Islanders, but are capable of playing at 9, and if they can somehow manage to get back there they might turn this series around, and if so can potentially beat Tampa as well.

It comes down to the Islanders have not been winning the series because they are the better team, they are winning it because the Flyers have not played overly well.

[jingle.boy]

Everyone is capable of playing to a 9 or a 7 at anytime - Dallas / Avs series is proving that at this very moment.  Wish for the Flyers to play *consistently* to a 9 all you want, it hasn't happened yet.

A wish in one hand, and shit in the other ... see which fills up first.

[Nick]

Everyone is capable of playing to a 9 or a 7 at anytime - Dallas / Avs series is proving that at this very moment.  Wish for the Flyers to play *consistently* to a 9 all you want, it hasn't happened yet.

A wish in one hand, and shit in the other ... see which fills up first.

Disagree on both counts. Teams have ceilings, that is the best they are capable of playing given everyone doing their absolute best. Islanders are there, Tampa is there, Flyers are not even close. Parts of the round robin and certainly the end of the regular season showed what our ceiling is.

[jingle.boy]

Everyone is capable of playing to a 9 or a 7 at anytime - Dallas / Avs series is proving that at this very moment.  Wish for the Flyers to play *consistently* to a 9 all you want, it hasn't happened yet.

A wish in one hand, and shit in the other ... see which fills up first.

Disagree on both counts. Teams have ceilings, that is the best they are capable of playing given everyone doing their absolute best. Islanders are there, Tampa is there, Flyers are not even close. Parts of the round robin and certainly the end of the regular season showed what our ceiling is.

I agree with that.  I mean, Detroit is only so good.  But, I do believe that the Islanders are capable of shutting down ANY team.  Don't underestimate Trotz, or the power of a defensive minded style/system. Hell, it made the Devils a contender and 3-time winner for a decade.  The Isles very much remind me of that NJD team/system.

[gmillerdrake]

If you have a group of guys that are 'all in' on your coaches system and message......that's a hard team to beat. you start getting the results and the belief that no one can beat you crops in and the next thing you know you're dominating. There are some stinker teams out there that simply don't have the talent....but in large part most of the teams in the NHL have the talent available that if properly motivated....could turn into a team that is really tough to beat.

[TheCountOfNYC]

That looked like goalie interference to me.🤷‍♂️

[Nick]

That looked like goalie interference to me.🤷‍♂️

Yeah, I am not happy about that. I am all for factoring if a guy was pushed into the crease. But he just fucking stood there, and then on top of it grabbed a Flyers stick. I am prepared to lose this series, but I'd rather not see it decided by bullshit like that.

[TheCountOfNYC]

That looked like goalie interference to me.🤷‍♂️

Yeah, I am not happy about that. I am all for factoring if a guy was pushed into the crease. But he just fucking stood there, and then on top of it grabbed a Flyers stick. I am prepared to lose this series, but I'd rather not see it decided by bullshit like that.

Luckily it didn’t matter, and as a Rangers fan I don’t particularly like either of these teams, but that type of non-call just shouldn’t happen in the second round of the playoffs. Oh well. The Flyers ended up winning anyway and my bracket stays un-fucked for at least one more game lol.

[Nick]

As much as there was improvement for the Flyers it's unnerving they let a late lead slip in both of their victories this round. But at least now there is hope they are going in the right direction and could actually maybe squeak this out.

How about that Vancouver game though?

On one hand, how cool for Thatcher Demko to have his first playoff start and save 42 of 43 carrying his team to victory. On the other hand how the fuck do the Canucks allow a goalie in his first playoff game take 43 shots on goal?!?

A great story for that game, but further cements that there is 0% chance the Knights lose the next two games.

