NHL (2021-2022) v. Congrats Avs. Jack Johnson is a Stanley Cup Champion.

[TAC]

What does that even mean?

[King Postwhore]

Meant *Stabs "at"Tim*


I got excited. Loo

[jingle.boy]

In what is likely to be a round 1 preview, Leafs/Bolts tonight. 

[Nick]

In what is likely to be a round 1 preview, Leafs/Bolts tonight. 

I predict a Leafs win.

In this game.

To give you that false sense of hope for the playoffs.

[romdrums]

I hate the 2-3-2 format. Hate it.

My real beef with the current system is how unfair it could be due to possibly playing the a team from the other division in the first round.

Let's say Nashville ended up with the best record in the West and the Canucks were the 2nd wild card team.  Nashville's reward then for being the 1 seed is having to travel to Vancouver in the first round.  Meanwhile, say the Blues and Wild still got 2nd and 3rd in the division. Teams with lesser records get an easy travel schedule, while the 1 seed has to travel across two time zones. That seems a bit unfair.

Hasn't that been part and parcel of being in the Western Conference for...pretty much ever?  Western Conference teams routinely log 5-8,000 miles in the first three rounds, whereas some Eastern Conference teams barely have to roll out of bed for road games.  The 2012 Kings logged nearly 18,500 miles in the playoffs (despite only playing 20 games), whereas the 2017 Penguins logged just over 4,300 (despite playing 25 games).  Even in 2014, the Kings logged over 10,000 air miles despite logging ZERO air miles for its second round series.  In that same series, Anaheim logged over 3,600 miles just for its first round series.

Yes, the West kind of gets screwed, but what are you gonna do (rhetorical question).

In the 2007 playoffs, the Wings played Calgary, San Jose, and then Anaheim.  Each series went 6 games, so there were two round trips in each series.  In 2006, the Oilers played Detroit, San Jose, Anaheim and then Carolina, which might be the highest total mileage for a Western Conference Team to travel in the playoffs.

Based on air miles from this source ( https://www.airmilescalculator.com/ ), the 2006 Oilers traveled 26,840 miles (not including the return trip from Carolina following the loss in game 7 of the SCF).  However, at least two other teams beat that number.

The 2011 Canucks traveled 26,966 (had the Canucks had a longer WCF or not been the home team for every series, they'd probably be the "winners"), but it appears the most miles traveled by a Stanley Cup FINALIST is....

The 1993 Kings with 29,620 miles.  Road team for all four series, a 7-game WCF against Toronto, and an SCF against Montreal.  The only possible issue here is that game 7 of the WCF in Toronto was played on May 29, 1993, and game 1 of the SCF was played in Montreal only three days later, on June 1, so it's possible that the Kings didn't return to Los Angeles between the two series.  If they went directly from Toronto to Montreal, then their number drops to 25,287.

I figured that team would've been the winner.  Traveling to Toronto for the Western Conference Finals and then Montreal for the Cup Final takes the cake for sure!

[jingle.boy]

In what is likely to be a round 1 preview, Leafs/Bolts tonight. 

I predict a Leafs win.

In this game.

To give you that false sense of hope for the playoffs.

One of my top 10 rules of life... never deprive anyone of hope; it might be all they have.

[pg1067]

I figured that team would've been the winner.  Traveling to Toronto for the Western Conference Finals and then Montreal for the Cup Final takes the cake for sure!

Interesting that all of the teams mentioned lost in the SCF ('93 Kings, '04 Flames, '06 Oilers and '11 Canucks).  Like I mentioned, I'm pretty sure the Kings were the Cup WINNING team with the most miles (around 18,500).  I guess if you're the sort that likes to bet on games, if you've got a team that will end up in excess of 20,000 air miles, it's a good bet that that team won't win the Cup.

[jingle.boy]

Shitty game/night last night.

Shitty news this morning to lose the original "Flower".  Two goal scoring icons lost one week apart.

[KevShmev]

Blues/Wild is all but guaranteed now in the 1st round.  Both teams are really good and playing well lately, and both teams have what it takes to make a deep playoff run. Should be a fun series.  I don't even care if the Blues get home ice for it as the team under Berube seems to play better on the road in the playoffs, and I like the idea of getting an early advantage by grabbing a quick road win, or even two.

