2023 NHL Playoffs

[Prime Minister Koivu]

5 hours ago, Plutarch said:

The fact Carolina made it this far without Pacs and Svetch? I think losing a bunch of close games without the two guys you had envisioned being your goalscorers gives him some leniency.

Having those guys would have certainly helped Carolina. 
 

My issue with Brindamour was that he made no changes to their game. He believes the Canes were a couple of good bounces away from sweeping Florida!

 

Truth is the Canes had no answer to Floridas forecheck or Floridas blue line stack. Same approach from the Canes every game and obviously same results too. Add in Bobrovsky and Tzachuck playing like savages and Canes were toast. 

[Commandant]

You know what would have helped Carolina? A real 2nd line centre instead of Finnish Bambi who they signed to an offer sheet simply to make internet memes.

[Helmethead]

6 hours ago, Commandant said:

You know what would have helped Carolina? A real 2nd line centre instead of Finnish Bambi who they signed to an offer sheet simply to make internet memes.

Finnish Bambi might be the perfect descriptive for his a$$

[hab29RETIRED]

21 hours ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

Florida is indeed a lot like the 2021 Habs…but the team they remind me most of is the 1993 Canadiens. True, the 1993 Habs were a league-leading power until a late-season slump pushed them down the standings (and allowed them to be caricatured as a bad team by Habs-haters ever after). By contrast Florida barely squeaked in. But Tkachuk is doing what Kirk Muller did in ‘93 and Goalie Bob is playing like ‘93’s Patrick Roy. Meanwhile the team as a whole is winning close games and overtimes like crazy, relentlessly finding ways to win in the clutch. Exactly like the ‘93 team.

 

I also think it’s relevant that FLA was a powerhouse team last season. (Just as the Habs in 1992 were a top-tier squad that also collapsed in the playoffs). This isn’t a bunch of scrubs who have never before had success suddenly getting hot. Much like the Habs in 1993, they’re a group that had tremendous regular season success, and blew up key parts of its core after a playoff disaster. While the ‘93 Habs had a strong regular season, Florida struggled to recover its mojo all season, plus Bobrovsky was not on form. But the bulk of the team is the same group that tore up the league in 2021-22, and that basic reservoir of strength was there waiting to be mobilized.

 

 

I absolutely LOVE the fact that KK bombed out. 

 

In terms of schadenfreude, these playoffs have been terrific. Boston is humiliated. Toronto is steamrolled. KK is benched and made a fool of. I really couldn’t ask for more, LOL.

 

 

Brindamour’s press conference was bizarre. “We didn’t lose, we didn’t get swept. well yes we did. But we didn’t. We could just as easily have swept them. We didn’t get swept. But we did.” WTF man.

 

I don’t underestimate VGK - no team that makes the Finals should be treated lightly, and they are a battled-hardened, experienced group. But it really is hard not to see the Panthers as a Team of Destiny. 

 

If ONLY the Habs had had a draw like Vegas in the 2021 Finals. Instead we got the worst possible matchup. Florida is more fortunate in that respect.

I don’t see. comparison at all to the 2021 habs. 1993 definitely.

Florida are a team that last year was at the top of the league but went out early and made significant changes to their core. IMO the changes were for the better this year and going forward because they dumped a guy they would have had to resign for a big contract during his declining years for a guy just starting his prime.  It took them a lot of time to gel, had a lousy off season and squeaked into that playoffs. The only comparable is that the squeaked into the playoffs like we did in 2021. But they squeaked n because they under achieved, we squeaked in because other teams (Calgary) underachieved.
 

Florida has solid team with a 100+ point guy, two 40+ scorers, a great thirty goal scorer, a twenty goal scorer, solid scoring from the defence, a goalie despite his yo-yo years has won multiple vezinas - even though he always has been bit of a flake.

 

They had three solid centres, and Barkov is much better than anyone we had. A better comparable to them is the 2012 kings, who also had a lot of studs but were underachieving (Doughty, Kopitar, Richards, Williams, brown

Martinez).  Coaching change helped them get into the playoffs. On the other hand we weren’t a whole lot better in the regular season after our coaching change.

