NHL Master Thread

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Not the best played series but exciting. Love the end to end action.

[yuneeq]

Not the best played series but exciting. Love the end to end action.

Easy for you to say

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Easy for you to say

The same for Pens/Caps. Contrast with a boring team like Nashville. Look at the bright side. An all Canadian final is still possible. That would be insane!!!

[Sport]

The same for Pens/Caps. Contrast with a boring team like Nashville. Look at the bright side. An all Canadian final is still possible. That would be insane!!!

Senators are not beating their next opponent.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Senators are not beating their next opponent.

I said that about Nashville. 

[Sport]

I said that about Nashville. 

Nashville at least outplayed their opponents almost every game.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Nashville at least outplayed their opponents almost every game.

They are still a fluke and are going down next round if not then in the SC. 

[yuneeq]

They are still a fluke and are going down next round if not then in the SC. 

You gotta come to terms with your rivals success.
Preds are for real. If they go down, they going down with a huge fight.
They ain't no fluke.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

You gotta come to terms with your rivals success.
Preds are for real. If they go down, they going down with a huge fight.
They ain't no fluke.

They are a one hit wonder that is coming to an end. 

[springles]

Brutal disappointment.
AV has to be gone.
He had a chance to redeem himself and failed.

most disappointing loss in years for me. This was a series they really should have had.
While I agree that AV had a bad series I would not get rid of him. This team needs a star and they really dont have one. Its a team made up of all the right surrounding pieces without the player those pieces are supposed to be surrounding. But that player doesnt seem to be available this off season either so I am not sure where that leaves us.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

most disappointing loss in years for me. This was a series they really should have had.

Didn't they go farther than they should have? They beat the top seeded team in the Atlantic.

[springles]

Didn't they go farther than they should have? They beat the top seeded team in the Atlantic.

had they lost to the canadiens I would not have been as upset. But once they beat them you have to change your expectations.

[yuneeq]

most disappointing loss in years for me. This was a series they really should have had.
While I agree that AV had a bad series I would not get rid of him. This team needs a star and they really dont have one. Its a team made up of all the right surrounding pieces without the player those pieces are supposed to be surrounding. But that player doesnt seem to be available this off season either so I am not sure where that leaves us.

A star would definitely help, but that's no excuse for falling short of expectations. Last season AV was not good enough either, but that was overshadowed by losing to a smoking hot Pens team that won the cup. I am confident that the Rangers would've been out in the first round vs any team last year. AV has continually mismanaged player deployment, which has been going on for seasons, but he can be forgiven if his team performs in the playoffs. He made the same mistakes in the playoffs, benched Buch for Glass, Skjei for Staal, and etc. Pittsburgh iced a bunch of AHL'ers last year and trusted them to perform and boy did they come through. Staal was on for 14 of 19 goals scored against this series, surprising at all? Nope.

Didn't they go farther than they should have? They beat the top seeded team in the Atlantic.

MTL was top seed but just 1 point better than the Rangers while playing in a weak division. MTL is also better than Ottawa. Coming into the playoffs I believe we had a 50/50 chance vs the Canadiens and 80/20 edge vs the Sens. So we did fine in the 1st round but lost a completely winnable series.

had they lost to the canadiens I would not have been as upset. But once they beat them you have to change your expectations.

Even without changing expectations, Rangers should have beaten Ottawa. They are lower ranked and give up a million goals. Their strengths were the so-called "trap" (never knew giving up 4 goals a game is effective defensive strategy) and the half injured Erik Karlsson.

[springles]

A star would definitely help, but that's no excuse for falling short of expectations. Last season AV was not good enough either, but that was overshadowed by losing to a smoking hot Pens team that won the cup. I am confident that the Rangers would've been out in the first round vs any team last year. AV has continually mismanaged player deployment, which has been going on for seasons, but he can be forgiven if his team performs in the playoffs. He made the same mistakes in the playoffs, benched Buch for Glass, Skjei for Staal, and etc. Pittsburgh iced a bunch of AHL'ers last year and trusted them to perform and boy did they come through. Staal was on for 14 of 19 goals scored against this series, surprising at all? Nope.

MTL was top seed but just 1 point better than the Rangers while playing in a weak division. MTL is also better than Ottawa. Coming into the playoffs I believe we had a 50/50 chance vs the Canadiens and 80/20 edge vs the Sens. So we did fine in the 1st round but lost a completely winnable series.

Even without changing expectations, Rangers should have beaten Ottawa. They are lower ranked and give up a million goals. Their strengths were the so-called "trap" (never knew giving up 4 goals a game is effective defensive strategy) and the half injured Erik Karlsson.

we agree on all of that, I just think AV deserves another year. Last year they were beat by a better team that went on to win the cup. Maybe they would have lost to another team but cant make a decision based on that assumption. This year they disappointed in the 2nd round but I am not sure that is a fireable offense. I would bring him back but he is on a short leash for next year

[yuneeq]

we agree on all of that, I just think AV deserves another year. Last year they were beat by a better team that went on to win the cup. Maybe they would have lost to another team but cant make a decision based on that assumption. This year they disappointed in the 2nd round but I am not sure that is a fireable offense. I would bring him back but he is on a short leash for next year

The fireable offense is the lack of adjustments and poor player utilization. This isn't a new gripe at all about AV but something that was badly exposed when playing a weaker opponent. Do you remember Yandle was brought into to man the PP, and never played on the 1st unit until late last year? Or Girardi and Staal getting played into the ground when they were brutal all last year? Or playing Glass at all this year or last? Glass is literally one of the worst possession players, if not the worst in NHL history (that played 500 games). Constantly benching Skjei despite proving he will grow into a crucial defenseman long term for the Rangers, scoring 39 points as a rookie and adding 4 goals in the playoffs. And etc.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Bottom line is your either first or you are last. Do you really believe the Rangers had the talent to win it all this year?

[yuneeq]

Bottom line is your either first or you are last. Do you really believe the Rangers had the talent to win it all this year?

1. The way things shaped up, I think the Rangers had a small but real shot at winning the cup this year. I can see the Rangers beating Washington or the Western conference finalist (if they played to their potential).

2. I don't agree that the cup is literally the only objective. 29 teams (soon to be 30) don't win the cup every year. I should still be able to enjoy watching my team playing well, cup or not. My 2 cents.

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Two game 7's tonight. Doesn't get much better!

[keemster26]

Two game 7's tonight. Doesn't get much better!

[ChaimMoskowitz]

Law of probabilities says they have to win a game 7 sooner or later.