[gmillerdrake]

Blues/Wild is all but guaranteed now in the 1st round.  Both teams are really good and playing well lately, and both teams have what it takes to make a deep playoff run. Should be a fun series.  I don't even care if the Blues get home ice for it as the team under Berube seems to play better on the road in the playoffs, and I like the idea of getting an early advantage by grabbing a quick road win, or even two.

Agreed. Either team can win that series.....wouldn't be surprised if it goes 7 games......both teams are pretty even as far as home/away. This isn't some profound statement but it'll come down to goaltending....will Husso continue to play lights out? Will Fleury somehow defeat father time and play at a high level? Who knows.....


Home:
Blues 26-9-5
Wild  28-7-2

Away
Blues  21-11-6
Wild   21-14-5

[Nick]

Well, I certainly could have been wrong about that Leafs game.

Let's turn to the Flyers and our... anchor for a moment, Ketih Yandle.

We finally managed to win a game, against the Canadiens, 6-3. Despite that Yandle managed to be -2. Within this game he skated for 7 minutes, compared to the next lowest Dman, at just below 17 minutes for a guy playing in his first few NHL games in Attard.

He now "leads" the league at -44, -7 ahead of the next player.

This is while Keith Yandle plays 14 minutes a game against 3rd pair opponents. That guy in second? He plays 26+ minutes a game against top pair opponents.

That said, I'm still surprised it's Seth Jones in that second spot. He's playing big minutes on a rough team of course, but has he also not been that good? Big trade and contract leading into the season.

[pg1067]

Shitty news this morning to lose the original "Flower".  Two goal scoring icons lost one week apart.

Damn...I hadn't seen that before now.  He was retired by the time I started watching hockey, but he was one of the names I knew coming in.  RIP


I think the Kings basically cemented the 3rd spot in the Pacific last night.  Five points up on Vegas and seven up on Vancouver.  Both of those teams have four games remaining, while the Kings have three.  Hoping the Kings get 2 points against Anaheim on Saturday, which would render the final two road games against Seattle and Vancouver largely academic.


Speaking of Saturday's game against Anaheim...Ryan Getzlaf is retiring after this season.  I believe they've said he'll be playing Saturday and then will play his final game at home on Sunday against the Blues.  I don't really know how he's regarded elsewhere, but he's a guy that Kings fans have HATED for more than a decade and a half.  It's as it should be.  I'm confident the Kings will do a little tribute for him, and I hope the crowd at Staples follows suit.  Mad respect for the guy.

[SchecterShredder]

Oil can clinch with a win tonight, although that'll be a tough ask against a very good Avs team. The turnaround under Jay Woodcroft has been quite spectacular. There was a point in January/February where all signs were pointing to the Oil missing the playoffs by a mile, so to be in a position to land home ice for the first round is refreshing. This would also mark the first time in as long as I can remember that the Oil would make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. Now here's hoping they don't get swept in the first round for a 3rd consecutive post season.

[Anguyen92]

Oil can clinch with a win tonight, although that'll be a tough ask against a very good Avs team. The turnaround under Jay Woodcroft has been quite spectacular. There was a point in January/February where all signs were pointing to the Oil missing the playoffs by a mile, so to be in a position to land home ice for the first round is refreshing. This would also mark the first time in as long as I can remember that the Oil would make the playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. Now here's hoping they don't get swept in the first round for a 3rd consecutive post season.

I'm just hoping to get at least a Game 6 rather than getting swept if the Kings make it.

[Nick]

Maybe I'm behind on this, but it's pretty astounding that with ~5 games remaining for most teams those making the playoffs in the East are already 100% set.

Edit: By comparison, only 4 of 8 in the West are clinched.

[Anguyen92]

In the West, teams like the Canucks and Jets and Ducks had made the race a bit interesting before they started to fall off.  Now it comes down to Kings, Predators, Stars, Golden Knights, and maybe the Canucks, if everything aligns well for them, for those remaining 3 spots (I can't see the Oilers missing out at this point).  I'm hoping the Golden Knights is going to get boxed out.  People were scared that it was the Kings that's going to blow that, but it may actually be the Stars that will do it?  Stars haven't been known to finish strong near the finish line in recent times.

Golden Knights vs Stars in one of the final games will be a key one to keep an eye on.

