Official 2017-2018 NHL Thread v. Break the Ice

[TAC]

I'm team Leafs. I empathize with the pangs of no championship in 51 years. And, I think that they have the team that could pull it off this playoffs. A bunch of good teams in it....but should they play their game they'll but just as tough to beat as any other team out there.

#anyonebutPreds

You are now my enemy.

Don't sweat it Gary.  He's fresh of the DL... we can take him - with or without TAC.  I mean, how tough can a Disney fanboi really be?

*Looks for his McQuaid  sweater*

[TAC]

First Round Predictions:

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

[King Postwhore]

Hey Tim are you abandoning your team with the way they played the last six games?

[TAC]

Hey Tim are you abandoning your team with the way they played the last six games?

I don't like the match up. At. All.

[King Postwhore]

Though that cross my mind it's time to put up or shut up. This team has played great all year and they need to beat tough teams like Toronto to get further in the playoffs.

[jingle.boy]

First Round Predictions:

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

This is exactly what I would’ve called. Though I would flip a coin in the Ducks/Sharks series.

Which puts Pens/Caps as a 2nd round series for the third straight year. God I hope the Caps can get over that hump.

I’m gonna call Jets/Bolts for the finals.

[TAC]

Ducks-Sharks

This is exactly what I would’ve called. Though I would flip a coin in the Ducks/Sharks series.

Yeah, it's a pick 'em for sure. Easily the toughest choice of the 8 series.

[TAC]

I would love to see the Jets go to the finals. I call that if the Jets go to the finals jjrock has to post a picture of himself.

[KevShmev]

As a hockey watcher since the early 80's, it just looks weird to see none of these teams in the playoffs:

St Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadians
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
NY Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks

[Anguyen92]

As a hockey watcher since the early 80's, it just looks weird to see none of these teams in the playoffs:

St Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadians
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
NY Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks

And as a guy whose first introduction to hockey was the Mighty Ducks movies (which is quite odd, since I'm a Kings fan), I'm surprised that all three California teams has been a relative fixture in the Stanley Cup playoffs this decade.  Also, I'm surprised that the Ducks (which was owned by Disney and was quite the laughing stock I hear in their first few years as a team, due to the Disney connection and the movies) can be quite the good/great team (and a team that can be quite a thorn to the Kings' side, not as big of a thorn like the Sharks, but a thorn nonetheless).

[jingle.boy]

As a hockey watcher since the early 80's, it just looks weird to see none of these teams in the playoffs:

St Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadians
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
NY Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks

Throw the Islanders into that mix too.  I'd forgotten that they were the last team to win 3+ consecutive Cups.  If not for Steve Smith, surely the Oilers would've won 5-straight.

[axeman90210]

Hopefully the Devils' performance against Tampa in the regular season (3-0-0) is a sign of things to come in the playoffs. Got my ticket for game three at The Rock

[King Postwhore]

Sweet Bill!

[Nick]

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

[romdrums]

My picks:

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

[romdrums]

As a hockey watcher since the early 80's, it just looks weird to see none of these teams in the playoffs:

St Louis Blues
Detroit Red Wings
Montreal Canadians
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
NY Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks

Only 2 of the Original Six made it in, and they play each other in the first round.  There's a possibility of a Columbus v. Minnesota final.  Up is down, down is up!

[mikeyd23]

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

Picking against the Flyers Nick?!

[Nick]

Lightning-Devils
Bruins-Maple Leafs
Capitals-Blue Jackets
Penguins-Flyers

Predators-Avalanche
Jets-Wild
Golden Knights-Kings
Ducks-Sharks

Picking against the Flyers Nick?!

Honestly, it would be another story IF Elliot had more time back from injury OR had Mrazek played great prior to Elliot's return, but the regular season shows that the Penguins have scoring depth we'll have trouble keeping up with, and you combine that with questionable goaltending and I don't know if we'll be able to keep enough pucks out of the net. Going to be a high scoring series I'd say.

[mikeyd23]

Honestly, it would be another story IF Elliot had more time back from injury OR had Mrazek played great prior to Elliot's return, but the regular season shows that the Penguins have scoring depth we'll have trouble keeping up with, and you combine that with questionable goaltending and I don't know if we'll be able to keep enough pucks out of the net. Going to be a high scoring series I'd say.

I agree. It's definitely going to be a high scoring series. The Pens have gaps going into the playoffs this year, but I feel like they do match up very well against the Flyers. I think the Pens will win this series in 5 or maybe 6. The key for the Pens will be if Murray can step up his play in the post season (like he has in the past).

[jingle.boy]

I believe the only real contenders for the cup will be the ones with goalies who have demonstrated prolonged periods of excellence.  And that would mean Rinne, Vasilevskiy, Rask, Hellebuyck vault their teams to the top... maybe Fleury, but I'm not feeling it from the Knights overall.  I think they peaked, and are running out of gas.  Andersen is a wild card - he can be spectacular, but also be simply overwhelmed with the number of shots the Leafs give up.

Ducks, Devils and Caps have their backups starting ffs.  Can't see Bobrovsky carrying the Jackets for 16 wins.  Jones, Murray, Dubnyk and Quick have been average (at best).  Reimer - please.  Whoever the Flyers use... unlikely.

[Nick]

It is worth noting that the last time the Flyers came within 1 goal of a game 7 chance at the cup they rotated through 3 goalies throughout the playoffs.

[mikeyd23]

I believe the only real contenders for the cup will be the ones with goalies who have demonstrated prolonged periods of excellence.  And that would mean Rinne, Vasilevskiy, Rask, Hellebuyck vault their teams to the top... maybe Fleury, but I'm not feeling it from the Knights overall.  I think they peaked, and are running out of gas.  Andersen is a wild card - he can be spectacular, but also be simply overwhelmed with the number of shots the Leafs give up.