 

I’d take the Florida lineup over our 2021 lineup without any hesitation. You can’t compare their cup run to ours. They are a team that at the start of the year was seen as a solid playoff team. The 2021 habs were never seen as a legit playoff team, let alone a contender. Florida is built very similar to that 1993 habs, which was as a MUCH better team than the 2021 habs. The 1993 team doesn’t get as much credit because while they were a solid team, they were the “weaker” team in a powerhouse Adams division. The 2021 habs were the weakest team in a weak northern division.

 

 

 

 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

15 hours ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

 

My issue with Brindamour was that he made no changes to their game. He believes the Canes were a couple of good bounces away from sweeping Florida!

 

 

What changes did you expect Brindamour to make?  They had 113 points during the regular season playing a certain style and they are supposed to change it all up?  They ran into a hot goalie, that happens sometimes. Every game was a 1 goal game, a bounce here and there and things could have been different.  It's Florida's year. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

19 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

I don’t see hr comparison at all to thr 2021 habs. 1993 definitely.

they are a team that last year was at the top of the league but went out early and made wholesale changes but then took a lot of time to gel, had a lousy off season and squeaked into that playoffs. The only comparable is that the squeaked in. But they squeaked n because they under achieved. They had a solid team with a 100+ point guy, two 40+ scorers, a great thirty goal scorer, a twenty goal scorer, solid scoring from the defence, a goalie despite his to-yo years has won multiple vezinas - aven though he always has been bit of a flake.

 

They had three solid centres, and Barkov is much better than anyone we had. A better comparable to them is the 2012 kings, who also had a lot of studs but were underachieving (Doughty, Kopitar, Richards, Williams, brown

Martinez).  Coaching change helped them get into the playoffs. On the other hand we weren’t a whole lot better in the regular season after our coaching change.

 

I’d take the Florida lineup over our 2021 lineup without any hesitation. You can’t compare their cup run to ours. They are a team that at the start of the year was seen as a solid playoff team. The 2021 habs were never seen as a legit playoff team, let alone a contender. Florida State is built very similar to that 1993 habs, which was as a MUCH better team than the 2021 habs. The 1993 team doesn’t get as much credit because we were a “weaker” team powerhouse Adams division.

 

 

 

 

 

I agree with much of what you say, including that FLA closely resembles the 1993 Habs (which was my original proposition). Where I disagree, of course, is in your derision of the 2021 Habs. 

 

How many OT points did we throw away in 2021? As I recall, that team couldn’t win at 4 on 4 to save its life. That was a major reason why we backed into the playoffs instead of marching in. But since playoff hockey is not 4 on 4, how it does in the NHL’s bizarre regular season OT format is in no way a valid indicator of whether it’s a legitimate playoff team.

 

That team also had to integrate a gazillion new players, so some wobbling in the regular season was inevitable. (‘Talking time to gel’). And of course they weren’t seen as ‘real contenders.’ The Habs had been bottom feeders for a half decade prior to that team, so we would have needed an absolutely dominating regular season for anyone to call us that. Probably a couple of such seasons.

 

I don’t say we had FLA’s strength down the middle, but Suzuki/Danault/KK isn’t bad by any means. Danault is one of the league’s very best two-way C, but wasn’t appreciated in that light until the 2021 playoffs showed everyone. Perry, a secret weapon who killed other teams with depth scoring and down low play. Toffoli. Caufield. Anderson in his prime. Lehkonen. Armia playing at peak and motivated, Tatar, Byron chipping in. Our D, as I keep reminding you, was massive, punishing, deep, and ferocious. Our G had better pedigree that Bobrovsky and played superbly until a brief dip in the Finals.

 

It was a team built for the playoff that kicked the sh*t out of everyone until it met the worst possible matchup, TB. You don’t have to agree that it was some powerhouse, but please stop treating it like it was the 1980 Winnipeg Jets.