[pg1067]

Edmonton cannot be passed by the Canucks.  They could still be caught by Vegas, but their magic number to clinch against Vegas is 2 (any combination of points earned by Edmonton or points missed by Vegas).

Kings magic number is 4.

Vancouver basically has to win out and hope that the Kings and Vegas shit the bed.  Their elimination number is 2.

To me the final WC spot is where it's at.  Vegas is 2 points back of Dallas, and both teams have 4 games remaining, including a head-to-head next Tuesday in Dallas.  Vegas plays San Jose on Sunday, and Dallas plays Seattle tomorrow.  Dallas finishes against Arizona and Anaheim, while Vegas closes at Chicago and at St. Louis, so Dallas winning the game next Tuesday would effectively be a stake in Vegas's heart.

The Eastern Conference is just jockeying for position and getting/staying healthy.

I'm just hoping to get at least a Game 6 rather than getting swept if the Kings make it.

Damn...have some optimism!     I see a Kings v. Oilers series going at least 6.

[TAC]

Guy Lafluer. Damn. What an icon!

[Anguyen92]

Fun fact about Lafleur's draft year.  Montreal really wanted to pick either Lafleur or another guy that's a top two prospect of the draft.  The year before, they then were able to sucker-punched the California Golden Seals to trade their first round pick for the '71 draft for a package that contains the Habs' 1st round pick in 1970.  It's irrelevant on what else the Seals got back.  It just happens that since the Seals was pretty darn bad at the time, that pick ended up being #1, so the Habs got what they wanted.  The other guy they contemplating wanting to pick that ended up being #2 in that draft being picked by the Red Wings?  Marcel Dionne.

[TAC]

Nice!
Looking at that '71 draft, Buffalo had an excellent draft with:
Rick Martin (R1)
Craig Ramsay (R2)
Bill Hajt (R3)


But the Canadiens had THE draft class, because not only Guy Lafluer in R1, but Larry Robinson in R2??

[Anguyen92]

^^ Oh what do you know, the pick that was Larry Robinson belonged to the Kings, and as I stated last week, Kings sure did love trading high picks back then.  Habs got both California teams good that year.  At least, the Kings got a guy name Dick Duff for that trade.  What a name.

[jingle.boy]

Fun fact about Lafleur's draft year.  Montreal really wanted to pick either Lafleur or another guy that's a top two prospect of the draft.  The year before, they then were able to sucker-punched the California Golden Seals to trade their first round pick for the '71 draft for a package that contains the Habs' 1st round pick in 1970.  It's irrelevant on what else the Seals got back.  It just happens that since the Seals was pretty darn bad at the time, that pick ended up being #1, so the Habs got what they wanted.  The other guy they contemplating wanting to pick that ended up being #2 in that draft being picked by the Red Wings?  Marcel Dionne.

The other thing that the SportsNet broadcast was talking about recently was that by 1971, they knew they REALLY wanted Lafleur, so the Canadiens GM at the time (don't remember the name), made a trade with Detroite at the deadline to give them some decent player in the effort to ensure the Wings didn't fall below the Seals.  That's some filthy GM'g 

[SchecterShredder]

Well, it's looking like the Evander Kane signing was a brilliant move by Holland. He's scoring at a 0.51 goals per game pace on a team that already has 40+ and 50+ goal scorers. And at a $4m cap hit. He's definitely been a big part of the Oil turnaround during the second half.

He's still a piece of garbage human being though.

[jingle.boy]

Well, it's looking like the Evander Kane signing was a brilliant move by Holland. He's scoring at a 0.51 goals per game pace on a team that already has 40+ and 50+ goal scorers. And at a $4m cap hit. He's definitely been a big part of the Oil turnaround during the second half.

He's still a piece of garbage human being though.

It's only a $2M cap hit though.

[gmillerdrake]

Well, it's looking like the Evander Kane signing was a brilliant move by Holland. He's scoring at a 0.51 goals per game pace on a team that already has 40+ and 50+ goal scorers. And at a $4m cap hit. He's definitely been a big part of the Oil turnaround during the second half.

He's still a piece of garbage human being though.

This is my problem with it all. He’s a despicable human being that IMO doesn’t deserve the success he’s enjoying right now. Shame on Edmonton for giving him an out. 

[TAC]

How on earth did Adam Fox win the Norris?

