Official Hockey discussion thread

Yes we did :) Playing our best hockey of the year and looking forward to whoever comes out of the west. Where we'll probably lose, but hey!
 
It is really hard to tell how these intradivision matchups will happen given the way the regular season shook out
 
With any luck it'll be the most interesting hockey of the year. But then again the Islanders might knock out the Bruins, leading to very unfun hockey.
 
I watched the Hawks division by far the most during the regular season ... and I was really impressed by Carolina all year. They can be pretty suffocating with some good skill. I am semi-surprise Tampa is up 3-1 on them
 
It helps for Tampa that they get Kucherov back and are playing with a very expensive roster that wouldn't be regular-season legal.
 
LooseCannon said:
It helps for Tampa that they get Kucherov back and are playing with a very expensive roster that wouldn't be regular-season legal.
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For sure .. the Hawks did the same with Kane and it helped them win the cup in 2015 ... I just thought Carolina was the better team, with or without Kucherov ... I guess they are not dead yet .. but they are certainly close to dead
 
I want carolina to win as well, but.... Tampa is just a monster. I hope the Bs can get it together. They're getting stupid penalties, everyone is getting fined for shit on and off the ice, which, in and of itself is hilarious to me. Krejci gets fined 5,000? Seriously? Dude makes MILLIONS, it's like if I get fined a nickle. Even Cassidy's 25,000 is something they can pull out from between the cushions.

On a serious note, I'm nervous about Rask's health.... both for him and the team. I don't want him to play hurt, but can Swaynman pull it off? We need to win two in a row, we can do it... but what awaits on the other end? Tampa? MTL? the Avalanche? The knights? VERY intersting hockey indeed.
 
AAAAND Boston's out! Fuck me, second playoffs in a row and for completely different reasons Goaltending was the question mark. Honestly since Rask took over he's unfairly been seen as the problem. Halak played well last season, Goaltending WASN'T our problem and it wasn't again this year. Yeah, he wasn't 100% healthy, but in the playoffs, who is? Hall wasn't enough of an addition to get over that hump of not enough secondary scoring. Krejci was a BEAST and obviously our "perfection line." THE best line in hockey maybe second only to the Avs line of Mckinnon, Landeskog and Ratannen. Fuck me, one more year this core doesn't get their second cup, one more year over the hill rather than over the hump.

I'm rooting for MTL. Fuck it. Fuck Tampa, go MTL. I'll rooting for them until they're done and I hope it's with a cup. If Tampa destroys them I'm rooting for whoever comes out of the West. That series just got interesting. Best series this season, a mini finals really.
 
So VGK win. We're getting the semi-final that should be the final. I want to root for the Canadiens, but.... nope, go Vegas. I want vegas to DESTROY either NYI, but most likely Tampa. Fuck them both.
 
I'm stunned, the Habs are in the finals. I did not expect this to happen anytime soon, certainly not this year. The group has taken another step at the right time, it feels like. Playoff Price has been superb, with 12.1 goals saved above expected (Moneypuck) and a wild .934 save%. The D is doing good work with moving pucks out and grinding on forecheckers, and little Erik Gustafsson has found a fit on the powerplay. Habs haven't let in a powerplay goal in 30 PKs, posting a ridiculous 93.5% PK. They're also posting a respectable 20.9% PP.

Montreal plays a hard game in centre ice, but likes to spring odd man rushes, and that seems especially more fun now that we have Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Cole gets a breakaway or two every game and he seems to score most of the time. Man, he's an exciting little guy. I might have bought a Cole Caufield jersey.

The Danault line has shut down the top lines of the Jets, Knights, and Leafs. I mean, Auston Matthews - 1 goal. Mitch Marner - 0 goals. Blake Wheeler - 0 goals. Nikolaj Ehlers - 0 goals. Mark Stone - 0 goals. Max Pacioretty - 1 goal. In the regular season those 6 guys combined for 142 goals and were all shut down in the playoffs. And sure they didn't put in any points until last night, but our 30-50 point guys shutting down their 80-100 point guys is a wonderful trade. And the points they got last night, ohhhhhh baby.


Yeah, it's feeling like it could happen. It's not just hot goaltending. It's that, but a whole lot more.
 
I hope we get a NYI-Mtl final cuz fuck Tampa. Also, whoever wins in said final id be happy with.
 
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bearfan said:
The Athletic had a fantastic article/interview with Jonathan Toews on what he went through last season ... really excellent and why I think it is the best sports site going with stories like this.

theathletic.com

Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews opens up about the longest year of his life: ‘The best worst thing that’s ever happened to me’

If the past year has taught Toews anything, it’s what “one day at a time” — the grandest of hockey cliches — really means.
theathletic.com theathletic.com
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Shame I can't read it unless I subscribe.
 
bearfan said:
It is a good site .. worth subscribing to for Hockey (and other sports). If you are interested, they give subscribers 30 day passes to send out
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Yeah, and it is fairly inexpensive. However, I need to see what happens this month. While I got "accepted" into the master's program I can still get rejected due to administrative technicalities like missing paperwork, didn't pay something fee on time, etc. I don't think I'll breathe until I'm in for sure. IF I get in. I have to quit one of my jobs to make sure I can give the program the time it requires. That's considerable income I'll be losing, but worth it if I finish the degree. As is I'm considering canceling my Netflix and even Xbox live which are my only subscriptions. When they say, "Teachers don't get paid enough," I'm their posterchild, spokesperson and mascot.
 
Onhell said:
Yeah, and it is fairly inexpensive. However, I need to see what happens this month. While I got "accepted" into the master's program I can still get rejected due to administrative technicalities like missing paperwork, didn't pay something fee on time, etc. I don't think I'll breathe until I'm in for sure. IF I get in. I have to quit one of my jobs to make sure I can give the program the time it requires. That's considerable income I'll be losing, but worth it if I finish the degree. As is I'm considering canceling my Netflix and even Xbox live which are my only subscriptions. When they say, "Teachers don't get paid enough," I'm their posterchild, spokesperson and mascot.
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Understood ... if you ever want a free 30 days, let me know .. happy to send along the code. Think subscribers get 5 of those to hand out ... I have sent out 3 so far. It is an excellent site with really good writing and zero ads. Reminds me a bit of a combination of The Sporting News, SI, and team weekly based magazines on of the 1980s/1990s, local sports pages.
 
I've been an Athletic subscriber for 3 years now, ever since Down Goes Brown joined, and it's an awesome website. I read it at least every second day, and always make time for my favourite author. The Toews interview was grand, and it sounds like he got really badly fucked up by his body, some sort of autoimmune disease + long haul COVID? Man, I can't believe he's even considering coming back. What a champ.
 
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