[hab29RETIRED]

1 minute ago, The Chicoutimi Cucumber said:

 

I agree with much of what you say, including that FLA closely resembles the 1993 Habs (which was my original proposition). Where I disagree, of course, is in your derision of the 2021 Habs. 

 

How many OT points did we throw away in 2021? As I recall, that team couldn’t win at 4 on 4 to save its life. That was a major reason why we backed into the playoffs instead of marching in. But since playoff hockey is not 4 on 4, how it does in the NHL’s bizarre regular season OT format is in no way a valid indicator of whether it’s a legitimate playoff team.

 

That team also had to integrate a gazillion new players, so some wobbling in the regular season was inevitable. (‘Talking time to gel’). And of course they weren’t seen as ‘real contenders.’ The Habs had been bottom feeders for a half decade prior to that team, so we would have needed an absolutely dominating regular season for anyone to call us that. Probably a couple of such seasons.

 

I don’t say we had FLA’s strength down the middle, but Suzuki/Danault/KK isn’t bad by any means. Danault is one of the league’s very best two-way C, but wasn’t appreciated in that light until the 2021 playoffs showed everyone. Perry, a secret weapon who killed other teams with depth scoring and down low play. Toffoli. Caufield. Anderson in his prime. Lehkonen. Armia playing at peak and motivated, Tatar, Byron chipping in. Our D, as I keep reminding you, was massive, punishing, deep, and ferocious. Our G had better pedigree that Bobrovsky and played superbly until a brief dip in the Finals.

 

It was a team built for the playoff that kicked the sh*t out of everyone until it met the worst possible matchup, TB. You don’t have to agree that it was some powerhouse, but please stop treating it like it was the 1980 Winnipeg Jets.

Id say they were more the 96 panthers or the 2006 Oilers, than the hapless jets. Those are all teams that over achieved but really weren’t expected to do anything. Don’t forget we were down 3-1 to Toronto - a team that didn’t exercise their close to 20 year without a first round win demons until this year. That gave us the momentum that carried us through. We were no match for Tampa, and a lot of other potential matchups. You can’t say that about the 93’ team. 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

7 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

Id say they were more the 96 panthers or the 2006 Oilers, than the hapless jets. Those are all teams that over achieved but really weren’t expected to do anything. Don’t forget we were down 3-1 to Toronto - a team that didn’t exercise their close to 20 year without a first round win demons until this year. That gave us the momentum that carried us through. We were no match for Tampa, and a lot of other potential matchups. You can’t say that about the 93’ team. 

 

Yeah, we were down 3-1 to Toronto, and we came back and beat their asses. Far from proving that we were mediocre, it proves that we were a team of battle-hardened warriors. 

 

I would say the 2021 group was between the ‘93 Habs (serious contenders all along, despite the retroactive myths of the Toronto media) and the ‘96 Panthers (Cinderella Team). The 2021 Habs had underrated strengths. Most notably, they had a #1 D-Man who could no longer play like a #1 over the grind of a season, but who deliberately raised his game for the playoffs, and an all-time G about whom the same could be said. Perry was another guy who was saving it. Those guys were not Cinderella players. They were top players of their generation who gathered themselves for a final run, and kicked butt in the process. 

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

28 minutes ago, hab29RETIRED said:

  We were no match for Tampa, and a lot of other potential matchups. You can’t say that about the 93’ team. 

 

What other potential match ups?  Vegas tied for the most points in the league and we took them out in 6!

[DON]

Funny to see Latvia beat Sweden, good for them.

Montembeault had solid game again.

[Prime Minister Koivu]

2 hours ago, Habs Fan in Edmonton said:

 

What changes did you expect Brindamour to make?  They had 113 points during the regular season playing a certain style and they are supposed to change it all up?  They ran into a hot goalie, that happens sometimes. Every game was a 1 goal game, a bounce here and there and things could have been different.  It's Florida's year. 