Ducks, Devils and Caps have their backups starting ffs.  Can't see Bobrovsky carrying the Jackets for 16 wins.  Jones, Murray, Dubnyk and Quick have been average (at best).  Reimer - please.  Whoever the Flyers use... unlikely.

Then the last two cups don't make much sense 

[pg1067]

And as a guy whose first introduction to hockey was the Mighty Ducks movies (which is quite odd, since I'm a Kings fan), I'm surprised that all three California teams has been a relative fixture in the Stanley Cup playoffs this decade.  Also, I'm surprised that the Ducks (which was owned by Disney and was quite the laughing stock I hear in their first few years as a team, due to the Disney connection and the movies) can be quite the good/great team (and a team that can be quite a thorn to the Kings' side, not as big of a thorn like the Sharks, but a thorn nonetheless).

Find and watch the opening ceremony for the first Mightily Sucks game back in 1993.  I was at that game because my roommates and I had a mini plan for that first season.  We were all Kings fans, but the idea of an NHL team in OC was appealing at first.  Anyway, the opening ceremony at that first game was so cringy and bad that it's hilarious (especially "The Iceman," who was fired after that first game).  It really set the tone for the team being a laughing stock.  Unfortunately, they overcame that to a large extent in 2007 and have been a large pain in the ass ever since (as have their fans).  Of course...2014.

I believe the only real contenders for the cup will be the ones with goalies who have demonstrated prolonged periods of excellence. . . .

Jones, Murray, Dubnyk and Quick have been average (at best).

You mean the guy who won the Jennings Trophy while backstopping the league's best defensive team?

[jingle.boy]

It is worth noting that the last time the Flyers came within 1 goal of a game 7 chance at the cup they rotated through 3 goalies throughout the playoffs.

It's also worth noting that Backlund played 1 fucking minute!  That's hardly a 3-goalie rotation.  And just because Boucher was a shitty 6-6 hardly means it was a "rotation" - you guys thankfully had Leighton play a bit better than Boucher.

Other than last year, name me a single Stanley Cup winner who didn't ride one goalie the whole way?  Over this millennium, 11 winners had their goalies start every game, and log all 16 wins.  Of the 5 others, 13 wins was the minimum - Bishop, and only because he was injured for a few games.  I can't think of a single Cup winner that had shared goal-tending - except because of injury.  Fuhr/Moog had an 11/4 split on the wins once, but I can't recall if that was because of an injury to Fuhr.

@ mikey... Murray had 15 wins 2 years ago.  I'd say Sullivan rode him hard. 

@ pg... Jennings award is a token gift.  I didn't even know the criteria until I looked it up!  Pretty meaningless individual award imo.  Why doesn't the d-men with the highest +/- on the lowest goals-against team get anything?  Granted, I don't see a lot of the Kings' games, and maybe his stats look average (particularly the w-l) because of the team in front of him.  Perhaps it would have been more accurate to have made the same comment about Quick as I did Bobrovsky... can't see him carrying that LAK team to 16 wins.

[mikeyd23]

@ mikey... Murray had 15 wins 2 years ago.  I'd say Sullivan rode him hard. 

Yup, he did. That's not what you said. You said -

I believe the only real contenders for the cup will be the ones with goalies who have demonstrated prolonged periods of excellence.

So my comment was that outside of two postseason runs, Murray hasn't really shown himself to be excellent for long periods of time. To be honest, it's my primary concern with the Pens in the playoffs this year, Murray has been up and down all year and I fear he won't be consistent enough to string together the wins they will need.

[King Postwhore]

I have my doubts on Rask.  He tends to let up a soft goal when an elite goal will make the big saves.

[jingle.boy]

@ mikey... Murray had 15 wins 2 years ago.  I'd say Sullivan rode him hard. 

Yup, he did. That's not what you said. You said -

I believe the only real contenders for the cup will be the ones with goalies who have demonstrated prolonged periods of excellence.

So my comment was that outside of two postseason runs, Murray hasn't really shown himself to be excellent for long periods of time. To be honest, it's my primary concern with the Pens in the playoffs this year, Murray has been up and down all year and I fear he won't be consistent enough to string together the wins they will need.

Fair enough... I meant to imply that my beliefs for this year are that there's a particular need for top-shelf goaltending.  In the recent past, good/very good goaltending could get it done (Crawford, Luongo, Jones, Niemi, Fleury/Murray), but I don't think that'll cut it this year.

[mikeyd23]

Fair enough... I meant to imply that my beliefs for this year are that there's a particular need for top-shelf goaltending.  In the recent past, good/very good goaltending could get it done (Crawford, Luongo, Jones, Niemi, Fleury/Murray), but I don't think that'll cut it this year.

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, I don't know, we will see. Like I said, Murray is my primary concern for the Pens, so I guess I might agree with you there.

[SystematicThought]

4-0 Penguins to start. They’re making a statement

[Nick]

Well, the good news is that 1 game down is 1 game down whether you lose 1-0 or 10-0. At this point I almost hope for the latter to wake the Flyers the fuck up and make the rest of this series competitive.

[SystematicThought]

5-0 and NOW they pull Elliott?

[KevShmev]

That score made it easy to flip over to Jets/Wild.  And the Jets just broke the scoreless tie late in the 2nd...

[TAC]

That Laine goal was ridiculous. I didn't realize he was still only 19.

[mikeyd23]

Well that went well. Strong first game by the Pens, can’t slow down at all next game. Gotta keep that tempo up.

Beautiful hat trick for the captain 

[jingle.boy]

Wow... Elliott was a sieve.  Those were a couple of very soft goals.  Can't get much worse for the Flyers.

Nice win by the Jets.