[gmillerdrake]

Jake Allen traded to Montreal for a 3rd and 7th first round picks in 2020 and 7th round in 2022. That clears $4.35 million cap space next year. Looks like they're trying to make room to sign Petrangelo.....but from what's been reported the sides 'aren't close'. I'm curious as to if it's the salary or term length....or both? 8 years for a 30 year old defender with the mileage he has on him is crazy to do. He will be 'worth' it for 3, maybe 4 more seasons but after that you're paying for an aging defender who is worsening with every shift.

[gmillerdrake]

On one hand, how cool for Thatcher Demko to have his first playoff start and save 42 of 43 carrying his team to victory. On the other hand how the fuck do the Canucks allow a goalie in his first playoff game take 43 shots on goal?!?

A great story for that game, but further cements that there is 0% chance the Knights lose the next two games.

No kidding. And the types of saves as well. There were a lot of tough ones.....it's really surprising at least one or two of them didn't go in. It was just his night.

[jingle.boy]

Man did I get it completely backwards.  After all three series were at 2-1, I said to jingle.son that I thought Boston/TB was the only one that would go 6 or 7. 

Amazing how quick the tides can turn.  Dallas seems rather ordinary now.  Hutchinson let a softie in, and got lucky on at least two other pucks that went thru him, but didn't get across the line.

Isles and Vegas close things out tonight.

[Nick]

Isles off to a great start for that!

[Nick]

That may be the single worst challenge I've ever seen a coach make.

[gmillerdrake]

Huge PK by the Flyers.

[jingle.boy]

Was watching the Raptors miracle win, but now watching OT. By the sounds of it, Varlomov has single handed lay kept the Flyers in this.

[TAC]

single handed lay

The story of everyone's youth.

[jingle.boy]

single handed lay

The story of everyone's youth.

 

What a glorious autocorrect

[jingle.boy]

Pussy move there by Giroux to scream and shake his hand on that slash to his STICK.

[TAC]

single handed lay

The story of everyone's youth.

 

What a glorious autocorrect

That was Shmegland-esque!

[gmillerdrake]

Wonder what Nick is doing Saturday night?

[jingle.boy]

Single hand lay?

[gmillerdrake]

Single hand lay?

[TheCountOfNYC]

The longer this series goes, the more rest Tampa gets. The more rest Tampa gets, the more dangerous they are. It’s looking very likely that they take the East.

[Anguyen92]

Whistles.....  3 series where a team lead the series 3-1 is now going to 7 games.  One of the Knights, Islanders, Stars got to win one of these right?

[jingle.boy]

Man did I get it completely backwards.  After all three series were at 2-1, I said to jingle.son that I thought Boston/TB was the only one that would go 6 or 7. 

Amazing how quick the tides can turn.  Dallas seems rather ordinary now.  Hutchinson let a softie in, and got lucky on at least two other pucks that went thru him, but didn't get across the line.

Isles and Vegas close things out tonight.

I AM SMASHING IT WITH MY PREDICTIONS!!!

Holy smokes does Thatcher Demko look amazing!  Tonight ought to be interesting.  B2B for a Game 7 is nuts!

[TAC]

You know, I really would've appreciated it if the Stars made it out of the second round last year.


I'm rooting for Dallas. I would love to see Rick Bowness win the Cup.

[Nick]

I know I said it before, but how freaking amazing was that Avs/Stars series?

I still feel confident that if Vegas plays the way they've been they will win tonight. Demko can only do so much and their luck has to run out.

As for Saturday night, Chad, any chance you could predict a huge blowout by the Islanders?

[Anguyen92]

Yeah, if I'm the Golden Knights, I know that Canucks are not putting pressure on Lehner right now. They just got to keep pounding on Demko.  All they need is only one to go in and ride the rest of the way to the next round.

Edit: Yep, Golden Knights had that one goal and that's all they needed to cruise the last 6 minutes of the game.

[SchecterShredder]

The Knights are almost unbelievable at this point. SCF in their inaugural season, 2nd round (?) in 2nd season, at least the WCF in 3rd season. Crazy shit. Setting the bar pretty high for Seattle