Canes didn’t score for a long time and they generated very few dangerous chances yet their approach remained the exact same. 
 

If your style of game play generates 0 or one goal - game after game…it would be wise to change your style. I don’t care that your style got you 113 points - it ain’t working now. 
 

Canes style is about creating as many shots as possible and relying on averages. Florida simply stacked the blue line and disrupted their plan. Bobvrosky covered the gaps and breakdowns of Floridas game. 
 

Brindamour needed to change the way the Canes attack the zone but he changed nothing - because it worked all season long as you said. Result is a sweep that gets blamed on a hot goalie and some lucky bounces for Tkachuk. 
 

As @The Chicoutimi Cucumber mentioned, the Brindamour presser was a bizarre description of that whole series and Brindamour seemed really out of touch with reality. 
 

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

Dallas looked awful last night and I kind of want Vegas to piss off. They have been in the league for 6 years and have two cup finals and two conference finals?!?!

 

Go Florida 

[The Chicoutimi Cucumber]

1 hour ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

Dallas looked awful last night and I kind of want Vegas to piss off. They have been in the league for 6 years and have two cup finals and two conference finals?!?!

 

Go Florida 

 

Agree

[Habs Fan in Edmonton]

I could care less about either team but would rather draft 31 than 32. Go Vegas!

[Sir_Boagalott]

It's surprising how badly Dallas got spanked in game 6.  I kinda figured they would push it to game 7 or at the very least not get completely blown out in game 6.

 

[hockeyrealist]

On 5/30/2023 at 7:47 PM, Sir_Boagalott said:

It's surprising how badly Dallas got spanked in game 6.  I kinda figured they would push it to game 7 or at the very least not get completely blown out in game 6.

 

Haha beauty.

def didn’t expect Dallas to get walked over, was fitting Benn was on the ice for the early first Vegas goal and showed no emotions.

Where was the vitriol and energy he should have been pumping with?

Dallas goalie was an issue as well, so much for him being the second coming of Jebus.

[Sir_Boagalott]

Wow, Eric Staal gets the 1st goal with a SHG.  

 

 

[Prime Minister Koivu]

45 minutes ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

Wow, Eric Staal gets the 1st goal with a SHG.  

 

 

That should not have happened. Hill looked like he was too stunned to move at first. 
 

Florida looks pretty good. I expected a 10 day hangover but they are playing well. 
 

 

[Peter Puck]

What a goal by Theodore!

[Sir_Boagalott]

2 minutes ago, Prime Minister Koivu said:

That should not have happened. Hill looked like he was too stunned to move at first. 
 

Florida looks pretty good. I expected a 10 day hangover but they are playing well. 
 

 

 

Ya, I certainly agree that Staal's goal shouldn't have happened and Hill screwed up on that play.  He knocked the puck into the net himself vs Staal "scoring".   However, Hill totally made up for it with his save with the heel of his stick on Couzin's chance.      

[Prime Minister Koivu]

10 hours ago, Sir_Boagalott said:

 

Ya, I certainly agree that Staal's goal shouldn't have happened and Hill screwed up on that play.  He knocked the puck into the net himself vs Staal "scoring".   However, Hill totally made up for it with his save with the heel of his stick on Couzin's chance.      

Yeah that save changed the entire momentum of the game and Vegas just took over. 
 

 

[Sir_Boagalott]

Geez eh, Marchessault apparently really likes hearing his name announced over the loud speakers.  He has 9 goals in as many games.  If Vegas wins does he have a chance at the Conn Smythe?  

 

 

[tomh009]

Four goals from 13 shots ... and the Bob is sitting on the bench. Without him playing lights out, do the Panthers really have a chance?

[Sir_Boagalott]

Eichel got absolutely flattened in a huge open ice hit by Tkachuk.  

 

Although Eichel is really good I don't get the impression that Vegas will miss him.  

 

 

[Sir_Boagalott]

Wow, Eichel is back.  He just got an assist on Marchashow's 2nd goal.