[TheCountOfNYC]

How on earth did Adam Fox win the Norris?

By having the best year among defensemen last season.

[TAC]

How on earth did Adam Fox win the Norris?

By having the best year among defensemen last season.

Was it because of some advanced metrics? He was unnoticeable in the game yesterday, and while I don't watch many Rangers games, when I do, I still never notice him.

[TheCountOfNYC]

How on earth did Adam Fox win the Norris?

By having the best year among defensemen last season.

Was it because of some advanced metrics? He was unnoticeable in the game yesterday, and while I don't watch many Rangers games, when I do, I still never notice him.

He’s having a down year, but last year he had a great season. He’s still making an impact, but not like last year.

[TAC]

Apparently the ref tonight for the B's/Habs didn't get the memo, but he just called a Canadien player for embellishment. In Montreal.

[Dittomist]

This was a very exciting day of hockey, and no moment was bigger than when the Sharks tied the game with 0.9 seconds to go. Then they won in a Shootout, taking an extremely important point away from Vegas (and allowing Dallas fans to sleep a little easier tonight).

And dammit Minnesota, stop winning games!

[Anguyen92]

Yeah, the Sharks did the Kings, Predators, and Stars a favor making sure the Golden Knights didn't get an extra point today.  Here's how it's mostly broken down.

Kings need at most one pt. to clinch 3rd in Pacific (either by winning one of two games, OT loss, or the Golden Knights getting an OT loss in one of their next 3 games)
Stars needs to win in regulation against the Golden Knights on Tuesday to get in.
Predators has 2 out of their next three games against the Western Division winners and got to find a way to win those and fend off Vegas or Stars.
Golden Knights needs to win their last three and hope some form of losing combination to happen to the other three teams.

[jingle.boy]

Leafs clawed out a really well fought for, and well earned win, giving up 2 early in the 3rd to go down 3-1, then get the extra attacker goal to tie it, survive a PK to end OT, and - holy god - Kallgren looked like the 2nd coming of Hasek to stop 6 QUALITY Capital shooters in the SO.

I was absolutely convinced that they were gonna lose, and then lose home-ice adv over Tampa.  Now with those 2 points, the Leafs' magic number is down to one.  Surely they can scrap out 1 point out of the Wings or Bs - or Tampa has to go 3-0 against CBJ twice, and the Isles (which is entirely plausible given how they bitch-slapped the Panthers last night).  The latter two are B2B and on the road though, and the Bs are on a B2B travel day when they come to Toronto.  Strange that Tampa would finish their season outside of the Atl Division.

I'm not Vegas fan, but that's a tough loss to swallow when every point is needed.  jingle.son was telling me that, since the Eichel trade, LVK and Buf have the same record.     Understandable, given the injuries Vegas has had to endure.

[romdrums]

jingle.son was telling me that, since the Eichel trade, LVK and Buf have the same record.     Understandable, given the injuries Vegas has had to endure.

Now that is an interesting stat!

Regarding LaFleur, this commercial always made me laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikVthmetNH8

[pg1067]

Yeah, the Sharks did the Kings, Predators, and Stars a favor making sure the Golden Knights didn't get an extra point today.  Here's how it's mostly broken down.

Kings need at most one pt. to clinch 3rd in Pacific (either by winning one of two games, OT loss, or the Golden Knights getting an OT loss in one of their next 3 games)
Stars needs to win in regulation against the Golden Knights on Tuesday to get in.
Predators has 2 out of their next three games against the Western Division winners and got to find a way to win those and fend off Vegas or Stars.
Golden Knights needs to win their last three and hope some form of losing combination to happen to the other three teams.

Yup.  That win over the Ducks effectively secured third place for the Kings.  The only way the Knights catch the Kings is if they earn all six available points and the Kings lose both remaining games in regulation.  When the Sharks got the tying goal with only a second left, I let out an audible "yes!"  Vegas at Dallas tomorrow will be huge.

Also, LOVED the way the Kings sent Ryan Getzlaf into retirement on Saturday.  Classy tributes from the team, the players and the crowd at Staples.  Seeing Getz with Brown, Kopi and Quick was pretty cool.  Really wish Doughty could've been there too.  The Ducks and their fans gave him a nice tribute last night as well.  As I mentioned before, I hated the guy, but that's the idea.  Much respect to him going into retirement.